Low surface roughness is critical for many functional applications manufactured by laser‑based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF‑LB/M). However, downfacing surfaces – commonly referred to as downskin – are especially prone to high roughness, often necessitating extensive post-processing. Additionally, geometric distortion in downskin regions, particularly warping, limits manufacturability. Beam shaping has emerged as a promising approach to modify melt-pool morphology, yet systematic studies on its influence on downskin quality remain limited. This work presents a comparative investigation of downskin roughness using a 350 µm ring-shaped beam, a Gaussian beam of equal diameter, and a state‑of‑the‑art 80 µm Gaussian beam. IN718 specimens featuring a 30° overhang were manufactured, and areal surface measurements were conducted using fringe projection. For the best parameter sets, the 80 µm Gaussian beam resulted in a downskin roughness of Sa = 17.15 µm, while the 350 µm Gaussian beam yielded Sa = 15.58 µm. In contrast, the 350 µm ring-shaped beam achieved the lowest roughness at Sa = 11.98 µm. Visual and topographical observations further showed that the ring-shaped beam reduced dross formation compared to the equally sized Gaussian beam, indicating decreased melt-pool penetration at low overhang angles. Additionally, warping was mitigated when using the ring-shaped beam, despite applying parameters with volumetric energy density close to the infill settings. The combined reduction in roughness and warping suggests potential for lowering post‑processing effort and enabling manufacturing at lower downskin angles.