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Is trying to play a ranged Archer completely pointless ?

mechjockeymechjockey Member Posts: 265 Arc User
Hello my name is Mechjockey and I am a rangeahollic. I love to play ranged characters especially ranged DPS. Archers have been my favorite since City of Heroes. Is there hope for me here, or I have I fallen into an attractive nuisance set by sadistic game developers ?

Here's the spec or my character companion alive but no bondings fired
15,584 IL
Power 38,000
Damage Dealt +141%
Crit Chance 72% (with bonding 90%+)
Defenses Ignored 94.7
Deflection Chance 55.6%
Life Steal Chance 16%
Life Steal Severity 111%

Stormwarden/Archery

My rotation is put up split the sky over a target then Commanding shot -> longstriders shot -> (aimed shot)^(until commanding shot is back up

Any help cheerfully welcomed.

Comments

  • meer#7108 meer Member Posts: 47 Arc User
    edited September 2018
    You can play it, to your heart's content. You can even do okay in lower tier dungeons. However, if you decide to go full range, your overall damage in end-game dungeons will tank, because of the way buffs work in this game. You have to be within a certain range from your support classes in order to take full advantage of all the buffs, and if you're sitting at ranged, you won't get 90% of them. Sure, you might think "I will run in, get the buffs and run back out to be at range again", but many of those buffs have a window of 8 second or less, and you will likely miss out the buff window when you're doing all the back and forth. The Archer capstone is also a load of bollocks, since it's a personal damage debuff and the damage debuffs in these game lessens in effectiveness from diminishing returns, such is their nature.

    Bottom line is, if you're looking to compete at endgame, I wouldn't recommend a full Archer spec. That being said, this is a hybrid build which utilizes two trees (Archer and Combat) and offers something which might work for you.

    https://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter#/discussion/1241067/solving-the-archery-dilemma-pve-close-range-archery-combat-hybrid-build/p1

    Full disclaimer, that build does not revolve around you staying at ranged and missing the buffs, so if playing from full range AND doing competitive DPS is your goal, this game sadly won't meet your need.

    P.S - Your specs look fine. Don't forget to invest in hitpoints either.

    (Honorable mention - Archer works pretty decently in PvP. Check out Jon Koca's post if that's your thing. Just remember the golden rule : PvP does not exist :P )
  • wizardlvl80#5963 wizardlvl80 Member Posts: 519 Arc User
    To quickly answer the question asked in the topic: Unfortunately yes. It is pointless.
  • mechjockeymechjockey Member Posts: 265 Arc User
    Thanks for the answers. Not what I wanted to hear but what I needed to know.
  • meer#7108 meer Member Posts: 47 Arc User

    Thanks for the answers. Not what I wanted to hear but what I needed to know.

    It's always better to know the truth than finding out about it in a more expensive manner :(
  • greywyndgreywynd Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 7,083 Arc User
    I play Archer and do just fine. I don't expect to be top DPS in a dungeon run. That isn't the archer's job.
    I'm not looking for forgiveness, and I'm way past asking permission. Earth just lost her best defender, so we're here to fight. And if you want to stand in our way, we'll fight you too.
  • tassedethe13tassedethe13 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 806 Arc User
    greywynd said:

    I play Archer and do just fine. I don't expect to be top DPS in a dungeon run. That isn't the archer's job.

    What's the archer's job? Pew pew from 100 feet from party?
    It's playable when you solo, when you're in party.... I may ask what's the point
  • jonkocajonkoca Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 2,586 Arc User
    No point in party content.
    No idea what my toon is now.
  • greywyndgreywynd Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 7,083 Arc User
    Less point in the future. They're confiscating bow strings.
    I'm not looking for forgiveness, and I'm way past asking permission. Earth just lost her best defender, so we're here to fight. And if you want to stand in our way, we'll fight you too.
  • greywyndgreywynd Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 7,083 Arc User


    What's the archer's job? Pew pew from 100 feet from party?
    It's playable when you solo, when you're in party.... I may ask what's the point

    1) An Archer has no business being in melee.

    2) The point is it is fun. Which is the primary purpose of playing a game.
    I'm not looking for forgiveness, and I'm way past asking permission. Earth just lost her best defender, so we're here to fight. And if you want to stand in our way, we'll fight you too.
  • riseofasolja#9218 riseofasolja Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited October 2018
    Archery is fun, it's not pointless, on top of that people don't like it because it's not a true DPS class, don't know why every class is obsessed with DPS, just make sure you do enough damage, even in high end tier dungeons. At the end of the day it's about having fun, I tried the other two trees "combat,trapper" wasn't having any fun felt like I was playing a hybrid trickster rogue.
  • typo#6563 typo Member Posts: 228 Arc User
    edited November 2018
    One could argue a Combat has no business firing ranged shots, yet they do as a regular part of their rotations, notably including LSS, StS, and even Cordon.

    Saying an Archer has no business doing melee ignores the very obvious fact that they can and, like with Combat, there are some advantages to using both stances. My Hybrid Archery build, which Meer cites in his comment above, recommends this approach and I have a GREAT DEAL OF FUN playing it. Maybe not everyone likes melee, but some do.

    If you consider Hawk Shot (a classic archery power), the melee flip side of that is Hawkeye, which is a very nice buff (and will be great in Mod 15 with the Primal Instincts passive). It would be kind of silly to pass up on that buff just because it is a melee power. For the same reason, this is why Combat HRs use LSS. It is too good to pass up.

    If someone really wants to be ranged only, then they have that choice. But for those who like to mix it up, there is nothing wrong with that. And it can actually make a big difference in performance.

    (That said, I do understand there are some diehard range-only fans and so my build does include some rotations for that. I don't think they are as good as the dual stance rotations though.)
    Extraneous Typo

  • mithrosnomoremithrosnomore Member Posts: 693 Arc User
    greywynd said:


    What's the archer's job? Pew pew from 100 feet from party?
    It's playable when you solo, when you're in party.... I may ask what's the point

    1) An Archer has no business being in melee.

    2) The point is it is fun. Which is the primary purpose of playing a game.
    While I agree with the points, in the big picture I think they are flawed.

    I want to say that I am not a big group guy. I am working on a character and that may change for them, but I am also looking at making yet another Ranger as a secondary, and experience playing my Rangers and then anecdotal evidence posted here tells me that the archer is lacking.

    So yes. Absolutely, positively, if you want to focus on archery then you have no business being in melee.

    But if buffs are being shared up close and you are not getting them, then doesn't this mean that you are now working at a disadvantage relative to the rest of the group?

    No, it's not a competition, but if you are supposed to be DPS and are offering less DPS than a Rogue or GWF then why should a party pick you to come along?

    And that gets to the second point.
    While it's entirely possible to play as a solo player through a great deal of content and have fun doing it, if you want to run endgame dungeons but can not find many groups that will take you, then that negatively impacts the whole "fun" thing.

    So if parties are looking for melee toons because of the buff situation then point 1 can be read as "An Archer has no business in a party", and that is not fun if parties are what you want.
  • herushanforumherushanforum Member Posts: 15 Arc User
    I play a ranged Archer and have been primary dps in TONG and done well in CR and CODG but it took time to perfect my build to my play style. Mixed stance helps as you do have to stay fairly close to the group for the max benefits. I use thorn ward, split the sky, and cordan of arrows with aim shot and electric shot most of the time. Being agile is important to survive. Archer does need some help and shorter animation to really compete with the gwf. Wish all classes were consistent in attacking. HR animation is a joke and needs to be fixed.
  • heavensake#5599 heavensake Member Posts: 77 Arc User
    Yes
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