Author Topic: Arcane Archer Feat Advice  (Read 1739 times)

Legacy_Gregor Wyrmbane

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 324
  • Karma: +0/-0
Arcane Archer Feat Advice
« Reply #15 on: February 03, 2014, 07:40:01 pm »


               Again, Bard would have been a better choice over Wizard when playing a Ranger AA. Tumble and UMD are class skills for Bard.

Ultravision will defeat magical darkness. Rangers get it as a level 1 spell, and Bards get it as a level 2 spell. You can check the wiki on it here: http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Ultravision
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Elhanan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 842
  • Karma: +0/-0
Arcane Archer Feat Advice
« Reply #16 on: February 04, 2014, 12:47:29 am »


               

Mystery X wrote...

Blind Fight has not been helping me deal with magical Darkness. I cannot target anyone in Darkness unless I am in melee range.

I thought I would be able to get a Listen check to detect enemies in Darkness. Am I wrong on that? Even enemies with Move Silently should be out of Stealth mode in combat (though I suppose if they are standing around doing nothing in Darkness, they can be using Stealth). I have maximum Listen, and as an Elf, should be getting full benefit from it without being in Detect Mode.


Perhaps something in here may help explain the factors involved:

http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Listen

http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Spot
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Empyre65

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 662
  • Karma: +0/-0
Arcane Archer Feat Advice
« Reply #17 on: February 04, 2014, 04:11:08 am »


               

Gregor Wyrmbane wrote...

Again, Bard would have been a better choice over Wizard when playing a Ranger AA. Tumble and UMD are class skills for Bard.


Wizard is the favored class for an elf. Choosing Bard instead would result in an experience point penalty.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Empyre65, 04 février 2014 - 03:33 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Mystery X

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 248
  • Karma: +0/-0
Arcane Archer Feat Advice
« Reply #18 on: February 04, 2014, 01:41:29 pm »


               

Elhanan wrote...

Mystery X wrote...

Blind Fight has not been helping me deal with magical Darkness. I cannot target anyone in Darkness unless I am in melee range.

I thought I would be able to get a Listen check to detect enemies in Darkness. Am I wrong on that? Even enemies with Move Silently should be out of Stealth mode in combat (though I suppose if they are standing around doing nothing in Darkness, they can be using Stealth). I have maximum Listen, and as an Elf, should be getting full benefit from it without being in Detect Mode.


Perhaps something in here may help explain the factors involved:

http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Listen

http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Spot


I had read the Wiki entries, but that did not quite clear it up.

"Listen alerts a character to hidden creatures that may be nearby."

I assume that opponents unseen because they are inside Darkness are considered hidden, so I get my Listen check to detect them.

"Listen
detects hidden creatures by opposing their move silently check. A
successful check renders the hidden creature visible, and makes it a
valid target for the listener."

With maximum Listen, I would expect to be winning some of those checks, even against opponents my level who had a maximum Move Silently skill.  In one battle, there were about 4-6 opponents hidden in the Darkness (I don't know exactly, I couldn't see them).  At least some of them were engaged in melee with my henchmen.  I shouldn't have been taking a penalty for being in combat because I was taking no combat actions.  I don't know exactly how to judge distance, but that should not have been too much, it was in a short dungeon corridor.

I don't know how to assess this penalty: "+5 DC for every 40cm of object (including creatures) between listener and target in outdoor areas."  My henchman may have been between me and the enemies (something my henchmen do not accomplish frequently enough), so maybe that's giving me a penalty.

I don't know all the factors, particularly what the Move Silently skill might have been for the opponents, without cracking open the module.  (It was against Duergar, I know they all have some sort of stealth skills, I usually encounter them when they are in stealth mode trying to sneak up on me.)

I was just expecting that with maximum Listen, I would be successful with at least one check against multiple opponents over several rounds.  So that made me wonder whether I was just failing all the checks, or if magical Darkness were treated differently than invisibility and blindness and I was not getting the checks in the first place.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Elhanan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 842
  • Karma: +0/-0
Arcane Archer Feat Advice
« Reply #19 on: February 04, 2014, 02:05:43 pm »


               I have had success with Blind Fight vs Darkness, I believe; could be a mod or override creating resistance. Also, be sure that you are not moving; a factor as to why I seldom choose Elves, as I use Perception to walk.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Gregor Wyrmbane

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 324
  • Karma: +0/-0
Arcane Archer Feat Advice
« Reply #20 on: February 04, 2014, 02:18:27 pm »


               

Empyre65 wrote...

Gregor Wyrmbane wrote...

Again, Bard would have been a better choice over Wizard when playing a Ranger AA. Tumble and UMD are class skills for Bard.


Wizard is the favored class for an elf. Choosing Bard instead would result in an experience point penalty.


I know. The experience point penalty has never been a big deal for me. However, choosing half elf instead of elf eliminates the experience point penalty, and there isn't much difference in benifits between the two races. 

*shrugs* To each his own.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Empyre65

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 662
  • Karma: +0/-0
Arcane Archer Feat Advice
« Reply #21 on: February 04, 2014, 09:48:45 pm »


               A Half-Elf doesn't get +2 DEX, which matters for archers and other dexers. That said, it still might be worth while to make a Half-Elf Ranger / Bard / AA. However, it is noted on NWNWiki's Ranger article that "Despite popular perception and BioWare's prestige class tip, the ranger is not intrinsically better suited to archery than melee combat."
               
               

               
            

Legacy_MrZork

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1643
  • Karma: +0/-0
Arcane Archer Feat Advice
« Reply #22 on: February 04, 2014, 10:35:18 pm »


               I pretty much agree with that tip. Aside from the availability of Cat's Grace as a self-buff from ranger level 8 or 10, if the toon has 12+ wisdom, which the ones listed here do not, most ranger/AAs would do as well or better as fighter/AAs to take advantage of the extra feats and Weapon Specialization. The exception might be a fairly ranger-heavy build that made good use of Favored Enemy and Bane of Enemies and which might have an animal companion to help with tanking.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Gregor Wyrmbane

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 324
  • Karma: +0/-0
Arcane Archer Feat Advice
« Reply #23 on: February 04, 2014, 10:43:32 pm »


               

Empyre65 wrote...

A Half-Elf doesn't get +2 DEX, which matters for archers and other dexers. That said, it still might be worth while to make a Half-Elf Ranger / Bard / AA. However, it is noted on NWNWiki's Ranger article that "Despite popular perception and BioWare's prestige class tip, the ranger is not intrinsically better suited to archery than melee combat."


You'll make up that +2 DEX, in the BAB at least, because of the difference between the Wizard and Bard BAB progression. I don't believe there is any primary class that is "intrinsically" better suited to archery than melee, is there?
               
               

               
            

Legacy_MagicalMaster

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2712
  • Karma: +0/-0
Arcane Archer Feat Advice
« Reply #24 on: February 05, 2014, 05:47:25 am »


               

Gregor Wyrmbane wrote...

You'll make up that +2 DEX, in the BAB at least, because of the difference between the Wizard and Bard BAB progression. I don't believe there is any primary class that is "intrinsically" better suited to archery than melee, is there?

If you only take 1 or 2 levels of Bard or Wizard pre-epic there's no BAB difference.

And no, there isn't.