Ranged advice

Fellow ranged specialists

1. I am trying to decide on my 2nd spec. What are people choosing?
2. For pve combat (not testing numbers), is it better to put aimed shot in the rotating glyphs or have it fixed where you can charge it - and if so how many times would you do the charge?

 

you need to work the entire tree up to 80 once you have it up to 80 then you can lock it, too many questions as to what you are trying to do?

Are you talking about the new specialization?

do oyu like magery
which tree
taming
???

sorry not enough to go on

 

Yes the new Specialisations is what I am talking about from R51 - I am already lvl 80 spec in ranged, and was looking to see what others were using their 2nd spec in. I was thinking so far air, light and tactics, but maybe there are other trees people go in that have good synergies with ranged.

 

I have seen quite a bit of Life specialization with Ranged Specialization

Also Taming Specialization has been common, The focus Specialization does not seem bad.

I am considering Sun Specialization, just because I really enjoy sun and am hoping that the phoenix gets a decent boost but he has left that open for now so just have to wait and see.

 

Ok so I use Water since I have had it for ever.
It has very nice Damage, a great AOE debuff with Ice Field (I expect this to get a tweak (Nerf), and good defense and Buffs as well as healing.
Plus the Water Ele can heal you and Ice Ele can do nice tanky damage.

As for the scone one I have not even decided on Ranged or Tame as the boost to Ranged seem a little wonky. Meaning it benefits seem to be outweighed from benefits from other specials. What I mean is the buffs from the special just do not fell like improvements worth the effort spent./

 

Thanks for the advice gives me lots to think about

 

Really take the time and mouse over each skill, look for what the effects of specialization do for it, and pick which ones truly (I mean really benefit) your play style not just the skill.

Like I said Water fits what I do very well and I might look at another spell tree for the second. Taming is such a joke since the tree itself is a waste of effort and the taming Special is nothing but a Combat Training 2.0, very disappointing.

Sun looks promising to as it has a few tweaks that give bonuses to take out undead. also has a nice heal over time and the Intell (focus) buff

 

Great questions - I hope other archers answer! @Hornpipe @Halfwitte . For myself I am still un-decided on 2nd spec. Light armor for the draw bonus? I have 1000 pts in earth and the idea of being able to root Torc intriques me. Fire looks great but wouldn't help with bow. Tactics maybe.... I really don't know. Actually adding Subterfuge to mix now as the idea of stealthing to Monkey Room seems super fun.

2nd question I can't help either. Currently I have 1-4 open for glyphs. Ranged, Aim, Disabling and I can get a stack of 3 and rarely 4. I use charge normal shot. Does OK in The Rise, but I have been now thinking if I lock these down and charget them up and go with auto attack (kind of reverse) of what I'm doing now. I suppose I can test it out.

 

I would say that a true archer won't use spells, but rather rely on subterfuge or light armor. It's just my opinion through.

And you don't have to be a true archer. Mage archers are a valid option. Heavy armor archers too.

My advice to you, in the end, is to do what would please you.

 

I took Ranged and Light Armor. I am not 100% satisfied with either. I picked them mostly for decay since I have multiple ranged skills over 120 and for the sixth glyph to some of my most used skills. I love Flurry, super OP stacked when used with stacked Chaotic Feedback. Ranged specialization doesn't really do much other then the glyph and decay. Multi Shot remains the same, Rapid Fire requires like 40 million XP to get 10 shots and will cost 35+ focus to use, Piercing Shot still hits like a yet noodle, Blinding Shot has a worthless debuff for an archer(if it really is Parry, nice if it is really dodge), Disabling Shot debuffs a dodge which is really limited, and Aimed Shot is a little more spammable which is probably the best buff.

 

I chose Earth as 2nd specialization. The movement penalty for Earth's embrace being knocked down + avoidance (small) add to Shield of Crystal did it for me. I cannot wait to get both Root and Earth Specialization to 100 and try it out on some bosses.

Tested locking down glyphs and auto-fire as opposed to charging bow / stacking /clicking glyphs. I had to switch back but think I need to test again. Once Ranged specialization hits 80 and I get a 6th Rapid Fire and 6th Aimed Shot? I cannot see stacking that many ever....I will want to charge them up.

Kinda agree with Diab. Piercing still sucks, blinding shot sucks. Disabling shot actually has been great for me (mainly fighting Elven Mages in The Rise who always dodge. I may have to look at chaotic feedback+Flurry again. Tried CF one time and it was very painful...

 

Bringing back to life,
There is , surprisingly, not a lot of quality posts regarding ranged.
There are a good number of "this doesn't work" or "I wish this thing was like this other thing"
But not a lot of posts regarding synergy, best practices, and ONE "guide to ranged", which is now outdated.

I'll include myself in this request and come back with something more substantial.
Does anyone have any "best practices" when it comes to synergy with ranged?
This is a call out for some quality feedback for the archers out there.

There's only so many slots on our bars, how are you filling them?
Are you dipping from certain schools of magic? How are you dealing with Fizzle?
Those that use Heavy chest/Light everything else: Do you do something more extreme to deal with fizzle or do you just opt out of most magic?
Heavy users: Why heavy? Do you use Berserker Stance? If so why/why not?
Auto Attack or Click and Charge?
We have a pretty decent Poison/Ignite Weapons thread but a little blurb about it here wouldn't hurt.
Any places specially suited for Ranged users? Personally I like Serpent Spine Foothills for farming Producer XP
Do you even use your ranged skills to farm? Do you have a secondary setup you use that's less resource heavy?

That's enough for now.
Just curious what the ranged community has to offer in terms of substantial feedback.
Searching the player created forums for "Ranged" gets you @Diab Blackbow 's guide. It's a good guide, but every other spec has a ton of content, we've got one.
I KNOW I'm late to the party... I backed the KS and lurked during the wipes for years.
Trying to be a bit more involved in what I / we love to play.

Thanks
Tam

 

As an archer, i truly enjoy how water/air work with archery. The only combos that i have used are air/ranged. Aimed shot/discharge or gust make nice stuns/knockbacks. My specializations are ranged/light armor but I am seriously considering going with subtlety or tactics for my secondary specialization. If you use light armor you HAVE to kite and the air spells are seriously helpful in this. One nice stun or knockback makes the difference between a win and death on harder fights! I use a partially locked deck with 4 open slots for spells, I use the minimum of spells on those 4 open slots so that i KNOW what will pop up within reason. Lock aimed shot, a heal, ignite weapon, dash and i forget what else . If you are in Bladewyke go to Diaz Dizazter's vendor and check out his book for ranged and bars. It is extremely helpful. Whisper me or him in game and ask questions. We try hard to help anyone who asks!

Witcheypoo Kelabra

 

I started with Ranged Specialization in combination with Light Armor, due to killing bosses in a group i droped Ranged for Life.
Overall I wasn't really impressed with the benefits you've got from Ranged, the Dodge debuff from Disabling Shot was quite handy but does not work on bosses. Piercing shot still doesn't do any real damage and you can get to 10 Arrows for Rapid Fire without using the specialization, easier than ever now with permanent double xp.
The only thing I am missing is the extra glyphe I get for having 80 points in Ranged Specialization but that wasn't worth it and I am still using a bow and can kill stuff with 2 other specialization. Taming, life + using a bow could be really nice. Air + Light Armor and a bow is another good combination, as a higher Air attunment although increases the amount of your dexterity buff. Fire is really strong and always a good alternative to pick.
So my conclusion is using a bow and not using the Ranged Specialization is a viable option you should consider.

Happy hunting

Xeng

 

I second this. I have tried several combinations of Specializations since they were introduced, starting with Air. That was an easy choice, and though I have Unlearned it to try other specializations, I am back to Air and Life. Tactics was my secondary specialization first, but then I felt the need to alter my playstyle for the sake of fun and discovery. I Unlearned both specializations and moved to try Ranged despite knowing I wouldn't be at all pleased, and secondarily, Focus. There was a lot of potential for Focus Specialization and Air Specialization as a combo, so I unlearned Ranged specialization the same day and went back to Air.

After that, I realized that Focus spec could be really compelling once Aetheric Feedback and Spellbinder's Stance got fixed, which they have been adjusted this incoming release. It remains to be seen if giving 1 more second of window to Aetheric will be sufficient, as we all know, performance is not conducive of a 2-second window of opportunity to determine whether it was YOU who spellcrit or a friend, then mash the button so the spell completes before 2sec have passed... the window is large with Focus Spec, making it very viable.

So, I may explore Focus and Light Armor because I have a couple fascinating ideas to try. I'll be sad to see my 6 stacks of Air magic go, but let's be honest, I really only specialize in Air for Dexterity and more attunement, so, until I can 6stck Air's Embrace or Air Shield gets some kind of bonus, it's just a waste of time to specialize in Air, for me, at this time.

 

The combination of Light Armor Specialization and using Flurry with Spellbinder's Stance is really insane. I do like the fast amount of cards comming down and think this is great for pumping out a lot of heals, or spamming nicely stacked spells.

If you are using Focus Specialization for mana regeneration I am not sure that would be the optimal way to go, I am using the Harp of Invigoration, Dragon Stew + another buff food and the Shrine mana regeneration buff, which is normaly quite sufficent for my mana pool. Aetheric Feedback I trigger by using an AoE effect, like Ring of Fire or Meteor Strike as even if the mobs are imune to them they can crit ( yellow 0 ) and than just casting Aetheric Feedback a few times and see if I got the focus regeneration buff seems to work. If you want to give life + light armor while using a bow a try, give my guide a chance.

Happy hunting

Xeng

 

I just may take your advice, but one caveat is that I run Air Shield mostly and am hesitant to change it. Not unwilling, mind you. I may take up Chaos tree and embrace Chaos Shield as an alternate.

I think that with my marginally higher focus Regen, and sure air shield/chaos shield, and focus+light armor spec, Hyperlight may be able to weak havoc on mobs AND players with his spells and a well crafted staff and Drifter just might make use of his dexterity and longbow if the draw speed is good enough.

 

The interesting part is that Aetheric Feedback is useful to both builds regardless of whether the crit procs or not. 6stacking 115 skill pushes me over 200 focus for a longer duration, and I can tap it once to proc the spellcrits.

Any way, cheers.

 

I'm curious about the other side of archery. The heavy armor STR stackers that use Tactics specialization so they can use a beefed up berserker's stance to get the giant Crit Damage bonus paired with Inner Strength, and the Strength of Earth STR Buff
Currently I'm wearing a Meteoric Iron Chain chest with high STR and DEX - lots of DR and DA.
and the rest is all supple leather that gives weapon damage and crit chance.
Strength of Earth (they can now be stacked along with shields)
Inner Strength (+20 STR for 1 min 30 sec)@GM
Berserker's Stance (40 STR, 35% attack spd, +2.0 movement speed, and because of spec +63.5% melee and ranged critical damage for 1 minute)@GM

If I were to go light armor and use flurry -
I would not be able to use Berserker's stance at the same time (they override each other)
Also would have to give up the STR bonus from Inner Strength

The only real benefit of Flurry that I can see is with specialization and using it along side summoner's stance, thus making yourself immobile.

I'm struggling to find a reason to go full leather but I truly love the run speed that comes with it. I feel so freaking slow in heavy. But than again I hit like a truck so I have to give up one or the other.

Heavy Pros:
Big hits, auto and attack spell alike
During berserk, you are fast, and crit damage is off the charts and shoot crazy fast
Damage Avoidance can be beefed up with one of the BEST defensive abilities in the game "Glancing Blow" (+60 DA for 2 sec and +20 DA for 55.3 Sec)@GM
Get out of stun free card - "Knight's Grace" - removes stuns, bleeds and slow effects instantly
Can still use Dash for speed
Don't have to kite as much with good defense buffs

Heavy Cons:
OMFG SLOW....zzzzzzz
Fizzle Chance makes Tier 3 spells a pain in the @$$ and Tier 4 a complete waste of time to try to cast.
Forced to use Dash which likes to fizzle when you are in motion.
Pull Aggro, no way to drop. Sometimes forced to wear mouse ring if you hit too hard.

Light Pros:
Crit more often as leather comes with more crit and weapon damage
OMFG FAST - lots and lots of movement bonuses, sprint lasts forever
Specialization gives a noticeable card draw speed bonus - paired with Summoners Stance makes for some crazy draw speed.
Decent dodge, DA buffs with a long range aggro drop only available to light armor wearers

Light Cons:
OMFG Squishy....splat
Forced to Kite
Forced to use many global cooldowns stacking defenses before you can engage.
Benefit of card draw speed locks you in place with Summoners Stance - very often only able to use it for a couple spells before having to kite.
Cannot use Flurry or Summoners Stance and Berserker's Stance at the same time, removing the reason to spec in Tactics.
feels like you have to stack DEX, when Damage comes from STR.


I haven't done ANY real testing with actual #'s to see if stacking STR and Weapon Damage vs Crit chance and Crit Damage is better.

Thoughts?
Fill in some blanks for the above and I'll add and edit anything where I'm full of crap.

Tam

 

Forgive me for interrupting the discussion with a question about starting out as an archer for the first time. My main character has always been a mage and being a fragile cloth user she has Dash from the Air tree locked in the combat bar so she can run circles around mobs. I recently started an offline game as an archer and am struggling to keep mobs from rushing me. I am using Dash and trying to level up the Innate skill that makes you more fleet (Light Armor tree?), but it is not enough or the skills are not high enough to make much of a difference. So I’ve been using Gust to blow oncoming mobs back. That works surprisingly well. There is no good player crafted gear to purchase in the offline game and I can’t craft it myself (no silver to level masterworking) so I am still wearing the beginner gear. Should I be doing something differently to progress more quickly and ward off oncoming mobs?