The Ranged Fighter - D&D: Optimized #2

[@austinburant7114]

The problem with your show is that I create less than 5 characters a year and you have given me 15 ideas. Great job.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Ha ha - I just sent a chat to our group asking if we could please start playing 5 new campaigns, a different one each day of the week, so I could get to more of these dang builds I want to try out... :). Alas! Other life responsibilities!

[@Comicsluvr]

The struggle is real. I have 24 characters on D&D Beyond that will never see the light of day. It happens...

[@jstogdill9195]

@d4: D&D Deep Dive - how would you optimize a Drow archer build using Hexblade( improved pact weap for long bow users) Arcane Archer and Whispers Bard? I can see this character doing a 💩 load of damage. I would’ve went rogue over bard, but once you get the cha score up whisper bard made more sense optimally.

[@captainpolar2343]

only 5 a year? i just created 12 characters in less than a week and dont get me started on total characters...

[@Specialk51708]

I didn't know Homelander played D&D. Jokes aside, great information. Awesome video.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Ha ha thanks! Watch the first few minutes of my last episode (14) for a laugh :)

[@justind7211]

If Homelander had a great childhood in the suburbs instead of being experimented on. LOL

[@BLynn]

Levels 1:(see above) [fighter 1 race, fighting-style & mistake] Levels 2:(@14:08) [fighter 2] Levels 3:(@15:30) [fighter 3 & sub-class] Levels 4:(@18:57) [fighter 4 ASI] Levels 5:(@20:08) [fighter 5] Levels 6:(@20:27) [fighter 6 ASI] Levels 7:(see above) [fighter 7] Levels 8:(@22:02) [fighter 8 ASI] Levels 9:(@22:18) [fighter 9] Levels 10:(see above) [fighter 10 ASI] Levels 11:(@23:20) [fighter 11] Levels 12:(@25:19) [fighter 12 ASI] Levels 13:(@25:43) [fighter 13] Levels 14:(see above) [fighter 14 ASI] {skipped level 15} Levels 16:(@26:37) [fighter 16 ASI] Levels 17:(@26:47) [fighter 17]

[@thundyrcat]

I saw you with the Dungeon Dudes and loved that video…this is the second solo vid I’ve watched…you are AMAZING! Brilliant ideas! Love it!!!!

[@zacharyharwell351]

I made a 15th level ranged fighter for a one shot once with the following build: Samurai fighter 12th level, Scout Rogue 3rd level Here was the thinking: High mobility - Took the mobile feat, and with Scout's Skirmisher ability, any time an enemy ends their turn within 5ft of you, you can use a reaction to move up to half of your movement away w/o provoking opportunity attacks. This reaction, in conjunction with your higher than normal speed and being able to bonus action dash if you want/need, allows you to stay out of range of pretty much any melee combat. Good Damage - Long bow for the 1d8 damage weapon (plus 5 for the 20 Dex I had), as well as an additional +10 for the Sharpshooter feat out to 600ft without disadvantage. Combined with 3 attacks per turn, action surge for a nova, and being able to add sneak attack on one of those (due to a feature I'll discuss next) High accuracy - Samurai Fighter's ability Fighting Spirit gives you some temp HP, which is cool, but it also gives you advantage on ALL attacks made for that turn. Combine this with Elven Accuracy (if you go elf/half elf of course) and hits are pretty damn likely against even high Armor Classes with the at-will advantage and re-rolls. This particular setup is obviously pretty high level, but having played a single classed Samurai fighter before and using a bow *sometimes* with it, I can say it's not too bad of a way toward the 15th level build either. I never ended up finishing the build in theory craft to 20th level though. ADDITION: with my high dex and the Alert feat I also had a +10 initiative. This came into play when we ran across a 7-man goblin patrol where I went first in combat and, using action surge, killed five of the seven goblins and HEAVILY wounded the sixth I hit, all of which happened in the first turn of the combat. I don't GENERALLY engage in that level of spotlight stealing so I felt kinda bad but everyone else was laughing their asses off at it lol

[@jstogdill9195]

As Monty said on a DD episode, the bane of any ranged build…windstorms!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Ha ha yeah

[@ryanhobson3267]

You could get Magic Initiate Feat in one of those free choices. That can give you Faerie Fire or you could get Find Familiar and use Owl to get advantage more often, as well as a use as a scout. You get two cantrips as too.

[@LJL85]

I was just thinking about this. First free feat you get, magic initiate and either find damiliar or Hunter's Mark. Right?

[@beckerscantbechoosers6768]

"At level 2, you get Action Surge. This is not a choice, you just get it." Not giving me a choice HUNH?! Well then, guess I'll just pretend like I don't have it and waste one of the best class features in the game. xD

[@DnDDeepDive]

lol. As your DM, I force you to take another action.

[@ak_sushi4808]

Going to dry DnD again, this build helps a lot. Seems simple enough for a newbie whilst still doing great. Looking forward to watching your other videos!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks!

[@kshea4231]

i always thought the goblin was a good choice. you get +2 dex +1 constitution and nimble escape as well. if you took close quarters shooter as your fighting style but you get " enemies within 5ft no disadvantage on ranged attack, and ignore 1/2 and 3/4 cover within 30 feet, and you still get a +1 to ranged attacks

[@toml1652]

Pretty sure that was an UA fighting style though.

[@kshea4231]

@@toml1652 indeed it is, my bad thought they added it with tashas

[@BudgetNugs]

You need the feats for early game dominance.

[@ridgecabernet1933]

Love the build. I know no multi classing but a 2 level dip into artificer gives you repeating shot Automatic reload and magic bolts

[@DnDDeepDive]

And an ability to actually use that shield RAW :)

[@theonlymatthew.l]

@@DnDDeepDive I said that two months earlier... 😏🤣

[@AnoNYmous-bz2ef]

This gave me the idea of making the D&D version of a Gunner/Chocobo Knight from Final Fantasy franchise. Thank you so much for these videos.

[@DnDDeepDive]

love it! you're welcome! :)

[@KatanaKamisama]

My DM likes this build with 3 levels Battle Smith, and 17 levels Eldrich Knight. He calls it the "John Wick" build.

[@1979ce]

I like this with eldritch knight. Silent image of fog on self gives advantage or summons adds damage. Mending fixes ammo.

[@derekcampbell2686]

Taking two levels of artificer would allow you to grab the infusion, repeating shot crossbow... allowing you to do two attacks per action and then also a bonus attack. Precision attack from battle master could easily negate The -5 from sharpshooter.

[@Ramza1987]

And also being able to use a shield.

[@derekcampbell2686]

@@Ramza1987 put the 2nd infusion into that shield with enhanced defense giving it a +1 AC.

[@jgray2718]

Giant Might (at least on D&D Wiki) says that you get the extra 1d6 (or 1d8 or 1d10) once per round rather than on every attack, the reaction (Runic Shield) is usable a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and the save DC's on your Rune Knight abilities is based on Con, not Int.

[@jgray2718]

Wait, this is probably all changed by Tasha's. Never mind my comment. I'm going to leave it so that people can see some of the changes, but it's probably all changed in some kind of update.

[@jessicaleino2540]

Hexblade PotB works good, you can also do devil’s sight and do darkness so all attacks have quadrupole advantage and u can use cha so u are less mad. U can also make an extra attack with thirsting blade and go fighter later because thirsting blade is not technically extra attack so it stacks. You then go full rouge so u can sneak attack every round and can have a +11 persuasion and deception.

[@SuperHbkforever]

Thirsting blade unfortunately does not stack :/...and you also can't get additional rolled dice from advantage with multiple sources. Even if you have 5 different options all giving you advantage, it's still just regular advantage. Also, annoyingly you lose all 5 of those advantages by just having 1 thing give you disadvantage and they cancel out, so just a regular roll. The only way to roll extra dice is to take elven accuracy, but you've gotta be an elf to take that feat

[@thetabletopexperience731]

Sharpshooter also let’s you ignore the long range penalty which is a huge help for the hand crossbow!

[@Becvar80]

Glad I found this. Looking for tips, as I'm playing a Harengon ranged fighter in my group. Currently level 6.

[@jonasandersson5778]

Always fun to watch. However, Crossbow expert do not remove the need for a free hand to load that crossbow, just the loading property that limits you to one shot per round. So a shield would not be optimal as your hand is blocked

[@khinghill915]

Awesome show, keep it going!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks!

[@lewisgale62]

1:48 if I’m not mistaken McCree is voiced by Matt Mercer. I guess he cannot escape dnd

[@XeroheroZ]

You can use a heavy crossbow and swap for your last extra attack to a handcrossbow (drop heavycross bow from one hand and use free action to equip Hand crossbow) gives you a slight boost to dmg

[@cameirusisu1024]

for a single round. you cant reload either crossbow. XBE allows you to ignore loading property, not ammunition property which requires a free hand.

[@GoldenCat0418]

There is a problem that, when you hold a shield together with a hand crossbow, you cannot reload the hand crossbow since the Ammunition trait stats that you need an empty hand to reload a one handed weapon(this is why you cannot reload while you're dual wielding two hand crossbows btw).

[@DnDDeepDive]

Correct! Pinned a comment about this :)

[@GoldenCat0418]

@@DnDDeepDive Oops, forget to check the comments before saying anything.

[@hansjohannsen6722]

My shield is strapped on with a hand bow built on to it! Pew,pewblock,Pew.

[@mathmagician5990]

The elven accuracy samurai fighter version is pretty good too, I've played that one

[@giantsdms]

I am actually running a Fighter hand crossbow user and even though I always knew about how strong it is, using it beside others is really kind of crazy i'm level 7 and am already averaging 40+ a turn without using action surge, with +12 and being a follower of Nylea being able to have access to hunters mark for free means as a battle master we be popping off using the new tasha's piercer feat

[@DnDDeepDive]

Updated this one for post-Tasha's recently and I think it's even better now! :)

[@theonlymatthew.l]

Honestly with the nerf to Rune Knight I wouldn't base an Archer build around it. I would go with Battlemaster. And adding in a couple levels of artificer will let you actually wield a shield. Currently I'm toying with a build of Battlemaster 11/ Hexblade (PoB) 5/ Battlesmith 4. Battlemaster maneuvers along with Eldritch Smite. The Shield spell when needed. A weapon with unlimited ammunition that can be summoned with a thought.... I could go on that's just the tip of the iceberg...

[@Underrated-Opinions]

This comment is so underrated, a very impressive build.

[@dainslatton9877]

Echo knight gets another attack. Battle master mostly just gets a bump to hit.

[@aidanmaccready2315]

I can't find anyone else mentioning this so I thought I'd bring it up: RAW you can use a shield with a hand crossbow, crossbow expert allows you to ignore loading but not ammunition, the ammunition property requires you have a free hand to load your weapon.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Truth! I do make mention of this mistake in my update to the build (kzbin.info/www/bejne/qH6nYa15ntGKnck) but thanks for being on the lookout! :)

[@aidanmaccready2315]

@@DnDDeepDive Good stuff, I couldn't find the update vid (the link was back to this video) but I do love that you're great at errata and correction.

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@aidanmaccready2315 Ha ha! Oops! Try this one :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGGrZo1_qaaHd68

[@TheRobversion1]

You can skip the ammunition property if you have an artificer infused repeating shot longbow.

[@windytubeful]

Great stats, good info, however crossbow allows you to ignore the loading property but not the ammunition property. You need a free hand to load as in the ammunition property, so no shield.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Indeed. Pinned a comment about this awhile back...

[@AdeptN7]

Im late to this discussion but i am running my character with Tasha's Rune Knight. I have a Mark of Shadow's Elven Archer with a one level dip into Genie Warlock. Warlock gives me access to Hex(or expeditious retreat once per short rest), solves ammo problem as i have wood carver's tools and store additional arrows inside my vessel with one quiver on my back and 2 hip quivers(and a lot of retrieving arrows after fights), Genie's Wrath that scales with proficiency(and is great with Dao for bludgeoning damage and crusher but i chose Djinni for lore). Elven Accuracy, Archery Fighting Style, and Sharpshooter is amazing. This campaign is only going to 17 or 18 so that extra attack 3 wont be missed by the one level dip into warlock and an additional 1d6 makes up for the UA to official Rune Knight changes. Once i hit level 9, i will talk with dm on taking Gunner(first choice) or just go Crossbow expert but my character uses longbow for that 600' range but would like to get in melee and take some heat off our Barbarian with Cloud Rune and Runic Shield as they use their Ancestral Guardian abilities to in turn, protect her

[@ryansadler2504]

"He's an uzi with a shield" Totally my favorite quote from this episode.

[@toml1652]

One thing to note about level 1 equipment. You cannot use a shield with a hand crossbow, as ammunition property states "Drawing the Ammunition from a Quiver, case, or other container is part of the Attack (you need a free hand to load a one-handed weapon).", unless you can ignore that somehow. Also the ignore disadvantage when you have an opponent within 5 feet in crossbow expert, works with with any ranged attack, not just with crossbows, so even ranged magic attacks.

[@i.drawcomics]

If you’ve got an artificer in the party they can give you a repeating hand crossbow to ignore the loading property. Then ammo isn’t an issue either. I bet a Rune Knight/Artillerist duo could be a potent concept.

[@TheRobversion1]

@@i.drawcomics doesnt have to be a duo. just multiclass. optimized martials should always heavily anyway.

[@8Smoker8]

Fighter x/War cleric x/Shadow Monk 6+, best ranged character I've seen yet. Max dex/wis, archery style, sharpshooter. Shadow step makes you virtually impossible to catch in melee, and monk has other goodies but you don't even need them. War cleric gives you an extra BOW attack as a bonus action, up to 5xday meaning you can attack 3x round with your bow as soon as level 7 (you will take lv 1 as a fighter for con save proficiency). Bless and archery to offset the Sharpshooter malus (-5 +4.5). Depending on how high level you reach you can go battlemaster for Menacing attack to prevent monsters getting closer. I've found the shadowstep-ranged synergy to be just insane. It all comes together very nicely, even lore-wise it's a sort of templar/crusader sniper. If you wanna go crazy can even add some rogue levels since all you really need is Monk 6-8, Ftr 1-4 and Cleric 1-4. You get damage, utility, tankiness (20+ AC, bonus action defensive stance for 1 ki point), crazy mobility, even out of combat you have high wis/dex that are very useful, you even get mend cantrip to recover more arrows by reparing the broken ones. Best part, it's JUST PHB. Look into it if you have time ;)

[@eldoriath1]

Figured an alternative would be to go eldricht knight and at lvl 6 get the Eldricht feat and taking devilsight. This way you can, at lvl 7, cast globe of darkness on yourself but see through it this giving you advantage on attack rolls you make and enemies have a hard time targeting you with a lot of spells like hold person (since they require you see the target) and them getting disadvantage on attacks. This build also works for the GWM melee build without having to dip into berserker. Once again with above benefits and without getting hit a lot more. Another bonus with this is that it can also shield your backline from targeted spells while they can opt to weave in and out of the globe for their spellcasting. All-in-all a strong win-win and you don't have to delay getting the third attack either.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Indeed. There was no Tasha’s when I made this one so no Eldritch Adept but not a bad option. :)

[@eldoriath1]

@@DnDDeepDive Senpai noticed me!

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@eldoriath1 Thanks!

[@andrewhazlewood4569]

How do you wear a shield and fulfill the ammunition property (not loading) of bow use?

[@DnDDeepDive]

Right! Another commenter pointed this out a bit ago - it's true you wouldn't be able to use a shield with a crossbow, unless your DM maybe gave you a pass since it's a hand crossbow... maybe you only need one or two fingers and can still hold onto your shield? :)

[@theonlymatthew.l]

@@DnDDeepDive work in two levels of artificer and it's no problem...

[@andrewhazlewood4569]

@@theonlymatthew.l it also solves running out of ammo and resistance to non magical piercing damage

[@KatanaKamisama]

Rune Knight is now official, but Giant's Might now only applies to 1 attack/ each of your turns, so it's a super mini sneak attack. Gotta say... it's not great. Sure it's 10d6, over 10 rounds but I think there's better options. Problem: Hand Crossbow has BOTH the Loading property, AND the Ammunition property. Crossbow Expert allows you to ignore the Loading property, therefore you can sustain high rate of fire, but because it still has the Ammunition property you are required to have a free hand in order to load bolts. Therefore you cannot in fact benefit from the AC of a shield while a hand crossbow is being operated. IF you took 2 levels of Artificer you could put the "Repeating Shot" Infusion on your hand crossbow, and that WOULD allow you to use a shield at the same time, since it says ammunition is magically generated.

[@targetdreamer257]

Exactly and as an added bonus that infusion also makes that crossbow a +1 AT LEVEL 2. I think people don't give artificer enough credit. Yes with just a two level dip into fighter you can have an amazing nova round. Action Surge is useful of almost ever other class. But then if you dip two levels in Artificer you get two infusions. This is has WAY more versatility for all sorts of builds; Want to play a tank? Get a +1 on a shield AND your armor, uber tank. Want to hit harder with your spells? +1 enhanced arcane focus. Does your DM keep track of encumbrance? Yep, got that covered as well.

[@miger12]

First time that your channel gets into my feed. Great! 💪 Already subscribed 👍

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks! I hope you enjoy :)

[@miger12]

@@DnDDeepDive just a guess. Are you dane?

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@miger12 close! By ancestry, at least, I’m mostly Swedish and German :).

[@philipes23]

Hand crossbow, sharpshooter, small races, climbing onto a bigger creature, so fun

[@DJWidget]

Sweet Bahamut, this build is nuts! I love it! (even with the Tasha's update!)

[@DnDDeepDive]

I've never heard Bahamut called sweet before. And now I'm scared.

[@DJWidget]

@@DnDDeepDive Would it be better or worse if I said Tiamat instead?

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@DJWidget hmmm... better. No idea why.

[@eleishar18]

If not going level 20, maybe above 11th take 3 levels of Gloomstalker Ranger? Additional attack in first round, additional damage, and if You fight in darkness, almost permanent advantage. I have a lot of Your movies to watch yet. I saw maybe half of D&D builds for now, and there is no particular order, so sometimes I can comment really old ones, like this one ;)

[@edrick1976]

As a DM I am grateful for these videos as a resources. My Players hate you lol

[@ribau1x]

Ima do a similar build with 3 levels in armorer artificer with the infiltrator armor model just for the fun and flavour!

[@fortunatus1]

Correction to the vid. Not sure if others commented on this already... You said use a shield because a hand crossbow is a one handed weapon. However, while Crossbow Expert removes the Loading property, it does not remove the Ammo property. You need a free hand to provide ammo to the weapon. You cannot both hold a shield and reload a crossbow. You can load the weapon prior to combat if you have advance notice and then gain the shield bonus for one round but you must then drop the shield to reload the crossbow. So, your shield bonus should be removed from any calculations you make for AC in an optimization build.

[@theonlymatthew.l]

If you take two levels of artificer you can wield a shield with a hand crossbow

[@Nas0630]

I'm about to start another campaign soon. And I'm going to use this to become The Pirate King. :)

[@alanschaub147]

The trade off with Variant Human is no Dark Vision. As a DM, I often mess with light sources for characters that lack it. 🔥 Tasha’s Custom Lineage is a nice substitute, if you don’t mind +2 to one stat instead of +1 to two stats.

[@8Smoker8]

My variant human shadow monk sharpshooter war cleric with light cantrip loves dark places :D

[@alanschaub147]

@@8Smoker8 I bet! It matches the darkness within his soul. 😉

[@8Smoker8]

@@alanschaub147 he's been trying to be nice but then they killed his horse (while destroying a whole city) so he's been forced to go all rambo on them :'( basically machinegun'd a green dragon and his rider in the same turn while the rest of the party was dying here and there ^^'

[@dggamer12]

However if you take his Rune Knight suggestion, one of the runes is Dark Vision.

[@retnuHDJ]

@@dggamer12 Indeed! Stone Rune passively gives 120ft Darkvision.

[@TheRobversion1]

IMO the best ranged fighter is not between choosing between fighter and ranger, but actually using both. And technically the fighter has the same hp as a ranger. A pure fighter and a pure ranger will always fall behind a multiclassed fighter/gloomstalker. Anyway, nice working on a ranged rune knight (which is a bit unusual compared to the common battlemaster versions). Sharing here as well one of my own usual level 10 ranged martial builds. purpose: longbow crit fish build 2 fighter, 5 hexblade, 3 gloomstalker (fighter subclass on future level up: battlemaster, rune or arcane archer) custom lineage race: elven accuracy you can either max charisma or get sharpshooter for the 1 asi fighting styles: archery, superior technique: pushing attack (or goading attack if you want to protect party members=enemy has disadvantage to attack you and party members for 1 round if they are still alive) invocations: improved pact weapon, thirsting blade, eldritch smite tactics: bonus action: hexblade's curse action: 3 attacks with triple advantage due to dread ambusher + umbral sight + elven accuracy (last one has an extra 1d8) action surge: 3 attacks with triple advantage due to dread ambusher + umbral sight + elven accuracy (last one has an extra 1d8) So that's 18 rolls of a d20 on round 1 (6 attacks) with no ally help or setup rounds needed on a 19-20 range. Once you get a crit, activate favored foe, pushing attack and eldritch smite (don't choose to knock prone unless it's the last attack or the enemy is flying). Dmg dealt here doesn't factor in any bonuses from a magic longbow or magic items such as bracers of archery. Once the biggest threat is dead you can easily switch targets to the next biggest threat. The build though of course requires a cooperative party who adventures in darkness and a DM who wont screw you by just having out in the field at daytime combat encounters. Defensively, you could use the ranger spell slots to cast shield, absorb elements while of course being invisible all the time in darkness. Oh and just in case it hasn't been pointed out, giant's might only works on 1 attack and not per attack. It's not hex/hunter's mark. By the way enjoying the content so far as I dig into the past content! Keep it up! :) oh and suggestion to minimize video length time, I'd suggest not taking your builds to 20/tier 4. Personally, I set a limit of level 10 for my builds. I bet most of your viewer base doesn't play tier 4. Most play tier 1-2. Some would take it until tier 3. So I think maybe setting your builds limit to 15-16 would help cut down vid time as I bet most don't care what happens after those levels.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks! Re: Rune Knight - yes, I made this before Tasha's when RK was still UA, but I updated the build (and all the others) in my "How Tasha's Changes Everything" episodes if you want to check them out :). Re: Fighter/Ranger hybrids... I think you're going to like next week's video :P

[@TheRobversion1]

@@DnDDeepDive Looking forward to it.! I've just been new and subscribed to the channel so I'm taking my time going through all the vids and I don't know if you recognize me from the comments section, but I post lengthy comments and share my build ideas as well for the theme of your vid. Keep it up man!

[@noahjoseph9633]

why not get magic initiate as the first feat, or 2nd since you can get find familiar, and then have it use the help action every turn it gets, so that you get advantage with shooting the gun and then when u get sharpshooter you greatly increase ur damage especially if you have a bonus of 5 to subtract the -5 from? just want opinions since thats what i did and it makes me deal way more damage

[@brycebullock]

Very helpful information as I start thinking about making a ranged attack-focus character. 8^)

[@SteveWhipp]

Okie dokie... I'm still in two minds about whether to allow Tasha's in my current campaign. At the moment, not, just because I haven't really followed through the consequences but I'll check out ep.18 next! So far been through half a dozen of your builds. You are so very cunning, sir (in a good way). It'd be interesting to DM for you. I'd have to increase the challenge, which might end up increasing the chances of TPK. :-)

[@SK8GEEK1]

I am surprised you didn't edit to fix the "Action surge once a day" mistake, it should be once a short rest

[@DnDDeepDive]

I did... 7:00...

[@SK8GEEK1]

@@DnDDeepDive Did you update this? :p cheeky

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@SK8GEEK1 I did back when I published the vid :) - I wish I could edit videos after they were posted like this... I'd have made tons of changes!

[@SK8GEEK1]

@@DnDDeepDive my mistake, I may have forgotten or missed that. I thought that was a recent edit to the video

[@Stonewarior]

I was Thinking of one lvl of hexblade. you gain the curse and hex aswell as the one handed crossbow charisma weapon. this way you loose one extra atack on lvl 20 (who even gets lvl 20) but you gain through hex on every atack a 1d6 bonus of dmg and when you debilitate athletics (with curse) your fighter can grab/shove trip etc even more. This would be a Van Helsing type of character

[@TheRobversion1]

yup. imo no one should really factor in any abilities/spells that are gained at tier 4 as no one really plays at that level. i wouldn't even factor in any late tier 3 abilities (level 14+) as most campaigns are ending or have ended by that point. multiclass away.

[@caster-]

@@TheRobversion1 That said, it's not about the lack of the last extra attack its about delaying any of the earlier fighter levels.

[@TheRobversion1]

@@caster- imo after level 5 there isn't a fighter ability that's not worth delaying. so again multiclass away. and actually even then it's just 1 level. i'd multiclass when i'd want to. and lastly that level 5 is because of extra attack. if this were a melee character i'd care much less as i get booming blade from hexblade which makes up delaying extra attack 1 level.

[@AngmarAnvil]

Wouldn't Crossbow and shield at the same time, using RAW, prevents multiple attacks?

[@wickederebus]

22:07 wait, if it was at 16 to start, and neither Feat says it offers a +1 t0 Dex, how did we get to 20 Dex already? By my count it should be reaching 18 at level 8.

[@chadmagusrpg7265]

1xbow 4 sharpshooter 6 +2dex 8 +2dex

[@FMVega]

dude is ligit! subbing last few vids I watched were niiiiiiice this vid too!!!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks friend! Glad you’re enjoying :).

[@cheetman1]

Great breakdown! Wanted to give a heads up to peeps checking this out that due to errata you are no longer able to use a shield, and be able to reload a hand crossbow.

[@jacobthomsen]

Damn! you make some good videos, lover your work, keep it up 🙂

[@JustAnotherPhill]

Now that Rune Knight is official content I would love to see a revision of this build. Did anything mayor change? Or maybe a multiclass dip with one of the newer subclass could increase the damage?

[@bouhbouh9408]

a big change for the build presented is that giant's might only allows one attack per turn to benefit from the bonus damage. I would think a battlemaster or psy warrior would be good, but limited by its superiority/psionic energy dice. An eldritch knight with enlarge/reduce would add a d4 to each attack and be the closest to this ; and fire arrows with lvl3 spells, but need a preparation round. You probably need a more complex build than that to get better numbers.

[@paulpunley5991]

How do you get around the x-bow loading? it only get 1 shot per attack action? I must be missing something

[@TheRobversion1]

crossbow expert feat.

[@KatanaKamisama]

15:25 "So it's great to be able to pull out when you've got a big baddie that really needs to fall." That's what she said.

[@aleaba93]

Great guide! But read the errata about crossbow expert: can't do more than one attack without a free hand to load the crossbow

[@theonlymatthew.l]

Taking two levels of artificer can remedy that...

[@Joemantler]

I;ve been wanting to make a Heavy Crossbow Fighter. Less "McCree", more Chuck Connors "The Rifleman".

[@jonathanholmes3149]

Would a Goblin not be more optimised than a Variant Human from level 6? It’s not much in the grand scheme of things but Fury of the Small is still damage. You may not get to use it very often when you’re transformed, but you won’t always be. Also, some creatures are bigger than large. Being small doesn’t matter with this specific build. Also, Darkvision is always great.

[@DnDDeepDive]

I love the idea of playing a Goblin in game, and the extra damage is nice, no question! I think the biggest drawback is, like you mention, how "unsustainable" it is - doing damage equal to your level once per short rest just really isn't that much extra damage. At 6, once you both have both feats, the V. Human gets a bump to their Dex, and having +1 more to hit and +1 more to damage definitely outweighs 6 more damage once per short rest, in the long run. I suppose at level 12, once they both have their Dex capped, you could probably argue that DPR advantage goes to the Gobby, but by then the V. Human could maybe take another feat like, say... Savage Attacker that would probably make up for or surpass the Gobby's once per rest additional damage. THAT SAID... if you want to play a Goblin, you 100% absolutely should! :)

[@jonathanholmes3149]

@@DnDDeepDive Quality reply. I suppose with a point buy at character creation, you’re spot on. However, my table roll their stats and the +2 to Dex, rather than the +1 of the VH might be clutch in getting your Dex to 20 by level 8. Depending on rolls, either one could be optimised. If your Dex starts as a 16 before racial mods, then a VH is boosting that to 17 (or potentially not bothering and might even boost something else, unless he’s going to consider a half-feat in Dex later). The Goblin boosts that 16 to 18. The VH takes his Crossbow Expert at level 1 but is only rocking a +3 to Dex. We fast forward to level 4. The Goblin takes Crossbow Expert and the VH gets his Sharpshooter. Advantage to VH currently. Skip to level 6: Goblin gets Sharpshooter and VH gets Dex 18 or 19, depending on what he did. Advantage Goblin due to Fury of the Small (though a very minor one). Level 8, VH maxes Dex and so does the Goblin. Same minor advantage persists. You get Darkvision and can opt to hide or disengage with your bonus action, should damage not be as pertinent in that moment. Also... LARGE GOBLIN.

[@dustinmyers8632]

That rune knight in the IA was awesome. But probably OP.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Probably :'(

[@mcullennz]

Its still pretty OP

[@dustinmyers8632]

@@mcullennz good to know!

[@robertferullo1893]

I play a Goliath Rune Knight that is a force of nature.

[@shields1207]

Any thoughts on doing Magic initiate for Hex?

[@DnDDeepDive]

My only hesitation is the 1x per day :). In my update for this (as per last episode post Tasha's) I actually take a few levels of Warlock in order to pick up Hex (if they have a low AC) or darkness/devil's sight (if they have a high one) that I think gives the build a nice bump :).

[@KatanaKamisama]

@@DnDDeepDive Might be better to go Eldritch Knight for spell slots, and take the new Tasha's Feat "Fey Touched" this allows you to pick up Hex OR Hunter's Mark. That way you don't loose attacks for mutli-classing, AND you get all the spell utility of EK. And if you DID want to multi-class, 3 levels of Artificer (Battle Smith) would give you a LOT for an EK multi-class build.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Come join the conversation at reddit.com/r/DnDoptimized/ Errata! No shield and hand crossbow :). Still need a free hand because of the ammunition property.

[@KianaShalix]

Not sure if this was addressed or not but in the Crossbow Expert Feat it states when you make an attack with a 1 handed weapon, you can use a bonus action to attack with a "Loaded" hand crossbow you are holding. If you fired your crossbow already as your one handed weapon attack then you no longer have a loaded crossbow this would require you to have 2 crossbows?

[@avenator3295]

Crossbow Expert also says "You ignore the loading quality of crossbows with which you are proficient," which as a Fighter like in this video, you definitely are. Hope this helps.

[@greendragon4444]

What about a Grung Samurai? Can sacrifice the bonus attack for advantage on whole turn if you can't get it elsewhere. At 15th you also swap advantage for 2 attacks. At 20th, if you get advantage from a separate source, like with an eversmoking bottle and blindsense, you get 6 attacks with 4 at advantage(10 with action surge with 8 at advantage) per round and any that hit will do an additional 2d4 poison damage on a failed dc12 con save(Will not proc often but will boost damage a bit). Or would you still stick with Elven Accuracy for that third die over a rarely procing 2d4 damage?

[@DnDDeepDive]

I think EA would be superior thanks mostly to the +10 flat damage for SS on every attack. I like the Samurai idea - it's *probably* an overall damage bump (especially now that Rune Knight got nerfed post-Tasha's), depending on your level and the enemy AC. Of course at level 15 it's amazing... if you play the game that late ;)

[@greendragon4444]

@@DnDDeepDive Honestly, the reason I built that character was because I at first misread the Grung race and thought it would cause the poisoned condition on a failed save. Since that isn't the case, I would agree EA would hit more and therefore be better. :)

[@ShardPF2e]

Have you run the numbers for this build with a Samurai? Worth a look I think, (half) elf + elven accuracy would likely be optimal.

[@DnDDeepDive]

I think old Rune Knight had the edge due to the extra damage every single attack, but post-Tasha's it definitely got nerfed - I updated the build a bit in my latest video, but still stick with Rune Knight for the utility and damage (even if it's less). The biggest problem with the build was lack of advantage, which I've tried to address, as does Samurai. The problem with Samurai, however, is that it constantly uses your bonus action to get that advantage, negating the primary reason we took Crossbow Expert in the first place. I want to get as many attacks as possible per round :).

[@ShardPF2e]

@@DnDDeepDive The Samurai Fighting Spirit bonus action will probably only be used once per fight (you get one use every time initiative is rolled, post level 10), the rest of the time you can still use the 'base' bonus action attack of the Crossbow Expert. 6 attacks (with action surge, level 11+) with elven advantage vs 7 without... I haven't run the numbers but I suspect the former does more damage on average, especially as AC rises. The Samarai Rapid Strike ability at level 15 gives you the choice to drop advantage on one attack roll and get an extra attack instead, so at that point the number of attacks equalizes, and the Samurai attacks are still mainly at advantage.

[@123jennyray]

Taking Eldritch Knight archetype, eldritch adept feat level 6: Devil's Sight Invocation, Darkness Spell level 7 would give you near-permanent advantage. Though, you need to be within 15 feet. Alternatively, if you are playing through higher levels you could be elf/half-elf and pick up elven accuracy at level 12. OOOOOR...ignore Jeremy Crawford and do Custom Lineage + Elven Accuracy.

[@simondiamond9628]

Don't know if this was discussed elsewhere, but... At level 20, with double action surge, since both uses of Action Surge have to be taken at the same time, wouldn't that bump up the number of attacks to 13 (4 x 3 + Bonus Action attack)? If so, that would spike the damage even higher. Beyond that, with Rune Knight being officially released for some time now, would Rune Knight still be the best option for a ranged fighter, or would something else provide a higher damage output? Thanks again Colby. +1 on the vid.

[@SuperHbkforever]

The rules specifically say you can't use both action surges on the same turn :( but if your DM allows it, then go ham! Roll all of the dice

[@simondiamond9628]

Due to the martial/caster divide, most DM's don't enforce that rule, even at A L. Tables.

[@SuperHbkforever]

@@simondiamond9628 interesting viewpoint, I'd say it's too powerful, but then again there are many ways to make extremely powerful burst characters, so like I said. If your DM allows it, roll the dices

[@gavin9233]

Hey man awesome video I was wondering if you could tell me if piercer is a good feat or what other good feats you might recommend?

[@andrewmoss3680]

Did you add the +10 to every attack? Cause i notoriously roll horrible on attack rolls… would it be better to not get a -5 to each attack?

[@targetdreamer257]

How about building around the spell Tiny Servant?

[@helixxharpell]

Sorry, for posting 3 yrs late..😂 I'm literally watching all your videos Colby and at around 16:33 you reference "Battle Champion." As a DM, I would ask the question, "Did the designers give this feature for strength based attacks & didn't think about ranged attacks?" Because (even in a fantasy setting) I don't see this being viable. The equipment would have to grow as well & this breaks the law of fighters being fighters & spellcasters being spellcasters. 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@eyedoc8567]

Even with Crossbow Expert, don't you need a free had for reloading? Wouldn't that eliminate the shield?

[@GarySamione-zi8pj]

Please add what the best most stable Baldurs Gate 3 Mods that we can use to enhance our playthroughs! I have found so many subclass mods that are cool such as the Hexblade, the Blade Singer, Artificer, and so many more!!!

[@flyingturret208thecannon5]

Personally, I’ve found Sharpshooter subclass to work best. Get above a +10 to hit this way. However, I understand if this wasn’t published yet by the release of this video.

[@bovineox1111]

Giant's Might is nice, but you typically WILL be having more than 1 combat per long rest so you cannot factor it in, you should expect 2 short rests and a long, it may well be 5 encounters and your encounters should not all be high CR rating. D&D is also about resource management and knowing when to drop the big guns This is the big gun, boss mob ability. Not every fight should be a boss mob, unless you're playing Strahd, then you best be hugely optimised broken builds all around and know what you're doing :D

[@carolinedavis8339]

If one wanted to use a Heavy Crossbow instead of a Hand Crossbow, Samurai instead of Rune Knight can be really strong, as they can get advantage on all of their attacks using their bonus action a few times each short rest. With Elven Accuracy, this can be truly insane.

[@retnuHDJ]

The Samurai ability replenishes on a long rest, not a short rest. So you could only use that a few times per long rest.

[@Oniphire]

@@retnuHDJ The level 10 ability gives you a use of Fighting Spirit every time you still initiative.

[@Inshokuten69]

I personally would go Composite Long Bow (I refuse to call it Oversized Long Bow). Sure Hand Crossbow's let you take advantage of that Bonus Action for another attack, but the composite long bow does 2d6 damage plus strength modifier as damage and in a world where there are Belts of Giant Strength the damage is alot higher even with the loss of bonus action attack. To be honest I wish there was the equivalent for the belts for the other stats in 5e base game. Sure you can homebrew them, but it can be a hassle.

[@contentioushackery]

I think I am missing something. The way I figure, at level 6 with sharpshooter and crossbow expert and a 16 or 17 dex, with a hand crossbow you get 3x (1d6+3 +10{sharp}) = 49.5avg. With a belt of stone giant strength, sharpshooter, and a composite long bow you get 2x (2d6+6 +10{sharp}) = 46 avg. Crits are going to help the 2nd one more than the first one, but a belt like that doesn't grow on trees.

[@watcher314159]

@@contentioushackery And the crossbow expert could equally get a magic crossbow, if the DM is handing out rare-legendary magic items like Belts of Giant Strength.

[@ALX7PB88]

Hey man, just found your channel recently and I'm a fan. I'm going to try out this build for our next campaing but I'm seeing a few problems that would need to be addressed related to gear and holding/interacting with objects. I'd like to do a shield in one hand and the hand crossbow in the other but I'm wondering if theres a way arround needing a hand to reload, even with crossbow expert from lvl one because even if you're not limited by the number of ammunition you can draw and shoot, it could still be argued that you need a free hand to pull it off. Shields are also armor and take an action to don/doff which means no droping, doing your attacks and picking it back up... Do you see a way arround this? I realise that this is the kind of thing that a DM could just wave off and allow you to do anyway but I'm worried that this will come up in the upcomming game. Cheers!

[@LawrenceDomkowski]

How would selecting the Samurai subclass change the build?

[@kilbofragins2820]

Been using this as my main AL character @T2 level 10 for about a year, and even replicated the build for my daughter to get her into DND (as it’s an easy char to play) but I’m getting into trouble based on RAW that even with CBE you still need a free hand to reload so you can’t have a shield. Is there a way round this? If I have to drop the shield can I just use a heavy crossbow to up the damage? I’d be gutted if I lost the shield though.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Two levels of Artificer or the Thri Keene race :)

[@kilbofragins2820]

Changed it up to include 8fighter 2Artificer and it is awesome. No ammo and extra AC. Never progressing past 10 for this char, so thank you for the advice.

[@grahamastor4194]

Do you have a Ranged combat build where Feats are not allowed? Our DM doesn't allow Feats, since they're optional and he believes they're OP. Thanks.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Hm. I don't, but that's... rough. I suppose I might have to instead go something more akin to my "Bard Locker" episode but without the crossbow expert or sharpshooter feat, you'd probably just need to focus on the Longbow.

[@chadmagusrpg7265]

Id go warlock instead and eldrich blast if you can't use feats

[@michaelburton286]

Since you need a free hand for the ammunition property to load, then you can't use a shield. Or am I missing something?

[@TheRobversion1]

nope. you're right. he'd need an artificer infusion to do the whole hand crossbow + shield thing.

[@Kratos-fg8sj]

Can't use a shield and a hand crossbow. As per the ammunition rules you need a free hand to load a new bolt. Confirmed by Jeremy Crawford.

[@boltzsbo]

Could you tell me how an interaction between Sharpshoot + Crossbow Export and Rogue Assassin works, in case I want to do this multiclass? I have several doubts. Nice video man!!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks! Right. Assuming a surprise round, you'd be looking at simply two attacks for d4+dex+10 at a minus 5 to hit, but with advantage. If you hit, you'd crit, but the only thing that would double would be the d4, so not all that impressive, unfortunately.

[@TheRobversion1]

@@DnDDeepDive hey man. hand crossbow is a d6 and all those sneak attack dmg would double along with any other dmg dice they'd add via feats or other multiclass abilities.

[@jacobthomsen]

So I am in the proces of preparing for the Baldurs gate 3 release this thursday, and I have seen a few videos saying that you need a free hand to make this build work, is that correct? I was planning on making an a 1-h crossbow, fighter with 15 str. and go full heavy armor and a shield, for tankiness and Uzi :-). Would it work or not? thank in advance

[@DnDDeepDive]

Right, as per the pinned message, you need a free hand to load a crossbow. I’m not 100% sure if BG3 will enforce this if you have a hand crossbow, but I’d guess that they will. So unless there’s a magic item introduced in that game that makes it so you don’t have to reload, you’ll need to drop the shield.

[@ld_raine4247]

@1:47 Cassidy*

[@CalamitasDeus]

I want to point out a few things now that the rune knight is official and no longer UA. First, we don't need Intelligence for jack. Whenever you say to add Intelligence, I'd swap that to Strength (for melee weapons) or Wisdom (strictly for Perception). You could probably add to other ability scores instead of you cared enough about skills aligned with your runes. Second, you said grappling this kind of fighter would be effective. However, it would not. A grapple is a contest between the attacker's Strength (Athletics) check and the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. This is a high-Dexterity character so, naturally, the player will choose Acrobatics every time. They may even have proficiency in it! Third, this build requires that you use a one-handed melee finesse weapon. I can think of no better option than the rapier but you didn't mention it. Also, we're talking about one melee weapon and one ranged weapon, so two-weapon fighting rules do not apply. Fourth, now that "Tasha's Cauldron of Everything" is out, I highly recommend taking the Piercer feat to do higher damage more reliably. It also gives us one more reason to take champion over rune knight, even though I don't think that reason tips the scales too much out of the rune knight's favor. Fifth, this is one of the few times when taking Variant Human as your race is actually an equal choice to Custom Lineage. The reason for this is the stone rune gives you darkvision out to 120 feet. Sixth, I think it's worth mentioning that taking the fire rune as one of your first is important because it's now the only rune that does damage.

[@cornycornsnake]

Maybe for Halloween you could do a spider themed build or a lizard folk beast barbarian who is optimized to use bite attacks as much as possible so he can literally devour his foes?

[@eugenecarter8701]

Crossbows have the ammunition/loading requirement, so a shield won't work out.

[@eugenecarter8701]

@@Hatchet_Jack556 . From PHB errata, "You’re still limited, however, by the fact that the weapon has the ammunition property (PH, 146). The latter property requires you to have a bolt to fire from the hand crossbow, and the hand crossbow isn’t going to load itself (unless it’s magical or a gnomish invention). You need to load each bolt into the weapon, and doing so requires a hand." www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/SA_Compendium_1.01.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjlnOvAgcPuAhVineAKHaPIAxoQFjAAegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw3NmrStJw8znbNjPaOkjQUN

[@theonlymatthew.l]

If you add in two levels of Artificer it works out just fine 👍

[@madsam7582]

I didn't realise that only variant humans got a feat a 1st level, I'm GM of my groups game, and I allow everyone to take a feat at 1st, partly because I think that feats like Keen Mind are a bit strange, with the "I killed a tree, now I'm level 4, and have a photographic memory" . . . huh?

[@DnDDeepDive]

Ha ha - this is my favorite house rule :)

[@madsam7582]

@@DnDDeepDive then you have more choice for races, by buddy has just started playing a shadow elf (from ERFTLW) his plan is Rogue 3, Shadow Monk 17, so he's got to 3rd level and he started with the skulker feat. He's going to be un-findable by level 10. Plus Kunai for the daggers work as rogue and monk weapons. So disappearing + multi attack is going to be interesting. I also tried the 2D6+6 method and I have a Fighter, Paladin and rogue in the party and they have most stats above 15. Fighter and Paladin have strength at 20. It's fun.

[@TheRobversion1]

custom lineage also gives you a free feat but yeah just those 2 races.

[@Russlem]

You cannot use a hand crossbow with a shield, not even with Crossbow Expert. The "ignores loading property" doesn't help, all that does is allow you to use your crossbow with extra attack, effectively turning your crossbow into a bow. The "ammunition" property is the problem which crossbow expert doesn't remove. You must have a free hand to load ammunition which is taken up by your shield since the other hand is holding the crossbow. Hand crossbow + Shield doesn't work RAW or RAI. Artificer can do this though.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Truth!

[@Russlem]

@@DnDDeepDive If you haven't already done so, check out optimizing an Arcana Domain Cleric running Magic Initiate: Druid for Shillelagh. Shillelagh, Booming Blade, Spirit Weapon, and Spiritual Guardians nets 6d8+12 at level 8 not including upcasting Spirit Weapon while leaving you with a free reaction which you can use another Booming Blade with Warcaster to Opportunity attack for an additional 3d8+8 (first booming blade + melee swing on the opportunity attack) and if they don't stop immediately ANOTHER 2d8+4. All while sitting comfortably behind 19 AC and only 1 health lower per level than a Fighter and keeping the huge arsenal of group saving spells at your disposal. This build especially shines as a frontline tank because Spirit Guardians + 19 AC gives opponents a lot of incentive to find softer targets in your backline and Booming Blade + Warcaster gives them a lot of reasons not to try. It's probably the best build I've ever played for what I want (a frontline support tank). Good dex saves, great con saves, top tier wisdom saves. A real brawler. Only downside: you need a ruby of the war mage for shiellelagh on your quarterstaff with a shield and only if your DM actually pays attention to S, M, V components on actions/bonus actions (most I know only care about reactions so people aren't shielding while Shield spelling).

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@Russlem on the list!

[@happy911]

You mention the Ranged Fighter is susceptible to grapple. He/she isn't as when defending a grapple, as you are allowed to make an opposing athletics or acrobatics check. Only the grappler must use Athletes.

[@varietasVeritas]

Magic initiate for hex or hunters mark seems like a good investment.

[@TheRobversion1]

you're better off picking up feytouched if this is the only thing you want so you can recast it for multiple combats, pick up misty step 1/day and +1 cha/wis/int.

[@utgrad9776]

With the changes to tune knight after this video would swapping to champion or battle master provide better dpr?

[@TheRobversion1]

battlemaster.

[@DnDDeepDive]

I think it's a valid choice, for sure. Admittedly, I think you still get a lot out of RK, despite the nerf, but both are strong.

[@pencilbender]

I love archers, but i hate crossbows. Can this be done with a longbow?

[@zipperbitten5184]

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't you still have to follow the ammunition property of the hand crossbow? Meaning you need a free hand to load the weapon after it fired? I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks! Correct, meaning no shield - my mistake!

[@zipperbitten5184]

@@DnDDeepDive Hello Colby, my comment was more considering not having a free hand to load the crossbow because each hand is holding a crossbow. The ammunition property claims you need a free hand. Again, I love the show and really enjoy everything your doing. Looking forward to trying your your bladesinger!

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@zipperbitten5184 Ah I see - actually, the intent is to only use a single, one-handed crossbow :). The Crossbow Expert Feat allows you to fire a one-handed crossbow as a bonus action *if* you make an attack using a one handed weapon - it doesn't require that weapon to be in a different hand, so you can simply fire the crossbow as your action, then fire it again as your bonus :). But yes, you *do* need a free hand to load it, even though the feat keeps you from having to spend any additional resources to do so!

[@zipperbitten5184]

@@DnDDeepDive AWESOME! Thank you for the clarification! That makes sense, and makes the crossbow feat much better!

[@MysticMyriad]

Two level Artificer dip can get you the "Repeating Shot" infusion and let you use a shield with your hand crossbow as well as another +1 to Hit and Damage. As well as making your damage magical for overcoming resistance. Edit: Or if you have an Artificer buddy in your party.

[@Runninslaves]

Hello sir, Would you please do a Ranged BattleMaster Fighter please? I am unsure whether I want to have a feat race or go Elf for Accuracy feat..

[@DnDDeepDive]

I have! :P - kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXexYZ-do9p4qtE

[@Runninslaves]

@@DnDDeepDive wow You're awesome! Thank you! I couldnt find it when I searched your channel, my apologies.

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@Runninslaves No worries!

[@shadesofgray9]

Do you think there is a ranged build that is optimized without ss/cbx or a single weapon melee build that doesn't require gwf?

[@DnDDeepDive]

it's difficult, and it depends on the goal of the build, but sure! Check out my Swashbuckler build, for example, or the Bladesinger, or the Needler, to name a few...

[@shadesofgray9]

@@DnDDeepDive I'm getting there...

[@TheRobversion1]

@@DnDDeepDive Agreed with Colby here. I've optimized multiple builds as well that didn't use gwm/ss. crossbow expert actually isn't a very optimal choice for burst and it's easy to skip if your goal is alpha striking.