Annor's Archer Basics (guide)

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  • Fleuri - Sanctuary
    Fleuri - Sanctuary Posts: 1,763 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Manicero - Sanctuary wrote: »
    1 more thing i have never herd anyone say anything good of serrated arrow

    I love my serrated and vicious arrows!

    b:pleased
  • Forp - Heavens Tear
    Forp - Heavens Tear Posts: 1,445 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Annor - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    Thunder Shock (Efct1, Opt) Adds damage, converts entire shot to metal, reduces target metal resistance
    This is an excellent spell when fighting heavy-armored clunkers with a ton of hp, lowering their metal defense to make other metal skills an archer uses do a lot more damage. Maxed it kills 50% of their metal defense.
    Annor - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    Deadly Shot (Opt) High damage shot, long cast delay
    I don't agree with this. Deadly shot maxed is by far the scariest thing I've ever had to fight. Its 1 hit me with a crit through my maxed plume shell and 2k~ hp.
  • Legerity - Sanctuary
    Legerity - Sanctuary Posts: 1,072 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Forp - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    This is an excellent spell when fighting heavy-armored clunkers with a ton of hp, lowering their metal defense to make other metal skills an archer uses do a lot more damage. Maxed it kills 50% of their metal defense.

    I don't agree with this. Deadly shot maxed is by far the scariest thing I've ever had to fight. Its 1 hit me with a crit through my maxed plume shell and 2k~ hp.

    The thing about deadly shot is that 1. it's expensive to level and it's probably not even as good as take aim after you get a TT weapon and 2. mana intensive.

    Deadly shot gives a big +damage modifier meaning it has little to do with the type of damage "roll" you get when an archer fires so that's a bonus. For example, as a take aim shot, it could be 300% of a low roll on a xbow's damage (which translates to a very **** number you see over your enemy) but this same roll means little to a deadly shot (which translates to still a decent number on the enemy because of the flat increase of 5k dmg at lvl 10)

    I actually think take aim with atleast a TT weapon starts to prove more benefits than DS. And then when you reach 89 (assuming you have the endurance to go that far) take aim outshines DS imo. The only thing you lose out on here is the cheap chi builder from lvl 1 TA... but I suppose it's better than blowing off all that spirit onto a skill you probably won't use anymore at later levels.

    jm2c
  • Forp - Heavens Tear
    Forp - Heavens Tear Posts: 1,445 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    ok, so you use level 1 take aim and level 1 deadly shot forever in pvp until 89 when you can get heaven take aim? that makes a helluva lot of sense. especially by 89 you'll have maxed most skills anyways(assuming you're not poor like 80% of people you're level and do actually level skills).
  • Legerity - Sanctuary
    Legerity - Sanctuary Posts: 1,072 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Forp - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    ok, so you use level 1 take aim and level 1 deadly shot forever in pvp until 89 when you can get heaven take aim? that makes a helluva lot of sense. especially by 89 you'll have maxed most skills anyways(assuming you're not poor like 80% of people you're level and do actually level skills).

    Nope, I leveled take aim around 58 when I got a sling, and then I found it very powerful when I got the TT60 bow.

    Like I said, I have leveled my DS ever since it was available (up til lvl 3), but I stopped when I found TA better.

    edit: whoops, was pretty sure I mentioned I leveled DS to 3... probably removed it when I proofread it, my bad.
  • Mosz - Heavens Tear
    Mosz - Heavens Tear Posts: 3,181 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    thunderous blast is heavily overlooked, easy crit kill on robes in plume 0.o test it!
    *goes back to sounding like a noob that got lucky?*
  • Legerity - Sanctuary
    Legerity - Sanctuary Posts: 1,072 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    I'm working on that skill now :D
  • Annor - Heavens Tear
    Annor - Heavens Tear Posts: 330 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Deadly shot is very expensive to level, and largely useless in pve. PVP is useage is debatable.... the power of regular shots is too often underestimated, and as mentioned, take aim is very impressive at higher levels. When you are tight for spirit and tight for coin, i wouldnt touch it.

    Thunderous Blast is an amazing ability, but its mostly for PVP and playing around in lower level content, so its not a top priority if you are needing to preserve coins/spirit.



    With regards to the earlier suggestion that aggro resets throughout all boss fights, I still have seen no confirmation of this, and my experiences in game, which i have been watching more closely recently go even furthur to dispute this.
    Take for example a Silverfrost fight, (vit built) tank 16 levels lower than me, after applying (maxed) sharpened tooth arrow, i refrain from attacking, when the bosses HP reaches 50%*, i again begin to attack, using advance spark eruptions and never pausing once, from that 50% mark to silver's death takes over 5 minutes, and this time passed with no aggro pulls. No discredit to the tank, but i am relatively sure i generate more threat than a level 70 vit-built barb, had aggro reset even once throughout the fight, there would have been an aggro pull. Experimental testing is limited in its capacity, but this sort of example is not a once-only occurance.

    *Note: yes 50% is a late start, but with max tooth, the fight effectively starts at 84% boss HP, and the level difference was significant (I was also planning to use this fight to test the above).
    Meek with words, abrupt with arrows.
  • Legerity - Sanctuary
    Legerity - Sanctuary Posts: 1,072 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Annor - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    Deadly shot is very expensive to level, and largely useless in pve. PVP is useage is debatable.... the power of regular shots is too often underestimated, and as mentioned, take aim is very impressive at higher levels. When you are tight for spirit and tight for coin, i wouldnt touch it.

    Thunderous Blast is an amazing ability, but its mostly for PVP and playing around in lower level content, so its not a top priority if you are needing to preserve coins/spirit.



    With regards to the earlier suggestion that aggro resets throughout all boss fights, I still have seen no confirmation of this, and my experiences in game, which i have been watching more closely recently go even furthur to dispute this.
    Take for example a Silverfrost fight, (vit built) tank 16 levels lower than me, after applying (maxed) sharpened tooth arrow, i refrain from attacking, when the bosses HP reaches 50%*, i again begin to attack, using advance spark eruptions and never pausing once, from that 50% mark to silver's death takes over 5 minutes, and this time passed with no aggro pulls. No discredit to the tank, but i am relatively sure i generate more threat than a level 70 vit-built barb, had aggro reset even once throughout the fight, there would have been an aggro pull. Experimental testing is limited in its capacity, but this sort of example is not a once-only occurance.

    *Note: yes 50% is a late start, but with max tooth, the fight effectively starts at 84% boss HP, and the level difference was significant (I was also planning to use this fight to test the above).

    Good to have confirmation. Another thing, have you tried aim low or stunning minibosses or elite mobs? No pressure on you, just thought maybe you would share your additional experimental results if you have any. :D
  • Annor - Heavens Tear
    Annor - Heavens Tear Posts: 330 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    I've been meaning to, just have to get around to it, due to the simplicity possible with such a test, i want to do it in a particular way so as to leave no doubt... just have to coerse a tank :).
    Meek with words, abrupt with arrows.
  • Aluarn - Lost City
    Aluarn - Lost City Posts: 36 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Sticky this guide oh moderator wherever you may be.

    It's %@!&*?# AWESOME!
    I refuse to make a creative signature.
  • Annor - Heavens Tear
    Annor - Heavens Tear Posts: 330 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Awwww ty Aluarn
    Im glad you like it :)
    Meek with words, abrupt with arrows.
  • Legerity - Sanctuary
    Legerity - Sanctuary Posts: 1,072 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Aluarn - Lost City wrote: »
    Sticky this guide oh moderator wherever you may be.

    It's %@!&*?# AWESOME!

    yarly... +1 from me
  • xxxdsmer
    xxxdsmer Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    noob question alert (lol)
    i'm guessing (from playing army of two on xbox 360) that aggro is kinda like how much an enemy wants to give attention to someone / how much the enemy hates a particular someone (whoever has the higher aggro gets attacked by the enemy)

    but (ingame) is there a meter or something that shows/indicates how much aggro you have?

    and for my (long) post about the OP and stuff:
    there's alot of question and comment in this, i hope to hear some feedback on all of it :) (i'm a analytical thinker and a curious mind. also very easygoing and not caring about spelling at the moment and i usually dont use the shift key lol.)

    Wings of Grace - Stun and slow immunity, damage reduced, movement speed increased
    Wingspan - see above (see above... see what above? lol)

    i dont think i have either of these yet, i think (as i'm just lv19). but what'd be the reccomendation for leveling (or not leveling) the two above skills?

    and why halt these?:
    Knockback Arrow (Efct1, Halt) Knocks target back, buying time
    Take Aim (Efct1, Halt) Low damage for cast time but fire instantly by pressing twice to generate chi
    Quickshot (Halt) Ineffective for damage, but can be used for chi generation (not as effective as instant take aim for this purpose)

    i've only done PvE so far, (and some duels but nothing really serious) with my archer because i just hit lv19... and for mobbing i generally do: full charge take aim > frost arrow > lightning strike > quickshot > (mby some normal shots) > lightning strike/frost arrow/quickshot/normal shot till dead (if they're not already dead long before then lol

    or i do full charge take aim > lightning strike > quickshot/frost arrow > frost arrow/quickshot > lightning strike (kinda more focused on doing as much damage asap)

    combos similar to those are what i usually do, and have been doing since i sold my two star smithy's hammer
    but when i had some 2 star smithy's hammers that i made and the mob got in close i would switch to those and bash its brains out, and i'll probably be starting that again since i just made a 2 star refined blade tonight (that i hadnt really even got to use before the servers went down)
    [yes i've got some strength points. i ended up spending points to fit some mithril heavy plate that was found lol]
    is there something other than switching to a melee weapon that can be done at lv19 when the mob gets in melee range (i.e.: inside a ranged weapon's minimum effective range) and for someone who's just level 19? also... i didnt get to go to the preist for the next level of spiritual cultivation before the servers went down so i dont have whatever skills or new levels of skills that i unlocked at level 19.
    [i just looked back through the OP and i'm guessing winged pledge and wingspan would be the things for melee range situations but i dont have those yet, so suggestions are welcome for what a lv19 archer can do in melee range. till then i'll be using my shiny new 2 star refined blade i jus made tonight for situations like that lol]

    and i dont know what level my abilities are up to, and cant check ingame because all servers are down at the moment, but i'm finding my take aim and quickshot levels useful because of the additional damage the added levels of those skills give (although i'm usually spending alot of time meditating to recover MP) but i do know all, or most, of my skills are leveled to the highest they can be for roughly lvl 17 or 18 (except the one that says "only works on normal elven wings" which i figure to only work on the basic wings elves start with)

    which btw... if anyone remembers or knows of which stat i'm talking about that increases either flight or flight and walking speed that's available at lower levels... would someone comment on wether or not its worth leveling that and if it actually is only for the starter wings or not? i've got a set of blood mist wings in the bank that were gifted by a friend and dont want to waste the spirit on that skill if it wont help me above level 30

    thanks for takin the time to read this long and probably rambly post, and hopefully i get some answers/feedback on all of it (and if there's any gramar/spellin pickers out there thinking about pickin... ya can leave the pickin on grammar n spellin out, cuz i'm from the south and i type the way i type and if ya dont like it ya didn havta read it :) )

    y'all hava nice day and ty in adavance :)
    i'm pro all classes, and against none in particular..
    but the age old QQ about venos is just that. OLD.
    QQ'd about a nix lately? check out this thread n tell me who's "OP" lol..
    (copy and paste this to address bar):
    pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=102172
  • Annor - Heavens Tear
    Annor - Heavens Tear Posts: 330 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Ahhhhhh, lemme try to answer as much of this as i can :)
    Yes you're right about aggro, no there is no meter or gauge in came, hence you have to be extremely cautious, do a little guess work, and try to be inciteful.

    For the 'See above', there was overlap, that ability was already mentioned just a few lines up. Wings of Grace is amazing, but there is only 1 level of it, no ranking up ^^.

    For the Halt abilities you listed, the reason is mana efficiency.
    Take Aim: Doesnt add too much damage, and really isnt very useful for damage until the very late game, it can however be used for chi generation (where you fire it instantly) and for this low mana is good.
    Knockback Arrow: For PVE the extra ranks just dont bring anything enticing enough to want to burn extra mana every cast, you are after the knockback effect, not the +damage, and the knockback effect does not improve with levels.
    Quickshot: This can also be used for Chi generation is you're really chi-hungry, i dont really use it for this, or at all.

    For what you can do in melee range... lightning strike isnt penalized in melee, and if you want you can just do your regular shots if the mob is almost dead, or kite. Having a melee weapon at low levels doesnt hurt though, and for this i'd recommend fists as they have the lowest strength requirement.

    Yes flight mastery only works on natural wings, drop a level or two in it if you want, but you want get that spirit back, or the coin at level 30 when you stop using it.

    Erm... deep breath... hope I got to it all :)
    Meek with words, abrupt with arrows.
  • Aesthor - Heavens Tear
    Aesthor - Heavens Tear Posts: 3,845 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Gratz on the sticky Annor :)
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    ಥ_ಥ MOAR.
    SkyKoC - How long is yours?
  • Annor - Heavens Tear
    Annor - Heavens Tear Posts: 330 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    I knooow,
    This is my happy face:
    :)

    Ty!!
    Meek with words, abrupt with arrows.
  • Legerity - Sanctuary
    Legerity - Sanctuary Posts: 1,072 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Annor - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    I knooow,
    This is my happy face:
    :)

    Ty!!

    Congrats on the sticky, Annor.
  • Anarith - Sanctuary
    Anarith - Sanctuary Posts: 50 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Nice work,Annor!!b:victory
    This guide will surely help me later...
    Thanks,GO GO archers!!b:chuckle
    Češi,hlaste se!!!
  • Chaotiic - Lost City
    Chaotiic - Lost City Posts: 498 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Read through the guide its pretty good i especially like the fact that u didnt, as most guides do, recommend the hybrid build as the main archer build. For Pve/Pvp pure is generally regarded as superior as difference in damage and crit rate is large. We are a DD class afterall why gimp urself in the damage department. By using a vit build u become a player who can be ignored in mass pvp as u deal low damage and in pve mobs which wouldnt reach a pure build will reach and pound on u a few times making ur extra hp not worth it.

    Some bosses do reset aggro. The last boss in fb89 heaven resets aggro, the second boss in fb89 hell resets and the commonly known and feared beliel boss (Ancient Evil i think its called) in hh2-3 random aggros. There are others that could be mentioned.

    Take aim is by far an archers strongest skill and does outdamage deadly shot especially at later levels when ur weapon and refines get higher. The heaven/hell version u get at lv 89 is godly and hits extremely hard whilst being spammable as the cooldown is only 3 secs lol

    Lastly as an archer ur job is to kill stuff namely squishies like mages, eps and other archers. Thus ur damage comes first and survivability comes second dont go all out on survivability and sacrifice ur main function.
    Official Guild History

    Conqueror->kamisama
  • Asterelle - Sanctuary_1381265973
    Asterelle - Sanctuary_1381265973 Posts: 7,881 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Great guide here. It is well organized and I agree with the skill prioritization. Definitely deserving of the sticky.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Refining Simulator - aster.ohmydays.net/pw/refiningsimulator.html (don't use IE)
    Genie Calculator - aster.ohmydays.net/pw/geniecalculator.html - (don't use IE)
    Socket Calculator - aster.ohmydays.net/pw/socketcalculator.html
  • Aelitaz - Heavens Tear
    Aelitaz - Heavens Tear Posts: 34 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Goooood guide, Annor! ;)
    First i tought, that WHO CAN BE SO PATIENT, AND READ THAT ALL!
    but then I readed it...I didn't read it all, but some things ;)
    "Kun min
  • Annor - Heavens Tear
    Annor - Heavens Tear Posts: 330 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Tyvm guys :)
    and thanks to Chaotiic for your late, late game info.
    Meek with words, abrupt with arrows.
  • yudhistira
    yudhistira Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Thanks. I'm installing this now, and I'm interested in playing archer. I found your guide helpful, especially the lively discussion it generated! This will help me from probably making many a noob blunder.

    thanks, everyone.
  • Chaotiic - Lost City
    Chaotiic - Lost City Posts: 498 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Annor - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    Tyvm guys :)
    and thanks to Chaotiic for your late, late game info.

    i know im a baddie soz i didnt post earlier b:surrender
    Official Guild History

    Conqueror->kamisama
  • Legerity - Sanctuary
    Legerity - Sanctuary Posts: 1,072 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Chaotiic - Lost City wrote: »
    i know im a baddie soz i didnt post earlier b:surrender

    Baddie!!! -shoots you-
  • Annor - Heavens Tear
    Annor - Heavens Tear Posts: 330 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    I will be continuing to work on this, so any suggestions on new sections (im thinking of adding a FAQ) are very welcome. Discussions on Demon/Sage may be addressed briefly, but I'm more interested in creating a footing for archers starting out and attacking their mid levels.

    Ty :)
    Meek with words, abrupt with arrows.
  • _DynamiC_ - Lost City
    _DynamiC_ - Lost City Posts: 4 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    WTF Take aim outdmg deadly shot!!!! so shud i keep it at the highest possible lvl? and btw chaoticc which is better for an archer , sage or demon..?


    Starting archer in harshlands b:cute
  • Annor - Heavens Tear
    Annor - Heavens Tear Posts: 330 Arc User
    edited February 2009
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    Take Aim outdamages Deadly Shot only in the very late game, i would say 80s+ depending on equipment, so i wouldnt max it (or allocate more than a single point) until then. Most archers go demon (from memory Chaotiic is one of this breed), but check out one of the long threads dedicated to this discussion as it would be difficult to do it justice here.

    Safe or Demon/Dark/Devil(?) Archer?

    Holy/Hell Discussion.

    I'm sure there were others lurking around too, but theres a couple i dug up.
    Meek with words, abrupt with arrows.
  • Chaotiic - Lost City
    Chaotiic - Lost City Posts: 498 Arc User
    edited March 2009
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    Yeah u really need to check the full discussion as it is a LONG debate as to which is better. I did go hell and the funny thing is at the time most archers were going heaven but recently all the new 89s have gone hell and there are far more hell than heaven atm. Up to u tho check out the discussions and the skills and decide for yourself. However remember the only skills ur guaranteed to get are frost, take aim, blazing arrow and through completing cube 30 times per skill at 90+ thunderous blast, sharptooth, barrage of arrows and stormrage eagelion(b:spit)
    Official Guild History

    Conqueror->kamisama

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