Role
The Archer is a Winged Elf class that stays at the back and pours out damage as fast as possible. Besides physical hits, many of his skills deal magic damage, mostly of the Metal element, so he always has an answer whether the target is strong against physical or magic attacks. Like every Winged Elf he can fly from level 1, and he is tied for the fastest runner in the game.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| High critical rate, accuracy and evasion | Low HP and low physical defense |
| Physical and magic damage, from range | Pulls monster attention easily if careless |
| One of the few classes with stealth; strong in mass PvP | Often picked after Assassins for some dungeons |
Weapons and ammunition
Every Archer weapon needs ammunition: slingshots fire shots, bows fire arrows and crossbows fire bolts. Some skills use more than one unit. Ammunition only fits weapons of certain grades, deals more physical damage at higher levels, and some types add bonuses such as critical rate. All three weapons have the same base maximum range.
| Weapon | Min damage | Max damage | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slingshot | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Bow | Low | High | Slow |
| Crossbow | Lower | Higher | Slower |
Builds and shards
- APS (attacks per second): gear with reduced attack interval for the fastest firing rate, at the cost of defense and damage. It suffers against high-level bosses that reduce melee attacks and in high-end PvP.
- DPH (damage per hit): attack speed matters less and the focus is on damage and defense, usually with top-tier Nirvana or Rank 9 gear.
- Armor shards: HP shards such as Citrine are popular before endgame; Garnet or Sapphire for defense also work. At endgame, attack level or defense level shards are the usual choice. See Shards and Socketing.
Archers in PvE
Grinding is easy thanks to knockback, stun and slow skills, plus the Winged Shell shield, which stays a good emergency escape even at high levels. In dungeon squads Archers are valued for skills that cut a boss's maximum HP:
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Sharpened Tooth Arrow (skill level 10) | Target's max HP −16%; −20% in the Sage version |
| Blood Vow (level 100 skill) | Max HP −18% and +25% damage taken |
PvP and Territory Wars
Being able to choose physical or magic damage makes the Archer dangerous to almost anyone, and his leaps and movement skills help him escape. A few class match-ups from the guide:
- Blademasters and offensive Barbarians: keep your distance with stuns and knockback, leap away from stun-locks and lean on Metal skills.
- Clerics: open with a stun, then hit hard; magic attacks get past their physical shield, though Clerics have high magic defense.
- Assassins: expect to be stun-locked; break free, then knock them back or leap away, and keep an anti-stun buff up. Their tidal buff often cancels debuffs.
- Psychics: hitting them can trigger a silence or a stun, so focus them with several players or kill them in as few hits as possible.
In Territory Wars Archers stay at the back and finish off weakened enemies. Sharpened Tooth Arrow is used above all on Barbarians, and Barrage of Arrows, his best area skill, can wipe out low-level players or help bring down catapults.
Sources
Game pictures: © Perfect World Entertainment / Arc Games · arcgames.com
