This game is not meant to be played as you wish. Archer is weak - except you get endgame items and the trial. 1h+Shield, pistol/1h+catalyst and 2h are now in a competion for the best endgamebuild.

bow counts as 2h weapon, so a 2h melee build is working well with a bow.

At your level i went for 100k HP and then it was easy. Then i found the trial and it was fun. In 187 i lack of good bow-build its and i die a lot. Pistol build need occult damage - i dont have. So the best way was to go with 1h melee + catalyst.

I want to play archer, but i will have to wait for the best bow items or a new patch.

There are no builds, just go full ailments like everybody else. At least until there are some balance patches available.

could you send me your build? yeah i want to play archer but its pretty hard to not die on 1 shot vs boss :/

bow counts as 2h weapon, so a 2h melee build is working well with a bow.

What?

A full DoT ailment build using a bow certainly seems to be possible, i started leveling a new character for exactly that. My plan is to apply the 4 DoTs with autoturret, wailing arrows, phantom blades + evasion, and gunslinger's brand as my main spender. Combine them with stasis aether gems for the which time cannot heal node, and also the dire juncture + fatal pact + frenzied blows + rage per hit taken nodes combo (which i just read about earlier), and i'm hoping that i might finally have made a strong build of my own that isn't a copy + paste from some streamer or youtuber or whatever.
Either that, or i'll try using the infi-rage combo with the augmented ammunition modifier for gunslinger's brand and find out if that one skill is enough, without all of those other bow ones.

I don't understand why people google and copy builds tbh, experimenting and discovering fun ones is where half of the enjoyment is i.m.o.

well when you have family and you dont have 23123h to play weekly you want to have more fun and fun for me is lvl without die every 15s :D

@lowmotion
can you send me build that you were using on 60 lvl around?

I started one week later so i was watching: https://youtu.be/li-cQ1_RV0A?t=1

There are several videos explaining his playstyle.

You can try and test new builds and after 1-3 days you are done planing and you can play - till the next patch which will change everything.

Most of my items are crafted. There is almost no good drop.

but "At your level i went for 100k HP " you had 100k hp on Archer?

I died every 2nd mob and then i went for 100k and didnt die for a few levels. Now on 187 you will still die on some boss spells.

I never found a engame bow. Still stuck on my 330 dps bow, but i found a few 460+ dps pistols (+100dps with gems).