We all know that one person who always liked playing RPG games with characters who always stay on the safe side of things and like to attack enemies from afar. In modern-day warfare setups, these players pick snipers, but in some classic medieval settings, they would be your perfect archer. Now, as you will see in this article, archers aren’t the only ones in D&D using ranged attacks, but they are the first thing that pops to mind.
Virtually anybody can be a wielder of ranged weapon in D&D 5e, but under different conditions. In this article, I will present you guys with a full guide for ranged weapons so you can choose the perfect killer from afar.
What Types of Ranged Weapons Are There in D&D?
First of all, you should know that there are simple and martial ranged weapons in D&D 5e. Simple weapons can be wielded by almost any character, while martial ones require proficiency. The pool of ranged weapons is limited and they all deal Piercing damage, except Slings that deal bludgeoning damage.
So, when it comes to simple ranged weapons, we have:
- Shortbow (1d6 piercing damage)
- Light crossbow (1d8 piercing damage)
- Dart (1d4 piercing damage)
- Sling (1d4 bludgeoning damage)
On the other hand, martial ranged weapons include:
- Longbow (1d8 piercing damage)
- Heavy crossbow (1d10 piercing damage)
- Hand crossbow (1d6 piercing damage)
- Blowgun (1 piercing damage)
In addition to these, you can throw a net. Net doesn’t have any damage and is used to restrain an enemy, which then has a speed of 0, disadvantaged attacks, and attacks made against it have an advantage.
How Do Ranged Attacks Work in D&D?
D&D ranged attacks behave like any other in the game. You roll a d20, add an ability modifier (most often Dexterity modifier), and the proficiency modifier (if you are proficient with that weapon). After that, you roll a die for damage according to the type of weapon you have.
As a ranged attacker, you need to think about the cover. If an enemy is partially behind a cover, they will have an advantage to their Armor Class (AC) against your attacks, and if they are fully behind a cover, you won’t be able to target them at all.
Don’t forget that spellcasters with ranged spells such as Fireball will have to adhere to these mechanics as well. Correct positioning means a lot to the ranged attacker since you also need to think about not being too far or too close to the target.
Each weapon or ability will have its range and you can’t shoot if you are in melee range with the target. Moreover, if you try to shoot further than the allowed range you either won’t be able to hit them at all or your attacks will have a disadvantage.
For example, I was using a Heavy Crossbow in one of my most recent games and the full specifications looked something like this:
Heavy Crossbow –ranged weapon (martial, crossbow)
- Category: Items
- Damage: 1d10
- Damage Type: Piercing
- Item Rarity: Standard
- Properties: Heavy, Loading, Range, Two-Handed
- Range: 100/400
- Weight: 18
Range 100/400 means that 100 feet is the normal range and 400 is the long range. The normal range will see me have regular hit chance and damage, while if I decided to shoot the target that is at long range, my attacks would be at a disadvantage. Targets outside the long range could not be shot at.
Ammunition and Loading
There are certain downsides when it comes to ranged attacks in comparison to melee. Of course, if you are attacking with spells, you are limited by your spell slots and spell-specific limitations, but when shooting bows, crossbows, and darts, you have to worry about ammunition.
Most often, games start by default with 20 arrows in a quiver, and players are allowed to pick them up after combat is finished.
However, if you guys are just starting out D&D 5e and don’t wish to think about how much ammo you have, you can just disregard it and agree that everyone will have unlimited ammunition. That’s a frequent solution for beginners who are still grasping the full scope of the game.
Crossbows and blowguns will also have loading time. If your weapon has the loading property, it means that you can shoot it only once per action, reaction, or bonus action.
Blowguns, darts, bows, and slings, on the other hand, don’t require loading time, so you can attack as many times as your character’s abilities allow you to.
Ranged Spellcasters
D&D ranged attacks aren’t limited to those rogue-like characters that hide in the shadows and fire their quirky arrows and bolts. Another class of characters that use range to their advantage is the spellcasters.
Some of them can wield classic ranged weapons, but some of them use range in a completely new way. Let’s check them out.
Druid
Druid is a spellcaster with quite a few ranged spells. Some of them that I used, like Flaming Sphere and Ice Knife, can be used at a range of 60 feet. Call Lightning and Moonbeam can even be cast in a range of 120 feet.
Even though Druids are an effective menace in melee combat, they can pack a punch from a distance as well.
Cleric
If you are impatient to get your ranged attacks ready for the enemy while still being a spellcaster, Cleric is your class. A simple light crossbow can be a great start for him, and his Guiding Bolt spell will allow you to flash creatures with light up to 120 feet and show them who’s really the toughest guy out there.
Artificer
Although Artificer is not your classic spellcaster, they are still in this category of unusual ranged attackers for a reason. They are magic inventors with the ability to become the Artificer’s Artillerist and create a firearm called an Eldritch Cannon.
From Eldritch Cannon, they can develop a Flamethrower or Force Ballista, which will allow them to issue a strong ranged attack as nobody else can.
Wizard
Wizard, a proud owner of a vast spell list, will allow you to approach ranged combat in whichever way you’d like. The abundance of spells Wizard offers contains low-range as well as long-range spells that can turn your enemies to ashes. So if magic and range are your two favorite things, Wizard is the way to go.
Sorcerer
Similar to Wizard, this class can choose from a huge pool of offensive ranged spells and even enhance them with the use of sorcery points. Sorcery points can be used to double the range of some spells, making the Sorcerer the ultimate ranged caster.
Warlock
Warlock will introduce you to one of the fiercest spells in the game – Eldritch Blast. This cantrip scales incredibly well can be cast without the usage of spell slots, and has a range of 120 feet.
Additionally, as you level up, you can choose to further improve this spell with more damage and effects and a range of up to 300 feet. Now, that’s what I call a magic sniper!
When we say “ranged attack” there are numerous things that term can refer to and I’ve covered the most important ones for you. If you are creating a ranged character for the first time in your D&D gaming career, make sure to do further research on the specific class and race you’re interested in as well as their ability to scale up later in the game.
Ranged combat can be quite effective and fun if you know how to approach it the right way.
