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 was implemented. Tiered bows became capable of piercing enemies in Build 117, and had a complete rework in Exalt Version 2.3.0.0 (Mar 2022). The Archer also used to be the first class most new players got to use until that honor was passed on to 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, 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.
Along with the 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, above average bulk (due to leather armor), but middling stats otherwise. Most UT bows are dramatically different than tiered bows; the former is documented below.
Tiered bows fire three shots, for better or worse.
The Bow of Covert Havens, Bow of Mystical Energy, and Bow of the Deep Enchantment are the most powerful tiered bows. Tiered bows fire 1 “main” shot - which deals the most damage, and 2 “side” shots - which piece armor and contribute towards damage. These bows’ ability to pierce and 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 while maintaining fairly decent damage. If you have access to other UT bows, it is heavily recommended to keep them on swap for their higher effective range.
The Doom Bow (DBow) 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 wapons to get soulbound damage with. The slow firerate is a downside, requiring more precise aiming to be effective. And note that this bow’s overall DPS is relatively low, assuming you are in tiered bow range. It drops from Septavius the Ghost God, in addition to being tradable.
The Coral Bow (CBow) fires two shots in a tighter spread, havin 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.
The Leaf Bow fires one, non-piercing, wavy shot - but fires faster, and far more DPS than most other bows. Its single shot also gives it a great true range. The +5 SPD is a bonus to the fairly slow Archer. It is dropped by the Murderous Megamoth.
The Thousand Shot (TShot) 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).
The Bergenia Bow, uniquely, pierces armor, in exchange for not piercing 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. It is found in the Woodland Labyrth..
The Bow of the Void (VBow) and the 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), though fires slightly wavy. Deathless deals ~10% less damage in all cases, but is from the much more attainable Cursed Library. Unlike other UT bows, these do not compromise much for their amazing damage.
Archers wear leather armor, which bolster defense a little more than robes. They also boost the Archer’s average DEX stat. Unfortunately, those wanting to effectively use tiered bows have to get within sword range, without the heavy armor to back them up.
The Hydra Skin Armor, Wyrmhide Armor and Leviathan Armor are the primary armor for the archer, providing ample defense and great dexterity boosts. You can never go wrong with a tiered armor.
The Coral Silk Armor (CSilk), a UT leather armor dropped by Thessal the Mermaid Goddess, is a popular primary choice for some players. It gives same amount of Defence and Dexterity as Hippogriff Hide Armor but with 3 additional Speed. Since the Archer’s base speed is among the lowest in the game, a slight increase can help in many scenarios.
The Spectral Cloth Armor is a UT leather armor dropped by Davy Jones. Compared to Hydra, it sacrifices a notable 3 defense, as well as 2 dexterity points, for 3 speed and attack points. Considering Archer is a ranged class, its loss of defense might not be as big of a deal for some, especially since the 3 extra speed grants an edge in dodging.
The Hirejou Tenne is a ST armor dropped by Tezcacoatl the Great Basilisk. Compared to rest of the Leather Armor, this armor sacrifices the majority of its DEF boost for an unrivaled increase in damage, having the same ATT boost as Golem Garments but with an additional 8 DEX, making it the most effective leather armor for DPS boost.
The Luminous Armor (Lumi) is a ST armor dropped by Crystallised Cyclops, Crystallised Lizard, Crystallised Fish, Crystallised Scorpion and Crystallised Monstrosity. This armor provides a large +200 HP, with the drawback of having no DEF. It also provides nice SPD and VIT bonuses to help with dodging and regeneration capabilities. This is good in situations where DEF is irrelevant (such as most endgame contents) or when you already have a lot of DEF to begin with.
The Armor of Nil (Nil) is an UT armor dropped by the Void Entity. This armor currently grants the most Def, a massive 24 Defence out of all the leather armors in exchange for a mobility penalty. Compare to Leviathan Armor, it gives +7 DEX, so using Nil is essentailly a -7 DEX & -4 SPD penalty in exchange for a +3 DEF boost. Because of this, only use this armor if you’re willing to take the hit to your DPS in exchange for additional survivability.
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 Magic Quiver, while being the starting ability of the archer, does in fact have a use. It can be carried as a low-cost method of inflicting slows on enemies when the foe is immune to paralyze. An example of this would be Gulpords chase phase. During which he is immune to paralyze, but not slow. However the quiver has few other applications and should not be used unless facing a paralyze resistant foe.
The three Beehemoth Quivers from their three respective Beehemoths are quivers that slow for 5 seconds, longer than the lower tiers of quivers. They also deal more damage and shoot out 3 shots instead of 1, making them easier to aim. While they have a higher MP cost of 90, they are more practical quivers for both slowing enemies and dealing damage. The Archer could use these as a main especially since later endgame bosses and enemies are immune to paralyze but not slow.
The Quiver of Elvish Mastery and Quiver of Autumn King are the main quivers used when paralyzing enemies. They have the most power of any paralyzing quiver, and costs 75/80 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 60 mana to use (which is 15-20 less than that of the Quiver of Elvish Mastery and Quiver of Autumn King), 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 120-160 less average damage than the the respective T6/T7 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.
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.
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 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 (
) 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.
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.
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.
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.
