Following the u25 ranged thread it seems the 2 "goto" xbow builds are currently:

Rogue 18/something 2(or rogue 20)
Paladin 14/rogue 5/something 1

I've played around with the Holy repeater build, and while it's fun I really miss the utility of an arcane caster. UMD is great and all, but I hate relying so much on scrolls and wands so having the ability to be self sufficient without a ton of scrolls is a big plus in my book. I'm wondering if there isn't another build that could fit in between the 2 builds above, something with a more arcane base.

I have 2 ideas.

1) 13 bard/5 rogue/2 fighter(or arti). Full mechanic up to tier 5, harper to get int to hit/dmg and KtA and the rest into swashbuckler to pick up 14 doubleshot(10 from barehand offhand enhancement, 4 from core[Im only assuming this works, I haven't tried it]), 7 dodge, 30% doubleshot action boost, +3 crit confirm/dmg, 12-13% bard speed, etc..

Basically you get a bunch of doubleshot, uncanny dodge, some solid dodge and a nice bard base for displacement, DD, skill points, etc.. Should be more survivable and self sufficient than the 18 rogue version, though at a loss of some sneak attack damage. Less survivable than paladin but more utility and a different flavor.

2) 12 wizard/5 rogue/3 bard. It's extremely tight with AP, but you can squeeze out 21 points into palemaster for wraith form and some solid healing. Same harper tree points for int to hit/dmg and KtA. Full T5 mechanic as usual, except if you give up the 3 points for T5 rapid fire(10% doubleshot) you have just enough points to reach the 10% doubleshot from swashbuckler while gaining another 2% from core skills and 20% from action boost. You end up with 8 dodge which you can probably push to at least 20 with items so combined with displacement and 25% incorp is some solid miss chances.

Another option is to drop the bard altogether and just go 13 wiz for level 7 spells and go fighter 2 for feats, or 15 wiz for level 8 spells and a 3rd bonus feat(extend is useful here for displacement and tenser's).


In theory these builds sound good, or at least fun(to me), though I'm wondering if I'm putting too much value on doubleshot and miss chances from dodge/incorp. You're missing out on some SA dice, though I'm hoping the extra doubleshot and crit confirm/dmg can make up for it. The wizard version probably has the least pure damage potential, but great crowd control ability due to good DCs from being an int build. Could lock a lot of enemies down while you systematically snipe them one by one.

Pipe dream or sound somewhat viable?

give up too much without mech 18 core or holy sword. if you wanted a tr to 20 past life and still play as a mech, then pretty much anything can be shoehorned in with 5-6 rogue levels.