The Best Magic Items for Archers in Pathfinder

Magic items are one way that players can improve their stats while adding a much-needed unique identity to their character’s sheet.

In Pathfinder, there are hundreds of items that your archers can choose to improve their damage output, provide necessary utility to the party, and even make themselves able to damage new enemies that they couldn’t before.

But before you go taking every magic item you see, let’s take a look at the best magic items that Pathfinder archers can use.

Lenses, Fog Cutting

  • Slot: Eyes
  • Price: 8,000 gp
  • Aura: Faint transmutation
  • CL: 5th
  • Weight: 1 lb.

These goggles are made of carefully polished rock crystal with frames of polished brass and a simple leather strap and buckle sized for a giant’s head (but easily adjustable for smaller wearers).

The goggles allow the wearer to see through magical and normal fogs, mists, and similar obscurement. They do not confer darkvision or low-light vision. Additionally, the goggles distort and skew vision strangely, causing a –4 penalty on Perception checks.

CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS

  • Feats: Craft Wondrous Item
  • Spells: Darkvision, fog cloud
  • Cost: 4,000 gp

Usage Guide

Fog-Cutting Lenses are an excellent choice for archers who need to be able to see through obscured territory.

If your party has regularly run into situations where enemies are obscured by nonmagical means — smoke bombs, for instance — Fog-Cutting Lenses are an excellent way to get your stats back up to the normal amount.

However, you don’t want to be wearing your Fog-Cutting Lenses all the time. As stylish as they are, these lenses do distort the images that you see, making it hard to understand exactly what you’re seeing and reducing your rolls on Perception checks. 

It’s also crucial to remember that Fog-Cutting Lenses don’t confer Darkvision, even though the spell is required to craft the Lenses.

These goggles only allow you to see through nonmagical obscurement. Magical obscurement and darkness will not be affected by wearing these goggles.

Where To Find Fog-Cutting Lenses

The easiest way to find Fog-Cutting Lenses is to make friends with some Giants. Fog-Cutting Lenses are a Giant invention, and they’re the most likely to have some Fog-Cutting Lenses that you can borrow or purchase.

Fog-Cutting Lenses have a faint magic aura. So, you can find them with the Detect Magic spell.

Bracers of Archery

Bracers of Archery, Greater

  • Aura: Moderate transmutation
  • CL: 8th
  • Slot: Wrists
  • Price: 25,000 gp
  • Weight: 1 lb.

These bracers look like normal protective wear. They empower the wearer to use any bow (not including crossbows) as if she were proficient in its use.

If she already has proficiency with any type of bow, she gains a +2 competence bonus on attack rolls and a +1 competence bonus on damage rolls whenever using that type of bow. Both bracers must be worn for the magic to be effective.

CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS

  • Feats: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, crafter must be proficient with a longbow or shortbow
  • Cost: 12,500 gp

Bracers of Archery, Lesser

  • Aura: Faint transmutation
  • CL: 4th
  • Slot: Wrists
  • Price: 5,000 gp
  • Weight: 1 lb.

These wristbands appear similar to greater bracers of archery, though they are typically constructed of lighter material. They function as greater bracers of archery, except that they grant a +1 competence bonus on attack rolls and no bonus on damage rolls.

CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS

  • Feats: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, crafter must be proficient with a longbow or shortbow
  • Cost: 2,500 gp purchase

Usage Guide

There are two different forms of the Bracers of Archery, and the Lesser and Greater forms are mostly the same. However, the Greater Bracers of Archery provide a bonus to both Attack and Damage rolls, while the Lesser form grants a smaller bonus to Attack rolls and no bonus to damage rolls. 

So, it’s best to ensure that you speak with your Game Master regarding what Bracers of Archery you have in your possession. Being on the same page helps a lot!

Bracers of Archery are very straightforward when it comes to mechanics. You wear them and gain bonuses to your Archery skills. It’s crucial to remember that you need to have proficiency with either a Longbow or a Shortbow to get the bonuses from the Bracers of Archery.

Where To Find Bracers of Archery

Unlike some other items in the game—like Fog-Cutting Lenses—Bracers of Archery can be found in many places. While they’re still magical items, they’re a bit more common and are generally found in most civilizations that use magic and have archers. 

One thing to remember when included Bracers of Archery is that the Bracers come in many sizes. Unlike the Fog-Cutting Lenses which are adjustable for smaller creatures, Bracers sized for Giants aren’t going to fit on a Medium-Sized creature.

Bracers of Archery have at least a faint magic aura. So you’ll be able to find these in a pile of crap with Detect Magic.

Cyclonic

  • Price: +2 bonus
  • Aura: Faint conjuration
  • CL: 12th

This special ability can be placed only on ranged weapons or ammunition.

A cyclonic weapon or piece of ammunition feels as though it were surrounded by gentle winds pulling it in all directions.

When the wielder makes a ranged attack with a cyclonic weapon, a sheath of whirling air surrounds the weapon or the ammunition fired and prevents the attack from being impaired by wind, water, and other liquid or gaseous environmental factors.

CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS

  • Cost: +2 bonus
  • Feats: Craft Magic Arms and Armor
  • Spells: Air bubble

Usage Guide

Cyclonic isn’t an item. Instead, it’s a feature you can add to an existing item to make that item magic.

Cyclonic can be added to any ranged weapon, making it an ideal addition for Archers who will typically be using some type of ranged weapon, namely a type of bow or maybe a firearm depending on the setting and player.

Cyclonic weapons encase their ammunition in wind, preventing the ammunition from being affected by the winds as it flies.

Additionally, Cyclonic weapons are not impaired by water or any other liquid of gaseous environmental factors that would typically impair an archer.

Where To Find Cyclonic Weapons

Cyclonic weapons are typically going to be found anywhere where there are large numbers of ranged-weapon users. High-standing archery guilds, Rangers’ schools, and artillery barracks are all excellent places to start looking for Cyclonic weapons.

Another great place to look for Cyclonic weapons is any place where many archers have died. Old battlefields, dragons’ lairs, and other places where a city may have sent large numbers of soldiers in an attempt to quell a threat are also excellent places to look for a Cyclonic weapon.

Cyclonic weapons have a faint magic aura. So, they can be found using a Detect Magic spell.

Silver Nocking Point

  • Price: 3,150 gp
  • Slot: None
  • CL: 1st
  • Weight: —
  • Aura: Faint transmutation

This small silver cylinder is no bigger than a pinhead and is engraved with an Elven aphorism that roughly translates to “unhindered flight.”

A silver nocking point can be attached to the string of any bow or crossbow. When using a weapon equipped with a silver nocking point, a character can treat penalties for wind conditions as though they were one step less severe.

For example, a character firing a ranged projectile in severe wind conditions would fire at a ranged penalty of –2 instead of –4. Magical wind effects that would normally deflect the projectile (such as fickle winds) instead impose only a –8 penalty on the attack roll.

CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS

  • Cost: 1,575 gp
  • Feats: Craft Wondrous Item
  • Spells: True strike

Usage Guide

A Silver Nocking Point is basically the poor man’s Cyclonic Bow. It allows you to treat the wind conditions as if they were one stage lower than they are. This means you can use your weapon in windy conditions without as much drag to your accuracy.

It’s not as good as a Cyclonic bow that completely nullifies the wind and liquid conditions, but it’s an affordable alternative for lower-level players or players who are just plain poor (we’ve all been there).

Where To Find a Silver Nocking Point

Silver Nocking Points are an Elven invention as evidenced by the Elven script engraved on them. Thus, you’ll want to look for Silver Nocking Points in places with a lot of Elves, especially Elven archers.

A Silver Nocking Point will have a faint magic aura. So, it’s possible to find one using the Detect Magic spell.

Goggles of Night

  • Aura: Faint transmutation
  • CL: 3rd
  • Slot: Eyes
  • Price: 12,000 gp
  • Weight: —

The lenses of this item are made of violet crystal.

Even though the lenses are opaque, when placed over the eyes of the wearer, they enable him to see normally and also grant him 60-foot darkvision.

Both lenses must be worn for the magic to be effective.

CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS

  • Feats: Craft Wondrous Item, darkvision
  • Cost: 6,000 gp

Usage Guide

Goggles of Night are the last item on our list but certainly not the least. The lenses give the wearer the ability to see normally and grant Darkvision within a 60-foot radius. The lenses are opaque, and you can’t see through them unless wearing both lenses.

Goggles of Night are an excellent addition to any Archer’s kit, especially if they don’t already have Darkvision. While Archers who already have Darkvision are going to see diminishing returns on this item, archers without will find themselves slaves to the Goggles.

Since Goggles of Night allow Archers greater effectiveness in night battles, these are pretty much a must-have for any archers who don’t have Darkvision.

Where To Find Goggles of Night

Goggles of Night are going to be found in any place where there are archers and particularly in locations that primarily house members of races without Darkvision.

These Goggles are must-haves for archers who don’t have Darkvision. So, it makes sense to look for these in places where there are a lot of archers who are going to use them.

Rather than looking at where to look, it’s probably better to look at where not to look.

You’ll probably not find these Goggles in any place where the primary population has Darkvision, like Elven or Orcish civilizations. You’ll also not see these in a place where there aren’t many archers, like a monastery.

Final Thoughts

Magic items are one of the most important considerations players can make when it comes to playing Pathfinder.

They’re the stepping stones you’ll need to cross to take your characters from the basics to the most advanced places in combat. So, it’s crucial to make considerations when choosing the items you and your party go looking for.

As a Game Master, it’s also crucial to include the items that your party is looking for in the campaign, even if it means shoehorning something in under a random staircase!

The most important thing in each game is that you and your party are all having fun. So, don’t be afraid to bend the rules a little bit to make sure you and your party are getting the most out of the game!