History

The Archer is one of the first classes introduced. He uses a bow, quiver, and leather armor. The Archer is a very powerful class in almost anyone's hands, but takes skill in timing and dodging if you want to be successful with it, whether it's for getting loot or staying alive. See his stat gains, caps, and averages here.

Equipment

Along with the Huntress, the Archer uses the bow and wears leather armor. Low-tier bows shoot only a single projectile and do not provide a high damage output. Climbing up the tiers however, bows begin to shoot additional projectiles up to the max of 3 per shot with the Gold Bows and beyond. The untiered bows are exceptions to this; the Doom Bow shoots only a single arrow with very high damage while the Coral Bow shoots two arrows at an increased rate of fire.

The Bow of Innocent Blood/Bow of Covert Havens are the most powerful bows in the triple shot bow kingdom. These bows use multiple piercing arrows to mow down groups of enemies. The wide spread of attack is also effective against harder enemies since you are unlikely to miss. To take full advantage of triple shots, you must get closer so that you hit enemies with all three projectiles. Therefore, you should dodge like a dagger class, avoiding whole attacks unless it is omnidirectional.

The Doom Bow is a slow shooting, hard hitting untiered bow. Since you only get one shot at a reduced rate of fire, it is most effective to aim to be sure to get the hit. Unlike other bows, the Doom Bow benefits more from an attack ring rather than a dexterity ring, and a boost from a Paladin or a Warrior is able to pump the damage through the roof. It's especially effective against enemies with high defense, because less shots means that defense will subtract less damage. Certain gods, such as Djinn, will die instantly to a single shot of the Doom Bow, making them an easy target to remove quickly and have more room to deal with other gods. When running a dungeon with the Doom Bow, it is important to line up the targets to make each shot count. The Doom Bow can be considered the best bow to get soulbound damage in Event and Dungeon bosses, because of its high DPS and relative ease of use. Even on unmaxed Archers, the Doom Bow is a formidable (and useful) weapon but in all seriousness, it is recommended to max Defense before using it. The Doom Bow is an expensive and valuable item to obtain, be sure you don't lose it! A strategy to use with the Doom Bow is backing up while shooting at the following enemy; who will stay in a relatively same place on the screen, making it easier to aim the Doom Bow. A good way to practice with the Doom is to use another one-shot bow, such as the Heavy Crossbow, before moving up to the Doom Bow. When shooting moving targets such as Leviathans, aim a little ahead, and anticipate the enemy's movements; as the arrow is not an instantaneous projectile, but something which will stay in air for some time. Mastering the Doom Bow also helps with aiming your Quiver, so practicing beforehand anyway is advised.

The Coral Bow is an untiered bow that only shoots two arrows, but at a higher rate of fire. This bow is particularly good when the opponent has a low defense, and does more damage per second than Doom bow if you land both shots. The Coral Bow also features a longer range than other bows. The range of the Coral Bow is 7.8, while all other bows feature a range of 7. Just like the Doom Bow, the Coral Bow is an expensive and valuable item to obtain as well, so be careful. Leather Armor doesn't give as high of a defense boost as Heavy Armor, but it is better than Robes. Leather armors give the added bonus of a boosted Dexterity, which helps the Archer achieve more damage per second. Leather armor allows its wearers to fight enemies at a closer range than robe wearers, but the Archer should use their range as an advantage and only get close to enemies in order to "shotgun", that is, hit them with all of the projectiles from their bow.

Ability

The Archer's ability, the Quiver, shoots a powerful, piercing arrow in the direction of your cursor at a range of 15. It deals a moderate amount of damage and slows all enemies it pierces through. The higher level quivers paralyze targets instead of slowing them, making them completely stationary and easy to destroy. Quivers also feature a dexterity boost, giving the Archer a slight edge over the Huntress. Using your Quiver effectively is a vital skill to learn. One of the biggest aspects of the quiver is its ability to paralyze (or slow, if you're under T3) the targets. This is incredibly useful in groups, or by yourself, in order to get free hits on moving enemies. The quiver pierces through rocks, trees, and other obstacles, but not walls. This is useful as well, if you want to snipe at a single enemy from afar without taking much damage in the process.

The Golden Quiver/Quiver of Elvish Mastery are the main quivers used when paralyzing enemies. They have the most power of any paralyzing quiver, and cost an average 75 MP to use. These quivers will be used for paralyzing the enemies, obviously. They are excellent for stopping charging enemies from 'sitting' on you- for example Brutes in a castle, or a raging Bes in the Tomb of the Ancients. This gives you the chance to run away and heal, or safely do damage from further away.

The Elvencraft Quiver is quite useful in some situations because it costs 65 mana to use (which is 10 less than that of the Golden quiver and Quiver of Elvish Mastery), but retains the same ability to paralyze enemies for 3 seconds (equivalent to that of higher-tier quivers), giving it a better mana-to-paralyze ratio. The drawback to using the Elvencraft Quiver is that it deals 80 less average damage than the t5 and t6 quivers.

The Quiver of Thunder serves a different purpose than paralyzing enemies. It is the most powerful of any quiver, gives a +5 Attack boost, and gives a unique status effect called Dazed, which halves the quantity of enemy projectiles. This makes it easier for the Archer to dodge projectiles coming his way, and acts as a sort of semi-stun. However, the Quiver of Thunder does not Paralyze enemies, does not pierce obstacles or enemies (which is ironic considering it has the highest damage), and costs a slightly higher 100 MP. A good shot can do plenty of good, but if you miss, you'll be kicking yourself for wasting valuable MP. Also, keep in mind that there is a slight delay between when you can fire the QoT (a reloading period). Attempting to fire the Quiver in succession will result in an "error" sound. This also applies if you switch quivers. If you fire the QoT, then put on a tiered quiver, the delay will still be there, and you must wait before you can fire it. This Quiver is particularly useful during the 'White Moon' and 'Dance' phases of Oryx 1, it can allow skilled groups of archers to keep Oryx completely suppressed for the entire phase.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Archer is one of the few classes who are fairly effective unmaxed, who can still get soulbound damage in dungeon bosses and even large groups of gods. It is effective as a loner amongst a mob by sniping. The Archer is not as frail as robe classes, but it isn't as defensive as heavy armor classes either. The leather armor is good enough for the Archer to get both his Defense and Dexterity up. The main weaknesses is its "low" range for high damage, meaning if you want to deal high damage, you have to play at medium range, like a dagger class. The Archer's inability to heal quickly is also a hindrance, bringing HP pots is very helpful for whatever situation. The lowest Wisdom stat of 50 also doesn't help the Archer, who almost relies on his quiver for success. The Dexterity stat of 50 is manageable for the Archer, but it wishes it was just a little higher to abuse. Thankfully though, quivers and leather armor help him out there. A fresh Archer is relatively strong compared to other classes if he uses a T8-10 Bow, and can get great soulbound damage in the godlands with some skill. Although he doesn't have a healing ability, the Archer can take some damage and gathers up pots and other equipment very well. A maxed Archer can really perform the same things that a fresh Archer can, but much faster, and with less risk. A maxed Archer can rise up to the challenge of soloing an event boss, unlike a fresh Archer. One of the most outstanding qualities of the Archer is a high Attack stat of 75, boosting the low damage of bows very high. To maximize the archer, your first bow to farm as a rich maxed archer should be a Coral Bow, as this is essentially a God lawnmower, and an all round excellent weapon for every situation once you have maxed Attack and Dexterity.

Group Role

The Archer's group role mainly consists of killing large mobs of compacted enemies, and paralyzing certain bosses for faster killing. Other than that, there isn't much for the Archer to help his group out. But these two parts that the Archer plays in are very effective, and makes up what the Archer is.

Event and Dungeon Bosses

Event bosses' strategy for the quiver is a bit more complicated. You must judge when you can go away from the group towards the boss without dying (or in big groups, hide behind the melee meatshield). Wait for the skulls or cubes to clear out halfway with an opening (gap between minions) before venturing out towards the skull and cube. Keep on shooting your bow at the skulls or cubes. Your piercing spread of arrows are vital in mowing down the minions. Once you're away from the group, go towards the event until you can tell that it's less than 14 tiles away. It should be at the edge of your screen on off-centered view, and halfway towards the edge of your minimap. Once you're within quiver range, accurately shoot your quiver's arrow toward the quest icon, and rush back towards the group. This should deal a good amount of damage to the event. Repeat this a few times, and you should get enough damage to get a soulbound. Play safe though as if you are solo, you aren't in a hurry and if you are in a group, 2 shots is still enough damage! Another strategy for killing events with a quiver is hiding behind rocks and trees (but not walls). Rocks and trees block all enemy projectiles for you, but your quiver can pass through it! So finding an event in a forest is your lucky day. Just hide behind a tree, and snipe at the boss! Make sure you run back if you get too far though; you won't survive forever behind a tree. With these in mind, you should be getting a soulbound sooner or later, just use your quiver effectively against the events at the right place and time. Most powerful dungeon bosses have a period of invulnerability mixed with a period of vulnerability. You should know it's invulnerable when there's a Mithril Shield (![Mithril Shield](//dl.dropbox.com/u/52918745/Status%20Effects/Invulnerable.png "Mithril Shield")) icon above the enemy. Effective timing of your quiver is indispensable if you're in a huge group. You should always watch for the period of vulnerability. Once the boss becomes vulnerable, shoot your quiver ACCURATELY at the enemy. Just a few shots plus your bow should earn you a well-deserved soulbound. If you cannot see the Mithril Shield icon, either go above the enemy, or use the off-centered view. Correct timing of your quiver should earn you a soulbound. You should definitely use off-centered view in Oryx 1 battles during the artifacts stage. Shoot a quiver every time he's vulnerable! Don't forget your quiver also paralyzes your enemies! This makes it much easier for you to get even more shots from your bow, thus earning more soulbound damage.

Review

The archer class is an interesting class. It has a hard time eventing without being fully maxed, but does excellent in Godlands, dungeons and both Oryx chambers. The class it a bit squishy for some people, as taking down a godwall isn't as easy as people claim it to be. It does take some skill to master quivering, and is important for the class. The archer can be a great team player with the ability to paralyze. The class is extremely effective in Davy Jones Lockers, because of the paralyzing causing the boss to lose the shotgun ability. And in Tombs of the Ancients, the final bosses can easily be dealt with when in "rage" mode. The class is extremely balanced, it is a bit squishy, deals good DPS, is a team player and reserves some damage for itself.

Summary

If you've noticed, most effective strategies involve group roles. This is because of his quiver; it gives him a unique chance-to-get-a-soulbound amongst a lot of others characters. The Archer is a powerful character than can get you loads of soulbound loot if used correctly. If you prefer an offensive character who can take down groups of enemies, with slightly better than average defense, the Archer is for you.

Tips

Master aiming the quiver. Remembering and following enemies' movement patterns is key to catching enemies with the quiver. Shoot to catch them where they are going to be, and not where they are at the moment, unlike hitting with a Wizard spellbomb-- manipulating enemy movement by luring it with your character is key for certain enemies.

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