Eldritch Archer

Learn the ins and outs of the Eldritch Archer in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Discover its abilities, level progression, and how to maximize your ranged spell combat effectiveness.

Alright, so you're looking to build an Eldritch Archer in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous? Smart move! This archetype is all about slinging spells from a distance, combining the precision of a ranged attack with arcane power. It's a bit different from your typical spellcaster, focusing on making every shot count.

The Eldritch Archer does trade away some abilities, most notably the Counterstrike, but gains some seriously cool options for ranged spellcasting. Your main class skills will be Athletics, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (World), Perception, and Persuasion. These will help you navigate the world and keep your arcane knowledge sharp.

Eldritch Archer Level Progression

Here's a breakdown of what you get as you level up:

Key Abilities Explained

Ranged Spell Combat

This is your bread and butter. With Ranged Spell Combat, you'll be using a ranged weapon to deliver your spells. You don't need a free hand, but you also can't take an attack penalty to boost your concentration. It's all about that ranged synergy!

Ranged Spellstrike

At level 2, you unlock Ranged Spellstrike. This is huge! Whenever you cast a spell that requires a ranged touch attack, you can deliver it through your ranged weapon as a free attack. This uses your full attack bonus, and while it doesn't increase the spell's range, it's incredibly efficient. If a spell has multiple rays, like Scorching Ray, only one ray goes through the weapon on the attack, but you can imbue your other ranged attacks with the leftover rays. Pretty neat, right?

Spells for Ranged Spellstrike

Not all spells work with this, but here are the ones you'll be using:

• Level 0: Acid Splash, Disrupt Undead, Ray of Frost
• Level 1: Ray of Enfeeblement, Snowball
• Level 2: Acid Arrow, Scorching Ray
• Level 3: Ray of Exhaustion
• Level 6: Disintegrate, Hellfire Ray, Umbral Strike

Pro Tip: You can also use the Reach Spell metamagic to extend the range of melee touch spells, making them usable with Ranged Spellstrike. This opens up even more options for your ranged attacks!