New player, basic questions...

[Behindthejab]

First off thanks in advance for anyone who takes there free time to assist me.

In MMO's I have always preferred dps classes, so I chose the Archer for this game. I'm 25 right now, and am still not 100% sure of my overall role. The main reason for this is that most of the time I see mages run in ahead of everyone and throw a thousand aoe spells. Most of the time I feel like I get two spells off and a few auto attacks before the room is cleared.

Now the obvious concern I have is that I am playing badly.

What is the common "room clearing" skill order for the Archer?

There are "combo" moves in the game. What are the combo moves for the archer?

I have purchased all of the dungeons and pvp. Do I get experience for PVP, or should I wait until I am max level to do PVP?

Thank you very much

[Survivorfan]

You aren't playing badly, its just that mages have skills more in the spells category and most do damage. I dont have a high lvl archer so i cant help you with the combos but i can assure you that pvp does not give you XP. But dont wait until you are 50 to play it. I have a level 7 archer (i know i have to fix my signature) and dont play pvp that much because there aren't pinks before lvl 10, and even then they are super rare. But i have a lvl 35 mage/pally and love to pvp with him.

[Caucan]

Try shattering scream + blast shot to do some clearing. It won't one-hit things, but it will weaken them substantially.

Use talons rather than bows; talons have a shorter range and less damage, but you gain a massive armor increase by being able to equip a shield (plus it just looks cooler). Adding in evasion you'll find that a lot of NPCs can't damage you that well, so if you need to take a pounding you'll be able to do so.

You can also run circles around NPCs (literally), so do it. If you can't win against a NPC/Boss/group of NPCs in a straight shooting match, just move around. The non-ranged ones will group up and follow you, and you'll be able to take them out a lot easier, or you can ignore them while you take out enemy archers/mages.

And spam your regen skills when needed - it's worth it. With a bit of patience you can solo dungeons without using a single potion. Just don't spam your other skills unless you need to, as they will drain your mana very quickly and you'll find yourself needing them later (like when a surprise miniboss shows up).

As for pinks you can get (or at least I did) a Jewel Thief's Platinum Talon from a mission. If you don't or won't wait (like I didn't want to wait), you can buy one from the market in Fort Blackstone for cheap (I got my first one for less than 1k gold). Shop around a bit for a good shield (they aren't expensive) and decent armor and you'll be in business. You can of course, use higher level talons, but (and forgive me if I'm wrong, I'm new as well) I think the bonuses on the Jewel Thief's talon make it quite a bit better.

[Duke]

With the balance changes, mage AoEs rule the day for clearing out mobs -- much faster than archers can deal with them. (Although, if you work as a team, setting up a Nature Strike combo by casting Thorn Root/Wall before the mage hits Lightning can make it go even faster.) You do have Shattering Scream + Blast Shot as a self-combo, which is your best AoE.

Archers shine against bosses and mini-bosses. Mages aren't are good at pumping out single-target damage, but archers are. Plus, your debuffs help the rest of the team. And I prefer sticking with crossbows because of the long range, so I can literally run circles around the bosses.

[Fyrce]

Archers have a combo with bears and with mages, and of course, you should be using your skills anyways. One of the 1st things you should be doing is throwing shattering scream and thorn wall. If your bear is gathering, wait until he gathers to do thorn wall. You can do shattering scream as soon as you are within mob range. Bears can gather those affected by shattering scream and do their hell scream combo with it.

Your thorn wall will stop the (gathered) mobs, hurt them a bit, and is the 1st part of a combo with mages' lightning. It's a great damage combo. Mages' lightning cool-down is extremely fast, so throw thorn wall even if mages open with lightning before you get there to do thorn wall. Almost all mages will throw lightning so you can combo in there. With that, the mobs clear even faster than mages can do alone. The right group can do Ao3 as fast as they can walk and it usually does include a bird. A good bear is also quite amazing.

[lce]

Can anyone give me a list where I put my Skill points? Im new at birds
I know that I max out Blast Shot and ermm the first skill lol I forgot the name

[Duke]

Max evade, blast shot, and focus ASAP. Beyond that, I'll let others chime in.

[Zeus]

Break armor and Blinding should also be maxed along with shattering scream. I'll let you figure out the rest, don't want to give away anything that might be used against me lol

[raysinhell]

As the game stands at this current point in time, Archers have little to no mobbing ability. They are a one on one class. When travelling with a party, just do what you can to assist, pick off stragglers, etc. Mages are the nukers, and clear out mobs quickly. An Archers role importantly comes into play with bosses/mini-bosses. A party of two archers and three mages is absolutely devistating when farming bosses. Warriors can play an important role but I find them to be more of a nuisance when players dont know how to control which direction they are going to send bosses flying with stomp.

Anyway, in short; archer is more one and one.. and only support for mobs. Thorn Wall is a mages best friend, use it wisely. Don't forget your own combo; Shattering Scream+Burst Shot. Archers are not skill spammers. It's all about timing and control. Spamming your skils is a complete waste of Mana. Even vs. bosses, you dont necessarilly want to spam. I personally have a very specific order I unlease my skills. In a sense it is spammed, but methodically. An Archers debuffs are crutial, and you should make those a priority first followed by whatever else does damage.

Anyway I could go on and on, but there are a few of my suggestions.

[raysinhell]

Can anyone give me a list where I put my Skill points? Im new at birds
I know that I max out Blast Shot and ermm the first skill lol I forgot the name

My personal skill allowance; dont bother with Restore, 1 point to Thorn Wall (not to be confused with Thorn Root), 3 to Avian Scream (not to be confused with Shattering Scream), everything else maxed.

Everyone seem to have their own setup that they feel is better than everyone elses. Whatever. Experiment and find what works best for you.