Skills

nightyne
nightyne Posts: 344 Arc User
edited January 2009 in Archer
I would be interested in higher level archer opinion...I am just turned 34.
Up until now I start my attack with a combo....
Take Aim...for a good initial amount of damage
Vicious Arrow...to poison
Frost Arrow....to maybe freeze but slow mob
Normal Attack......to keep firing while I decide my next move.

At this stage I would probably use either Knock Back or finish with Lightning Bolt.....depending on how damaged mob is.

My question is, I am about to get Serrated Arrow to cause bleeding which I believe will work as well as poison. Should I now replace Take Aim and use bleeding and poison or still use Take Aim for good initial damage ?

Would like to hear some opinions.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Warmaiden - Lost City
    Warmaiden - Lost City Posts: 81 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Take Aim is a good opener + chi booster. Getting crits is a plus. However, the misses for Take Aim is too noticeable.

    Serrated is physical damage and Vicious is wood damage.

    If you would like to keep Take Aim as your opener and use your DoT skills, you can-

    1) Take Aim -> Frost Arrow -> DoTs -> Normal Attacks or Other Skills

    If you are those players that use DoT skills as openers, you can -

    2) Frost Arrow -> DoTs -> Normal Attacks or Other Skills

    3)DoTs -> Frost Arrow -> Normal Attacks or Other Skills

    That's not my preference playing style for grinding. I do not like to use DoTs and I prefer to conserve my precious MP.

    The best thing you can do is test out each attack chain and see which one works best for you.
  • nightyne
    nightyne Posts: 344 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    I find with dot if I need to run the mob is still being damaged and will often die as he chases me.
  • Warmaiden - Lost City
    Warmaiden - Lost City Posts: 81 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    ^^
    As a kiter, DoTs skills can be resourceful. As you level up, you will be able to rely less on kiting as you begin to kill faster.

    For myself, my play style and my build allows me to kill my target before it reaches me. At a higher level, the monsters are usually magic-based which helps.
  • Mosz - Heavens Tear
    Mosz - Heavens Tear Posts: 3,181 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    yah personally i dont like the damage over time skills..
  • Annor - Heavens Tear
    Annor - Heavens Tear Posts: 330 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    DoT skills from what ive seen are somewhat useless grinding, generally their damage will NOT be fully applied before the monster dies -- if they are... or if you are finding yourself meleeing every fight, your kill speed is probably lower than it should be.

    Kiting generally should be used as a last resource, or on a particularly difficult quest -- not for grinding as it slows the rate at which you kill (running around instead of straight shooting).

    Personally I use:
    Frost-> Regular-> Regular-> Knockback-> Regular-> Regular (etc)
    as my standard (which i have for many levels now), and i add a stunning arrow after the knockback for more difficult mobs, but i try to avoid doing this too often as the mana drain is significantly higher.
    Meek with words, abrupt with arrows.
  • nightyne
    nightyne Posts: 344 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Interesting....so all those skills available you rarely use ? No offense but it sounds a little boring ?
    Presume your Frost Arrow is maxed but did you increase Knockback ?
  • Mosz - Heavens Tear
    Mosz - Heavens Tear Posts: 3,181 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    in pve you generally use few skills at higher lvls which is good to keep down cost of training, other skills are used in emergencies or on increased life/def, bosses sharpened tooth, pvp lightening skills
    so yah archer has grind, pvp,tw, and boss skills and then some that arent used much
  • nightyne
    nightyne Posts: 344 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    I guess we all have our favorite skills and all play differently at times.
    In a squad I rarely use too many skills so I guess at higher levels you are more likely to be in a squad.
  • Warmaiden - Lost City
    Warmaiden - Lost City Posts: 81 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    The skills come in handy during PVPing + PKing and killing Elite Monsters + Bosses. With the expensive mp skills and low mana, using skills isn't efficient for long normal grinding. It is just wasteful.

    However, if you can afford MP pots or charm and prefer to speed-grind, you do not need to be frugal with your skills.
  • nightyne
    nightyne Posts: 344 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    OK take this as a thought...the numbers are arrows...
    YOUR is the example given in previous posts.
    MY is what I am using

    YOUR sequence... 1 Frost... 2 normal....3 normal...4 Knockback
    MY sequence....... 1 Frost...2 Bleed....3 poison...4 Knockback

    Our 1 arrows do same thing
    YOUR 2 arrow is normal damage MY 2 arrow is normal damage plus dot bleed
    YOUR 3 arrow is normal damage MY 3 arrow is normal damage plus poison
    YOUR 4 arrow and MY 4 arrow is the same.

    By the time the mob reaches both of us MY mob has suffered much more damage from bleeding and poison and is still suffering damage when knocked back.
    On that basis I consider dot skills worth using of course manna is a consideration and I only use these skills if soloing. Also I use the potions to increase hp and manna regeneration at times.
    Each to there own but I do like to hear what others are doing.
  • Raywall_ - Lost City
    Raywall_ - Lost City Posts: 20 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    im with frost normal normal [normal] knockback normal too
    i just dont need to use other skills when grinding
    you can consider it a reward for getting to a higher level :)

    ps: grinding on air mobs that are 1,2 levels bellow(still good exp), froze + normal is all i do and this is good because the combo gets stuck when using knockback and killing too fast

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