Archers: Do you actually use Multi Shot for something?

My guess is that they are more or less the same because the countermeasures against archery are not balanced (or even fully implemented) yet.

 

So in theory I would agree, but in practice I find it quicker and a better use of my arrows/time just to kill outright with an aimed shot or free attack. I can see for tactical purposes these might work with players playing in groups but not in solo (which is all I play).

Maybe if this were a turn based game and my brain had a few more seconds to think about my shot, I might use them. But trying to quickly fire off shots, I find I don't have the reaction times anymore to look down at my hotbar to figure out what shot would be the best one to use next. but that's just me, you mileage will vary...

I pretty much stick to Aimed, Piercing (I feel I get a decent amount of damage with this... but I've not done a statistical study, just the gut feeling), and Free Attack (and a few earth/fire spells tossed in for fun) and I've been doing great.

 

On Multi-shot: I believe this may be more useful when the spellweaving combos are fully implemented.

For example, could a combination of frost arrow and multi-shot slow a group of mobs for ground control. Same with lightning arrow and multi-shot, a group stun? Or death arrow with an AOE life drain?

I don't know how far the team with go with this, but I hope there is some love for ranged combos.

 

Yes, I hope so too! And I really like those combo ideas, however the nitpick that I am, can't resist putting up a few caveats:

• Firstly, random deck glyph space is expensive, therefore the glyphs will first need to be remotely usable for there to be anything to combo in the first place. In other words, trash + trash = not happening, because the glyphs just won't be there. Even: trash + useful = not happening, most likely. So the basic non-magic usefulness of Multi Shot would need to be fixed first, I think.
• Secondly, guess this is more a matter of subjective preference, but I feel there is something off about the idea of combining ranged magic attacks with arrows. Something "I sense a disturbance in the For...eh, immersion" -like. It's a matter of perspective; do you combine some form of magic with "ranged magic" or do you enchant physical arrows? As a simple example, I would not create a fire arrow (an AOE classic) out of Multi Shot and a...Fire Arrow; I would create it (for example) out of Aimed Shot and Immolation. Perhaps I'm an annoying purist, but to me arrows are still physical objects, not "reagents" - they can certainly be enchanted with magical properties, but that does not make them any less physical (this also relates to my pet peeve of being still able to shoot with glyphs when running out of arrows, by starting to pull arrows out of one's butt..).
  
• Thirdly, well this is even more subjective, but I really hope the selection of combos won't make archery even more a Hollywood (or game industry) cliché than it already is. The preference to Air magic combos is a prime example of this (right, a warbow is an airy-fairy weapon of choice of slim pretty girls wearing leather..). In the way it's been implemented, it's almost a form of magic in itself. There could be so many interesting things one could do by enchanting and modifying arrows - a tool of subterfuge, poisoned varieties, combining with chaos magic... *lost in dreams* ..... *sighs* ...
  
• Fourthly, and this also gets a little back on topic, there is a matter of balance. Creating powerful AOE effects with combos need to have severe penalties, for example in the forms of heavy focus cost, reagent use and availability, and creating combos out of two elements with sub-10s cooldowns might prove to be problematic in terms of balance.

That said, I'm definitely with you in hoping that the ranged school will soon be blessed with some combo-love!

 

Amen brothers! I have 1 Multi-shot card in my current deck - but even if it comes up every so often I haven't used it even once (except by mistake?). I might if it was as good as rapid fire but against at least 3 enemies in my "cone" of sight for those rare cases that I'm not careful about my pulls.