Arcane Archer Fighter Build Guide – 2024 Update
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For all D&D guides on Nat1gaming, they only use the main sourcebooks (Player’s Handbook, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything) as well as Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos (mostly for Silvery Barbs) as those tend to be the most commonly used books at tables. Always be sure that if you’re following a guide that you’re adhering to your tables rules about what sourcebooks you are allowed to follow.
Any spell, class, feature, or other game item that is linkable on this website is covered by the 5th edition Open Games License and will be in the Player’s Handbook, but not everything in the Player’s Handbook will be linked to. All other materials that aren’t linked to are from other sourcebooks or aren’t allowed to be linked to per the 5th Edition Open Games License, so please refer to the appropriate sourcebooks for that information.
For the purposes of this guide, it will be assumed that you would not be multiclassing. While multiclassing can be excellent for many of these, this is for those who want to play the build all the way through in the same class. Guides that use multiclassing will be separate from these.
For spellcasters, you may notice substantial overlap between the spell lists of builds with the same base class. This is due to each guide utilizing a generically good spell list and not considering extenuating factors that will influence how you particularly sculpt your spell list. When creating your own spell list, you should take into account the campaign setting, what spells any other party members are capable of casting, potential overlap (ritual spells tend to overlap so it’s rare you need multiple people capable of casting them), or potential shortcomings in the parties total spell list. While this guide can definitely help point you in the right direction for crafting a spell list, you should use your judgement and preferences to figure out what spells make the most sense for your character.
To that end, please refer to the Spell List and Spell Tier list for any substitutions you’d want to make to the build.
Why Arcane Archer Fighter?
If you are using the base version of Arcane Archer, it is an extremely unique take on a ranged martial subclass that doesn’t get spells, but spell-like abilities that can be very powerful. While many discount this class since they get so few Arcane Shots (why doesn’t it scale at all), it is a stronger subclass than many give it credit for, even if it is super lame that you don’t get to do very much of the whole reason you chose this subclass. That being said, if you use one of the recommended changes to Arcane Shots outlined at level 3, you turn this into one of the strongest Fighter subclasses (if not the strongest) around as anyone who plays this will actually be able to use more than a few Arcane Shots a day as you level up.
Arcane Archer Fighter Abilities Ranked
Arcane Archer Lore (Level 3) – C+ Tier – A skill proficiency and a good cantrip is a decent ability.
Arcane Shot (Level 3) – B- Tier – The ability itself is quite good, but the fact that you only ever get two Arcane Shots per short or long rest is so brutal. The guide details potential fixes for this at level 3, but at base, this ability is still pretty good as the arrows are strong, you just don’t get enough of them.
Magic Arrow (Level 7) – C+ Tier – This ability doesn’t work anymore since 2024 no longer has non-magical weapon resistance, but if this was homebrewed to make your arrows deal force damage or you can choose an elemental damage type, then this would be pretty good. I’m assuming the average DM would have some sort of solution for this making this a pretty solid ability, but if they are only playing by base and won’t homebrew, then this is obviously F tier as it does nothing.
Curving Shot (Level 7) – B+ Tier – This somewhat functions like a bonus action attack most of the time as you’re not always going to hit. Extra attacks are great, even if it’s not against the target you initially wanted. This obviously doesn’t do anything if you don’t miss or there’s one enemy, but this will still be strong on average.
New Arcane Shot Option (Level 7) – B- Tier – You already have the best two shots, but you get to pick up Shadow Arrow at this level as well which is also quite good.
New Arcane Shot Option (Level 10, 15, and 18) – D Tier – I’m bundling all these together as they are around the same power level. You get three more Arcane Shot options, and while none of them are bad, none are that good either as you’re likely to stick to the first three that you got instead.
Ever Ready Shot (Level 15) – B- Tier – Getting a charge of your main ability each fight is definitely nice whether you’re playing RAW or with homebrew rules.
Quick Level Up Guide
| Level | Class Features/Feat | Notes |
| 1 | Fighting Style (Archery), Second Wind, Weapon Mastery | Second Wind Charges: 2 Weapon Masteries: 3 |
| 2 | Action Surge (x1), Tactical Mind | Second Wind Charges: 2 Weapon Masteries: 3 |
| 3 | Arcane Archer Arcane Archer Lore Arcane Shot (Banishing Arrow/Grasping Arrow) | + Prestidigitation (Arcane Archer Lore) Second Wind Charges: 2 Weapon Masteries: 3 |
| 4 | Feat: Piercer (DEX) | Second Wind Charges: 3 Weapon Masteries: 4 |
| 5 | Extra Attack, Tactical Shift | Second Wind Charges: 3 Weapon Masteries: 4 |
| 6 | Feat: Speedy (DEX) | Second Wind Charges: 3 Weapon Masteries: 4 |
| 7 | Magic Arrow Curving Shot New Arcane Shot option (Shadow Arrow) | Second Wind Charges: 3 Weapon Masteries: 4 |
| 8 | Feat: Mage Slayer (DEX) | Second Wind Charges: 3 Weapon Masteries: 4 |
| 9 | Indomitable (x1), Tactical Master | Second Wind Charges: 3 Weapon Masteries: 4 |
| 10 | New Arcane Shot option (Seeking Arrow) | Second Wind Charges: 4 Weapon Masteries: 5 |
| 11 | Extra Attack (x2) | Second Wind Charges: 4 Weapon Masteries: 5 |
| 12 | Feat: Intelligence to 16 | Second Wind Charges: 4 Weapon Masteries: 5 |
| 13 | Indomitable (x2), Studied Attacks | Second Wind Charges: 4 Weapon Masteries: 5 |
| 14 | Feat: Intelligence to 18 | Second Wind Charges: 4 Weapon Masteries: 5 |
| 15 | Ever Ready Shot New Arcane Shot option (Bursting Arrow) | Second Wind Charges: 4 Weapon Masteries: 5 |
| 16 | Feat: Constitution to 18 | Second Wind Charges: 4 Weapon Masteries: 6 |
| 17 | Action Surge (x2), Indomitable (x3) | Second Wind Charges: 4 Weapon Masteries: 6 |
| 18 | Arcane Shot Improvement New Arcane Shot option (Piercing Arrow) | Second Wind Charges: 4 Weapon Masteries: 6 |
| 19 | Feat: Boon of Combat Prowess | Second Wind Charges: 4 Weapon Masteries: 6 |
| 20 | Extra Attack (x3) | Second Wind Charges: 4 Weapon Masteries: 6 |
The Ultimate One D&D Fighter Guide
Not seeing the exact build you want in this guide? Check out this guide instead!
Level One Build
Species: Goliath (Cloud Giant)
Attributes:
| POINT BUY | |
| STRENGTH | 8 |
| DEXTERITY | 15 (+2 background) = 17 |
| CONSTITUTION | 15 (+1 background) = 16 |
| INTELLIGENCE | 14 |
| WISDOM | 10 |
| CHARISMA | 8 |
Class: Fighter
Class Features: Fighting Style, Second Wind, Weapon Mastery
Skill Proficiencies: Insight and Perception
Background: Criminal (Alert)
Starting Equipment: Studded Leather Armor, Scimitar, Short Sword, Longbow, 20 Arrows, Quiver, Dungeoneer’s Pack, and 11 GP + 50 gp from background
Species: Goliath (Cloud Giant)
Since you are going to be fighting at a range and don’t need the Hill Giant’s Topple, getting free Misty Steps is an extremely good alternative, especially as the Fighter does not use their bonus action too often.
Attributes
| POINT BUY | |
| STRENGTH | 8 |
| DEXTERITY | 15 (+2 background) = 17 |
| CONSTITUTION | 15 (+1 background) = 16 |
| INTELLIGENCE | 8 |
| WISDOM | 15 |
| CHARISMA | 8 |
DEX based Fighters are always going to prioritize DEX and CON, but for Arcane Archers in particular, Intelligence also matters a lot!
Proficiencies: Insight and Perception
Just excellent skill proficiencies for any character.
Background: Criminal
Good skill proficiencies, good stat distribution, and an excellent origin feat.
Starting Equipment – Studded Leather Armor, Scimitar, Short Sword, Longbow, 20 Arrows, Quiver, Dungeoneer’s Pack, and 11 gp + 50 gp from background
The standard for a ranged Fighter.
Class – Fighter
Fighters get three abilities to start off with in Fighting Style, Second Wind, and Weapon Mastery.
Your Fighting Style is an easy choice for ranged Fighters – Archery. +2 to your attack rolls is absolutely excellent, even if ranged combat has been nerfed in the 2024 rules.
Second Wind is a cool feature where, for a bonus action, you can heal yourself a bit. This is obviously great for tough fights when you are running low on health and this not only scales with level, but also gets additional features later on.
Weapon Mastery gives you the Mastery property of three weapons and I would recommend taking the properties of your three starting weapons. To that end, make sure you are always using your Scimitar in your main hand to properly access the mastery property.
The Build Level 2 Onward
Level 2-5
Level 2
Class Features: Action Surge, Tactical Mind
Level 2 brings two new features with Action Surge and Tactical Mind.
The Fighter is one of the most popular multiclass options in D&D, and Action Surge is a huge reason why. While you can only use this once every short or long rest (twice at 17), getting an additional action almost always means a whole new slew of attacks. Even at level 2, this is a powerful ability, but once you get multiple Extra Attacks, this becomes an extremely powerful feature that can dole out an obscene amount of damage. In a pinch, this can be used for other actions such as Dash as well which adds to the power and utility of this ability.
Tactical Mind is a neat new feature that allows you to use a Second Wind charge to reroll a failed ability check with a bit of a bonus. While this won’t come up too often, this is a nice feature to have for particularly important ability checks.
Level 3
Class: Arcane Archer
Class Features: Arcane Archer Lore (Prestidigitation), Arcane Shot (Banishing Arrow, Grasping Arrow)
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
Level 3 brings your subclass, and for this guide, it’s Arcane Archer. Arcane Archer brings two abilities to the table immediately with Arcane Archer Lore and Arcane Shot.
Arcane Archer Lore simply gives you the choice between learning Prestidigitation or Druidcraft (which is a much worse Prestidigitation), so this is an easy decision. Furthermore, you get a skill proficiency between Arcana or Nature, and this pick can be whatever the party is lacking. If your party already has both or neither, I like Arcana more.
The second and much more important ability is Arcane Shot. You are able to imbue your arrows with a magical effect twice per short or long rest and you get to start with two different effects to imbue. To that end, you should pick the most powerful options to start with and I think that those are clearly Banishing Arrow and Grasping Arrow.
Banishing Arrow is a one round CC spell that can deprive the enemy of their turn if they fail a Charisma saving throw, and while you can’t hurt them for that round if you banish them, depriving an enemy of their turn is an obscenely powerful ability.
Grasping Arrow deals additional damage, restricts their movement, hurts them when they move, and takes an action to remove. This is a lot of abilities for an enemy to deal with and can be absolutely crippling to an opponent in a fight.
As an aside before I continue on, Arcane Archers are unfortunately an extremely unpopular option for Fighters despite being really cool as their Arcane Shots literally never scale – they get to learn more of them, but they never get more uses per day of them. To that end, there are a lot of house rules that tables use in order to scale the Arcane Shots. The one that my table uses is their Arcane Shot amount is equal to their PB + Intelligence Modifier – 2 and they only recharge on a Long Rest which we’ve been happy with. This allows you to still start with 2 (or potentially 3 if you pump INT immediately), and get a reasonable amount of shots as they level up. Another alternative would be it being directly tied to your Intelligence modifier, but they come back on short rests which would allow you to get 5 shots per short rest when Intelligence is maxed out. I can see either of these being very reasonable options (with the latter being stronger) that makes Arcane Archers quite strong and fun option. If you decide to play by these rules, I would change your Feat progression to grab Mage Slayer (DEX) at level 4, pump DEX to 20 at level 6, and then max INT as fast as possible after that.
Level 4
Feat: Piercer (DEX)
Class Features: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
Level 4 brings your first feat and I like picking up Piercer. Being able to get higher average damage with your bow between the rerolls and the additional die when you get a critical hit is quite nice!
Level 5
Class Features: Extra Attack, Tactical Shift
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
Easily the most exciting feature for martial characters, level 5 brings your Extra Attack! Being able to double your damage output is obviously really strong, but since you’re a Fighter, you’ll eventually get even more attacks on top of this!
Level 5 also brings a new feature with Tactical Shift. Now when you use Second Wind, you can move up to half your speed without provoking an opportunity attack. A heal, disengage, and extra movement? Sign me up!
Level 6-10
Level 6
Feat: Speedy (DEX)
Class Features: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
Level 6 brings another feat and you have a tough choice between maxing out your Dexterity right now or going for two more feats between this level and level 8. While 20 DEX right now is super tempting, I like the feats and picking up Speedy. This is really good for navigating around the battlefield and for making it even harder for enemies to hit you when you’re escaping from them.
Level 7
Class Features: Magic Arrow, Curving Shot, Additional Arcane Shot Option (Shadow)
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
Level 7 brings a lot of abilities for Arcane Archers – Magic Arrow, Curving Shot, and an additional known Arcane Shot!
Magic Arrow does as advertised and makes your attacks magical to overcome resistances and immunities, simple yet effective.
Curving Shot is an exciting one as, if you miss your shot, you can trade your bonus action to attempt to hit a different target instead, provided it’s close enough to the original. Anything that lets you get functional additional attacks are almost always going to be good, and this is no exception.
Finally, you get to learn another Arcane Shot, and for this level, Shadow Arrow is the next best option. Spellcasting enemies are going to become more common at this level, so having an arrow that can functionally blind them locks enemies out of casting a lot of their best spells that requires eyes on their target! Even if you’re not facing spellcasters, enemies that can’t see attacks coming have disadvantage defending against them which means you can pile on the damage.
Level 8
Feat: Mage Slayer (DEX)
Class Features: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
You get yet another feat this level, and you can finally get 20 DEX with Mage Slayer. Being able to really mess with casters is nice as a martial character, and getting a functional charge of Legendary Resistance? Incredible! A really strong feat that I have most of my martial characters taking.
Level 9
Class Features: Indomitable (x1), Tactical Master
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
Level 9 brings an improved Fighter feature and a new one with Indomitable and Tactical Master!
Indomitable lets you reroll a saving throw that you fail and add your Fighter level to it which is extremely powerful. As you climb in levels, this will almost be like a player’s version of Legendary Resistance which is super cool.
Tactical Master is a new ability lets you replace a weapon mastery property when you attack with Push, Sap, or Slow. This is yet another great feature as you may not always want the mastery property on the weapon you happen to be using, so having options is always welcome.
Level 10
Class Features: Additional Arcane Shot Option (Seeking)
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Seeking Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
Level 10 brings another Arcane Shot Option, and admittedly, I’d say you have the three standout options at this point. There’s a reasonable argument for most of the others at this point, but I like Seeking personally. Rather than one that’s purely for combat like the others, this has a bit of utility tacked on that can help you locate the target which is the main use of the arrow. This is good if you’re pursuing someone as long as you saw them in the past minute and they fail the Dexterity saving throw. Even if they do pass, you can likely somewhat follow the arrow to at least know what direction they went in.
Level 11-15
Level 11
Class Features: Extra Attack (x2)
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Seeking Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
Level 11 brings yet another Extra Attack, which like at level 5, is incredibly good.
Level 12
Feat: Intelligence to 16
Class Feature: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Seeking Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
Level 12 brings yet another feat to work with, and now, I like just buffing Intelligence. You want your Arcane Shots to be as strong as possible so you are working towards maxed out Intelligence!
Level 13
Class Features: Indomitable (x2), Studied Attack
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Seeking Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
Level 13 brings another charge of Indomitable and a powerful new feature, Studied Attack!
Studied Attack is a super cool feature that, if you miss with one of your attacks against one enemy, you have advantage on your next attack against that same target! Anything that helps you connect with your enemy is always exciting!
Level 14
Feat: Intelligence to 18
Class Features: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Seeking Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
Another feat and it’s the same logic as level 12, so buffing Intelligence.
Level 15
Class Features: Ever Ready Arrow, Additional Arcane Shot Option
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Piercing Arrow |
| Seeking Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
Level 15 means your penultimate class feature – Ever Ready Arrow. Now if you’re out of Arcane Shots when you roll initiative, you get one back. That does help you use it more often, but of course, you still have extremely limited uses of this (barring you don’t use the recommended change outlined at level 3).
You also get another Arcane Shot option, and at this point, you have to go with Piercing Arrow. Being able to shoot through cover is a very niche, but this can be a useful ability that can even hit multiple creatures with one shot. While cover has likely never been an issue for you due to Sharpshooter, total cover is a problem you may have occasionally run into.
Level 16-20
Level 16
Feat: Intelligence to 20
Class Feature: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Piercing Arrow |
| Seeking Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
Finally, you can max out your Intelligence to be the smartest fighter to ever live.
Level 17
Class Features: Action Surge (x2), Indomitable (x3)
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Piercing Arrow |
| Seeking Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
More charges for your best base Fighter abilities is obviously excellent.
Level 18
Class Features: Additional Arcane Shot Option
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Bursting Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Piercing Arrow |
| Seeking Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
You get your final Arcane Shot option, and while you’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel, but I like Bursting Arrow. Getting a bit of AOE damage on your attack can be helpful in some cases, even if the damage is a bit low for this level. This can be good for clearing out mobs before a boss in a pinch.
Level 19
Epic Boon: Boon of Combat Prowess
Class Features: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Bursting Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Piercing Arrow |
| Seeking Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
Your Epic Boon choice, as I will pick for every martial character, is the Boon of Combat Prowess. Converting a miss into a hit is functionally getting an Extra Attack, but better, and I will take an additional attack every day of the week.
Level 20
Class Feature: Extra Attack (x3)
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| Cantrip | Prestidigitation |
| ARCANE SHOTS |
| Banishing Arrow |
| Bursting Arrow |
| Grasping Arrow |
| Piercing Arrow |
| Seeking Arrow |
| Shadow Arrow |
Level 20 brings your capstone ability – Extra Attack (x3). No frills, no fuss, just a bunch of attacks which is perfect for a Fighter.
