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 Archer Guide by AJWLion

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AJWLion
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AJWLion
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AJWLion


Posts : 257
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 34
Location : Rapid City, South Dakota

Character Stats
Class: Archer
Level: 91

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyWed Apr 29, 2009 12:13 am

Archer Guide
By AJWLion
Even as a level 50 83 archer, I still find myself learning new things about my class. I kind of want this to also be a work-in-progress and open to revision. (So yeah, finally getting around to my first revision about 33 levels later – sorry for the delay guys if anyone was using this.)

Advantages
The greatest advantage to being an Archer is getting the privilege to deal mass amounts of damage over a short period of time. One of the things that contribute to this damage dealing ability is the fact that an archer’s critical hit percentage is much higher than most other classes.

Another advantage to being an Archer is that they get to kill things at a distance. Sometime this comes in handy if a boss has an AOE attack. If an Archer’s range is great enough, they can stay far away and attack the monster without receiving the AOE hit. Shooting from a distance is also nice if a mob uses close combat to inflict damage. Archers have the ability to hold and knock-back their targets, and if done right can kill a mob before it even reaches them.

Finally, when starting off your Archer, part of the Winged Elves race, you’ll find yourself being able to fly at level one which is a great advantage at lower levels since you are able to safely fly above the heads of higher-level mobs.

Disadvantages
The greatest disadvantage of being an Archer is their squishiness, meaning that they have a very low amount of HP and can’t take many hits. Even Archers that are hybrid still can’t take nearly as many hits as some of the other classes.

Skill Points
Whenever a character of any class levels, they obtain 5 points to place on the skill of their choice. These options are Vitality, Magic, Strength, and Dexterity. The default level for these skills is 5 points each.

An Archer wants to focus on mainly Dexterity (which will raise your ability to accurately hit and dodge, and also increases your critical hit percentage) and Strength (which allows you to wear your armor), with a possibility of Vitality depending on their preference. Normally Archers are described as either pure (PVE) or hybrid (PVP).

A pure Archer wants to place points strictly on Strength and Dexterity alone. The 5 points received for leveling would want to placed as such: +1 Strength and +4 Dexterity.

A hybrid Archer wants to place points on Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality. In this case, the 5 points would be distributed as +1 Strength, +3 Dexterity, and +1 Vitality.

My Archer is a hybrid by accident - as when I was first starting I had no idea what I was doing so I put points in everything. She has 29 vitality, and that's with the help of her equipment giving her some extra points. I don't really ever plan to PVP so I may end up resetting those points back into dexterity some day. When starting out, I suggest making a pure archer.

Combat Skills
Leveling combat skills take a lot of both money and spirit, especially in the higher levels. Therefore, it is vital to not get carried away at a low level, and instead resist the urge to level everything just because the opportunity is there.

Here is my personal preference and recommendations for skills. (Your preference and others may vary.)

For more detailed information on each of the archer skills, please visit http://www.ecatomb.net.

Skills to not level past 3:
- Take Aim (Level 1) – A more powerful skill will be learned at level 49.
- Quickshot (Level 3) – This is helpful during lower levels, but doesn’t really deal much damage in the long run.
- Winged Pledge (Level 23) – This is a nice skill for close opponents, but Wingspan is better and will be available at level 39.
- Barrage of Arrows (Level 59) – This is an amazing skill, but takes a TON of mana. Passing level 3 with it almost requires the use of an MP charm. If this is your plan, feel free to level it more.

Skills to level to 10 ASAP:
- Blazing Arrow (Level 6) – This is a personal buff and all buffs are awesome.
- Winged Shell (Level 9) – Absorbs damage and recovers mana.
- Winged Blessing (Level 9) – Increases your range.
- Wings of Protection (Level 23) – Squad buff that increases everyone’s evasion.
- Bow Mastery (Level 29) – Increases your weapon damage attack.
- Aim Low (Level 29) – Binds the target.
- Stunning Arrow (Level 39) – Stuns the target.
- Wingspan (Level 39) – An AOE attack that will inflict nice damage and push the mobs back.
- Thunderous Blast (Level 44) – Another useful AOE skill that inflicts metal damage.
- Deadly Shot (Level 49) – This skill straight up kicks butt and hits really hard. It’s like Take Aim (on steroids).
- Sharpened Tooth Arrow (Level 49) – It’s a AOE skill, AND reduces the targets max HP. I didn’t really understand the importance of the skill until I leveled it simply to level 4 and watched as I took out 200,000 of the bosses HP in one hit. This skill takes away the max HP – so by hitting a boss with it in the beginning, they loose a ton and never get it back.
- Winges of Grace (Level 59) – You only have to purchase this skill once, which is nice. It reduces the amount of damage you take for 15 seconds, and you are also immune to all damage while casting. This skill is kind of nice if you accidently steal agro from a barb.

Skills to level to preference:
- Frost Arrow (Level 9) – This skill slows down the movement speed of the target and inflicts water damage. I personally don’t use it much anymore for regular mobs because I bind them and stun them and knock them back. However, since it is our only water-damage skill I do occasionally use it on a fire element boss.
- Flight Mastery (Level 9) – If you plan on using the level 30 eagle wings or are planning on purchasing wings from the boutique, this skill is worthless because it only effects the default wings you get at level one.
- Lighting Strike (Level 13) – A nice skill for some metal damage. I haven’t leveled this enough to get a grasp on it’s true potential, but I know that at level 10 it will give you base physical damage plus 2,214.
- Knockback Arrow (Level 19) – This is a skill you will use a lot as it knocks the enemy backwords 12 meters. This range is the same from levels 1 -10, however the amount of damage that is inflicted increases. It’s kind of up to you if you want this skill simply to just push the target back, or if you want it to also do a nice bit of damage.
- Vicious Arrow (Level 19) – This is our only wood attack, so it’s worth at least getting. It has the potential to inflict 3109 damage (at level 10) over 15 seconds to an enemy, which isn’t a huge amount, but helps right?
- Thunder Shock (Level 29) – This inflicts metal damage and also reduces metal resistance. I personally don’t use it that much.
- Serrated Arrow (Level 34) – This is an archer’s only bleed skill and will deal 4571 damage over 15 seconds when at level 10.

Skills I have no idea about… yet:
- Stormrage Eagleon (Level 59) – Inflicts damage to an enemy (11,151 when maxed) over 30 seconds.
- Elven Alacrity (Level 79) – Temporarily increases movement speed to maximum and immunizes the caster against all movement debuffs. Lasts 8 seconds.
- Blessing of the Condor (Level 79) – Gives a member of a squad +1000% evasion. Lasts 6 seconds (with 3 minute cool-down).
- Blood Vow (Level 100) - This attack deals basic damage to the target plus 4444, and reduces target's maximum HP by 18% for 30 seconds. Then, it strikes the target for an additional 150% of base your damage, and intensifying damage it takes by 25%.
- Awaken (Level 100) – Uses all one’s energy to recharge Spark instantly.

Weapons
I created the following table based on my weapons of choice:

Level 1 - Start: Wooden Bow (Free Weapon)
Level 5 - Supply Stash Bow
Level 13 - Quest Bow
Level 20 - Trial Crossbow (FB19 Quest Reward – ignore the supply stash weapon you get at this level as it’s not as good.)
Level 35 - Giant Crossbow
Level 45 - Bow of Goddess (Quest Reward)
Level 50 - Supply Stash Bow (Note: will require a Perfect Hammer to open the Supply Stash)
Level 60 - TT60 Weapon (from now on it’s your choice if you want to specialize in Bow, Crossbow, or Slingshot – please keep in mind that it’s best to decide what path you want to go for the rest of your weapons because each weapon will now help to build the next one.)
Level 70 - TT70 Weapon
Level 80 - TT80 Weapon
Level 90 - TT90 Weapon (My personal choice was the Dragon Bow)
Level 95 - Heaven Shatterer (Lunarglade Bow)

Arrows & Bolts
The constant buying of arrows can seem like a pain and even possibly a disadvantage to being an archer. However, more often than not, the loot you receive from quests and grinding easily covers the arrow/bolt cost. I suggest buying them in bunches of 4000+ (once you are able to afford it) because it will eliminate constant trips to the Blacksmith. Also, the type of arrow/bolt depends on the person. I personally buy the highest level I can use with my weapon,. because they add a little more damage to the attack. Other people may buy the level one arrows because they are cheaper. Whatever the choice, be sure to keep an eye on the amount of arrows wielded, especially before entering an instance or traveling to a place without a Blacksmith nearby.

Other notes on Weapons…
*Unless super rich and completely at a loss for what to do with money, don’t bother investing in weapons that are super expensive at a low level. For instance, there is no reason to work at getting a legendary bow at level 20, when something better will come along soon. The same goes for adding sockets and gems and refining weapons. Save the money that would be used on these weapons for an even greater weapon around level 60 or so.
*Attack speed on weapons doesn’t make a huge difference as an Archer because the speeds are very close with all weapons. A general rule to keep in mind is that slingshots are fastest and crossbows are slowest.
*Damage wise, bows have the highest minimum damage and crossbows have the highest maximum damage.
*When starting out, it may be a good idea to carry a blade of some sort for an alternative weapon – just incase you find yourself having trouble remembering to purchase arrows.
*If friends are working on leveling their blacksmith skill, provide them the materials and let them create an even better weapon than can be bought from an NPC.

Armor
Similar to the weapons, this is something that shouldn’t be considered an investment until level 60 or so, when leveling slows.

As archers – we specialize in Light Armor which grants us average physical and magic defense. It’s the medium armor between Heavy (which focuses more on physical defense) and Arcane (which focuses more on magic defense).

What I did for armor until about level 40 was simply buy the items from a tailor when I became the required level. Another option that I did for a few levels was had friends working on their tailoring skill create me some armor.

Another option is to check the auction house for the items you need as often times some really nice armor will be dropped by mobs or in instances and the person receiving the drop can’t use it. However, it really all depends on how much you want to spend.

In the higher levels (above 60) you will be able to make TT armor if you prefer – or you can even invest in legendary armor. Currently I’ve been staying with the normal armor and plan to go to TT armor in my 90s.

Gems
Gems are items that can be added into equipment with sockets to increase that piece of equipment’s stats. I’ve noticed some high level Archers mainly focus on Citrine Shards which increase HP. I like those and also the ones that increase psysical attack and evasion. It kind of depends on what you are more concerned about – taking a hit, or killing that monster before it hits you.

Creating gems can get kind of pricey, so it may be best to try and find some players selling them for cheap instead.

To add gems into equipment, simply visit any Blacksmith and chose “Imbew Soulgem”. It will cost a few coins to get it inserted. *CAUTION* Once a gem has been placed into equipment, it can be removed, however the gem will not be returned. Please make sure that the gem being placed into equipment is exactly what is wanted.

Refining
Refining your equipment is something that I suggest be done around level 80 or so. Your level 80 equipment are items that you will have for a very long time and may actually be worth the refining costs. Please see a refining guide for this as I’m currently no expert.

Wings
Normal Elvin Wings are given to new archers at level one. Be sure to hang onto these for awhile as these will be the main source of travel for at least 30 levels. The speed of the Elvin Wings can be increased with the flight mastery skill for up to 2 meters/second. These wings use MP when flying, so be sure to bring a few MP potions with for long journeys and resist the urge to add in skill points to magic to reduce mana loss (so NOT worth it)!

At level 30, Archers receive a pair of eagle wings that allow them to get from one place to another MP-free, and also have an increased speed option (which requires chi stones to recharge). I personally didn’t stick with these wings because, not only do I find them really ugly for a female elf, they are also slower than the Elvin Wings, and the MP usage wasn’t bad enough to make me want to switch.

Another option for flight is to purchase Boutique wings. Wings from the boutique also have the option for increased flight speed through magic stones, and there is also an opportunity to upgrade them and increase their basic flight speed to +3 meters/second. These wings can be bought either from the Boutique with real money, or from other players. They can get expensive however, and it will be rare to find a basic pair (with no upgrades) for under 1mil.

General Tips and Tricks
* Just because you are a crazy damage dealer doesn’t mean you are a tank. If you are dealing with a lower level/less experienced barb it may be best to wait until the boss has lost 25% of his hp before attacking. This will insure that you don’t steal agro and get the snot kicked out of you.
* Doing daily quests (Crazy Stone, Treasure Hunter, World Quest) that begin at level 40 will help you greatly with gaining spirit for skills.
* HP charms can be a life saver for us archers with little hp – but they can be expensive.
* MP charms are a must if you plan to use a higher level barrage often (mostly when zhenning).
* Never try and fly and kill land mobs, because they will heal on you.
* Kiting is a great way to kill mobs. To kite, simply shoot a mob and then run away, turn around, shoot it some more, run, etc. The mob will follow you like a, well, you know. Just be sure not to run too far or the mob will regenerate its health.
* Start gathering the materials needed for your TT weapons about 10 levels before you will be able to use the weapon – this will save you from running around like a crazed loon later on.
* Check out the non class-specific tips and tricks in the Infinitum forum.


Last edited by AJWLion on Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:37 pm; edited 9 times in total
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Braw
Executor
Braw


Posts : 108
Join date : 2009-04-13
Location : Somewhere, Somewhen

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyTue May 12, 2009 12:15 am

Awesome guide, AJ! O.O

No wonder you won Blake's event! CONGRATS!

...now... must... resist... temptation... to make an archer! XD
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AJWLion
Director
AJWLion


Posts : 257
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 34
Location : Rapid City, South Dakota

Character Stats
Class: Archer
Level: 91

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyMon Dec 28, 2009 3:03 pm

Hey guys, I FINALLY updated it. Yikes. It need it.

Some changes that were made:

- Removed the old skill path table (it actually was pretty inaccurate).
- Took out my incredibly long list of skills available and their descriptions and actually sorted them into skills you should/shouldn't level.
- Fixed some grammatical errors.
- Updated the weapons section to include supply stash items.
- Add the "General Tips and Tricks" section.
- Made some other small changes in each section to make them more detailed/clearer/relevant.

(Sorry it's not as pretty without the pictures, but I'll add more in sometime...)

If you think something should be added to this guide let me know, and if you have any questions feel free to post here or contact me in game. pirat
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Drayke
Director
Drayke


Posts : 110
Join date : 2009-04-15
Age : 31
Location : Vancouver, Canada

Character Stats
Class:
Level: 1

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyMon Dec 28, 2009 7:22 pm

I think all archers should use axes.
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AJWLion
Director
AJWLion


Posts : 257
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 34
Location : Rapid City, South Dakota

Character Stats
Class: Archer
Level: 91

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyTue Dec 29, 2009 1:07 am

Lol, yes... >.>
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SleepCat
Director
SleepCat


Posts : 440
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 103

Character Stats
Class: Venomancer
Level: 102

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyWed Dec 30, 2009 2:18 pm

On the skills you have no idea about, Stormrage is pretty much a crappy skill for archers. DoTs really aren't worth 2 sparks. Elven Alacrity is highly recommended. Despite the description, it's actually castable on any party member. Consider it as an additional holy path with the benefit of being immune to speed debuffs. Blessing of the Condor is also pretty good. The description is messed up again as in that the buff is a self-buff only. Although evasion is generally denounced by most PW mechanic specialists, a 1000% increase is high enough to pretty much gaurentee a 99% dodge rate for the duration of the buff. Just pretend it gives you immunity to physical attacks. The lvl 100 skills...not enough research yet. :p

Also, the lv 85 FF bow and the lv 95 CV bow are now fairly mainstream among the endgame weapon paths. The FF bow, broadland, isn't too expensive, being about 15mil or so and could essentially last you for the rest of the game if you really enjoy the proc, which greatly increases your attack and greatly decreases your defense. It gets fairly panned reviews on either for or against it, mostly based on the proc. The CV bow, Heaven Shatterer is a lot more one sided in terms of support as an endgame weapon. While its proc, which is basically a purge on the target, is critically acclaimed, the real prize for it is the -.1 interval, which puts its attack speed on par with a standard slingshot. The prize tag for it is rather steep, going for a 60mil minimum, but as an endgame weapon, most people do prefer it over the TT99 golds and TT100 xbow.
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AJWLion
Director
AJWLion


Posts : 257
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 34
Location : Rapid City, South Dakota

Character Stats
Class: Archer
Level: 91

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyWed Dec 30, 2009 4:25 pm

Thank you so much for your input Sleep! I'll find it useful for myself too. I'm guessing you got most of this information from Selene? :P

Also, about Blessing of the Condor - I've so heard so many mixed things. The descriptions are different between ecatomb and in-game. Then on the ecatomb character builder non-archers can see what their evasion is with that buff, making it a buff being able to be cast on a squad memeber?

Do you, or anyone, happen to know someone who actually HAS this skill and can completely vouch for how you are able to cast it? Would be super helpful since I'm working up to being to purchase a lvl 79 skill and would love the information to help me decide which one. Neutral
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SleepCat
Director
SleepCat


Posts : 440
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 103

Character Stats
Class: Venomancer
Level: 102

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyFri Jan 01, 2010 11:12 am

Don't tell anyone, but Selene never taught me anything about archer stuff. Guess where she got her information from. Bye :p

I can't help you with ingame stuff for the time being, but I strongly believe that Alacrity is the prefered skill over Blessing. While Blessing does in a way grant immnunity to physical attacks, with Alacrity, you can basically run away very quickly, being an indirect way to escape a melee strike, or force a spell channeling cancel due to distance. However, when considering ranged melee, Blessing wins over Alacrity for that but don't forget Alacrity also has its uses in non-combat situations such as simply running through BHes or something.

I'm still calling Alacrity for your first 79 skill. :p
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AJWLion
Director
AJWLion


Posts : 257
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 34
Location : Rapid City, South Dakota

Character Stats
Class: Archer
Level: 91

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyFri Jan 01, 2010 6:54 pm

Hmm, perhaps I may be leaning toward Alacrity now...

My idea about Blessing was so that I could use it on the tank in a squad to help them out - perhaps making archer's just that much more lovable? :P
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SleepCat
Director
SleepCat


Posts : 440
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 103

Character Stats
Class: Venomancer
Level: 102

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptySat Jan 02, 2010 12:13 pm

Yea, that would've been great...if you could cast Blessing on other people. :(
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Bronnco
Executor
Bronnco


Posts : 172
Join date : 2009-07-10
Age : 32
Location : Usually my desktop. XD

Character Stats
Class: Blademaster
Level: 87

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyFri Jan 15, 2010 2:16 am

*sigh* That character builder website is a tease then, since it allows you to apply that buff to any class character you create. =/
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http://bronncocomicsinc.110mb.com/
AJWLion
Director
AJWLion


Posts : 257
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 34
Location : Rapid City, South Dakota

Character Stats
Class: Archer
Level: 91

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyFri Jan 15, 2010 3:14 pm

Updated again to put a bit more information on the "Skill Points" section.
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AJWLion
Director
AJWLion


Posts : 257
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 34
Location : Rapid City, South Dakota

Character Stats
Class: Archer
Level: 91

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyWed Jan 27, 2010 5:28 pm

Updated:

- Added Sleep's bow suggestion for level 95. Thanks Sleep!
- Fixed error in weapon notes. Thanks Norby!
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AJWLion
Director
AJWLion


Posts : 257
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 34
Location : Rapid City, South Dakota

Character Stats
Class: Archer
Level: 91

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyFri May 28, 2010 1:48 pm

Updated:

- Added in my TT90 weapon of choice. Plan to update with my TT90 gear information soon.
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XenonSoul
Executor
XenonSoul


Posts : 162
Join date : 2009-09-02
Age : 34

Character Stats
Class: Blademaster
Level: 97

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyWed Aug 25, 2010 10:28 am

AJ, thank you so much for making this guide. I have it up in my browser all the time. I made an archer and using this guide. Very very helpful!!
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http://www.euphemiart.deviantart.com/
AJWLion
Director
AJWLion


Posts : 257
Join date : 2009-04-13
Age : 34
Location : Rapid City, South Dakota

Character Stats
Class: Archer
Level: 91

Archer Guide by AJWLion Empty
PostSubject: Re: Archer Guide by AJWLion   Archer Guide by AJWLion EmptyWed Aug 25, 2010 8:57 pm

Aww you are welcome Xe! <3
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