Sniper build variations

Question

After finishing quite a lengthy journey my Unchained Rogue(5)/Ranger(3) was allowed to respec to a different class, since our party mostly consists of melees and I'm pretty much the only ranged PC. I was thinking about Sniper(Slayer) using a composite longbow, and our GM even allowed the purchase of Sniper Goggles, but then I realised: my attributes are terrible for composite longbow - STR 11, DEX 18, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 14, CHA 10. So the dmg numbers, even with unlimited range on sneak attacks, seem pretty terrible.

I was thinking about taking heavy crossbow instead and do pretty much the same, but maybe there're any other alternatives that I'm not aware of? The idea behind the build is to stay as far as possible, preferably hidden at all times, and stick whatever projectiles into combat-engaged foes. I'm a bit lost here, feel like Sniper Goggles open a lot of possibilities and I can't seem to find any reliable build to utilize them.

Answer 1

Let's start with the easy stuff, longbow is probably still better in a vacuum for a 0 strength modifier. You are losing 1 average damage compared to a heavy crossbow, but no longer needing to spend two feats on reloading at speed. There are plenty of feats that you can take in one of those slots to more than make up for that single point.

However, you mentioned that the longbow doesn't seem to be where you want it to be. Adding Dex, your highest stat, to ranged damage is possible but generally requires a fair number of levels in classes that don't focus on sneak attack. This would also be where things potentially swing back towards crossbows because they have more options in this department. The straightforward option here is 5 levels of the Bolt Ace archetype for Gunslinger. Note that since bolt ace provides proficiency with all crossbows you aren't required to spend feats on reloading because you can use the Exotic dwarven pelletbow instead.

While it does not sneak attack, I do have a personal favourite build for the kind of fantasy you seem to be going for. The Crossbowman Fighter provides several bonuses to readied action attacks, including adding a Dex bonus to damage. Normally, readied actions are inefficient compared to full attacks and so difficult to recommend as the main use of your character's time, but this downside can be mitigated with the Overwatch style feat chain. The full package lets the crossbowman hang back and wait for the perfect opportunity to shoot, which just happens to occur frequently enough to keep up with conventional fighters.