History

The Archer is one of the first classes introduced. Early on in Realm, he used to have an extremely long range attack that did not pierce enemies. He had no ability until Build 97, when the [quiver](/wiki/quivers) was implemented. Tiered bows became capable of piercing enemies in Build 117, and had a complete rework in {{template-release|exaltVersion=2.3.0.0}}. The Archer also used to be the first class most new players got to use until that honor was passed on to [Wizard](/wiki/wizard). The Archer is a fairly 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. Unlocking Archer requires level 5 with [Priest](/wiki/priest), though it should be noted that new accounts created via Steam are allowed to play this class first. See his stat gains, caps, and averages here.

Stats and Equipment

Along with the [Huntress](/wiki/huntress), the Archer uses the bow and wears leather armor. Most notably, the Archer features the exact same stat caps as the Huntress; with a very high ATT of 75, pretty decent bulk (due to HP & leather armor), but middling or average stats otherwise. Tiered bows are great at dealing with crowds, while most UT bows are better for single targets.

Tiered bows are a unique weapon class, most notable for their 3-shot spread. The [Bow of Covert Havens](/wiki/bow-of-covert-havens), [Bow of Mystical Energy](/wiki/bow-of-mystical-energy), and [Bow of Deep Enchantment](/wiki/bow-of-deep-enchantment) {{template-soulbound}}, in order, are the most powerful tiered bows. Tiered bows fire 1 "main" shot - which deal the most damage, and 2 "side" shots - which piece armor. The tiered bow's ability to pierce enemies and their wide spread give them unmatched minion-clearing potential. But in order to hit all three shots on a single target, you must stand fairly close (4.07 tiles) to them. Note that hitting 2 shots has a fairly decent range with decent damage. But if you have access to other UT bows, it is heavily recommended to keep a UT bow on hand for higher effective range.

The [Doom Bow (DBow)](/wiki/doom-bow) has one of the slowest rates of fire in the game, but one of the highest damage/shots in the game - easily able to go up to the thousands. These traits make it very effective against high DEF enemies, such as any incarnation of Oryx. Combined with its fairly high range, and there's few better weapons to get soulbound damage with. The slow firerate is a downside, requiring more precise aiming to be effective. Also note that this bow's overall DPS is relatively low, assuming you are in tiered bow range. It drops from [Septavius the Ghost God](/wiki/septavius-the-ghost-god), in addition to being tradable.

The [Coral Bow (CBow)](/wiki/coral-bow) fires two shots in a tighter spread, having a much higher true range of 6.35 tiles. While it is barely outdamaged by Covert, this bow retains the multishot and piercing while being *much* easier to actually use. It is tradable, dropping from [Thessal the Mermaid Goddess](/wiki/thessal-the-mermaid-goddess).

These single shot bows are quite effective against single targets. * The [Leaf Bow](/wiki/leaf-bow) fires one, non-piercing, wavy shot - but fires faster, and has far more DPS than most other bows from a good true range. The +5 SPD is a bonus to the fairly slow Archer. It is dropped by the [Murderous Megamoth](/wiki/murderous-megamoth). * The [Thousand Shot (TShot)](/wiki/thousand-shot) is quite literally a machine gun, with a massive *200%* rate of fire modifier. While dealing less damage than the Leaf Bow, the TShot maintains piercing from an even higher range, making it effective whenever said piercing is required. It can be dropped by [The Puppet Master (Encore)](/wiki/the-puppet-master-encore). * The Bergenia Bow, uniquely, pierces armor, in exchange for not piercing multiple enemies. It boasts surprisingly good DPS for an armor-piercing weapon (even against 0 DEF), completely outdamaging the Doom Bow at all defenses from a great 8-tile range.

The [Bow of the Void (Void Bow)](/wiki/bow-of-the-void) and the [Deathless Crossbow](/wiki/deathless-crossbow) are single-shooting, very rare bows that boast extraordinary DPS at dagger range. The Void Bow sports endgame damage from an endgame boss (the [Void Entity](/wiki/void-entity)), though fires slightly wavy. Deathless deals ~10% less damage in all cases, but is from the much more attainable [Cursed Library](/wiki/cursed-library). Unlike other UT bows, these do not compromise much for their amazing damage.

The [Warmonger](/wiki/warmonger) sports very comparable damage to the Bow of the Void, but it fires 2 very tight, 8 tile range shots that pierce, making it much better for clearing minions. However, firing while in combat will provide a large DEX decrease. For easy content, or when you can just dodge, the Warmonger is a great competitor deserving of its position as a [Shatters](/wiki/the-shatters) drop.

Armor

Archers wear leather armor, which bolster defense a little more than robes while buffing the Archer's average DEX stat. Unfortunately, those wanting to effectively use tiered bows have to get within sword range, without the defense of heavy armor to back them up.

Tiered armors: [Hydra Skin Armor](/wiki/hydra-skin-armor), [Wyrmhide Armor](/wiki/wyrmhide-armor) and [Leviathan Armor](/wiki/leviathan-armor){{template-soulbound}} are the primary armors for the Archer, providing ample defense and great dexterity boosts. You can never go wrong with a tiered armor.

These relatively cheap, tradable leather armors provide a slight variation of stats (compared to the T13 hide). - The [Coral Silk Armor (CSilk)](/wiki/coral-silk-armor) is as strong as the T11 Hippogriff Hide Armor, with +1 DEX and 3 additional speed. It can be seen as a sidegrade to the T12 Hydra Skin Armor due to the SPD boost offered by CSilk. It is dropped by [Thessal the Mermaid Goddess](/wiki/thessal-the-mermaid-goddess). - The [Spectral Cloth Armor](/wiki/spectral-cloth-armor), compared to the T13 Hydra Skin, has a slight DEF drop and a small SPD boost, while trading 2 DEX for the same amount of ATT. Dropped by [Davy Jones](/wiki/davy-jones). - The [Beehemoth Armors](/wiki/beehemoth-armor) (of 3 colors) have the same DEF as a T13 Hydra Skin Armor, a +5 SPD boost, but no offensive stats.

The [Hirejou Tenne (Tenne)](/wiki/hirejou-tenne) and [Centaur's Shielding](/wiki/centaur-s-shielding) sacrifice the majority of their DEF boost for an unrivaled increase in damage. Tenne gives a huge, unconditional +16 DPS stats, while the Centaur's gives even more if you have the {{template-healing}} status.

The [Luminous Armor](/wiki/luminous-armor) provides a *massive* +200 HP, but has *zero* defense. When defense is irrelevant (or hardly relevant), this armor is great for tanking. It drops from the [Crystal Cavern](/wiki/crystal-cavern).

Ability

The Archer's Quiver fires a powerful, piercing arrow in the direction of your cursor up to 15 tiles away. They deal moderate damage, and inflict a status; lower tiered quivers Slow, while higher level quivers Paralyze. Either status is very useful for both yourself and the group, making vulnerable enemies that much easier to handle. Untiered quivers may inflict a different status, or none at all. Quivers are fairly straightforward, firing a straight shot with regular speed. But for an ability, a straightforward shot is on the harder end of using. 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. Quivers have a relatively small hitbox, and you don't want to waste that MP for nothing.

The [Quiver of Elvish Mastery](/wiki/quiver-of-elvish-mastery) and the [Quiver of the Autumn King](/wiki/quiver-of-the-autumn-king){{template-soulbound}} are the main quivers used when paralyzing enemies. They have the most damage and highest stats of any paralyzing quiver.

Despite being low tier quivers, the T0 [Magic Quiver](/wiki/magic-quiver) and T3 [Elvencraft Quiver](/wiki/elvencraft-quiver) are useful for inflicting Slow or Paralyze; they are the most MP-efficent quivers for these statuses. However, the Magic Quiver is typically harder to aim than the Huntress' [Traps](/wiki/traps) for enemies that you actually want to slow, and both quivers provide less DEX while just dealing less damage overall.

The three [Beehemoth Quivers](/wiki/beehemoth-quiver) inflict Slow for 5 seconds, deal much more damage, and shoot out 3 shots instead of 1 (which is easier to aim). Along with their good stat bonuses, these Quivers' Slow/MP ratio makes them a top-tier choice... if you can actually get them to drop from their three respective [Beehemoths](/wiki/beehemoths).

The [Quiver of Thunder (QoT)](/wiki/quiver-of-thunder) is the only ranged item that consistently inflicts the {{template-dazed}} status - which *halves* the quantity of enemy projectiles. For the small subsection of lategame enemies immune to Stun, but vulnerable to Daze (like the [Killer Bee Queen](/wiki/killer-bee-queen) or [Crystal Worm Child](/wiki/crystal-worm-child)), this is a very useful debuff that makes it easier to dodge for everybody. It is also useful in cases where stunning is difficult (such as [Oryx 2](/wiki/oryx-the-mad-god-2)) or if there's just no Knights. Downsides include a lack of piercing and a high MP cost. Like the Daze debuff itself, the QoT is paricularly rare (dropping from a [Greater Nature Sprite](/wiki/greater-nature-sprite)).

The [Quiver of the Shadows (Qos)](/wiki/quiver-of-the-shadows) does not provide a status; instead, firing 5 shots of pure damage. While its true range is fairly short, even one shot will outdamage the vast majority of other quivers - for the same MP cost as T7. It doesn't provide DEX, though not only should the damage make up for it, it also gives a neat +6 DEF bonus. It drops from the [Void Entity](/wiki/void-entity), which again, is quite a difficult boss.

Rings

Archers are a fairly standard class when it comes to ring choice. They will want to either increase offense or defense, or both.

The [Ring of Exalted Health](/wiki/ring-of-exalted-health), [Ring of Unbound Health](/wiki/ring-of-unbound-health), and [Ring of Decades](/wiki/ring-of-decades), as with any other class, remain excellent generalist options for increasing endurance. The [Ring of Unbound Defense](/wiki/ring-of-unbound-defense) works, but is less desirable; health on a ring is typically valued more than defense. However, the leather armor's lesser defense compared to heavy armors can make boosting DEF more understandable.

The [Experimental Ring (Expo)](/wiki/experimental-ring) and [Ring of the Pyramid (Pyra)](/wiki/ring-of-the-pyramid) are good generalist rings, increasing HP and offense at the same time. The Experimental Ring is much more common and gives MP, but the Ring of the Pyramid offers more HP, Attack, and Defense. Expo is better for more utility, while Pyra is better for survivability mixed with some offensive stats.

The [Chancellor's Cranium](/wiki/chancellor-s-cranium) and [Exalted God's Horn](/wiki/exalted-god-s-horn) are both great endgame rings that balance DPS with survivability. Chancellor's Cranium helps short ranged classes, like an Archer with a tiered bow. The Exalted God's Horn is the more popular choice, as it rewards DPS to classes that can take less damage - like an Archer with a *not* tiered bow. [The Forgotten Crown](/wiki/the-forgotten-crown) is another excellent offensive ring. It provides one of the best offensive boosts (+12 stats) unconditionally, while also giving a great boost in HP, although it is of course beaten by its hard mode variant, the [Chrysalis of Eternity](/wiki/chrysalis-of-eternity), which is harder to obtain.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Archer's main strength comes from crowd control support. Tiered bows are great at supressing gods of just about any quantity, while their Quiver makes handling said gods ever easier. The Quiver is also great for dealing damage, getting soulbound, and disabling vulnerable bosses. Untiered equipment helps Archers deal good single target damage, too. Unfortunately, time has not faired well for the Archer... at least when concerning endgame content. Even with the tiered bow rework, the Archer's talents - crowd clearing and Paralysis - aren't very helpful in many dungeons. Most bosses are single target, and most endgame things are immune to Paralysis. For anything that *is* vulnerable to Paralysis, or even slow, however, the Archer is quite a useful class. A fresh, level 20 Archer is quite effective overall. The bow's generous aiming arc and quiver's generous range gives many oppertunities to get damage (that counts toward soulbound). As the Archer gains stats and UT items, they'll gain a better true range, become more effective at both killing and disabling, and have a variety of UT armors available. The Archer is very similar to the [Huntress](/wiki/huntress). They share the same weapon, same armor, and same stat caps; they only differ in ability. The Archer's Quiver is less effective at hitting a wide range of foes, but is more effective for dealing damage. Paralysis is a more effective status, but more bosses are immune to it. Traps also give the better stat (ATT), though as both classes already have a high attack, the actual difference is quite small. If unsure, just try both classes out for yourself, and see how they feel.

Group & Dungeon Role

The Archer's paralysis is quite useful as a group. It makes enemies easier, it helps with surviving, and it helps everybody wallop on the now-immobile foe. Against event bosses, you can use the quiver's range to your advantage. By firing at the quest marker, you'll generally hit and stun these enemies. When dealing with minion-based events (Skull Shrines / Cube Gods), let bulkier classes deal with some minions, then used a tiered bow to mop the rest up. Quivers also can fire through obstacles like rocks and trees, but not walls. Use this to snipe bosses, though you can't hide forever. Many (dungeon) bosses will go invulnerable, signified by the (![Mithril Shield](//dl.dropbox.com/u/52918745/Status%20Effects/Invulnerable.png "Mithril Shield")) icon. As you should expect, firing a quiver won't deal any damage. Effective timing is indispensable in just about any situation. If relying on a quiver for soulbound damage, make extra sure that you're actually dealing damage; it's a symbiotic relationship, after all. Against bosses immune to Paralysis (or Daze), Archers really only have damage to offer. Archers, especially when considering UTs, aren't particularly bad at damage - but not especially good, either.

Summary

Archers are most players' first foray into Bows, a fairly unique weapon with a fairly unique shot pattern. With a pretty good offense, a pretty good status, and a pretty easy time getting soulbound, Archers are great for new players and most content that unmaxed players will do. Huntresses may be better at fighting large groups, though the Archer's pros (including a superior status) aren't to be understated.

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