Is archery epic???

A few releases ago, I posted in this thread that I had a critical Aimed Shot that did 296 damage. Since then there have been a number of small nerfs and I have not seen that high of a critical since. The thing about ranged is that it does consistently mediocre damage.

 

I had a 5 stack just hit 318 this week. Single stacks don't come close to that.

 

That 296 was a 5 stack.

 

my best ive done was 402, 5 stack aimed WITH an elevation bonuse ( so somewhere up to a 25% increase).

Honestly i dont seem to see much in the 300's now in the last 2 patchs.
Dont know if its just me playing less, lack of attention or if there was an actual nerf *shrug*

 

I hit 300's all the time on archers and mages. They added more resistances to mobs a couple releases ago.

 

I just reviewed my log after Spectral Mines and my biggest hit was 236 points. My second biggest was 111. The vast majority of shots were less than 30. I spent a couple of hours there.

 

Sounds like you are auto attacking. Try full charge attack immediately followed by an aim shot or rapid fire.

 

I've used free attack extensively. It has no real advantage (as in damage over time) other than saving arrows.

 

for pvp and high dmg resist / avoid situations charged is far superior but in most pve auto attack is comparable you just miss out on the big shiny crits imo.

 

Yes, I should have said PvE.

 

Here is one with Aim Shot
[7/10/2017 12:10:30 PM] Diab Blackbow attacks Hardened Skeleton Mage and hits, dealing 312 points of critical damage from Aimed Shot.
[7/10/2017 12:10:30 PM] Hardened Skeleton Mage has been slain by Diab Blackbow's Aimed Shot!

And here is why free attack is great. Mobs like mages in The Rise can heal a lot of damage so you need to burst them down. Here is an example of me bursting a mage and him healing. That is 446 damage in one second with him healing right after for 101. The burst was only 345 total. Also that damage could interrupt that heal.

[7/8/2017 10:07:59 PM] Diab Blackbow attacks Elven Mage and hits, dealing 284 points of critical damage from Bow.
[7/8/2017 10:07:59 PM] Diab Blackbow attacks Elven Mage and hits, dealing 162 points of critical damage from Aimed Shot.
[7/8/2017 10:08:00 PM] Elven Mage is healed for 101 points of health.

 

Yes, interrupting mages is also important.

 

Also... those hardened skeleton archers/mages are worth 2k XP. Free attacks allow you to one or two shot them for faster farming.

 

I think there is too much focus on "big" hits and searching for those, when where archery really shines is the speed & amount of attacks that can happen per minute, add in that its ranged and it really is quite powerful.

 

This is true but with respect to other skill trees, it's not OP.

 

Well, it is far more powerful than most melee situations. Most of the time you can kill the mobs before melee gets to them. The speed, dmg, crits, etc truly shine. Not going to say its OP, because this could be where we want all weapon/skill classes to be.. the bar set to this level. Just need to work on the others and polish 'em up.

 

Golden.

 

@2112Starman thanks for the vid - I enjoyed it

The bow in it's current state is the most effective weapon if you're wearing light armor and use hit-and-run tactics. It's also the most efficient focus wise specially if you have a combat pet (which takes 50-75% of my focus pool). You can dictate the pacing of the fight and choose where to fight given the right stealth skills.

Once I setup my customized heavy armor set, I'd use it to debuff or weaken the enemy at a distance then switch to a 2-handed axe or polearm once the engagement turns into hand-to-hand combat.

 

1. Kor........................................Obsidian Arrow.............Flesh Flayer.................................Yes..............................2569
   
2. Ancev.....................................Searing Ray..................Flesh Flayer..................................No..............................1975
3. Kor........................................Obsidian Arrow.............Flesh Flayer.................................Yes..............................1754
4. Alexander John.....................Banish Undead.............Large Skeleton.............................Yes..............................1407
5. Wandering Healer..................Searing Ray..................Lich Mage........................... . ......Yes..............................1103
   
6. Starman.................................Obsidian Arrow............Elven Mage...................................No................................875

1. Rinaldi...................................Coup de Grace................Avara (cabalist)...........................Yes..............................1257
2. Joe.........................................Coup de Grace................Ras'al'horag, Undead Lord........Unknown....................1169
3. Rinaldi...................................Coup de Grace................Lich Mage..................................Yes..............................1108
4. Alley Oop...............................Coup de Grace................Drakkaller..................................Yes..............................1011
   
5. Kor........................................Thrust.............................Practice Dummy.........................No................................315

Highest archery is from an adventure lvl 110 max gm

1. Alexander John.......................Bow.............................Tharsis Vrul.................................No...............................316
2. Barugon..................................Aimed Shot..................Elven Archer...............................No...............................296

Archery is very weak

 

this is charged attack with no difference in elevation, if i remeber right.
Aimed and rapid are USELESS in AOE PVE, when you grinding for XP usage of only AOE spells is highly recomended. Good archer uses different bows for XP farm and bosses. I dont understand high level guys (from my guild too) who use aimed and rapid in deep for example, its definitely wrong way.

P.S. This damage done with ranged=125, and extremely expensive armor and bow.
P.S.. Archer in leather in high end PVE is most hard to play class, any mistake or lag will cost you life, also tanking with movespeed is extremely hard in rangded mob enviroments, 50% to movement speed is a catastrophic decrease...