Bruised Knuckles or Triumphant Fists?

Troa_ - Sanctuary · February 2009

Looking for your personal experiences on the ol' Punchy Archer subject.

All right, the notion of Archers and Fists/Claws is nothing new; it just makes sense that it is at least doable, given the stat requirements. But once I picked up a really, really good claw (one I could use while still maintaining my minimum STR requirements, for the record), I was shocked. (O_O) With only Lvl. 4 Winged Shell, I can annihilate most enemies, including some that used to be a pain. Best example I've found yet--PVE: enemies that cast "damage over time" attacks. I use 0 Mana overall, find that I only take maybe 30 damage total throughout the entire fight, and gain enough Chi to keep the Winged Shell going and throw a Spark in every 2-3 foes. Freakin' awesome results, IMO.

I raise the topic somewhat out of excitement for how well this is going at my current level, but I also know that simply using Winged Shell with a Claw is hardly creative. As a recent Clawnvert (corny, I know, but it had to be said), I was wondering what kind of experiences and strategies others may care to share. Do you switch between them in battle, do you PVP certain types of classes better with your Fist weapon, do you hate them for... well, what reasons, etc.? Cheers, and thanks in advance for your input. ^_^

P.S. Two last things. 1.) I'm talking about while still building toward a rather normal Archer and using ranged weapons, of course. 2.) I'm writing from the perspective of a lvl 4x Archer; anyone care to comment on experiences above and below that level range, as well? I have become quite curious on the subject. Thanks again. ^_^

Legerity - Sanctuary · February 2009

Mmm, can't say I've done that before though I have read a bit that it's a waste of time going claws/fists later on. How "late" on, I do not know but you should be reaching the stage where you can kill most foes at range so claws is redundant.

Annor - Heavens Tear · February 2009

Despite the primary stat requirement of fists/claws being dexterity, a pure dexterity archer-style build really does not benefit them much at all... dexterity has no effect on your melee damage. A dex-built archer has a considerably easier time killing foes in melee range with a bow than with fists (given correct skill usage). If you are only allocating 1 str per level... your melee weapons will generally be nothing more than a fun toy.

My advice would be one of the following:
A.) Stick to an archer build, and use a ranged weapon, its what we're best at, and its the only thing our conventional stat builds are good at.
B.) Go heavy armor (melee hybrid), accept that you will not do as much damage as a conventionally built archer would, but in keeping with your tastes, enjoy your superior meleeing ability (from all your strength), and have the option of using a ranged weapon or swords/blades/claws/fists. I believe the statting for this is 3dex-2str per level (you would likely have to buy a reset scroll).

edit: from quick calculations i believe a 3dex-2str heavy armor archer would do approxiamately 50% more melee damage than a 4-1 archer, and 20% less ranged damage (correct me if im wrong).

mbrunestud · February 2009

i did this at lvl 2x w/ dual blades and it worked ok for when things got close. basically my idea was that the str will be used later on (like say for lvl 40 light equipment) so i just pump a little str and forget about it for awhile. its not wasted b/c if i don't add str after that, my lvl will catch up.

w/ blades i hit as much as normal bow attacks at melee range, but its much faster.

however as u lvl up its really no longer necessary as more lightning and winged spells become available to u. at the 4x (where im at now as well) by the time things got close it can definitely be killed in like 2 melee hits (still using my linked blades). i suppose if u stop lvling str now, u can have the benefit of a decent melee weapon but wouldn't have to use a restat later on. it does make fighting melee mobs at earlier lvls easier i think.

Troa_ - Sanctuary · February 2009

Playing with this notion some more, I'm finding the benfit is a quick pace, pleasantly changing playstyle, and no/minimum need for pots.

I start with the bow to build up a little Chi, and, of course, I burn through my MP pretty quickly and never get touched. When the MP's gone, I switch to fists and Winged Shell and kill almost as fast or as fast as with the bow, depending on the enemy. (And, yes, I am a mostly DEX build for my Archer [7 DEX, 1 VIT, 2 STR per 2 levels], which is why my MP disappears in a heartbeat. Also, my Claw and Bow are worth about the same [Bow's probably a little more expensive, actually], if anyone's wondering if those things might be a factor.

) So, the Claw fighting drains my HP after a while, but builds up my MP. When the HP is about gone and I've sparked out one last time, I switch back to Bow, and repeat the whole process. I killed 50 mobs above my level, and then another 50 mobs even more above my level for quests. Using the above process, I was finished in no time (zero resting periods), and used one HP potion, I believe, when I got careless once. Plus, it was fun, and saved arrows. ^_^

It doesn't seem to me like it should work as well as it does, but I profess that it does, indeed--again, for me, at least. And, of course, I have few abilities to use with it, and my STR is low for the damage bonus, but the mobs miss me nearly every hit whilst I never miss. It just kinda works, but that is, of course, only my personal opinion. ^_^

Legerity - Sanctuary · February 2009

That's good if it works, but just letting you know, most mobs will eventually become magical so you can't evade them :P

Bruised Knuckles or Triumphant Fists?

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