How to Archer in PvP

HOW TO ARCHER IN PVP

Or: Pew Pew For Dummies
by Jarkhen

Now with pretty color coding!

Introduction
What this guide is not

To begin with, I'd like to note that this will be a guide centered around at least semi-endgame group PvP, particularly TW. I'm going to assume you're at least 100+, have at least g16 gear, have your skills, and are at least vaguely aware of what they are. If you're looking for a leveling or PvE guide, look elsewhere. If you're more interested in 1v1s than group PvP... honestly, find a different class, because archer is probably not for you. Archers are one of the (if not the) weakest 1v1 classes, but really shine in group PvP if played properly. Purge is nowhere near as effective in a self-buffed fight as it is in TW - where getting purged often means pretty much instant death - and kiting loses a lot of its potency as well, because you don't really have anyone to hide behind. On top of that, archers have extremely low defense and very little in the way of control skills.

Further, this guide is more theoretical discussion than a hands-on how-to. I'm not here to baby your way through playing the game. You will find pros, cons, situational uses, general strategies, and the like. How to apply the information in this thread is left to the reader.


With that said, let's start with one of the more important skills for any archer:

Staying Alive (and Kiting)
How to run the **** away

Archers are not (should not be) built for tanking damage. It's that simple. Unless you're running around with r9r3+12 and jades (and even then, tbh), just about anyone attacking you should be cause for immediate concern. Even as an r9, a g16 archer attacking you can mean death if you aren't paying attention - especially if they decide to bring some friends.

So, what can you do? You run. You may occasionally find yourself in a 1-on-1 situation with someone else, particularly archers (I do often), and if you know you can win, that's fine. That said, if you're having difficulty, or if someone starts hitting you that you weren't expecting, or if some melee or other decides to get in your face, or one of another million bad things happens - get out of there, and do it quickly. Just about the smartest thing you can do as an archer is hide behind your friends. An archer that runs might seem like a coward, but an archer that doesn't run is dead, and useless to their squad. You have a 32 (34 sage) meter range. Use it properly.

Naturally, hiding behind other people is only really a viable option if you aren't the (only) powerhouse around, so adjust your actions accordingly. Running remains a viable and important option.

Also, take note of who the two main archer-killing classes are: sins and other archers. You should be aware of where the enemy archers near you are at all times, and you should be prepared to counter a sin jumping you at pretty much any time. An unprepared archer is a dead archer.

Leap Left and Leap Right
These two skills are absolutely amazing: two 35-second cooldown 20-meter leaps that cost no chi. These are essential for running away, and will save your *** if you're jumped and immobilized by a melee (*grumble* damn sins). Get used to using them very often. Make sure you note your terrain, though: if you leap out over open air, you'll be falling, which puts you in an even worse situation than before if you're immobilized.

Leaps are effective for moving in general, as well as leaping away from melees. I would advise changing your keybinds for leaps (K menu) to something that's easy to reach without much effort and on short notice. I have mine set to Q and E, and I highly recommend it. Leaping forward is as easy as pressing D + Q or A + E, and leaping backward is just A + Q or D + E. Double-leaping backwards after you start getting targeted will save your *** an unbelievable number of times.

If possible, get into the habit of using leaps even outside of a PvP situation, just to move around faster. The more you use them, the more it'll become second nature and the better you'll be at escaping in the middle of a fight.

Wings of Grace
This skill will be one of your main sources of chi consumption, for multiple reasons. Antistun in general is a lifesaver, and would make this skill worth the spark in itself - but probably my favorite part about WoG is the 30% damage reduction. It's perfect for that extra bit of survivability you need, be it to run in and take someone down or to get out of the way.

Wings of Grace + Holy Path will get you out of just about any situation where you aren't hopelessly outgunned and/or already locked, and can be considered an Elven Alacrity (see below) on steroids.

Do note that Wings of Grace is a vital skill for fighting, not just kiting. Hitting Wings lets you continue your assault on the opponent without worrying about getting stunned and while dramatically reducing your chances of getting killed. The antistun + 30% damage reduction also lends itself extremely well to chaining Ironguard Powders when things get hairy: Wings of Grace -> tank a few hits (if you can) -> Ironguard before you get into too much trouble works beautifully in most situations.

Additional note: Wings of Grace has a 3-second cast time during which you are invincible, similar to sparking. This is nice for general damage-tanking purposes, but is also exceptionally useful for avoiding those all-too-predictable skills like purges from pesky venos.

Elven Alacrity
At the cost of 1 spark, this skill gives you antistun and 15 m/s movement speed for 8 seconds. This skill is especially useful when you find yourself in a retreat situation where standing and channeling Wings of Grace isn't an option, and can be combined with Absolute Domain or IG if necessary to get you clear of just about any situation where you aren't already CC'd.

Also important to notice is that this skill isn't just for you - it's targetable, which means you can (and should) use it to assist your squad members. A well-timed Alacrity can easily save a squad member's life, and can also be used offensively, for example, to help a squad member run in and pop an Ironguard or - a personal favorite of mine - to help a Blademaster quickly run into the fray in Blade Tornado. Communication with the rest of your squad is key to figure out when/if you should be Alacing your squadmates.

Blessing of the Condor
+1000% evasion for 10 seconds, instant-cast, no chi cost. This skill is basically an anti-archer and anti-sin skill, and should be used accordingly. It will make most physical attacks against you miss, and will easily save you if timed properly, but note that it will not guarantee that every attack will miss - especially when dealing with a near-endgame archer or sin with upwards of 10k accuracy (not to mention 100% accuracy skills) - so don't save it until the last second. I find myself using this skill most often right before double-leaping back away from a fight.

Note: This skill overwrites your evasion buff from Wings of Protection, so make sure you rebuff afterwards.

Ataraxia
Archer stealth. This skill works similarly to an Assassin's Shadow Escape - it forces you into stealth even in combat, and gives +31 stealth levels - but your movement speed is slowed to 0.1 m/s while stealthed. Note that this movement speed cannot be increased with skills such as Alacrity or Holy Path, so the only way you're getting anywhere while stealthed is with leaps. Also note that this skill won't save you from sins above your level, or from seekers with their Morai skill, or from anyone your level or above hitting a stealth pot.

I don't find myself using this skill incredibly often, especially since stealthing doesn't stop attacks that are already being channeled or cast, and because the 0.8-second channel and 0.6-second cast means leaps are usually a faster and better means of escaping - but it certainly has its uses, especially when leaps are on cooldown or wouldn't bring you far enough away from the fight. You will almost definitely be using leaps in conjunction with this skill, to back away from the fight before you leave stealth.

Note: You can use Blazing Arrow to leave stealth.

Winged Shell
For 45 chi, gives a shell that absorbs 1000 (1250 sage) damage. That's not much, and typically means this shell is only going to last for one hit. The important thing to note about Winged Shell, however, is that while it's active, incoming damage is reduced by 80% (!). That makes this skill particularly useful for avoiding a single heavy incoming hit, though the 45-chi cost means you'll want to be very sparing in your use. In all honesty, I almost never use this skill.


Dealing Damage
Finally, time for some pew pew

So, now you know how to stay alive longer. It's time to put that to some use by actually fighting back. There are a few things to note here. The first is that, like it or not, archers are primarily an auto-attack class. You will be spending the majority of the time you're attacking using autoattacks. Even past that, an archer's repertoire of offensive skills is not very complicated and does not require an excessive amount of originality. Dealing damage as an archer is easy. The absolute key to playing an archer well is properly utilizing your defensive skills (and ability to run), and at the right times - so go back up to that last section and re-read it again. Then we can move on to the offensive part.

Note: With the exception of your magic skills, melee skills, and Take Aim (and maybe Blood Vow), you will be using skills for the buffs/debuffs they provide, not for the extra damage they do. The damage addons on most archer skills are negligible.

Who should I be attacking?

Your focus in general should be whatever target your squad is focusing at the moment (your squad is calling targets, right?). Archers are a support/flanking DD, and work best when attacking opponents in conjunction with others.

But what about those times when your squad doesn't have any target called, or for some reason you are unable to engage the called target? Your primary targets will be: other archers, clerics, and other arcane classes. Whether you actively engage enemy archers on your own will vary depending on the situation and especially on your gear level, since any archer you start shooting will probably either run away or start shooting back.

What about heavy armor classes?

Remember when I said archers are primarily an autoattack class? I meant it. With the exception of purge proc (which, on heavies, is generally only going to be useful if someone else is attacking them as well), autoattacks are mostly useless against heavy armor classes. The main exception to this will be Blademasters, due to magic marrow, but typically you'll still be better off focusing the classes listed above. Yes, you have three primary magic skills, but their damage output is rather pitiful compared to that of a caster proper. While you can throw up decent numbers on pretty much any class, you will be much more effective focusing on arcanes and archers.

Also, note that archer DD is next to useless on cata barbs, whose massive survivability makes the low damage output of our magic attacks even more noticeable. We have several debuffs that are useful on tanky barbs (see skill breakdown below), but after that, move on to another target unless you're r9 and are going for a purge proc.

Primary Offensive Skills
Bread and butter of an archer's arsenal

Stunning Arrow
This skill will generally be your opener against a target. Note that the stun only lasts 3.5 seconds, which is rather pitiful compared to most other classes' stuns (Sage gets 5 seconds, which is more respectable), but it's generally enough to get the job done. It only has a 15-second cooldown, so use it often.

Also, note that your success chance on this skill is not 100%, so pay attention to your opponent's buffs and debuffs so you know whether it succeeded.

Sage: Gives 5s stun instead of 3.5s. Shouldn't affect how or where you use this skill.

Demon: This skill gives +10% crit for 10 seconds. You should be using this skill all the time anyway, but this just gives you all the more reason to.

Quickshot
This skill is the keystone of archer DD, though the reason is different for each cultivation. Generally speaking, you'll want to be using this skill immediately after (or before, by preference) stunning arrow, usually followed by a chain of normal attacks (especially for demon). If you haven't gotten the level 11 version of this skill, you're missing out. Note: this skill is useless if it's not level 11. Don't use it.

Sage: This skill gives +20% crit for 10 seconds. Use as needed to keep your crit buff up at all times. Note: Crit buff does not overwrite itself, so you will have to wait until after the 10 seconds to rebuff it.

Demon: This skill has a 50% chance to increase autoattack attack speed by 30% (slightly more than demon spark). You will pretty much exclusively be using this after stunning arrow to get that dps boost needed to take down your target. This skill is also exceptionally useful for landing a purge proc if you're r9.

Helpful note: If you're Demon and interested in min-maxing, find out how many autoattacks your Quickshot buff lasts for, so you know exactly when you'll want to start casting it again. For a full r9 archer, it's 7 shots.

Sharpened Tooth Arrow
This skill is generally used for two things. It reduces max HP by 16% (20% sage), which is particularly useful on cata barbs and tanky targets. It's also a cheap physical AoE, and is great for use on just about any closely-clustered group of enemies, especially for the debuff.

Sage: Gives 20% HP reduction instead of 16%. Should not affect how or where you use this skill.

Demon: This skill gives +10% crit for 15 seconds. This does not stack with the stunning arrow buff, nor does it overwrite it, so take note of that. I'm a fan of using STA for the double-whammy crit buff + hp debuff before using Barrage of Arrows (see below).

Aim Low
Gives an 8-second immobilize at the cost of 1 spark. You will mainly be using this skill to prevent someone from running away. It's also occasionally useful to stop a rampaging Blademaster in its tracks, if it's not antistunned or IG'd like it probably should be.

Note that this skill costs a spark, so be a little selective in your use. Archers are fairly dependent on chi, especially for antistun, so make sure you're not wasting it.

Note: Like Stunning Arrow, this skill only has a 90% chance to take effect. Act accordingly.

Sage: 25% chance to freeze opponent for 5 seconds. This debuff is independent from the immobilize, and may still proc even if the immobilize doesn't. Note that a 25% chance is nowhere near high enough to depend on, but make sure you're aware of it so you can take advantage of it.

Demon: 25% chance to stun opponent for 3 seconds. This debuff is independent from the immobilize, and may still proc even if the immobilize doesn't. Note that a 25% chance is nowhere near high enough to depend on, but make sure you're aware of it so you can take advantage of it. Also, note that Stunning Arrow does not overwrite this stun, so if Aim Low's stun procs, do not use Stunning Arrow until after Aim Low's stun wears off, or you'll be wasting it.

Lightning Strike
This skill is short-channel, short-cast, and costs no chi, so it's a cheap and easy magic hit. Generally speaking you'll want to chain this after Thunder Shock to take advantage of the metal resistance debuff.

Sage: 25% chance to gain +20 chi. Better than nothing, but fairly insignificant overall.

Demon: 100% accuracy. This is mainly useful for knocking down enemy archers that have used Condor.

Thunder Shock
Metal attack, primarily notable for its 50% metal resistance debuff. Chaining Lightning Strike / Thunderous Blast after this skill is recommended. The 30-chi cost is easily made up for by the increase in damage.

Sage: Debuffs for 25s instead of 15s. If you're metal spamming, this won't really matter since you'll be refreshing the debuff in less than 15s anyway.

Demon: 10% chance to paralyze (immobilize+silence) target for 3 seconds. Definitely not something you want to rely on, but it's nice nonetheless.

Thunderous Blast
This is your hardest-hitting metal attack (by a small margin), and is also AoE. Unfortunately, it also has a very long channel time, making it of questionable use in most single-target situations (though metal-spam occasionally requires it). It is, however, very useful to drop on a group, particularly one composed mainly of heavy/light armors (see: middle of the lane).

Sage: Reduced cooldown and channel. Slightly more spammable, and slightly more viable in single-target.

Demon: Increased damage. Should not affect how or where you use this skill.

Barrage of Arrows
This is where the real fun comes in. Barrage deals massive continuous damage in a large area (12-meter radius), and is extremely effective at taking out large groups, especially when combined with a BM's stun+HF. However, the animation is also rather flashy, and is basically a giant blue arrow screaming "STUN ME AND KILL ME." As such, at the very least an antistun (Wings of Grace comes to mind) is recommended before entering BoA. Ironguard is preferred in most situations, especially since people tend to be rather unhappy about you killing everyone and will start hitting you. If possible, consider STA and/or Galvanic beforehand to enhance effectiveness (and make it harder for the target to run out of range, in the case of Galvanic).

Sage: Grants a 33% reduction in damage while casting. Honestly, this is a rather useless bonus, since pretty much the first thing anyone is going to do is knock you out of barrage if they can, and you'll usually be in IG while barraging anyway.

Demon: More hits in less time. What's not to love?

Melee Skills
For the up close and personal

Winged Pledge
Straight-up melee damage, pure and simple. This skill has almost no place in PvP, except for making short work of a pesky non-factor sin. You're usually better off getting out of melee.

Wingspan
Melee AoE, also with a short channel. Hopefully you won't often find yourself in a situation where a melee AoE would be exceptionally useful, but you may find yourself in a position to use it every now and then... though, again, you'll likely want to get the hell out of there ASAP. Sadly, the knockback doesn't work in PvP.

Sage: 20% chance to gain 50 chi. That's a significant gain, but with only 20%, not very reliable, and again, you don't really want to be in melee range much.

Demon: Gives a free level-5 Winged Shell (see above), which basically means the next thing to hit you does **** for damage. Again, nice, but getting the hell out of melee range should probably be higher priority.

Situational Skills
I don't really have a witty phrase for this section

Take Aim
This skill has two main uses. The primary use is to oneshot unsuspecting arcanes with a fully charged shot, though (especially at higher gear levels and with demon) quickshot -> normal is often preferred.

This skill is also useful instant-casted, both for quick chi gain and to get a shot off at someone that's running away. An instant-cast take aim will hit faster than a normal attack.

Blood Vow
18% max hp reduction, 25% damage amp, semi-decent damage-over-time, and the hardest-hitting single-target skill you have, with the exception of Take Aim. The double debuff on this skill will typically be enough to drop just about anyone your squad is attacking. Note, however, that the 25% damage amp will overwrite and/or be overwritten by a bm's HF (and if you overwrite a BM's HF, your squad will not be very happy with you).

With a 2-minute cooldown and a 1-spark cost, try to save this for the right situation, but definitely do use it. It's extremely useful when used properly.

Arrow Inferno
This skill is a tank killer, pure and simple. It's AoE, and reduces all incoming healing by 20% and increases charm cooldown by 30% for thirty seconds, at the cost of just one spark. Drop this on cata barbs or other tanky targets when focusing them.

Whisper Shot
The 1-spark cost on this skill, combined with the short range (only 18m), limits its effectiveness somewhat. This skill is pretty much only useful for disabling someone that has an antistun up. Use sparingly.

Galvanic Charge / Galvanic Aura
Long cast time; costs two sparks at first, and regains one. Honestly, only really useful when coupled with Barrage. If you're trying to just get more range to stay alive, Wings of Grace is a better defensive option. If you're trying to get more damage, use Blood Vow instead.

Useless Skills
This **** just sucks

Serrated Arrow
The damage-over-time on this skill is negligible, and you are much better off spending the time normal attacking or using other skills.

Vicious Arrow
See Serrated Arrow.

Stormrage Eagleon
See Serrated Arrow, but this skill also costs two sparks, making it even more worthless unless you want to make archer babies. The slow is negligible.

Sage: This skill has some situational use as Sage due to the defense reduction (equivalent to a bm's Glacial Spike), but you're almost definitely better off using something else with your chi, like Blood Vow or Barrage (or defensive skills).

Frost Arrow
Put simply, slow is damn near useless in group PvP, and this skill doesn't come close to being worth the chi cost.

Sage: Sage has marginal use due to the conversion of physical damage to water damage, but again, that chi cost is ugly, and we're primarily focused on archers and arcanes.

Deadly Shot
By the time you're lv90+ or so, Take Aim overtakes this skill in damage.

Knockback Arrow
Knockback doesn't work in PvP. End of story.


Useful Genie Skills
Say hello to my little friend

Note: I highly recommend a mag/vit build genie to allow for extra spammage of defensive skills. You'll need it.

Holy Path
General-purpose movement skill. Pretty self-explanatory. Good for moving around the battlefield, getting in a fight (though you'll usually want to save your genie for other skills in this case), and getting out of one.

Absolute Domain
As mentioned multiple times, archers are squishy as hell. 5 seconds is more than enough time to get your *** out of the line of fire and keep going. Generally a good idea to chain with IG or combine with Alacrity or leaps to get away while immune, so you don't just get wiped once immunity is off.

Also exceptionally useful for saving your *** when a sin (or three) pops on you.

Cloud Eruption
More chi = more antistuns and barrages = excellent. Self-explanatory.

Leave at level 1 to allow for more spam.

Fortify
Useful for chaining IG without having to waste a spark on an antistun, and will be increasingly useful in a general combat situation as you learn to predict incoming stuns (Roar, Soul of Stunning, etc. etc.)

You will likely want to leave this at level 1 for the lower energy cost.

Will Surge
Mostly for anti-Soul of Silence. 7 seconds should be more than enough time to beat down just about any psychic you're going to beat down.

This skill is also useful for avoiding getting locked down by a venomancer's Parasitic Nova or a sin's Throatcut, both of which are fairly easy to see coming.

Unlike Fortify, you'll probably want this skill maxed to allow for more time to bash on Psychics.

Faith
Purify + immune to status ailments for 5 seconds. This skill is incredibly useful for getting out of a CC'd situation, and (like Fortify) can be used to chain IG, but the 7-wood 7-fire affinity requirement might make it difficult to fit into your genie.

Also note that this skill still won't save you from getting pummeled by large damage numbers - so if you're not heavily endgame geared, you won't get nearly as much use out of it. Only recommended before 105 (when you can have faith + AD) if you're highly geared.

Note: This skill will not break you out of a cleric's SoG, but it will block it if used beforehand.

Expel
Mostly used for extra survivability while in Barrage, since the silence won't cancel your barrage. You'll probably still want to have an antistun up while barraging with Expel, since it won't stop an archer's Stunning Arrow (due to Blazing Arrow), a BM's Roar, or any caster's stuns.

Also occasionally useful as a makeshift AD when you're jumped by a sin with AD on cooldown.

Note: Use while already sealed (Throatcut, etc.) for a free physical immune buff.

Stunning Blast
Mainly useful for trapping any sins or bms that come near you. Blast and leap away.

Tangling Mire
Combine with Barrage for extra fun. Note the 20-meter range, though - if you're barraging from max range you won't be able to use it. If someone in your squad has a strength genie with Mire, see if they can chain it with you instead.

Frenzy
Combine with Barrage for extra fun. Be extremely cautious when using this skill if you're not IG'd - the defense reduction will likely kill you. Not one of my more recommended skills, but up to personal preference.

Extreme Poison
Single-target amp. Not as useful in TW where there are targets aplenty and you'll probably want to be focusing on defensive genie skills, but you may occasionally want it for extra firepower.


But you didn't mention buffs or Awaken! QQ!

Call me lazy if you want. Honestly, these skills shouldn't really require explanation - keep WoP and Blazing up at all times, use Awaken as needed to avoid being chi-less in a fight.


SUPER SPECIAL BONUS NOTE FOR DEMONS

If your passive buffs (Winged Blessing and Bow Mastery) are demon, you get 2% extra crit from having white wings. If you don't have white wings, you can buy them from the Priest in Plume. Switch out between white wings for fighting and normal wings for flying.