Comprehensive Archer Skills and Equipment Guide

[OldSchoolRPGs]

I have a couple questions if you don't mind.

When it comes to the Cruel Blast combo. Is it best to use this every single time once you have the ability to do so? I ask because sometimes you get in groups where they don't round up the mobs to AoE them down. The tank might blast them away, or their might not even be a tank and it's just mass chaos and everything is picking off mobs individually. I only ask because it would seem like a waste of Mana to use it if you were only attacking 1 mob (besides a boss). But I'm only 25 at the moment, it's possible that mobs might get a lot harder later on and it's in my best benefit then to use it each time. Currently I can burn one down in just a few seconds without the Cruel Blast combo, but I always use it when there are 2+ mobs near each other.

I also have a question about which stats have the highest priority. I am an all Dex bird at level 25. If I were to get, lets say 9 different bows. The difference in each being 1 Crit, 1 Dex, 1 Hit%, 1 DPS, 1 Armor, 1 has a 1 point higher low end damage, 1 has a 1 point higher high end damage, 1 Hp/s, 1 Mp/s. In what order is the stat most important? Cause I'll get armor sets where it's 10 Armor 3 Dex 1 Hit%, and another thats 10 Armor 2 Dex 2 Crit%, and sometimes they are so close that it's hard to make a choice. Obviously if I am going with a pure DD build then Hp/s and Mp/s aren't a big deal, but where do the rest stack in terms of which to go with?

[Physiologic]

I have a couple questions if you don't mind.

When it comes to the Cruel Blast combo. Is it best to use this every single time once you have the ability to do so? I ask because sometimes you get in groups where they don't round up the mobs to AoE them down. The tank might blast them away, or their might not even be a tank and it's just mass chaos and everything is picking off mobs individually. I only ask because it would seem like a waste of Mana to use it if you were only attacking 1 mob (besides a boss). But I'm only 25 at the moment, it's possible that mobs might get a lot harder later on and it's in my best benefit then to use it each time. Currently I can burn one down in just a few seconds without the Cruel Blast combo, but I always use it when there are 2+ mobs near each other.

I also have a question about which stats have the highest priority. I am an all Dex bird at level 25. If I were to get, lets say 9 different bows. The difference in each being 1 Crit, 1 Dex, 1 Hit%, 1 DPS, 1 Armor, 1 has a 1 point higher low end damage, 1 has a 1 point higher high end damage, 1 Hp/s, 1 Mp/s. In what order is the stat most important? Cause I'll get armor sets where it's 10 Armor 3 Dex 1 Hit%, and another thats 10 Armor 2 Dex 2 Crit%, and sometimes they are so close that it's hard to make a choice. Obviously if I am going with a pure DD build then Hp/s and Mp/s aren't a big deal, but where do the rest stack in terms of which to go with?

As you level and get richer, spending for mana potions won't be a big deal. It's up to your discretion as to how you want to use Cruel Blast. I forgot to mention how exactly Cruel Blast works - it's essentially a Blast Shot + normal attack (with your enemy debuffed from Shattered Scream) all at the same time. Is it worth it to spend on a single enemy? If you have the money to do so, then do as you wish, but take into consideration the cool-down time for those skills to be used again (you wouldn't want to run into a mob of enemies after you used those skills and still be waiting for your skills to be available). Personally, I only use Cruel Blast against one enemy if the enemy is a big guy (like those big green demons with lots of health).

Here's how I rate the importance of weapon stats. Keep in mind I am aimed to making my character as strong as possible, which means I want to eliminate enemies quickly.

1. Damage/DPS - Interchangeable because they are nearly equivalent. If damage is about the same, look at DPS. DPS is directly derived from weapon speed and damage (see here for calculation example). DPS matters more on bosses because you spend more time attacking bosses, whereas it may take 1-2 seconds to kill a normal enemy.
2. Crit - Second most important weapon stat as a bird. You have a high chance to critically hit an enemy - or effectively double your damage output (see here to examine the importance of crits)
3. Armor, H/s, M/s - Improves survival, saves money on pots
5. Hit% - Important in the beginning, but once you reach a hit% of 100, anything beyond that is meaningless since hit% is capped.
6. Dex/Str/Int - Non-important if a weapon increases Dex, because it's already shown in damage/DPS.

[OldSchoolRPGs]

Thank you very much for the quick reply.

One thing I notice sometimes is the Cruel Blast combo not working on the bigger guys. Maybe I wasn't close enough some of the times, but I swear that every time I try to do the Cruel Blast combo on big enemies that it just doesn't work, as in give me the big "Combo" text. I never have a problem doing it on normal mobs. Are some enemies resistant to this combo? Or am I just missing it an not realizing?

Also, about Heavy Crossbows. I've yet to run into one that has even close to as much DPS as normal bows. Why is that? The only reason I could see using it would be if you were only going to get off 1 shot before the mob dies because they have higher damage per shot. Do they get better than normal bows? Or is there something I am not understanding?

[Physiologic]

Thank you very much for the quick reply.

One thing I notice sometimes is the Cruel Blast combo not working on the bigger guys. Maybe I wasn't close enough some of the times, but I swear that every time I try to do the Cruel Blast combo on big enemies that it just doesn't work, as in give me the big "Combo" text. I never have a problem doing it on normal mobs. Are some enemies resistant to this combo? Or am I just missing it an not realizing?

Also, about Heavy Crossbows. I've yet to run into one that has even close to as much DPS as normal bows. Why is that? The only reason I could see using it would be if you were only going to get off 1 shot before the mob dies because they have higher damage per shot. Do they get better than normal bows? Or is there something I am not understanding?

Cruel Blast, from what I've seen, works on every single enemy in game. If there's an enemy that you can't seem to get the combo on, let me know which enemy it is and which map you're in so I can attempt to duplicate your results.

Heavy xbows have huge damage and low DPS for a reason. For example, let's say there's a xbow with 140-165 damage and DPS of 100. Let's say an enemy has 140 health. Using a heavy xbow, you'll automatically kill it in one shot, so need for DPS.

Now let's say you have a normal bow with 100-125 damage and DPS of 140, and an enemy has 140 health. This bow is weaker than the xbow of 140-165 damage, but since it has a DPS of 140, you're pretty much guaranteed to kill it in one second.

Now let's say you are using the bow and the xbow against a boss with a lot of health, and it'll take approximately 30 seconds to kill it. Which has a better damage output?
Xbow Damage 140-165, DPS of 100: 100x30sec= 3,000 damage
Bow Damage 100-125, DPS of 140: 140x30sec= 4,200 damage

So the bow, with a low damage and high DPS, beats the xbow in a long, extended fight.

The rule of thumb I follow is that DPS matters more during boss fights, while damage matters more during normal enemy mobs.

Hope this somehow clears up the difference and helps you choose between damage or DPS, because they're both important

[OldSchoolRPGs]

Haha you're the man Psyiologic! I appreciate all the help!

[Physiologic]

Glad to be of assistance

[Xymorg]

Xbow Damage 140-165, DPS of 100: 100x30sec= 3,000 damage
Bow Damage 100-125, DPS of 140: 140x30sec= 4,200 damage

So the bow, with a low damage and high DPS, beats the xbow in a long, extended fight.

Unless the mob has armor.

The dps only counts if the hit causes damage. For mobs with armor greater than what dmg you rolled, you get the big goose egg, so its like a miss.

Vs armor of 100 (I guessed at the speeds to approximate your example of 100dps slow v 140 dps fast):

140-165 speed 1.5 is 40 to 65 realized per hit so avg 52.5 x 21.4 hits in 30 secs = 1123.5 dmg in encounter

100-125 speed 0.8 is 0 to 25 realized per hit so avg 12.5 x 37.5 hits in 30 secs= 468.75 dmg in encounter

Ya, its extreme example, but as the armor becomes a larger percent of the per hit damage, dps becomes more & more misleading since it's calculated against armor zero & thus favors the speed.




Damag

[Physiologic]

Unless the mob has armor.

The dps only counts if the hit causes damage. For mobs with armor greater than what dmg you rolled, you get the big goose egg, so its like a miss.

Vs armor of 100 (I guessed at the speeds to approximate your example of 100dps slow v 140 dps fast):

140-165 speed 1.5 is 40 to 65 realized per hit so avg 52.5 x 21.4 hits in 30 secs = 1123.5 dmg in encounter

100-125 speed 0.8 is 0 to 25 realized per hit so avg 12.5 x 37.5 hits in 30 secs= 468.75 dmg in encounter

Ya, its extreme example, but as the armor becomes a larger percent of the per hit damage, dps becomes more & more misleading since it's calculated against armor zero & thus favors the speed.




Damag

I'm aware of the existence of variable enemy armor, and DPS actually isn't calculated against an armor of zero because it is a function of both damage and weapon speed. Since damage is affected by variable enemy armor, DPS will follow in accordance.

[Xymorg]

Wow dude, you are hard core!

I missed that posts of yours & thanks, there's a lot of good content there.

I still think dmg > dps for the vast majority of the game both from the math and from experience, but it's fine if you disagree. I mean no disrespect and give you and your guides full props.

Just for discussion sake, did i get something wrong in the math? Does the dps 140 (100-125 speed 0.8) not do less than half as much damage over 30 second than the dps 100 (140-165 speed 1.5) against armor of 100?

[Otukura]

Also, the hard hitters add more damage to the skill I think? Conformation needed.

[Physiologic]

Wow dude, you are hard core!

I missed that posts of yours & thanks, there's a lot of good content there.

I still think dmg > dps for the vast majority of the game both from the math and from experience, but it's fine if you disagree. I mean no disrespect and give you and your guides full props.

Just for discussion sake, did i get something wrong in the math? Does the dps 140 (100-125 speed 0.8) not do less than half as much damage over 30 second than the dps 100 (140-165 speed 1.5) against armor of 100?

The math is perfectly fine, and I do agree with you in the event that large armor (-100 or so) can deter DPS at a critical enemy armor value. Very nice point to come across. But what about the party's ability to debuff enemies - like stacking armor debuffs using skills and combos? Especially during a boss fight, wouldn't continual armor debuffs essentially strip away armor (not 100%, but to a large value), rendering overall DPS better? I think the only way to find out is to find out what the range of armor debuff in a bird-mage-bear party is...

Also, the hard hitters add more damage to the skill I think? Conformation needed.

By hard hitters, you mean higher damage? I'm unsure about this, look at this table I created for another one of my thread:



This is comparing weapons on my bird (weapons only, no other equip) and the changes in Blast Shot's damage range. It's so bizarre how speed and damage is correlated to a skill's damage, I can't figure it out yet.

[MAGICAL POCKET LEGEND]

telling your combos and things hehe

[Physiologic]

This is a pve guide though I may expand it for pvp info. So I dont care much for disclosing combos

[Thedexarcher]

really nice job, you must've spent many hours doing it

[Physiologic]

Stay tuned for updates on skills and end-game weapons! A new level cap has been announced and with it comes new equipments. In addition, there may be skill changes, as higher levels will provide for more skill points to use.

This guide will continue to be as up-to-date as possible. Thank you for your support

[Otukura]

Don't thank us. Thank you for your work..

[shockwaves]

thats cool

[Otukura]

thats cool

So that's how you're going to "farm your posts"?

[z0d]

simply amazing! thank you so much for this guide (and all your time and work).

[Fyrce]

You need to add Terror combo and thorn root also works for Nature Strike.