The Arcane Spellbow - d4 #78

Our D&D 5e character build this week is an attempt to build around the Arcane Archer. Is it as underpowered as many people think? (Spoiler Alert: No.)
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Character Concept:(0:00)
Level 1:(6:21)
Levels 2-6:(11:29)
Levels 7-8:(29:13)
dScryb:(31:48)
Levels 8-9:(34:36)
Levels 10-13:(41:55)
Levels 14-17:(48:53)
Final Thoughts:(55:22)
Outtakes:(59:09)
Math/Graph for this episode:
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Master Nova Damage Comparison:
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Thanks to LudicSavant for the amazing DPR calculator! forums.giantit...)
Music Credits:
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Celtic Impulse - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommon...
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[@TreantmonksTemple]

Crusher on Grasping arrow...Madlad! One interesting thing about the net - most creatures in D&D deliver bludgeoning damage, so they can't destroy a net!

[@Booklat1]

the advantages of not needing a save to push an enemy hehe

[@DnDDeepDive]

Right? Of course, a DC 10 Str check is basically nothing, but hey, waste those turns! :)

[@justenyoderyoder1294]

It warms the cockles of my black half-orc heart to see you two supporting each other. Bravo, gentleman.

[@joshuawoodfolk8202]

@@justenyoderyoder1294 I'm so glad to have learned the word "cockle" goes other places than just preceding "doodle-doo"

[@givemeanaxe]

But you always have disadvantage with it....

[@RexfelisLXIX]

My favourite clip is the 'mob' that attacks you when you advocate for Silvery Barbs.

[@DnDDeepDive]

They are relentless and without mercy.

[@theMrLife]

Yes, totally! 🤣🥰

[@jonmanriquez310]

Every time you say “If you enjoy….. Welcome home” I always get a warm feeling inside 😅

[@DnDDeepDive]

Mission Accomplished! :)

[@MasterZenII]

Thematically, I imagine reflavoring this character's nets as bolas.

[@ManualdeSobrevivencia]

500% brother

[@pencilbender]

Super dope man! Taking this

[@valentinrafael9201]

No way, the dm will say that the target is prone and now you have disadvantage on ranged attacks.

[@JrgenHelland00]

How to be an arcane archer: be warlock.

[@Razdasoldier]

Hexblade 5 Swrods bard 15 trust me it is sick

[@sauceploxx4565]

@@Razdasoldier this was one route I was gonna do with my swords bard but i went rogue instead for swashbuckler. We only got to lvl 9 anyway so it turned on just in time.

[@WolfHreda]

@@sauceploxx4565 Swashbuckler is such a great add-on for anyone who focuses on melee combat. I love them.

[@strahlungsopfer]

I'm going to be an Arcane Archer by being a Battlesmith Artificer soon

[@BLynn]

Level 1:(see above) [fighter 1, fighting-style & race (feat)] Level 2:(see above) [warlock 1 & patron] Level 3:(@15:08) [warlock 2 & eldritch invocations] Level 4:(@16:12) [warlock 3, pact & switch eldritch invocation] Level 5:(@18:21) [warlock 4 & ASI] Level 6:(@23:26) [warlock 5 & eldritch invocation] Level 7:(see above) [fighter 2] Level 8:(@29:34) [fighter 3 & sub-class] Level 9:(@38:23) [fighter 4 & ASI] Level 10:(see above) [warlock 6] Level 11:(@43:39) [warlock 7 & eldritch invocation] Level 12:(@45:06) [warlock 8 & ASI] Level 13:(@46:28) [warlock 9 & eldritch invocation] Level 14:(see above) [warlock 10] Level 15:(@51:09) [warlock 11 & mystic arcana] Level 16:(@53:06) [warlock 12, ASI & eldritch invocation] Level 17:(@53:47) [warlock 13 & mystic arcana]

[@vvsandgaming4648]

Darkness on an arrow and shoot at the enemy. A giant black sphere rushing towards someone is pretty scary.

[@pencilbender]

U do need devils sight forthat, but thats awesome! Partymembers gonna hate you tho

[@btmikey1925]

I love arcane archer for everything but the amount of uses

[@jakewarman7277]

The hex spell actually would give disadvantage on the strength check to escape the net might actually be somewhat reliable maybe two rounds

[@Shalakor]

Plus, the advantage of Hex at higher levels over Spirit Shroud is the ability to cast it and then get a short rest in before starting your adventuring day. Less nova, more general use. Hard to argue against Spirit Shroud once it's 2d8 and you have 3 spell slots, though.

[@BLynn]

Is getting free from a net an ability check, I thought it was a save? (Though I am not looking at the rules this moment, so I could be misremembering.)

[@luizkormann314]

this subclass is soooo cool, it's really a shame the number of arcane shots scale poorly

[@AllHailSp00nRiver]

It would be so much better for the arcane shots to scale with either intelligence or proficiency. (Intelligence because it is so often a dump stat.)

[@O-D-X]

It should at least be like the spell slots of the Warlock, slowly increase and recharge on a short rest would make going straight arcane archer more viable.

[@ChazTheYouthful]

Yeah I love it as a dip to boost a ranger or rogue build but it gets the biggest bang out of just 3 levels.

[@JuckiCZ]

It is a great dip for some characters. F.I. Horizon Walker Ranger can change that Grasping Arrow dmg from Poison to Force, which helps extremely on high levels. Arcane Archer also recharges everything on short rest, but Ranger has everything limited by long rest, so those two help a lot. Other than that, Ensnaring Strike + Grasping Arrow work nice together - Enemy needs 2 actions to get out of both effects, one is damaging him on every move, second is damaging him every round. Just take 1st level as Fighter, then 5 as Horizon Walker, then 2 as Arcane Archer and continue all the way till lvl 17 in HW and 3 in AA. You don't need CBE feat, only SS, I would also probably go Half Elf for Piercer and Elven Accuracy (to profit both from spells like GoN, Zephyr Strike and Restrained Condition of enemies), rest in WIS for better saves. Let party move that grasped enemy to deal bonus dmg to him...

[@blackgaurdsmash]

I played one and we made it scale with profiency and work closer to "grit" from Matt's gun slinger. It was really balanced and made the subclass fun.

[@Rictavio27]

In my games, I homebrew the arcane archer just a little bit, I change the uses from 2 to your proficiency bonus, and make it so it can be used on any ranged weapon, not just bows

[@theonlymatthew.l]

Elegant in its simplicity, I like it. 👍

[@bigaj6901]

To me this build is kinda like Hawkeye, especially if you don't wanna go full nova all the time. Like throwing out Grasping Arrow / Bursting Arrow / Eldritch Smite once per turn so that you spread out your "trick arrows" sounds really fun to me

[@hadeszero4526]

I love how Colby's world has all the benevolent warlock patrons.

[@squarepusher13z]

I think curving shot is a perfectly good weaponised bonus action. But I do absolutely love your use of quick toss. That is brilliant!

[@timgalivan2846]

I've been obsessed with the concept of the arcane archer build since 3.5 (also not a great prestige class in that edition), and I've lemented the net in 5e since it's release. I was recently able to use a variation of this build (15 Arcane Archer and 5 Genie Warloack) for a lvl 20 1 shot. Getting the 15 levels in fighter let me refresh my arcane shot any time I rolled initiative, was very very helpful. Thank you for helping me make 2 dreams come true that night!

[@lmungillo]

“Let’s talk about nets… baby” was a phenomenal pun!! And he aged himself and those who got it also aged ourselves 😂😂

[@Mitcheck315]

23:23 I love the visual of having your vessel be a ring and you just shoot a net out of it (also you mention later that you would avoid knocking enemies prone with eldritch smite but if you're fighting a flying enemy it might still help your non-ranged friends quite a bit)

[@zaigandualitymage4849]

This is a very fun and creative build. I also love that at later levels with higher level spells and mystic arcanums, this build can also provide some nice control with hold monster and force cage and such. Great work!

[@andywilliams4898]

Hey! Just wanted to say hey while notifications were still fresh. Love your work and uve made me do my own deep dives into my characters. More plot and story than numbers because I love the way u always do ur best to make it work in story

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks! :)

[@andywilliams4898]

@@DnDDeepDive if you get a chance, one of the things I've been working with is a circle of the star's druid. My character is a reborn race and one of the things I got going for him is the only solid memory he has during his first death was the blinding beautiful stars up above him and then that's the first thing he also notices when he wakes back up as a reborn. Keep making great content and I will keep watching

[@knightghaleon]

Here I was expecting a hexbow bardlock using swift quiver/haste. I like this build. I've got an arcane archer in my group and I allowed him to get around the limited arcane shots the class has by allowing him to stock them up like ammo. So he still has the limited amount he can make per day but he can use journey time between towns/quests and any downtime to make his two shots and add them to his stockpile to be used in quests later. Its allowed him to have some really amazing moments while simultaneously giving him the feeling that he is emptying out an ammo bag that will have to be replenished/become a priority later if he is too reckless with how many he spends. I'll show him this video and see if he'd like to give this build a try. He might like being mostly warlock for the extra flavor and group utility.

[@sauceploxx4565]

Can you elaborate on how you're doing this for your player? Trying to see how my DM and I cna be flexible with this class without having to take sharpshooter so early to be useful.

[@darrenromanko2414]

Loved the build as usual. I appreciate how you shared the fighter 11 route just to have it covered.

[@brunosilva5652]

So I started playing DND about one year ago and your channel presented me to optimization and I’m loving it Now I’ll play a one shot and made my first character build using some of your methods, it’s a rough warlock gish that can do about 60 burst damage at level 6. Just here to say thank you for showing me this part of the game

[@DnDDeepDive]

Awesome! Thanks for the kind words :).

[@rplenkers9240]

Arcane archer multi classed into blood hunter with the profaned soul subclass. You get access to the hex spell as well as a variety of blood curses and your blood maledict. You can stack alot of damage on top of the fighters inherit insane dmg potential

[@jagondal8378]

Your genie's vessel could be a geode, which is amazing thematically as it is both earth-based and could be used as a container in its own right. In practicality, it has great camouflage as it appears to be just a rock from outside, but the inside would be like a great crystal cathedral for role playing. Also: I want to call this build The People's Spellbow, if you smell-ell-ell what I'm cookin'. Earthy powers for a nova round/finisher move? Perfect.

[@TheRobversion1]

nice the rock reference.

[@Nikotheos]

A cool combo on a Genie warlock, if you have the option of Pact of the Chain: have your invisible imp wear your ring while the whole party is inside, and use Voice of the Chain Master to guide where the imp takes all of you. Just another way Genie Warlocks are crazy good.

[@Ouch193]

So you made a plane?

[@Nikotheos]

@@Ouch193 Yup! An invisible plane that’s bigger on the inside.

[@jhamkul2275]

I proposed this build LONG ago and man i'm so happy to see this fully fleshed out video about it. This is the idea for my future Frostmaiden's campaign, so i'm glad i can have a look at this from time to time and follow some of your indications. Thank you SO much Colby!

[@darcraven01]

i had a similar idea but used 12 arcane archer, 5 hexblade warlock (which hexblade itself doesnt matter as much so genie would work fine, though with swarmkeeper you dont need dao specifically) and 3 swarmkeeper ranger (swarmkeeper can move an enemy once per turn so works similar to dao+crusher). ranger+warrior gives you an extra fighting style for the archery and superior technique without a feat used there so that actually frees up 2 feats or ability score increases. also wont need thirsting blade so you have an extra invocation choice. if you did use hexblade and focused charisma you could still use eldritch blast + agonizing blast as a backup to your archery if you run out of arcane shots and spell slots with this build. also the swarmkeeper's gathered swarm (which lets you move an enemy or yourself or deal extra damage) works on spell attacks so it works with eldritch blast and can move an enemy in any direction (so its like repelling blast and grasp of hadar put together but slightly better as its 15 feet instead of 10 feet)

[@Jaxom35x]

Been catching up on a lot of these. The way you think up various combinations and uses and the way you present them is extraordinaire. Thank you.

[@stephenchisholm3288]

So glad I found your channel, you make Tuesdays bearable

[@DnDDeepDive]

Me too! :)

[@pixelniceness5711]

Coming in a year later here. I was recently invited to a session half way through at lvl 7, im going drakewarden ranger as a kobold and since, not too much to go for later in ranger I was looking for the extra spice of multiclassing I can do to make my damage really shine and I think I found it here. With grasping shot I can use my drake to grapple and force movement with my bonus action. Not sure if I will take the dip into warlock honestly just depends on how long the session goes if we get enough levels but, This feels so on brand for the character and looks to be powerful, my fav combination. Thanks for the build vid d4!

[@elitesmiley]

Love the build, but one question. Is there a reason to take Fighting Initiate -> Superior Technique instead of taking Martial Adept for an extra maneuver?

[@attackduck9768]

Ooooooo I like that. Could use trip attack instead quick toss. More risk but better damage output.

[@BeaDSM]

@@attackduck9768 why trip attack? That would give you disadvantage on your ranged attacks. Pushing attack though would trigger grasping shot.

[@troyyrob]

I think he is only planning on using Quick Toss, maybe that's why?

[@MasterZenII]

For this build they would be functionally identical as you would always want to use quick toss, but I think martial adept is the better pick because while you still only get a single d6 superiority die, it does let you pick two maneuvers.

[@TheRobversion1]

martial adept is indeed the superior pick. or better yet get both so you have 2 superiority die that refresh on a short rest.

[@BigCowProductions]

0:43 This intro makes me feel so warm inside 🧡 You are awesome, Colby.

[@colevu8906]

This has made me consider a hex blade warlock/swords bard ranged build. Hella eldritch smite dmg that you can do constantly on top of flourishes that if memory serves RAW just requires a weapon attack

[@bazookauniverse2001]

I really like this build! Genie warlocks are my favorite warlock subclass, so it was super cool to see how you incorporated it here. Legit one of my fav KZbin series, it gives me so much inspiration

[@reidosarous]

Net + Caltrops = spike strip/net that does 1 damage, allowing the trigger of class damage like genie's wrath. Or at least my DM allowed it and said even paired with minor illusion for instant traps it wasn't that OP, and clever use of existing mechanics.

[@vegaskatus]

This sounded like so much fun that this is what I'm going to build for our new campaign that started today. My PC's race is Owlin from Strixhaven, so I'll get flight early on, as well as free stealth, both of which I thought would be pretty sweet. We don't do points for stats, but 4D6 and drop the lowest, so my stats are pretty decent at first level. I'm really interested to see how the class performs on non-nova damage rounds. I couldn't help but join at the higher level to thank you and to get the write-up for the arcane spellbow. Thank you for this and I'm excited to see how it works! I really need to look up flight and see what kind of fun shenanigans there are, if any.

[@jasco666]

love the interaction of Quick Toss, Net and Sharpshooter.

[@jedim793]

I have an arcane archer in my camping. Instead of him choosing his arrows and then being stuck with his choices. I homebrewed that his magic is “wild”. He has 3 arcane shots at third level which I roll for randomly, using a d8. He also gets to use each of these shots once per short rest. They reset after a long rest. It keeps it fresh, gives him more versatility and uses of his arcane shot while keeping it (in my opinion) balanced

[@PiroMunkie]

This is not entirely dissimilar from a Hex/Gloomblade I'm currently running in a campaign. Our DM gives up level-up perks once in a while and one of them was a random Arcane Shot 1/long. Not quite as good since I don't get to choose and it's only 1/long, but it's fine. My favorite use of Banishing Arrow is to force people off their mounts. For example we ran into a frost giant riding a mammoth, banished the mount for a round to timewalk it which causes the rider to fall from more than 10ft so they're prone. It was quick cleanup after that. Piercing Arrow is also interesting because it's unavoidable (creatures take at least half-damage), and each creature takes damage as if they were hit by the arrow. So if you have special arrows that deal more damage (such as an Arrow of Slaying) or other personal buffs that cause your attacks to deal more damage (such as Divine Favor and Holy Weapon), that would apply to each creature that gets hit.

[@legomaninatrolley7559]

I love these videos man, got me really into having well optimised characters that know what they do and do it well. Even help my mates with their characters! Currently just made a Gunslinger/Artillerist who just riddles the enemies with bullets and I love it!

[@curtisstrain9709]

One of the most fun characters I played was an EK 11, Celestial Warlock for the rest. Warcaster, sharpshooter. I even got away with taking pact of the tome and the defensive fighting style. As a high elf you get like a dozen cantrips, bonus shot when you use one, ritual casting and that sweet, sweet healing light. Still rock a shadow blade in a pinch.

[@lukelloyd8976]

I think it speaks to both the variety in 5e, and your theory-crafting...that you're able to come up with a variation on something that's a whole different take on this idea (most of the time I see this as some part Archer/Battlesmith). Kudos

[@andrewfarrell1816]

Runing up to the target throwing a net over them, shooting them in the face multiple times and runing/flying away again. Seems completly in charecter for someone who wants to be the best archer in the world but gets frustrated at the limits of their phsyical abilities and decides to resort to magic instead 😆

[@Year2047]

I love this build. I've been playing an arcane archer for a couple of months now and I love them. Combining it with a bowlock is awesome.

[@skywandering7042]

Hey Colby, I really would like your input on maybe somehow throwing some artificer in there for repeating shot etc. since intelligence is synergistic with your Arcane Archer stuff as well.

[@TaylorAP13]

Hey, ran across your channel for the first time! I spend tons and tons of times reading over rules and playing with mechanics making character builds so I love this series you got! My personal take on the spell based archer class is to use the bladesinger. Mainly because I love the extra attack feature, which if you've ever noticed works whenever you attack. So you can shoot a longbow and cast firebolt. IF you want to spread yourself a bit thin a dip into Warlock or the Magic Initiate feat will get you eldritch blast. I plan to run an arcane archer build of lvl 11 arcane archer, lvl 6 bladesinger and 3 lvls in whatever feels fun. While there is overlap in the extra attack the ability to take 3 attacks and cast a cantrip as one of those is nice. If you can get the CHA bump without sacrificing your other stats you can take 2 attacks with the bow and 4 attacks with eldritch blast. Use your Bonus Action to cast your favorite ranged buff spells! I would also say losing the fighter levels for Warlock could be good and possibly give some more sustained damage instead of the action surge burst.

[@TheRobversion1]

I'd keep the action surge for burst if you're doing eldritch blast anyway as your sustained dmg would be good enough and there's more value to bursting an enemy down early on by swinging the action economy to your side. I made a similar ranged attack + eldritch blast bladesinger last year. did a bunch of dmg both burst and sustained while having tons of spell slots available for defensive/utlilty spells. hope you don't mind I'll share my level 10 theorycraft here (played until level 16 though) and maybe you or others reading may pick up ideas: "the stoneslinger" fighter 2, bladesinger 6, hexblade 2 half-drow fighting style: superior technique-ambush asi: elven accuracy-cha invocations: agonizing blast, misty visions key spells: eldritch blast, tiny servant, magic stone tactics: pre-combat: create 2 tiny servants. use arcane recovery to recover a 3rd level slot. standing orders to pick up a magic stone you drop and throw it at your target. walk around in misty visions (choose an illusion atmospheric effect appropriate to the environment such as smoke, fog, mist, etc). continuous cast magic stone while walking. feel free to cast armor of agathys if expecting combat soon. round 1: bonus action: hexblade's curse the bbeg (walk out of the illusion then back in if you need to close distance) free action: drop 1 of the magic stones action: throw/sling 1 of the magic stones and agonizing blast x2 at super advantage action surge: throw/sling 1 of the magic stones and agonizing blast x2 at super advantage tiny servant 1: throw 1 of the magic stones at advantage tiny servant 2: does nothing reaction: shield, absorb elements, counterspell or hellish rebuke round 2 onwards: bonus action: cast magic stone free action: drop 2 of the magic stones action: throw/sling 1 of the magic stones and agonizing blast x2 at super advantage tiny servant 1: throw 1 of the magic stones at advantage tiny servant 2: throw 1 of the magic stones at advantage on turn 1 it bursts for 18d20 rolls with a 19-20 to crit. one of them is bound to crit and all attacks will most likely hit. each magic stone you throw/sling is dealing 1d6 + 8 and each agonizing blast is doing 1d10 + 8. without factoring crits on round 1 it's bursting for 3d6 + 4d10 + 52. that's 84.5 average burst dmg at level 10 without critting and the burst round on average should roll 1-2 crits. sustained dpr is 3d6 + 2d10 + 32 on 9 d20 rolls. that's an average of 53.5 sustained without critting. depending on DM fiat, you can have familiar drop caltrops or inhaled poisons around the battlefield or simply help your ally. The build was quite fun to play as i only used 1 level 3 spell slot and was dealing tons of dmg off of cantrips. all 1st level (including pact slots) and 2nd level slots were free to use. of course once i got to level 11 it got bonkers as eldritch blast scaled. went bladesinger the rest of the way for contingency.

[@TaylorAP13]

@@TheRobversion1 Sir, I think you and I will have many conversations regarding builds in the future! Love it!!

[@TheRobversion1]

@@TaylorAP13 Cool. glad you liked it. sure feel free to start a discussion with me if you see me anywhere of colby's comments section. :)

[@cvbecelaere]

I cant help but think your Str based melee fighter would blend real well with the Dao Genie Warlock really well too. Hex, crusher, and controlling the enemy up close instead. Thematically, you could have your brawler win a ring in a fight which happens to be the link to the Genie. Doesn't even know what they have until the bonuses start happening.

[@joshgooding3273]

Earthbender build???

[@otiswilliams7985]

I made a arcane archer/hexblade warlock, some amazing burst damadge and very high hit chance. Never even crossed my mind to go pact of the genie. Madness, But i love it

[@CloudBorne]

The booing at your own bad puns tickles me. :)

[@michaelfilmonchik1541]

I love the arcane archer, cant wait to see you do with it.

[@michaelfilmonchik1541]

Was not expecting warlock, great plot twist

[@helixxharpell]

Nice video! I'm new to the channel. Ole grognard here. During this playtest of Khor my son has rolled up the Cragtop Archer build from 3.5.

[@Balcamion79]

I love coming up with plausible trick arrows for 5e a la Hawkeye/Green Arrow. One of my favorites was the Dust of Dryness bead arrow. That's over 4,000 cubic feet of water (That's over 260,000 pounds!) unleashed instantaneously when the bead bursts on impact.

[@Balcamion79]

If you want to make it even more fun you can make a Fish Bowl by combining the DoD bead with a Bead of Force. Bubble does force damage the (hopefully) envelopes a creature in a sphere almost filled with water. Whole thing only weighs a pound too, so go ahead and catapult it for good measure.

[@ryadinstormblessed8308]

Really fun stuff here. However, since Arcane Archer already needs a great DEX and good INT, and would want at least a decent CON, now multiclassing into Warlock means we also want a really good CHA. Seriously MAD build. Maybe instead go with an option that maximizes on the stats you're already good with that can also make your Bonus Action useful, like Wizard or Rogue? I'm looking at you Arcane Trickster!

[@jchimon1]

Any thought given to using Readied action shenanigans? You could ready your action surge action to be made on a near-guaranteed event right after your turn, but since it is on a new turn, it could use another arcane shot for second grasping arrow, more dao bludgeoning, and proc both the grasping arrows. I did a similar build with battle smith and one level of dao so I knew the defender would always have its turn right after mine and I could ready the action for after it moved. Anyway, love the builds and keep up the good work!

[@ecchicharmed]

I'm seeing this video after my earth genasi Arcane Archer is already level 10 as a fighter, but I still super appreciate and love this video you've made! I'll be sure to keep this stuff in mind when a friend's campaign starts.

[@quendi5557]

I am now making this character whose Dao Genie is a low powered one when they first make a deal. She's gonna have an eye the was petrified but her Patron allows her to see with it(because that idea came into my head and I couldn't get rid of it).

[@matttownsend8406]

Love the combos in this build, kinda interested how you would build a sniper style archer with longbow. As stay as close to max range as possible.

[@samuelkalkman9388]

Super cool, I especially like the dao crusher tech.

[@leohale6449]

Hey Colby. I am playing what I call a Celestial Archer. Currently 8 levels of Celestial Warlock using Improved Pact Weapon, and 3 levels of Fighter to get Arcane Archer. Hex, Binding Shot if they are grouped.

[@dylc3373]

I like this, debated an arcane archer once. Eager to see what's next. You inspired me to make an undead warlock/swashbuckler rogue build (first pirates of the Caribbean movie anyone?). You've also opened my eyes to the power of booming blade! Thanks so much and keep up the great work. Maybe, just maybe, a build centered around a specific race? Harengon assassin archer? +20 initiative bonus sounds fun no?

[@corsaircaruso471]

I put together an Arcane Archer with a Hexblade and thought the combination was pretty good. Threw in some feats like Sharpshooter, Magic Initiate and Martial Adept, and I had something much closer to what I thought an Arcane Archer should be.

[@darkomen1290]

BRO I HAVE THAT SCRUBS SHIRT TOO! fav show of all time. banger shirt. immaculate taste. no notes.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Eeeeeeagleeeeeee!

[@NoahCaringella]

Thank god you made this, I was literally trying to find an arcane archer build yesterday!

[@R_o_o_k_i_n_g_t_o_n]

i would love an arcane archer divination wizard who basically is like a wizard who actually cant use attack magic but has learned to bind the spells they cant use to arrows to fire as well as use the singular type of magic they can use being divination magic to give them an edge.

[@voodoobeard]

The number of Arcane Shots per rest should be tied to Proficiency Bonus. Functionally identical at lower levels but would actually scale the subclass in a more satisfying way as you progress

[@TheRobversion1]

agreed. the other abilities could use a boost too. and tbh i wouldnt mind if they did it like the psionic classes where its 2x prof bonus. martials need a boost over spellcasters.

[@user-ke8di7ws6n]

Ghostly gaze invocation with piercing shot equals a good time. They literally won't see it coming.

[@helixxharpell]

Really enjoying the channel Colby! Have you ever thought about using a combat scenario to show the viewer an example? With minis?

[@xvader9445]

You could do a Battle Smith/ Arcane Archer build with max Int and Dex with the Archery fighting style and the Sharpshooter feat...

[@nicka3697]

If you got a demon and an angel to sit in those two chairs behind your shoulders it would look so cool

[@chanyael]

Bit late to the party, but i was thinking arcane archar/ battle smith artificer.with vattle smith your magic weapons can use your int mod instead of str/dex. So infuse your bow and you can use int for attack and damage rolls making you no longer mad. You also get the steel defender which you can order around with a bonus action. Only problem i can think of woth this build is that comes online pretty late

[@MatthewDragonHammer]

Yeeessssssss!!!! I requested an AA build a while ago, and I’m THRILLED to see it finally here. Just started the vid and looking forward to see what Colby does with it.

[@MatthewDragonHammer]

Post-video report: Well, that didn't go the way I thought he would. Not disappointed with the results, though. The day before the video dropped I had the realization that Arcane Archer is structured like a Warlock: rely on normal attacks/cantrips for sustained damage, and when you need to do something big you have a very limited, but short-rest-dependent resource to draw from. So, combining the two just makes sense! I was hoping for a sustained damage build, but given what I just said nova probably makes more sense. Though as Colby pointed out, this build does have pretty decent sustained damage, and being able to do the full nova 1-2 times per short rest is super nice. So well done with the nova/sustained hybrid! All that said, I was mildly surprised and somewhat saddened to not see Battlesmith. Between Battle Ready eliminating MAD and the weaponized bonus action of the Defender, it could pair nicely with AA. Ah well, there's about 10,000 different ways to build a given character concept, and Colby's used a lot more Artificer than Warlock lately.

[@chopcooey]

speaking of warlock multiclass, I have a build idea if you are interested (also works very well with artificer infiltrator armorer). In short, Swashbuckler Rogue 5, Warlock 5 (hexblade not necessary since main DEX but a good choice), and the rest is free. Wood half-elf (mask of the wild) + elven accuracy + skulker (yes skulker!) + sharpshooter. Improved pact wepn (longbow) + thirsting blade + Eldritch smite. Spells for utility and summon shadowspawn or crit-fishing eldritch smite. So in short, between motw, skulker and general hiding, the goal is to hide on every bonus action ever. Swashbuckler synergizes on CHA a bit but the main reason is the "disengage" that doesn't use bonus action, and lets us draw dagger, BB + move + hide in a single turn and still proc sneak (because swashbuckler) when we are meleed by a foe, which we try to avoid. The build kinda has a dark elf magic stealthy banshee assassin theme to it.

[@mydogisdiesel]

I look forward to these videos so much that it seems like forever since the last one. Can't wait to watch this

[@Raxisabominae]

While this isn't the build for me, though it's cool, you've solved the issue I was facing with a retiarus type character I gave up on. I forgot about quick toss

[@danieldiliberto8493]

Colby, maybe you’ve already done it, but I’d love to see your version of an optimized tactician. Love your work man.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks! Ok, got it on the to do list.

[@inskeeprulerable]

I missed the notification during my lunch break, but now I can watch it and follow along at home!

[@nottelling6727]

Love Dscryb! Excited to try out their Foundry VTT module for my players.

[@nayber2352]

I love how active you are in the comments. I also love that you heart my comments even when I make a mistake in a change to your build

[@DnDDeepDive]

Ha ha!

[@DJWidget]

Very cool build! I'm not an archer guy myself, but I like it!

[@cjacree]

Been too busy to watch this video but getting back to it now. Someone might have said this already but I want to clarify as there is no mentioned errata. Level 6 damage report has to be cut (I would suggest taking thirsting blade as it will deal more damage) because the invocation ability reads "when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level." Both of the above mentioned invocations require 5th level even though you only have 1 5th level invocation. Great build as always, it's just some fine print you may have missed.

[@DnDDeepDive]

At Warlock 5, we gain a 3rd invocation. So we swapped one of our old invocations when we reached level 5 (say, Eldritch Mind for Thirsting Blade), and for our 3rd invocation we gained, we took the other (Eldritch Smite, in this case).

[@cjacree]

@@DnDDeepDive Both eldritch smite and thirsting blade would require the level 5 invocation. They both have a prerequisite of 5th level and by the way the eldritch invocation ability is written, you can't sub out an invocation of lower level (say our level 2 invocations) with a level 5 prerequisite. I hope that makes sense.

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@cjacree "Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level." You seem to be interpreting the "at that level" part of the text as meaning "at the level you first learned the invocation." Is that right? i.e. "if you took an invocation at level 2, and you later wanted to swap that invocation out, you could only swap it out with an invocation you were able to have back at level 2 when you learned the one you're swapping out"? If so, I don't *think* it works that way. I think when it says "at that level," it's referring to the "when you gain a level in this class" bit. In other words, "when you gain a level in this class, you can swap out one of your invocations for another that you could learn at that level you have now achieved." Obviously you or your DM may disagree, but I can't find any official ruling that would say otherwise. Do you know of one?

[@cjacree]

@@DnDDeepDive I see. After a little bit of digging I did find a Jeremy Crawford reply that says the ambiguous "that level" is the level you just gained. So you are correct my apologies.

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@cjacree No worries and good to know! I'd never heard the other interpretation but happy we could figure it out :).

[@keggotht9323]

Another great video Colby keep up the great work. I think crusher feat and Dao lock is deffo the way forward for the arcane archer no matter how you decide to do it. I liked the focus on the warlock side of things certainly makes a difference from the eldrich blast warlock

[@Justkidding277]

I would like to say that Piercing Arrow from the Arcane Archer is also pretty neat with something like Ghostly Gaze invocation. Shooting a line of enemies through walls is cool, even if not useful all the time.

[@TheRobversion1]

taking it a step further, it gives you a way to hit through a wall of force. another way to see through solid walls is through scribe wizard and placing the book within the walls.

[@andrewhalmo656]

Genie’s Wrath says you deal extra damage when YOU HIT WITH AN ATTACK ROLL and if you hit with your net, they should take damage. Sharpshooter says you ADD a +10 to the damage that was dealt. Therefore you should technically be able to add +10 to your net attacks as well!!! But it would be nice to advantage on your net throw as well😆

[@jacobreichert6239]

Another option is a cheese grater like approach with this build for options since dao gives spike growth so you could crusher, grasping arrow spike growth if you want to be a little more conservative

[@TheRobversion1]

nice. did the same concept but since i went hexblade, i went with cloud of daggers over spike growth.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Was my original plan, actually, or perhaps with Cloud of Daggers, but needing to spend an action to cast the spell for setup was a little annoying. Action Surge helps, but I couldn't BA Hex or Spirit Shroud on the same turn...

[@TheRobversion1]

@@DnDDeepDive yeah mine was casting cloud of daggers via action surge or quicken spell (metamagic adept) when action surge wasnt available. i am playing in a one-shot or maybe 2-shot this weekend or next. playing another arcane archer. this time my concen spell of choice will be watery sphere and going arcane archer + divine sorc this time. will be more control focused over dmg based this time around.

[@wuggldy]

Really like the channel, so many new character ideas for a forever DM's ever-expanding list. Have you ever done a video for a wizard-death cleric necromancer build?

[@TheRobversion1]

he has done a necromancer already. i suggest trying to find a way to be a player like either joining VTTs like forged concordance or have your players dm one-shots for you.

[@shlomgar]

I'm playing with an idea of a deep gnome, ArcaneArcher-Artificer multiclass, with the only question is going battle-smith or armorer. Very cool when you get to 16th level, but fun SADness all the way. So either ba versatility or a mecha-gnome...

[@N0mni]

It sure if you considered this Colby, but Arcane Archer works really well with the Battle Smith Artificer, though I’m not sure about the damage output… You can sit on a 14 Dex to maximise your medium armor gains and max Int for a higher arcane shot DC since your use Int for your magic weapons (you can make your bow a magic weapon through infusions if your DM doesn’t give you one). You also utilise your bonus action in commanding your steel defender regularly. The only real issue I see with it is that what it really becomes is a Battle Smith with 3-4 levels in Arcane Archer.

[@romanabanin2216]

Damn, arcane archer... I even forgot, that this one exists

[@BODELTOTE]

Greag video! I'm sure al least 40% of your build start as a fighter and I find it Hilarious! I'd love to make a compilation of Colby saying "we are gonna start as a fighter"

[@TheRobversion1]

fighter is arguably the best class to start in for any build and fighter 2 is also arguably one of the best multiclass dips in the game (in competition with hexblade).

[@BODELTOTE]

@@TheRobversion1 totally

[@dicksonmattxenoblade6491]

Okay so something interesting, not sure you’re going to read this but I was actually just thinking of a Daolock Arcane Archer build. This video made me think about it very differently. Sure we both had very similar ideas early on, Hex combined with Grasping Arrow (notably you can give your victim disadvantage on the Athletics check so that’s good), Genie’s Wrath and Crusher to get the extra Grasping Arrow damage on your turn, though there were some differences. For instance, I never thought of using the Quick Toss with a net, definitely got added to that build. On the other hand, my version had sort of a backup plan for times I wouldn’t have as many resources, that being Spike Growth, combined with Invocations like Repelling Blast, Grasp of Hadar, and eventually Lance of Lethargy to try to take advantage of Spike Growth as much as possible on subsequent rounds. Of course Spike Growth also helps if we have other party members that have forced movement. Not too sure if it’s more viable, but it’s certainly more fun to me to have that option as a backup plan. Also the original leaned hard into fighter (like 15th level), the new version leans more into warlock. Either way great build. -probably should have said that at the start…-

[@TheRobversion1]

nice on grapsing arrow + spike growth. i went with swords bard and hexblade which means i went grasping arrow + cloud of daggers and much like yours leveraged on repelling blast for triggers and lance of lethargy for additional speed reduction. i picked hexblade over dao as i liked the dmg of hexblade's curse adding to so many things: weapon attack, repelling blast, grasping arrow movement, cloud of daggers entry, cloud of daggers start of turn as well as aligning my atk and cast stat (cha). my own level 10 theorycraft before playtesting was: arcane archer 3, swords bard 4, hexblade 3. ended campaign at arcane archer 4, swords bard 7, hexblade 5.

[@DnDDeepDive]

I like Spike Growth, the problem is the concentration and the action you need to cast it. And if we're relying on Eldritch Blast for damage and movement that means at least a couple more invocations that will be competing with Thirsting Blade, Improved pact weapon (both of which are pretty essential here) and Eldritch Smite (easier to let go of). We need more spell slots! :).

[@dicksonmattxenoblade6491]

@@DnDDeepDive I’d go with Repelling Blast over Thirsting Blade as my build goes 6 Fighter so Thirsting Blade is a bit redundant with Extra Attack. Admittedly Lance of Lethargy is kind of just a pick for invocation 6 as I can’t think of a better option.

[@colleptic]

Not bad. As a DM, I would allow two simple things that make this class work, and does not require multiclassing. 1 - can use a handcross bow, like why not, i have never heard of a good reason why they cannot... 2 - uses of the Arcane abilities = proficiency modifier (maybe after some game play testing, also adding intelligence modifier too). This would make it more Martial, Monk and Sorcerer in uses. If your table allows Bloodhunters, and you want a really good roleplay dark bounty hunter, not focused on burst damage, do 11 levels Fighter, 7 levels Ghost Slayer...last two levels can be anything and mixed in anytime during leveling, but I would try rogue for crazy stealth and survival/tracking, plus uncanny actions and flair.

[@jiminkpen9750]

Very neat. My own version of this (hoping to play it soon) that I theorycrafted is an undead warlock5/arcane archer3. (I don't bother trying to figure out the details after this normally). Uses the form of dread to keep someone frightened whilst grasping arrow someone else. Was created to keep enemies away from him but I hadn't considered a net as well since I purely imagined him an archer but its a great idea.

[@TheRobversion1]

heya jim. nice variation. wish i could play with an undead warlock but it's banned at my table. mine was an arcane archer 3, swords bard 4, hexblade 3. mine's more dmg focused than yours as i combined grasping arrow and cloud of daggers.

[@jiminkpen9750]

@@TheRobversion1 Heya. Does your GM not like some of the mechanics or is it flavour/theme that the undead warlock is banned for? (Colour me curious). Your variation is cool too. Sword bards are great with cloud of dagger, so a nice combo of classes.

[@TheRobversion1]

@@jiminkpen9750 running another arcane archer for 1-2 shot this coming weekend or next. most likely next as my gf will kill me if i play dnd on valentines day weekend. haha. this time running an arcane archer + divine sorc with watery sphere as my concen spell of choice which i think will work well with grasping arrow. I think it was more of mechanics. the chronurgist set off warning bells in his head (offloading concentration on high level concentration spells) and didn't like it. echo knight as well to a lesser extent. to avoid any arguing and negotiating with future content and other classes/spells/races, he just declared all setting specific content is banned. I've also adopted the same rule as the few times i DM in a year we typically play in his homebrew world (MCU approach) so he's like kevin feige. we can't add in stuff that contradict certain rules and lore in his world.

[@jiminkpen9750]

@@TheRobversion1 sounds fun, defo hold off until after valentines day though ;) Another good combo with sorcerer (one of my favourite classes for sure, metamagic can be so fun). Totally understand keeping it simple with no setting specific mechanics, as some of it is problematic. I'm glad I am allowed to play one though, should be a blast.

[@TheRobversion1]

@@jiminkpen9750 yeah sorc is my fave caster class and is something i use with a variety of my builds. quicken spell is overused in my builds. lol. my fave class though is gloomstalker but yeah sorcs, assassins, hexblades and fighters are my other preferred classes. how about you?

[@danielbeshers1689]

Colby, I have a challenge for you: a character build that is intended to take advantage of the basic human's +1 to all stats.

[@jasonwall4349]

Love this build! What do you think about a melee focused Bard? The HexBard??

[@DnDDeepDive]

I've done a few to date, mostly Swords and Whispers, but this is probably the closest to what you're thinking... kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIi9qaZsZdmLna8

[@seanconnable8972]

Perhaps Fighter 3, Valor Bard 12, Warlock 5? Swift Quiver + Sharpshooter + Improved Pact Weapon + Eldritch Smite… on your nova round, you action surge for 6 shots and can smite on every shot using bard slots?

[@absolutleynotanalien8096]

"More times per day than any other caster class." Me:Laughs in sorcerer.

[@nicka3697]

Great build. Lots of utility with that damage. I think there should be a feat that gives you one extra shot per short rest and another shot option. Rather like the battlemaster taking martial adept it would make you better at your signature feature.

[@pzeise]

WOH I JUST NOW SAW THE STORMLIGHT BOOK ON THE SHELF. Hell yea. (awesome build too... just got distracted xD)

[@DnDDeepDive]

Ha ha thanks :). Journey before destination.

[@GunnarWahl]

I always wanted to play a marid genie water genasi who’s a surfer dude, and his dad is his patron. And his vessel is a sun tan lotion bottle.

[@DnDDeepDive]

lol

[@boerhcauldur1873]

Thank you for all these great ideas of how to make lower sub classes good!