What's your playstyle/gear setup?

As an archer you're normally the guy/girl flinging arrows trying to turn your target into a lifeless pincushion, but we all achieve that desired end result in our own unique way. So I ask of my fellow archers, what's the way you "do your thing" as an archer? What Weaponskills do you use? What attributes take priority in your build, and lastly, what equipment do you use? I'll start off myself to get the ball rolling:

I tend to start off by buffing myself with the Ferocity and Invigorate skills to increase attack power and TP generation, respectively and then Raging Strike + Hawks eye + Multishot x2 to drain as much HP as possible with my first attack. After that I use a WS attack to both drain HP and incapacitate to increase the chance of drops if we're fighting an NM at the time. I keep doing this until the mob is either dead or I run out of arrows and start chucking rocks at them.

As for weaponskills I use

Heavy Shot
Multishot
Raging Strike II
Hawks Eye
Second Wind (Just in case)
Bloodletter
Foeseeker
Shrieker
Wide Volley II
Ferocity
Invigorate

Attributes (H-L)

STR
VIT
INT
MND

Equipment

Crab Bow
Red Coral Arrows (For NMs) or Warped Arrows (For regular mobs)
Darksilver Circlet (Garnet)
Cavalier's Chainmail
Brass Vambraces (Green)
Voyager's Belt (Green)
Tarred Leather Trousers
Cavalry Sollerets (Green)

Armor types
Cloth/Leather/Metal

I tend to multishot Raging Strike2 first hit, then Trifurcate, Invigorate for TP, let a few normal shots/ or heavy shots go and then unleash different weaponskills based on what I am fighting. For NMs we Battle Regimens non stop, Debuffs first and I sit out on that part to gain TP, then we do a Heavy Slash, 4-5 TP attacks and then Magic, When fighting single mob NM I use Bloodletter or Foeseeker in BR, but when fighting Mossyhorn or Dodore I use Wide Volley 2 fully buffed everytime on the BR. I usually hit for 900 to my highest of 1350 on the targeted mob and the other mobs take 300+ damage.

I don't do much soloing at the moment, just log on to do NMs a couple nights a week until more content comes out.


From Abilities 2-30-
Line 1: Multishot, Heavy Shot, Bloodletter, Wide Volley 2, Invig, Trifurcate,Hawk's Eye, Ferocity, RgnStr2
Line 2: Barrage, Sbind2, Foeseeker, Concussive Blow 2, Shrieker, Sac2, Cure2, 2ndWind, Quickstride, Siphon MP
Line 3: Close Shot, Chameleon, Punishing Barbs, Protect etc.
(I play with a controller for the most part, so my set up accompanies that playstyle)

ATT H-L
DEX, STR =
VIT
MND (30)

Equipment
Crab Bow
Silver Arrows Full time unless farming then Obsidian or Warped (silver does consistently the most damage but I haven't yet compared them to Red Coral Arrows)
Silver Tricorne
Bucc Shirt
Spiked Leather Gloves
Bucc Sash
Tarred Leather Trousers (Brown)
Bucc Boots
4 Silver Rings

Currently im using red coral, and silver arrows for LS events, and the mighty mighty warped arrows for just about everything else. Being a carpenter helps out 9k%, making arrows repairing my prescious bow on the fly, whats not to love? As fr as the abilities goes i guess we archers share a like mind. I'm still waiting for my buccaneers items to drop ><;

I'm a soloist at heart, so I still need to work on hate control. Though the few time I have pulled hate from a nm, the devil on my shoulder and I high five lol ^^

Atm I am only rank 40 but...

2-10: Multishot, Shrieker, Scouring Strike, Puncture II, Foeseeker, Skewer II, Trammel, Trificate, Heavy Shot

11-20: Cure, Sac2, Siphon MP, Stoneskin, Second Wind, Bloodbath, Raging Strike II, Ferocity, Hawk's Eye, Invigorate, Quick Strike (All these abilities are actually set to my first ALT macro set, alt is set to a button on my mice for ease of use)

21-30: Refill is it atm.

Gear is pretty much Bowyers and Harriers and some low 40 bows. Crab bow and buc gear will be used soon.

Startout is pretty much standard

Raging+Multi shot
Ferocity+Trifficate
WS depending on the situations
Cycle a few light and heavy shots
WS depedning on situations

Normal Stuff: Light Shot, Heavy Shot, Multi-Shot, Refill
Weapon Skills (most used): Feint, Bloodletter, Foeseeker
Weapon Skills (for NM incaps): Shrieker, Barrage
AoE Weapon Skills: Quick Nock, Wide Volley II
Crowd Control: Close Shot, Shadowbind II, Collusion
Battle Abilities: Trifurcate, Raging Strike II, Ferocity II, Invigorate, Still Precision, Hawk's Eye, Quelling Strike II, Chameleon, Subtle Release, Scavenge
Non-Combat Abilities: Quickstride

Set up the start of most fights with nocking two arrows with Multi-Shot, followed by a Ferocity II & Raging Strike II buff, (Hawk's Eye thrown in depending on whether or not I'm initiating the mob), followed up with a Trifurcate and the use of Heavy Shot to build TP to 2500, then throwing out a Bloodletter, then Foeseeker, followed by a Raging Strike II (CD should be down) & releasing Trifurcate and following up with Feint for good measure as I've found once the battle is initiated, more often than not at least one arrow misses.

Generally on basic stuff like Behest, leves, etc. I generally just spam light shot and throw out Bloodletters or Foeseekers with appropriate abilities thrown in. If however it's a longer fight a la the NMs, I'll start off with the above.

Gear-wise, well... to be completely honest, there really isn't much that gear actually helps out yet in the game. Stats are far too wonky to prove any real importance, so as of right now despite having what seems to be the norm for gear for ARC, it's all aesthetics for the time being. But I rock Harrier's Jacket, Skull Eye Patch, Spiked Armguards, those crappy rank 39 toadskin boots, tarred leather pants, tarred voyager's belt, silver ringx2, str+5 ringx2, -BOTH- a Crab Bow and a Yew Long Bow and Warped Arrows. Not bothering with any other form of arrow at this point in the game, as it simply just isn't worth it at this point.

That's my ARC in a nutshell, seems to work fine for the time being but until they revamp all their planned changes (classes, battle systems, stats, emnity generation, etc.) I'm really not too concerned about whether or not I'm an optimal ARC.

Almost forgot, also rock the abilities: Out of Sight (-10 Emnity, ARC) - Fleet of Food (increased run speed with weapon drawn, LNC) - Prime Conditioning (healing effects + 10%, PGL)

I am raw power for now. I do everything I can do maximize the damage I can do. I specialize in Dex to boost my crit damage and Str backs up with normal power. You would be surprised to know how often debuffs stick with a decent Piety rating
I think my base stats are as follows:
Dex-140
Str-110
Vit- 70
Pie- 70

I have two main play styles. One that carefully watches enmity and one that unleashes hell. I have a particular method I follow but it would take too long to describe it. But let's just say on NMs... Bloodletter is your friend. Make sure you hit often with it.

I just use Light Shot/Multishot mainly.
My skill bar is set up as such:

Light Shot- Multishot- Raging Strike II- Ferocity II- Hawk's Eye- Invigorate II- Twisting Vice- Bloodletter- Wide Volley II- Sacrifice II

Refill- Trifurcate- Chameleon- Collusion- Decoy- Diversion- Featherfoot- Shrieker- Barrage- Second Wind

Comrade in Arms- Slow- Still Precision- Subtle Release

Passive skills- Out of Sight, Prime Conditioning, Pikemanship, Complete Control, Firm Conviction, Fleet of Foot

Bow- Crab Bow
Arrows- Red Coral/Silver
Head- Silver Tricorne
Body- Buccaneer's Shirt
Waist- Buccaneer's Sash
Legs- Either Velveteen Kecks or Tarred Leather Trousers
Feet- Buccaneer's Boots
Arms- Brass Vambaces
Rings- Dex Rings

I am currently an r37 arc, w phys. lvl 48. Although I will party with people, I am predominantly a solo player, as a result, my stats are optimized towards survivability with my physical stats over my magical stats, though still having competent skill in magic.

STR 88 (100)
VIT 86 (101)
DEX 92 (106)
INT 71 (66)
MND 71 (66)
PIE 67 (62)

HP 1382 (1431)
MP 469 (511)

My skill setup typically includes the following:
Row 1: Lt. shot, Close shot, Multi shot, Shadowbind II, Puncture II, Wide Volley, Raging strike, Hawk's eye, Cure II, 2nd wind.
Row 2: Hvy. shot, Protect, Shell, Shock spikes, stoneskin, Arrow Helix, Quicknock or Barrage, Decoy, Quickstride, Trifurcate.
Row 3: Throw, Refill, Scavenge.

Traits:
Complete control, Driven by faith, Will to power, Fleet of foot, Prime conditioning, Out of sight, Bowmanship (mostly since I don't like leaving empty spaces)

Equipment:
Weapon: Armored Calvary bow (Weevil bow as backup)
head: Silver Circlet
body: Scouting jacket (black) (Iron Haubergeon in parties for extra str)
waist: Brass Tassets +1
legs: Canvas trousers
arms: Leather Armguards (black)
feet: Leather leggings (red)
Accessories:Silver rings x2, Sunstone ring, Flourite Ring +1

I have been able to successfully solo red Dwarf Diremites with this setup, usually starting with a full multishot attack, followed by shadowbind > trifurcate > Lt. shot > Puncture, using close shot when the mite gets in melee range, and healing myself when needed, or while the mite is bound.

Rank 50: Archer
Line 1: Feint,Puncture II, Foeseeker, Bloodletter, Skewer II, Wide Volley II, Raging Strike II, Multi-Shot, Refill
Line 2: Second Wind II, Invigorate, Feather Foot, Diversion, Ferocity II, Hawk's Eye, Blindside, Trifurcate, Quick Stride,Cadence
Line3: Cure II, Sacrifice II, Stygian, Etc...

Equipment:
Weapon: Yew Bow +1
Head: Skull Eye Patch +3
Body: Bowmen's Tunic
Waist: Tarred Voyager's Belt
Legs: Tarred Leather Pants
Feet: Toadskin Leggings
Hands: Spiked Armguards
Rings: 2 Silver, 1 Sun, 1 Flourite.

I basically start every fight by doing Multi x2, Raging II, Invigorate, light shot. Depending on the mob i'll follow with light shots for tp or Trifurcate, Hawk's Eye for tp and i'll move to Weapon Skill Macro: Ferocity II, Blindside, Raging Strike II, Bloodletter and no I never pull hate because we have reliable tanks if I miss I have Feint to rely on and hopefully working on getting Invigorate II with my R40 Lancer.

i play naked

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phrozen

i play naked

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Interesting theory o.o

Archer Gear Link

Bow- Crab Bow +2
Arrows- Silver Arrows
Head- Silver Tricorne
Body- Bowman's Tunic (Black)
Waist- Tarred Voyager's Belt
Legs- Tarred Leather Trousers (Brown)
Feet- Cavalry Sollerets (Black)
Arms- Spiked Leather Armguards (Black)
Rings- x3 Amethyst Rings
Throwing - Bomb Arm +3

STR: 174
DEX: 174
MND: Base
PIE: Base
VIT: Base

Just a small note on people using Coral Arrows - all coral based arrows give 30% Water damage + 70% projectile damage. They do a considerably lower amount of damage on all mobs of any element. At the moment R33 Silver Arrows are the highest damaging ammo an Archer can use as they are 100% projectile. A fellow LS Archer and myself tested this pretty extensively.

My rotation is Heavy Shot+Invigorate II until 2000TP and then self-buff with Blindside II, Raging Strike II, Ferocity II, Hawk's Eye, Keen Flurry, and Cadence with Quick Nock into our Battle Regimens. I normally have Trifurcate loaded because it deals x2-x3 the damage directly after the Battle Regimen.

Highest Quick Nock(s) have been close to 3500 on Dodore and 2500 on Uraeus.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Richard

Just a small note on people using Coral Arrows - all coral based arrows give 30% Water damage + 70% projectile damage. They do a considerably lower amount of damage on all mobs of any element. At the moment R33 Silver Arrows are the highest damaging ammo an Archer can use as they are 100% projectile. A fellow LS Archer and myself tested this pretty extensively.

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I second this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Richard

Just a small note on people using Coral Arrows - all coral based arrows give 30% Water damage + 70% projectile damage. They do a considerably lower amount of damage on all mobs of any element. At the moment R33 Silver Arrows are the highest damaging ammo an Archer can use as they are 100% projectile. A fellow LS Archer and myself tested this pretty extensively.

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So you disagree with:

Great Buffalo weak to: Iron Swallow Tail
Goblin weak to: Red Corral
Dedore weak to: Silver
Mosshorn weak to: Iron Swallow Tail
Uraeus weak to: Red Corral

Silver > all at all times?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by God

So you disagree with:

Great Buffalo weak to: Iron Swallow Tail
Goblin weak to: Red Corral
Dedore weak to: Silver
Mosshorn weak to: Iron Swallow Tail
Uraeus weak to: Red Corral

Silver > all at all times?

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I'd like to see legitimate parsing done with your claim as I've not seen anything (in our tests) that correlates with that statement. Iron Swallowtail with 30Atk, even with 30% slashing is still less damage than Silver at 4 more Atk and 6 more Acc. The only way I can see Red Coral being better than Silver on Uraeus is because he is Earth based and Water > Earth in XIV. Water < Fire in XIV so I don't see how you can say Red Coral for Haughtplox.

I'd really like to see some parsing though to compare with our own.

Ima a rank 50 archer, my general strategy is too do as much damage as possible without pulling the hate, its alot harder then it sounds when you have tier II Lance buffs/skills at your disposal.

Anywho, multi-shot followed by raging II on every CD, and usually after 2 CD's my Ferocity II has CD'd so i buff up hit it with a quick nock and blow on remaining TP on 1k skills such as Bloodletter, usually only Bloodletter as it has a DOT effect its handy to keep up. This was my general plan for leveling with my static, just blast as much damage as I can, never had to worry about Hate cause the mob never lasted that long to even consider myself dieing.

For NMs however, my strategy is different in a few ways.

For one, hate is always playing on my mind, I use Chameleon on EVERY CD, and i also carry Nerve Drops (Instant enmity reduction) for the multi-mob NMs (Dodore and Mosshorn), as if i pull a minion a nerve drop will sort it out instead of me wasting time to type "AMG theres a Minion on me", and usually healing myself cause IMO the DD dont need heals from CON if there positioned right on the mobs, usually behind the mob.
Anywho apart from worrying about hate, i then take it upon myself to hit as much damage as I can do, and im pretty sure theres a Sequence behind the skills I use but im unaware of this maself ^^; something along the lines of multishot>raging II> Invig II> Light shot > heavy shot > (would probably use a AOE skill such as Wide Volley II or Heavy Trammel if i were fighting dodore/mosshorn) > Buff up (raging II, Fero II, Hawk's Eye, e.c.t..) > Incap WS, hopefully the right one ^^; and repeat.
This would alter sometimes as I am the only R50 LNC in the shell to-date so Twisting Vice has to be on my bar and CIA II perhaps, so they would come in as some point.

So basically, my "Genius" strategy behind my archer is attack>build up TP>buff>hit some damage>lower enmity> repeat!

Probably a general strategy for most archers :D


As for my build, my fighting classes are both DD that benefit from DEX and STR so there my focus, backed up with VIT ofc, not as much as STR/DEX but enough so I can survive, as for gears, on archer i wear gears that compliment my STR/DEX and jewelry which compliments my ACC (electrum rings ftw) and for LNC I have a MDF set, woo, and a VIT set as with LNC im on the front lines of battle and need the boost to survive! jewelry also compliments my HP on LNC.

I have a few +1 equips on both classes like my +1 bow, tunic, tricorne, rings for my archer and my +1 tricorne and rings/wristlets for my LNC, not that ive seen +1 jewerly have much of a diff effect then NQ.

Would also like to take this moment to Thank SE for making my r50 archers base HP higher then my r50 LNC's base HP, it really made sense :/ :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by God

So you disagree with:

Great Buffalo weak to: Iron Swallow Tail
Goblin weak to: Red Corral
Dedore weak to: Silver
Mosshorn weak to: Iron Swallow Tail
Uraeus weak to: Red Corral

Silver > all at all times?

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you read forums too much n don't play by trial n error it seems

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Richard

I'd like to see legitimate parsing done with your claim as I've not seen anything (in our tests) that correlates with that statement. Iron Swallowtail with 30Atk, even with 30% slashing is still less damage than Silver at 4 more Atk and 6 more Acc. The only way I can see Red Coral being better than Silver on Uraeus is because he is Earth based and Water > Earth in XIV. Water < Fire in XIV so I don't see how you can say Red Coral for Haughtplox.

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Not all mobs are weak to piercing right.

Some arrows simply do more dmg on specific mobs. Sure it's not mind blowly dfferent so sticking to a single type isn't the end of the world.

Hell even the guild tells you about the benifits of specific arrows.

Bah formating problems.

http://img5.mmo.mmo4arab.com/news/20...weapon(45).jpg
Remember this pic?

Iron arrows, for regular battles
Silver arrows, for undead
Obsidian arrows, to pierce magic barriers
Swallowtail arrows, for giant beasts
Poison arrows, for long battles
Triple arrow, for battles against multiple foes

(yeah I know there not all in the game and alot of what SE says is BS) but it's hard not to notice the difference of Iron swallowtail on GB.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by God

Not all mobs are weak to piercing right.

Some arrows simply do more dmg on specific mobs. Sure it's not mind blowly dfferent so sticking to a single type isn't the end of the world.

Hell even the guild tells you about the benifits of specific arrows.

Bah formating problems.

http://img5.mmo.mmo4arab.com/news/20...weapon(45).jpg
Remember this pic?

Iron arrows, for regular battles
Silver arrows, for undead
Obsidian arrows, to pierce magic barriers
Swallowtail arrows, for giant beasts
Poison arrows, for long battles
Triple arrow, for battles against multiple foes

(yeah I know there not all in the game and alot of what SE says is BS) but it's hard not to notice the difference of Iron swallowtail on GB.

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I completely understand where you would get the notion that x arrow with 30% x modifier on it would be great for certain types of mobs, and I believe that is how SE intended it. But, it's been tested for almost a year now, and it's a predominantly known issue that the 30% x modifier either a) doesn't exist in the game yet much like other stat modifiers that are supposed to be working or b) it is so negligible that it isn't worth farming the mats. I propose that when servers come back up lets get some legitimate recorded parsing done and put it up in the "Arrows" thread where this discussion has already taken place.

Normal attack on Ura: Wrapped Arrow average 24, Silver Arrow average 27, Red Coral Arrow average 32, all using Crab bow +2 and 155~ STR / DEX (In fact I get about same damage after respect to mage with 16 STR/DEX, but WS seems to do less)

Haven't really tried on any other NM