Archer/New Player Advice

[RogueJawa]

Hey!

I was going to post this in the DPS forum but then I realized I couldn't because I'm too low of a level, so I thought I'd ask here instead. This isn't my first MMO so I'm familiar with the "holy trinity" and that certain classes are best suited for certain jobs in a group; I have experience as a tank and DPS from other games. But while I've played several Final Fantasy games I am new to FFXIV and never played FFXI to any great depth; and as I understand it there's really no comparing them anyway.

I like archery in general and a friend of mine said our Free Company didn't have any Bards so I opted to start out as an Archer with my first character. I'd love to get some advice from the community so I can build good habits while leveling as opposed to having to learn to correct mistakes in my playstyle later on down the line at end game. I had scanned the forums for an Archer/Bard guide but I didn't see one. (Not sure if I missed it or just didn't look far enough maybe?) I'd rather have an idea of what I should be doing before I start doing group content so I don't waste anyone's time.

One thing I have noticed is that I seem to pull aggro pretty easily over any other DPS class I've ever played. I always thought I had pretty good aggro management in other games but here? It feels like I sneeze and go red with threat. I've done a couple of FATEs and seem to pull the mobs pretty quickly. When it's just me or one other person my instinct is to kite in that situation.. but kiting has gotten me chewed out at least once in tells. (In my defense I honestly didn't know he was trying to heal me, and if that was you and you're reading this I really AM sorry. ) But during situations with tanks and other melee classes my instinct is to pull the offending mob toward the group and stop attacking. The thing is.. when I read the class quests it seems like they kind of instruct you to kite as opposed to standing still.

I've never used macros, I kind of prefer getting a good ability rotation down. Any tips, tricks, and constructive feedback are welcome. Thanks in advance!

[Akuha]

Well, technically speaking the only one pulling/kiting should be the tank. DPS (especially soft/squishy ones like Archers) should avoid trying to pull things, as it makes it difficult for other players (besides tanks) to pull that enmity (aggro) off of you. Always wait until the tank gets a few shots in before you start attacking, and always attack the same enemy as the tank, or at least enemies that the tank has already smacked a few times. I can't speak for FATE parties here because I don't do them enough, but in dungeons this is the standard. It also helps to keep an eye on your enmity and throttle back your attacks accordingly if you're amassing enmity faster than your tank can pull it. The bigger your damage the more enmity you'll be pulling, and the harder it'll be for the tank to keep up with it. This likely won't be a problem later in the game unless you're doing everything with the duty finder, as tanks are usually good enough by that point to hold aggro regardless of how hard you're hammering them. If you are in a FATE party, attack the enemies with a purple colored name first, those are the ones that have already been tagged by someone else (you'll both get credit for the kill). If you attack the yellow colored ones first, of course they'll be all over you as they haven't been touched yet. They're just going after whoever's closest to them, aggro hasn't really factored in yet there. Don't go after those unless you've got a healer behind you, or you can kill the target before it reaches you. And all of this pertains to all DPS classes, not just archers. I recommend searching around a bit (outside the forums if you have to) to get a good solid understanding of exactly how enmity works, it'll make life much, much easier for you later on. Here's a good place to start: http://eorzeareborn.com/enmity/

[RogueJawa]

-snip- Here's a good place to start: http://eorzeareborn.com/enmity/

Thanks for that link! I also found an Archer guide for the first 15 levels there.

[sinfull]

Once you unlock quelling strike it will become your best friend I always use this ability before I use barrage and other damage and dex increasing abilities just so I don't rip hate. In later fights if you do get hate what I do is face away from the mob so that I stop attacking and let the tank get the mob back from me a little easier.
Speaking as a white Mage now with so many bards that I have seen around one key skill hardly any of them understand is the use of mages ballad, so many times I have to repeatedly ask for the Mages Ballad as I'm starting to run low on MP and none of them bother to cast as they are too worried about their DPS, which in certain situations the white mages MP pool is more important then how much damage you do. Generally when I'm on Bard I will use mages ballad when the whm's mp gets below 1.5k, and at 50 I use battle voice just for the better refresh rate it gives.

[Shuon]

Re aggro:
During a FATE where everyone's agenda is keeping him/herself alive, not many tank players without a reliable form of healings will take the initiative to hold hate, and that means you WILL draw hate and have to know how to deal with it. Usually kiting will be sufficient. Unfortunately, this may continue to be a problem in dungeons if the tank is new to MMO and the holy trinity concept, during which you have to teach him and hope he listens. Unless the tank does not know anything about tanking, you won't run into hate issues unless you recklessly spam attacks which I believe you won't!

Re macro:
at this moment, archer/bard is one class that can be seriously dumbed down with a few smartly crafted macros i.e. macros will seriously help you. But feel free to play around with the abilities until you are familiar with the system and look up some video guides wrt archer macros.

[RogueJawa]

Speaking as a white Mage now with so many bards that I have seen around one key skill hardly any of them understand is the use of mages ballad, so many times I have to repeatedly ask for the Mages Ballad as I'm starting to run low on MP and none of them bother to cast as they are too worried about their DPS, which in certain situations the white mages MP pool is more important then how much damage you do.

That kind of defeats the purpose of being a Bard to me. I've played tank classes in other MMOs and straight DPS classes, I wanted to do something different this time around so I thought the support role of a Bard would be interesting. I seriously considered going White Mage for a moment as I've always entertained the thought of being a healer.. but I don't trust myself with that much responsibility, so Bard seemed like a good way to bring something to the table besides damage.

[RogueJawa]

Re macro:
at this moment, archer/bard is one class that can be seriously dumbed down with a few smartly crafted macros i.e. macros will seriously help you. But feel free to play around with the abilities until you are familiar with the system and look up some video guides wrt archer macros.

Blaaargh. I don't hate macros.. but I've never really used them. I don't want to feel like I've dumbed my taskbar down to three buttons that I can faceroll in my sleep. :P But I did notice a macro on the Eorzea Reborn website that combined Bloodletter, Misery's End, and Heavy Shot that seemed useful to use for priority while keeping Venomous Bite and Straight Shot bound to their own keys to easily refresh them when needed. I thought about trying that. I'll check out some videos. Thanks!

[Gigetsu]

Blaaargh. I don't hate macros.. but I've never really used them. I don't want to feel like I've dumbed my taskbar down to three buttons that I can faceroll in my sleep. :P But I did notice a macro on the Eorzea Reborn website that combined Bloodletter, Misery's End, and Heavy Shot that seemed useful to use for priority while keeping Venomous Bite and Straight Shot bound to their own keys to easily refresh them when needed. I thought about trying that. I'll check out some videos. Thanks!

As an end game bard I would seriously suggest adding the Misery's end/Bloodletter macro to all of your damage/dot skills. It helps immensily with end game content like the Binding Coil when one needs to focus more on dodging and enemy mechanics. Though that combo really doesn't need to be set until level 50 when you get the River of Blood trait.