NWN2 Archery viable?

Neverwinter Nights 2

Ovenall

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Poking around the internets it seems a general consensus is that archery is weak in NWN2. I'm thinking about starting a new character, a rogue (to replace the horrible Neeshka) with ranged skills.

I've read everything from "It works!" to "It sucks" to "It gets worse as the game progresses" to "It actually causes monsters to become more aggressive to the ranged character"

Any opinions here? This forum is more mature and level headed IMO, so I'm interested in what you all have to say. By the way, I was thinking going human (or elf) rogue one level, then bard all the way to make things more interesting, adding the "Learner" feat to help with skill points.

Thanks.
 
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I've never had the stamine to play a ranged character until he took off.

I imagine shortage of magic arrows could be a problem. An arcane archer should get around that.

The issue with starting as a thief is that it takes a few extra levels to get to the required BAB (and you need one level of arcane spellcasting worth zero BAB on top). You could of course use the feat that brings down skill cost. Thief+bard seems a sensible way to go, but you'll have to spread out your attribute points a bit.
 
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Archer is eminently viable in OC or other singleplayer-campaigns. The BAB can be a prob early on but persevere! If you go bard you almost have to go arcane archer, it is a good class for ranged, you will also want 1 lvl of Shadowdancer for HiPS.
If you go only archery you also avoid the need for weapon finesse which is an early perk dexters need, freeing up for something else. HiPS is great for archers, just remember you need to be in a certain range with bows for sneak attacks to work if you take a class with those too. You want to be elf for this kind of build - for arcane archer it is necessary too.
You could also dl Kaedrin's pack for extra classes, have some tasty ranged ones there too.
 
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Hmm, I haven't touched NWN2 in a while, but I seem to recall it being viable. Among other things, you can get sneak attacks with ranged weapons. Also, there are a few powerful bows that require no ammunition. I suggest getting one of those.

Keep in mind that you need enough Dex to get all the archery skills unless you're a Ranger with the Archer specialty, in which case you get them for free (as long as you use light armor).
 
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Arcane Archery is great. My elf mage always goes down that path.
 
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Bit late, hehe, but what kills it is no Dex bonus on damage, there should be at least prestige class/feat for it. Ranged isn't all that good with fights taking place in short distance and it's easy to close in, so you get one extra shot or so. Plus required perk, nothing like Great Cleave, etc.
Be a man and go with Ranger/Barbarian/Rogue/Frenzied Berserker. Satisfaction guaranteed. :)
 
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