Archery 5e
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.
Archery 5e: Fighting Style Review
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
Despite the name, Archery is a fighting style for rangers and fighters that goes on any character making ranged weapon attacks, not just archers. Mechanically, you can’t get much simpler than this: +2 to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons doesn’t have a particularly large amount of depth to it. Still, there are some important notes about Archery that can lead to it being something you consider on characters not even necessarily dedicated to ranged combat, but simply want to improve a skirmish fantasy.
Some quick important rules clarifications: Archery empowers any ranged weapon, which is different from a weapon with the ability to hit from a range outside of melee. Thrown weapons don’t benefit from the feat, as they’re still considered melee weapon attacks being made, even when at a distance. The PHB options include all varieties of crossbows, bows, darts, slings, blowguns, and nets. The DM opens up guns to play, as do many third party options, all of which tend to qualify for this fighting style. If you want to be a gladiator who can use the net better than anyone else, Archery is probably a direction you consider going.
Do you want to hit on two more die results with your weapon? If so, Archery is probably for you. It doesn’t improve your damage like many of the other styles do, but with Sharpshooter as the go to ranged combat feat, having a +2 to mitigate the -5 will more than enough cover you if you’re itching to hit harder and faster.
I just wish Archery could be more interesting. I don’t tend to like playing ranged fighters because the other fighting styles like Great Weapon Fighting, Dueling, and Two-Weapon Fighting all somewhat shake up my regular play pattern or adjust how I engage a fight. Archery just feels like a generic improvement to all the attacks you’re making. Good, for sure, and the default option for Sharpshooter and other ranged combat builds, but deeply uninteresting.
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