Archer in FC's?

Kswizzled - Dreamweaver

I hit 73 yesterday and am prepping myself up for doing my first FC sometime between 78-80. And I am terrified -_-. Yes, I've seen the forum posts on FC'ing and I've watched a youtube video here and there, but I still dont know what the hell I'm supposed to do in there.

What is the archer's role in FC? How does an FC WORK exactly?

x

grimreaperhc

BoA, BoA, BoA, BoA & BoA, also some more BoA, some other AoE and doing hands in the end.

Welcome to FC as an archer.

But, seriously - our main job is to AoE the pulls and watch for our aggro when fighting the boss. In the end of the run ( fast run ) we're doing the hands that spawn around the people.

Shopz - Dreamweaver

As far as watching archers I'll say that people use them in FC as fist/claws DD's at bosses.
And the rest is when Zening many mobs they use that skill with many arrows(I don't know the skill name b:surrender)-Using bows-also taking down the flying mobs in the FC.
Maybe that'll help yab:victory

EmeryFlower - Dreamweaver

I haven't FC'd in a long time, so bare with me if I'm talking old school FC. Also I will tell you what will normally happen in a squad for your level.

FC is an instance set up by 1k Streams. Normally, a group of six people within the same level range. 70-80, 85-95, etc., squad up. Normally it consists of 1 Barb, 1 Cleric, 3 DD's, 1 Veno (To tank some bosses for the barb, but if the barb is fine with tanking all bosses, you can fill it with another plain DDer).
Normally, the barb lures the hallway (or half depending on what he can take) in the beginning, up to the first room on the left to the Shade. That is where everyone will AoE, as an Archer with Barrage, I suggest targeting the Shade and setting up there. After you kill that group, the second door is opened, and the barb lures the (rest of the hallway if applicable) room to the shade, and you repeat. Depending on how many mobs he pulled, barrage may or may not be a waste of sparks. After that room is done, he goes down the door on the right side of the hall and pulls all the mobs down to the shade at the very end and once again, everyone AoEs. Then you do the first boss, being careful not to stand in the rings when they appear.
After that, it's basically the same thing. I wouldn't barrage on all the pulls, just when you feel you can. Also, be wary of your chi because veno sparks are usually reserved for barb and cleric, then any DD.
Aside from the barraging, you are also responsible for the Harpies that fly on the ceilings, but ranged classes will help you there. You are also responsible for the most important job ever, which is the hands on the exp room boss, unless a BM or Sin or another Archer in the squad wants to do them, but you should decide the with the thought in mind of who will do the most dmg to the boss. (Once, an archer was in the same FC squad as me and she had no interval gear, and was 3 levels lower than me. She insisted that I do the hands... Riiiight.)

Shopz - Dreamweaver wrote: »

As far as watching archers I'll say that people use them in FC as fist/claws DD's at bosses.

Also, this is untrue. Unless things REALLY changed in FC, i was told never to use fists or claws during bosses, because I do more dmg using my bow than I would with fists. Plus, a lot of the bosses have AoE attacks that are up close, or do more dmg up close, so I would suggest being far away from the bosses until you get the hang of it. The only time I can think of using fists/claws during FC is on the bishop boss, but then again you have to run over to the bishop when it spawns, when you could just as easily attack from far.

grimreaperhc

Oh yea, forgot to mention, we must also take care of the harpies flying around because they are usually wiping the cleric while he/she is BBing.

Kswizzled - Dreamweaver

b:surrender

I need to start paying attention more ingame because all this info is **** my mind and im left confused and violated. b:thanks :P

tyvm to all of you though. here's to hoping I don't fail so miserably that I hang up my bow and pick up a guitar and hobo-sing on the streets of archosaur instead b:victory

EmeryFlower - Dreamweaver

Don't worry... For some reason, I never really used Thunder Shock, and therefore I had NO clue it was AoE.
And then for some reason, I also decided to use Thunderous Blast on the exp room boss. I don't know what I was thinking at that point in time. As soon as I casted it, the stupid other boss man came out and it hit him too, and squad wipe. I proceeded to blame the sin. b:surrender
So when all else fails, blame the other person.

somebodynoone

I agree with Grim all the way. Aside from just DD, archers need to BoA at every pull and join the bowsins (meb:cool) and casters whiping out those damned harpiesb:victory

Typhyse - Sanctuary

LOL whoops b:embarrass
I just changed the passwords on all my accounts and was still logged into an alt account xD

GrimReaperHC wrote: »

Oh yea, forgot to mention, we must also take care of the harpies flying around because they are usually wiping the cleric while he/she is BBing.

How the heck do you FCC, Grim? b:surprised
You're supposed to wipe those harpies BEFORE BB b:quiet

holmgaard

This is a link to an awesome FC-guide by Alphae:
http://pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=909462&highlight=frostcovered

What I did was just copy it on paper and kept then right there in front of me during the first runs.

BoA.. If you have good, high lvl squad you will not have anything to worry about.
Sometimes you will get aggro and of course die. If that happens try without blazing arrow or start after a little while.
Or simply use Sharpened tooth arrow - Thunderous blast. Aim at a mob in the middle.

The task to kill the hands at the Oceania Master in the big room is usually given to the archer, But anyone with a bow can do them since they have only 15 hp. Try to get your squadmates in front of you and spread out. That way its easier to hit the hands when they show up.
And be shure to decide who do them before starting. The other day a friend of mine said "I cant do hands" right before starting... I read "I CAN do hands"!! ... And i didnt shoot first hand ... squad wiped, and everyone blamed me, of course.

Don't use Sharpened Tooth Arrow on bosses since the lowering-max hp-effect takes away exp. That of course doesn't apply if nobody is using exp stones.

1 last thing. When sins pull they often do that backwords, starting at the farther end and pulling back to the starting point. So dont follow them when they run away.

Bring Golden Jade or God's Tea to have an extra spark if needed.

And tell squad you're unexperienced. That way people speak up and tell you what will happen. It's allways nice to help new players around.

I hope this can be of some use to you.
Good Luck and have fun
b:victory

Vronca - Lost City

where can i tell how meny dagon points i have plase replayb
b:cute

Ranged_Death - Lost City

Archers job in Frost:

Kill the flying harpies so they don't take out the squishy clerics.
Barrage on bigger pulls so that the mobs drop faster.
Watch dmg on boss so you don't get aggro.
Usually do hands at the big room boss.

That is about it. Really haven't done Frost from a archer point of view, but when I get them in squads with my BM that is normally all I see them do.


Also ignore the old Frost type. Now the shades are dealt with by the sin's in the squad.

EmeryFlower - Dreamweaver

Ranged_Death - Lost City wrote: »

Also ignore the old Frost type. Now the shades are dealt with by the sin's in the squad.

That's only applicable if the sin CAN solo the shades, which would be an 89+ (So the sin has demon spark) squad, mostly. Sins that are high enough to solo shades wouldn't normally go with lower level players because they want faster runs, blah blah... So if you're in a lowbie squad, with a lowbie sin, chances are they can't solo the shades and you have to do it the old fashioned way. Even at that, if the sin could solo the shades, the barb has to be able to do all the BIG pulls it would bring.
Just two lil factors. b:surrender

Sarrafeline - Sanctuary

EmeryFlower - Dreamweaver wrote: »

That's only applicable if the sin CAN solo the shades, which would be an 89+ (So the sin has demon spark) squad, mostly. Sins that are high enough to solo shades wouldn't normally go with lower level players because they want faster runs, blah blah... So if you're in a lowbie squad, with a lowbie sin, chances are they can't solo the shades and you have to do it the old fashioned way. Even at that, if the sin could solo the shades, the barb has to be able to do all the BIG pulls it would bring.
Just two lil factors. b:surrender

b:chuckle Did FCC with a Sage sin the other day. She soloed the Shades no problem (89).

Also... Since BoA takes two sparks, you need to focus on Thunderous Blast a little, as it is also an AOE. Get it as high as you can, more range.

If I can't get BoA up on a pull due to lack of sparks (hey, not every squad has a Veno), then I'll use Thunderous Blast. I have a genie with channel reduction skills to make it instant cast, which helps too. Poke the button, and when it starts channeling/casting, press the genie skill, and off it goes. Auto attack a mob until it's cooled down, then repeat on another mob.

grimreaperhc

STA is also an AoE.

ElwinCastor - Dreamweaver

I didn't see it mentioned, but you probably don't want to use Wingspan except in certain conditions. Definitely don't use that on the magic mobs.

I have only used it a couple times and it was just to save a cleric that had got heal aggro somehow.

grimreaperhc

ElwinCastor - Dreamweaver wrote: »

I didn't see it mentioned, but you probably don't want to use Wingspan except in certain conditions. Definitely don't use that on the magic mobs.

^ That's true. The only occasion where you could use it is when the BM fails to stun on time and those damn assassins get on the BBing cleric. Wingspan > Expel in order to save your squishy ... back.

Also, when BoAing on the same mobs or at the big hall I recommend you to use Expel while BoAing if you get the mobs on you. Last time I did that, I died but I can swear that I saw over 50 "Resist" over my head.

EmeryFlower - Dreamweaver

Sarrafeline - Sanctuary wrote: »

b:chuckle Did FCC with a Sage sin the other day. She soloed the Shades no problem (89).
.

I didn't say you couldn't use a sage sin, i just said demon forgetting that sins can go sage too. meant to say triple spark. b:surrender

_Skai_ - Raging Tide

EmeryFlower - Dreamweaver wrote: »

I didn't say you couldn't use a sage sin, i just said demon forgetting that sins can go sage too. meant to say triple spark. b:surrender

I solo'd shades starting when I was 80 b:avoid

But of course I was geared quite well, and knew what to do b:pleased

Kswizzled - Dreamweaver

b:pleased

I can't even explain how awesome it is that so many people have replied to this thread. I loove it when people are willing to help out - people like that are hard to come by lately

A few more questions -

1) How many hours would a run take with a lowbie squad take? I'm a sophomore in high school and am taking extra classes from JHU and it takes up a lot of time to balance all the work and varsity sports - not to mention going out with friends every day and doing community service. I'd like to be able to plan how much time to set aside to FC b:shocked

2) Which genie skills are best for archers - both in FC's and in general? I have holy path, extreme poison, earthflame, and tree of protection.

3) How easy is it for you (assuming you're an archer ) to find a squad for an FC?

4) Is it easy to find a squad that has at least ONE person that is willing to kinda guide you through the run, especially for newbie's like me?

i love you all. it isn't even okay

ILL MAKE IT UP TO ALL OF YOU, SOMEHOW. just name it and im up for it! (:

_Skai_ - Raging Tide

For a lowbie squad (80-85 or so), it usually takes around 1.5-2 hours for a run, if I remember right.

If you're completely new, I'd suggest to try to look for videos to get a general idea of where things are, and learn from there. Other than that, try to get a few friends/factionmates to go, and ask questions! Most squads don't like if you're new and DON'T say anything.

AoE DD's, such as archers, have an easier job than most of the rest of the squad. When a barb is doing a pull, all you do is follow him, but don't pass him. BUT, some pulls require the barb to go down a hallway to gather the mobs down there. You will have to stop with the rest of the squad near a doorway to wait for the barb to come back, and follow him.

If you're a great self learner, watch a few videos, then, when you get into a squad, just follow what another DD does. Following another AoE DD, such as a wiz/psy/veno/etc, is a great idea, as they have the same job as you, AoEing mobs to kill them quickly.

Holy path is a must on a genie, as the barb is rather quick. You'd want to keep up, but not past the barb. You'd want to get to the main area where you AoE as quickly as possible. Just AoE AFTER the BM stuns, as by that time the barb would have cast roar (if they are doing their jobs correctly).

Most pulls involve pulling the mobs to a Glacial Shade, which has a lot more health than the mobs barbs pull. You should utilize this as your target to AoE on.

Expel is also a great favorite for archers. If you have enough genie stamina when you get to an AoE area, use it IF you steal agro on a lot of the mobs. It'll give you some breathing room while the mobs are being killed.

As I've stated, study up on bosses yourself, and you'd be really prepped up on killing bosses! As always, if you're unsure about a boss when you get to one, just ask your squad.

In short for bosses:

First Boss: Spawns random yellow circles every 10 seconds (15-20 for the first ones to start to appear) around the room. These circles will explode 5 seconds after appearance, dealing 5,000 damage to whoever is in a circle when it explodes. Get out of them ASAP.

Second Boss: Beginning part involves killing mobs around a frozen boss. The mobs are "trying to unfreeze" him, but you have to kill the mobs before they do. 2 spawn each time, and last for 30 seconds. DD as much as possible. Squads under 89 will have a cleric RB in the middle. After 4 sets of mobs, the next 3 sets have higher health and defense, and then the next 3 after that have even higher health and defense. Just follow what your squad does. After the 3rd set of the highest health mobs, the boss will break free, in either a Frenzy, normal, or weakened state. This boss will randomly sleep people, and also randomly "bubble" people. The purple bubble freezes you, and does damage over time. It's up to the cleric to make sure no one dies.

Third Boss: This is the side boss, or optional boss. Squads that have a majority of their levels under 85 will skip this boss. But higher up they will not. Talk to the NPC to get the quest to spawn the boss. This boss does AoE bleed, and at the beginning it will spawn a Dragoon, which needs to be disposed of ASAP. It has an AoE stun, which it uses after it has taken some damage. Once the boss gets under 250,000 health, another one will spawn.

Fourth Boss: This boss is called the Bishop Boss, because it spawn Bishops, which spawn on random squad members, and have an AoE Freeze and metal attack. This boss randomly sleeps people, and purges someone everytime a bishop is spawned. This is not a good fight for an Archer, as you will have to "group hug" or get really close to the boss so that when a bishop spawns, everyone can attack it, even if everyone gets frozen.

Fifth Boss: This boss is the runewolf boss. It has an AoE attack that takes off 1/4th of your health, regardless of defenses. On this boss, PAY ATTENTION TO THE COMMON CHAT. Once in a while it will start to scream a message. It starts with "Super", and red text is shown. When you see that, run away at least 25 meters. When the boss finishes his little chant, he will have a 4-5 second AoE that kills anyone caught in it, unless the person(s) in the range are sparking/ADing/apothecary-ing. Since you're an Archer, you'll be out of this range most of the time.

Sixth Boss: This boss is simple. It has an AoE that takes off 1/3rd of your health, and sleeps everyone right after. That's the only threat.

Seventh Boss: This boss is located in the Big room, or the main exp room. You do NOT want to use any AoE attacks, as it always has a chance to hit the "mini-me" the boss spawns every 30 seconds. Every 15-20 seconds, it will spawn hands on a squad member. If this hand is not killed within 5 seconds, it will deal 5,000 damage to ALL squad members. Usually this is the archer's job to do the hands, as they have a skill that can be instant casted that can deal damage. Each hand has 10 health. Also, as stated, the boss will spawn a "mini-me" every 30 seconds, that slowly runs away from the squad. DO NOT ATTACK THIS. If it is attacked, it will explode and deal 5,000 damage to all squad members.

After this boss, the barb will pull the mobs in the room, and you will aoe them as usually. Of course, have hypers running, and use Expel if you draw agro. Try not to AoE too early, or too late.

After the mobs, heads are activated, and your job is to kill all heads as soon as possible that spawn. They spawn and stay for 2-3 seconds, so you have to be quick. These mobs give insane amounts of exp.

This is the end of an "exp" run, which you will be doing mostly until you're 90+.

But if you do do a full run, I will explain later, as I think I wrote a book here >.>

Yay for not paying attention in class b:victory

Kswizzled - Dreamweaver

I can't even. Your post was ridiculously amazing hahaha.
you're in class? what a freaking rebel. you're a legend.
you have my respect

the last time I went on facebook or whatever in school my laptop was confiscated x(. FML hahahaha! TYVM for the information. you're the best

_Skai_ - Raging Tide

You're welcome. I'm a compsci major, so laptops are mandatory in class. But my professor does a bad job explaining things, so I semi-pay attention in class b:pleased

Aesthor - Heavens Tear

Shopz - Dreamweaver wrote: »

As far as watching archers I'll say that people use them in FC as fist/claws DD's at bosses.
And the rest is when Zening many mobs they use that skill with many arrows(I don't know the skill name b:surrender)-Using bows-also taking down the flying mobs in the FC.
Maybe that'll help yab:victory

Considering demon spark is available at 89 I doubt the OP will be fisting much.