Seeking answers and suggestions...

Knockback=the extra damage you get by leveling isnt really that much,and it has low mp cost so its good at lvl1

Frost Arrow=really your choice,if youre going for pvp then idk..maybe leave it at lvl1?but for pve i lvled it a few lvls since its ussualy the opener

thundershock=im not an expert on pvp,ask someone else :P

This is what I have:-

Knockback Arrow -> lvl1 (This is more than enough)

Frost Arrow -> I am keeping it at max after all the other important skills (Passives, Metal Skills, Winged Blessing). The damage and reduced movement speed in combination with a knockback works pretty well. In case of ranged mobs, it gives you a little more time till they get into the range.

Thundershock -> Well I prefer to keep this maxed as much as possible (again after the bow and range masteries, winged shell, etc) since I usually use this just before a lightning strike (which is also maxed). Pretty useful against Wood mobs and tougher mobs (mini-bosses, elites, bosses etc). Among all my skills, at present, these two (Thundershock + Lightning Strike) are the most damaging. Also they dont seem to suffer any ranged penalties so useful against targets which managed to get close.

ClassySassy - Sanctuary wrote: »

Okay, so I made this archer alt a couple days ago, and I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. I've already got 7% crit and that makes me laugh pretty hard, and I like being forced to use the skills properly to keep a mob from hitting me until it dies.

I also noticed the infamous archer missing scandal. 99% accuracy and misses 3-5x in a row? Kinda....not right lol.

My questions are mostly involving skills. I am using a pure dex build, 1 str 4 dex per level, and I don't have any plans to change that.

Knockback arrow...worth maxing or should I leave it at level 1? I notice the damage increases but the knockback distance does not. The extra damage in any attack is helpful, but perhaps this should be saved until later on when I have more spirit to spare.

Same question for Frost Arrow...except that this skill increases the amount of time the enemy is slowed as it levels up, which could make it worth leveling.

I already know that vicious arrow, the poison one, is total ****, so no question there that stays at level 1.

I also have one question for pvp. Maxing thunder shock seems like a really good idea as a combo with other metal attacks against HA users, but I've had a few archers tell me I don't need to max it. Didn't sound right to me and I thought maybe they just don't know much about pvp, since it is a pve server. Thoughts on maxing this skill?

For mana efficiency, don't level knockback (i.e leave it at lv1). You'll thank me and the few others on this thread at later levels when grinding becomes more dominant.

Frost arrow is a personal preference. General consensus is to take frost to max level when you can. I spent my spirit on winged shell because I could not kill mobs before they reached me even with frost at low levels so I compensated by using shell to shrug off the damage taken. Shell also regenerates mana at the expense of chi. Do note, if the shell breaks, you do not recoup the remaining mana "ticks". I see frost more useful around the 40s-70s range. However, it becomes obsolete at mid 80s or so.

The 3 metal skills are our only way (save some other absurd skills, namely eagleon) of dealing decent damage to HA users (and LA clerics) but I wouldn't worry about the 3 metal attacks until you have free spirit around lv60 or so (do level stun before these 3 metal attacks btw). If you plan to pvp earlier, reroll on a pvp server. You won't find much action at lvl 30 white name PvPs in Sanctuary.

edit: added quote and restructured some awkward sentences.

ClassySassy - Sanctuary wrote: »

Thank you all for the input. I believe it's been said enough and I will leave knockback arrow at level 1. I think I will continue leveling frost and the metal attacks as I can, putting preference on skills like winged blessing and bow mastery.

I know pk'ing won't happen much in the earlier levels because it's a pve server, but as this is an alt and I've been around for ages on sanctuary I can't bring myself to switch to a different server. I'll just have to wait until I'm a higher level with this character. I've really been enjoying the archer, so I want to keep working with it.

If anyone else has anything to add, please feel free, I'm always up for learning what I can.

I am still against the idea of leveling the metal skills that early. Generally you should just level until ~60s before starting white name PvP but don't let me stop you from PvPing at 30 if you really feel strongly about it.

My recommendation would be:
(High Priority)
Bow Mastery
Winged Blessing
Winged Shell
Frost Arrow
Blazing Arrow

Then:
(Medium Priority)
Stun Arrow
Sharptooth
Aim Low
3x Metal skills

edit: in no particular order under each category.

I am not sure how many archers hunt, but as for me I use Winged Shell pretty often against ranged phy/mag attackers and a few melee guys (increased life/increase def) mobs which tend to close in the distance.

Also it helps regain mana faster (If you do not wish to bust a lot of mp pots like I do for day to day grinding)

@Legerity
Umm just a thought, isnt Sharptooth a lvl49 skill? Also is it given more priority than deadly shot? I was thinking of deadly shot since the damage output is more and would be a good opener followed by either frost or aim low. Just a clarification here.

Dang I busted 47k on lvl1 deadly shot . Anyways I guess I will max sharptooth first and then go for deadly shot. Thanks a lot for the clarification.

Thank you all for the helpful input. Can I get some views on the skill Wings of Protection. I've seen a few posts that say it's worth training in later level. Thanks in advance for your help

Ripheart
I an death, come with me!

As long as you level the ones you are supposed to level, it doesn't really matter which order you do them in.

Follow the Archer Starter Mini, and you'll be fine.

just gonna add onto what she said ^^

* = importance, more *s are more important
try to save spirit for the ***s. if youve got extra try to get some levels for the **s. Remember most skills are on x4 and x9 levels while stun is on x1 and x6.

My recommendation would be:
(High Priority)
Bow Mastery - more dmg***
Winged Blessing - more evasion + buff lasts longer**
Winged Shell - mp regen/saves your butt on mobs. good for use vs hp/def mobs***
Frost Arrow - BEST opener. i used take aim from 1-60 and switched to frost 10 at about 61. wish i had done it sooner...***
Blazing Arrow - more dmg***

Then:
(Medium Priority)
Stun Arrow - req at about 55+ for grinding... best skill in this category**
Sharptooth - reqs 85 for max. this skill is VERY EXPENSIVE i would leave it at 1 till 80 or so for use in TTs/bosses...*
Aim Low - level stun first youll use stun arrow more since it doenst req 1 spark + aimlow has a 90% chance to work already while stun starts at 40% and goes up per lvl**

low priority:
metal skills
close range knockback skill
close range damage skill thing
(these skills are mainly used for TW/PVPers)

your combos should be...
for normal mobs: frost arrow -> normal -> normal -> knockback -> normal till dead
for hp/def mobs : frost -> normal -> normal -> knockback -> aim low -> normal -> normal -> stun arrow -> normal till dead

(you want to use aim low first because some mobs are ranged and aim low just freezes them in place. If you use it on them when they are afar they mostly wont be able to attack. After use stun arrow since if the stun works the mob does nothing for 3 seconds no matter how close they are to you...)




just gonna add onto what she said ^^

Winged Shell is a bit of a preference really as I never used it while grinding. I tended to save the chi for spark or barrage to grind faster (mp is cheaper than chi and XP).

for hp/def mobs : frost -> normal -> normal -> knockback -> aim low -> normal -> normal -> stun arrow -> normal till dead

This is a good combo for mini bosses too. If you can get a fast enough weapon you can effectively lock down a mob with aim low stun and knockback over and over.