Archers!

[Arya]

@ Isaaru - Yes, I've noticed the Wide Volley + Wide Volley II differences in animation, and am glad they did it. Can't say I've seen a difference in other skill upgrades though. It is something they should work on.

@DannieDeadBoy + Honz - I have found that Shadowbind II seems more likely to stick than the original. However, I agree that it doesn't last as long as some might like. Yes, other binds wear as soon as you hit the mob, but why can a mob have skills that stick you to the ground even when you're being hit and we can't? It would be nice if a future Shadowbind III gave such a modification to the skill as to make it significantly more useful (i.e. if it hits and activates, the bind lasts for 15-30 seconds, guaranteed).

In General (i.e. my penny's worth)

1. I agree that it's nice to be able to do very nice damage, and that if played correctly (i.e. you don't arrow spam), you can balance aggro very well (especially with a good tank and chameleon). Of course, people playing other classes don't consider costs of arrows and the skill (eventually) required to balance aggro to be a decent Archer, and thus I wouldn't be surprised to see us nerfed in the future (like they did in FFXI).

2. It would be nice to see R.Acc and R.Atk stats in the attributes window like normal Accuracy and Attack. Why SE keep insisting on secrecy/ARC discrimination is beyond me.

3. Out of interest, has anyone tried Collusion with ARC while using a decent attack? I'm trying to decide whether to level my Lancer enough to get it. It sounds like it could be very useful for Archer. Especially depending on what other skills it can stack with simultaneously (info on this would be very helpful and appreciated please).

4. I must show my love for what I call my "Death Shot" (DS) - Multishot x2 + Raging Strike + Ferocity + Hawk's Eye. The 2 dmg buffs can be upgraded (or replaced with whatever other damage buffs you have), and the acc buff is nice for mobs where you want to be sure to hit (again, use another acc buff if you have that instead and want to use it). Multishot only works with Light Shot and so I generally only use the above as an opener to a fight (once someone has aggro'd the mob, else the dmg caused could result in less SP on the kill) once the tank has aggro. It ought to be loaded before the fight is started as loading the skills pulls aggro very nicely (perhaps SE need to tweak that down a little). Saying that, in the middle of a battle, you can load it, use a TP move (it works very nicely when at the end of a good Battle Regimen as the last attack can be amplified by the Regimen), then Light Shot (and use the remaining Multishot x2 which isn't used by the TP move) to get your TP back up again. I use the DS to "grade" mobs as the colours don't always tell you how easy they are for you if you solo. If you take off a little bit (assuming you hit fully) you're going to struggle. A little to a 1/4 off means relatively tough fight. 1/4 to 1/2 off means a simple fight. 1/2 or more off is a very easy fight. Of course, that doesn't account for HP regen moves which can be annoying.

[siloeyes]

Hello, fellow Archers! I love my class, feel like such a powerhouse out in the field; quicknock is my favorite skill so far, though it can back-fire sometimes >_< Just started the Archer guild missions, can't wait to explore the story line more

[Griever]

@Arya yes, collusion works good, mainly on NM fights. You should level up lancer either way, check my post HERE, it could help .

Cheers.

[Belial]

Did some NM hunting last night with the new set-up (old roaming NMs, not the new 25-35 NMs) and noticed a couple things, that emnity generation seemed more balanced (I attribute this to patching) and my debuffs were sticking much more frequently (this I am unaware if it's due to balancing changes, or to my increase in PIE, or a bit of both).

Also, it's nice to see that class & rank requirements do indeed apply to the new gear.