--------------------------------------------------------
goNucks' Comprehensive And Exhaustive FAQ to the
Bowmen/Crossbowmen Class
-->Includes a large section on the third class!
Email: [goNucks[@t]gmaiNOSPAMl.com]
(Remove the [t] and the NOSPAM
“Go Canucks Go”
--------------------------------------------------------
Version: 2.10 [FINAL] (Hopefully)
If you enjoy my guide send me an email saying you enjoyed or find
me in game at NUCKS on Scania and fame me and say you liked
my guide!
Or if you didn’t, go ahead and defame me! Actually if you are going
to defame me for not liking my FAQ, stop reading it >.>
<__<
READ THIS OR RISK NOT HAVING YOUR MAIL READ:
When Emailing me, PLEASE put MAPLESTORY, or MAPLE STORY or
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I’ve been getting WAY too much of it, and I've added numerous
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I get over 200 junk emails a day, probably because I publish my
emails like I do in my FAQs. I don’t look through it for MS guides.
Occasionally if I remember I search the junk for the terms
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Summary: Email me like with something like this Maple: A Question
about your Bowman FAQ
REQUESTS VIA EMAIL TO ADD ME TO BUDDY LIST
WILL BE IGNORED.
Also DON'T INVITE ME TO JOIN MSN ON MY EMAIL.
I WON'T REPLY.
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Okay let's start.
===
Copyright
===
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances
except for personal, private use. It may not be placed
on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly
without advance written permission from goNucks/Nucky.
Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of
any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document
are owned by their respective trademark and copyright
holders. Blah, Blah, Blah. Just don’t do it.
NOTE: I am no longer allowing any other sites to post this
guide legally. No more asking for permission. Only the
following 4 sites may legally display my guide:
GameFAQs [www.gamefaqs.com]
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Neoseeker [www.neoseeker.com]
THAT MEANS NO EMAILING FOR PERMISSION!
I'm going to filter out any email that has a few
select words so I hope to never see those emails
ever again.
Version Information
2.10 - HUGE Update. The entire third job is completely changed,
with a completely new section added, the third job discussion. Skill
Builds are changed for the third class and the second class. Skill
builds and training areas and such are going to be changed. Final
Attack opinions have FINALLY been added. I also added Ossyrian
monsters that you could train on in the second class and changed a
few things in the third class section.
1.90 – I’m going to update the third job as much as possible, fix as
many errors as I know of and leave at that. Updated 2nd job
skills, third job skills, added a few new sections.
1.50 Fixed quite a lot of mistakes, fixed
alignment, changed a bit of formatting, and added my
opinions on the third job advancement skills.
New: Added common spots for monsters in the
training guide.
New: Added a Recommended Weapons for lower levels.
1.40 Added a level-by level skill allocation (1st job)
Added information in most areas.
1.30 Fixed some typos, changed third job advance
skills descriptions and provided some detail on them.
Damage Formulas for both Bowman and Crossbowman
included.
1.11 A few typos and mistakes fixed
1.10 All known typos fixed, skill build fixed
1.00 FAQ Finalized, 3rd Job Skills added
0.90 Bowman and Crossbowman Skills Split up
0.85 Doubleshot and Arrow Blow information added
0.80 Doubleshot and Arrowblow area added
0.70 Added Bowmen/Crossbowmen Levelling Guide
0.60 FAQ Revived
--------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
--------------------------------------------------------
---
SECTION A – INTRODUCTION TO THE GAME/BOWMEN
---
A1 – What is Maple Story?
A2 – Installing the game and setting up your character
A3 – Why should I be a bowman?
---
SECTION B – HOW TO BECOME A BOWMAN
---
B1 - Requirements to become a Bowman
B2 - Where to become a Bowman
B3 – Archer or Crossbowman?
---
SECTION C – SKILLS AND ABILITIES
---
C1 - Basic Bowman Skills
Subcategories:
C1a- Offensive Spells
C1b- Passive/Active Spells
C2 - Skill Point Allocations
C2a - General Skill Guideline
C2b- ARROW BLOW OR DOUBLE SHOT?!
C3 - Abilities (Stat Points)
C4 - Damage Formulas (Min and Max Damage)
C5 - Recommended Weapons
C6 – Red Viper and Vaulter 2000 Comparison
C7 – The Bowman Jump Shot
---
SECTION D – ARCHER LEVELLING GUIDE
---
D1 – Where to level for the first job
- Common Locations
---
SECTION E – THE WAY OF THE HUNTER/CROSSBOWMAN
---
E1 – Requirements to become a Hunter/Crossbowman
E2 - Where and how to become a Hunter/Crossbowman
E3 - The Advancement Test
E4 - Become a Hunter/Crossbowman
---
SECTION F - SKILLS FOR THE HUNTER/CROSSBOWMAN
---
F1 - Hunter Skills
F2 - Crossbowman Skills
F3 - Skill Point Allocations – Final ATK discussed here
F4 – Hunter/Crossbowman Comparison
---
SECTION G - LEVELLING GUIDE FOR HUNTERS/CROSSBOWMEN
---
G1 - Training and Levelling guide for
Hunters/Crossbowman
---
SECTION H - RANGES AND SNIPERS - THIRD JOB
---
H1 - General Skills of the Ranger/Sniper
H2 - Third Job Skills Discussion
H3 – Skill Point Allocation
H4 – Mortal Blow Replaces PKB?
--------------------------------------------------------
SECTION A – INTRODUCTION TO THE GAME/BOWMEN
--------------------------------------------------------
---
A1 - WHAT IS MAPLESTORY?
---
Maple Story is a 2D Slide-scrolling MMORPG (Massively
Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). The term itself
is vague to most newcomers to RPGs, so an easy to
describe this game would be "Super Mario Bros type that,
where you attack monsters, gain experience and
participate in a community game." For those Ragnorok
Online (RO) and other 3D MMORPG players out there, the
2D interface may be new to you, but the concept of 2D is
a good one, keeping computers with low specs "in it".
The game Maple Story has a simple goal and task: kill as
many monsters as you can of a variety of levels to gain
levels grow stronger and move on to other monsters.
Otherwise the game play, storyline (or lack of),
"fame" system and such are from the foreign versions,
this makes for an interesting game with a stable
"virtual world." There is a buddy list system,
along with an interesting chat system, where modes
can be swapped from "buddy chat" to "all chat" to
"party chat" and lastly "whisper" mode. A notable
down-side, for those used to games with large
buddy lists, is the limited buddy-list size, which
currently is capped at a maximum of 20 users.
With this information in mind, you should be prepared
for the starting of Maple Story, as NPC (Non-Playable
Characters) guide you along your way on Maple Island
(known as the "newbie" island).
---
A2 – INSTALLING THE GAME AND SETTING UP YOUR CHARACTER
---
The game is totally free of charge and is downloadable
www.mapleglobal.com (English version) or the Eastern version
which is www.mapleSEA.com
Registration is required for game play. DirectX and latest
driver versions may need to installed.
After you're all set and done the installation
and registration process, boot up the game, and log in
at the menu (classy music too). You'll be at a "bridge"
that's empty and you'll be required to create a new
character for play. There will be a dice roll, and you
should roll 4 in both INT and LUK, as you don't need
those two stats as an archer. Try to roll as low for
those as you can (can't go lower than 4).More details
about the stats will be described later (or search the
guide for C3 to find it right away). Create your
character, change its hair, and clothes to your liking
(keep in mind that as you level up you will need to buy
new clothes or find them to survive against the monsters
you fight). You will now be on the Maple Island.
---
A3 – WHY SHOULD I BE A BOWMAN?
---
SUMMARY FOR THE LAZY:
Pros:
High Damage due to multiple shots and Critical Damage.
Highest accuracy of all classes, and decent avoidability.
DEX as a stat adds accuracy, avoidability, and damage.
Bowman aren’t used that often so you won’t be hated like Sins and
Mages =)
Bowmen (and crossbowmen) have arguably the best third job
advancement. ALL of their spells are USEFUL. Not like warriors
wasted spells like MP recovery, shield mastery. Mages’ elemental
resist, etc and the fact that mages are weak as hell later. The
assasins and bandits are respectable in their thirds but
bowmen are the best.
Bowmen armours and weapons are a lot cheaper than other
classes.
CONS:
Minimum range can be a royal pain in the rear end. They can’t be too
close or you’ll be smacking with you bow or crossbow, which wasn’t
what it was meant for. This is ANNOYING. This problem isn’t
resolved until the third class.
Inconsistent damage until you acquire Bow/Crossbow Mastery. You
have a low minimum damage and high maximum, along with the
40% chance of doing critical shot (when the spell is maxed).
Lack of party spells may lead you to being excluded from parties
(Warriors=Fury or Hyperbody, Thieves=Haste and Mages=Heal,
EXP Boost, or Magic attack boost).
The Archer class is an interesting class to start off as
a beginner (to MMORPGs that is) as it requires precise
statistics planning and skills at the correct times. The
archer is a ranged character; it only "activates" its
bow attack when the enemy is at least 2 cm's away.
Otherwise it will instead use its bow as a sword and
smack the creature until it gets "knocked back". Though
this may sound amusing; you'll soon find out that this
is annoying. This is precisely the reason why archers
are supposed to stay AWAY from mobs and snipe from a
close distance.
There are two branches of archers within the class
itself: Bowman and Crossbow man (very creative names,
eh). The bowman shoots faster than the crossbowman, but
does less damage than the cross bolts do. However the
bows don't get the upgraded "fast" speed until level 25,
so my tip is to use a cross bow until Level 25, and then
swap over to a bow (buy a Level 25 bow and buy bow
arrows). If you're lazy just choose a class you like and
stick with it.
At level 30 a second job switch can be made and the
choices are "hunter" or "crossbowman". Both are
respectively upgraded versions of the bowman and
crossbowman.
As this is a 2D game, things can only move up, down,
left, right, or some other flat direction. The archer
would be pretty pathetic if it was limited to left and
right shots, so the game implements a "hook" to the
arrow, and after the arrow is released it tracks the
closest opponent and curves toward it. Sounds very nice,
but the slightest things disturbs this "auto target" and
will easily disintegrate, if it runs into obstacles on
the way. Keep in mind that the arrow only has a limited
amount of distance (distance can be upgraded via the
skills) and how far up or down it can hook, so at times
the arrow will not hook and go straight off the screen.
Lastly, it is my belief that the Bowman and
Crossbowman are the one of the better if not best
classes in the third advancement.
The skills seem cool, useful and a spell that
reduces the likelihood of "smacking" a monster.
--------------------------------------------------------
SECTION B – HOW TO BECOME A BOWMAN
--------------------------------------------------------
---
B1 - REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A BOWMAN
---
As an archer you need dexterity and lots of dexterity,
but at a beginner level it's safe to put some points
into STR, as you'll also need some amounts of STR as a
bowman. I suggest putting your first few points into STR
for extra damage on your sword, and then put the rest
into DEX (this is before you advance as a Bowman). I'd
say 25 DEX, rest into STR until level 10 is fair. To
advance you'll need 25 DEX and be at Level 10. YOU MUST
ADVANCE AT LEVEL 10. If you try to advance early they
won't let you, and if you advance late you'll skip out
on three crucial skill points. Leave Maple Island at
level 9 and train until you get level 10 on Victoria
Island.
---
B2 - WHERE TO BECOME A BOWMAN
---
To advance you'll need to go to the town "Henesys".
Press "W" in the game to bring up the world map, Henesys
is located near the south.
Once you get your way to Henesys, go to the mid'ish of
the town and you'll metal gates with the words "Mushroom
Park". Enter and go all the way to the right and enter
the tree house there. Inside you'll find Helena. Talk to
her and listen to her words of advice then advance as a
bowman. After you advance you'll gain an extra slot for
your USE (for those arrows), more HP, and one
skill point. You'll need to buy bows and arrows in order
to attack, but I suggest you put STR up to 25 and start
equipping swords or axes, as archers are relatively weak
in the beginner, due to their short range, low damage,
and poor meleeing with a bow.
---
B3 – ARCHER OR CROSSBOWMAN?
---
Apparently archers' shoot arrows at a faster rate than
Crossbowmen, but crossbowmen have a slightly higher
damage. There's not much more of a difference between
the two at least until the second job advancement, as
both the classes have the same skills and equip either a
bow or a crossbow. In the second job skills for the
hunter and crossbowman will be specialized, so you won't
be swapping weapons. If you have enough money try out
both bows and crossbows and see which you like more and
continue with that.
The math works out to be pretty much the same damage/sec
for both early on, with crossbow being slightly higher,
but with bow and DS being more stable since they fire
more arrows and thus its like rolling more dice with
less sides - more stable damage. However when you get
bow mastery the bow and crossbow damage already becomes
very stable and so the crossbow's damage advantage will
show itself again. However crossbowmen should note that
since they take longer to shoot the hunter has more
mobility and can hold off a tide of enemies better
without PKB. Think about this when choosing. If you like
to jump around a lot and move all the time go for
hunter. If you like to see large numbers pop up when you
hit an enemy go for crossbowman.
That's all the advice I can give.
--------------------------------------------------------
SECTION C – SKILLS AND ABILITIES
--------------------------------------------------------
---
C1 - BASIC BOWMAN SKILLS
---
C1A - Offensive Skills
ALL REFERENCES TO MAKE A DECISION ABOUT ARROW BLOW OR
DOUBLE SHOT SHOULD BE IGNORED. ONLY DO DOUBLESHOT, AS
ARROWBLOW IS INFERIOR TO IT. Ignore the Hunter=DS,
Xbow=AB.
AB is still good, but yeah DS is better.
I’m not going to bother going through the entire FAQ fixing
references to it so keep that in mind.
Arrow Blow Maxes at Level 20
Description: Fires an arrow with authority. Applies more
damage than usual.
Level 1: MP -7; Damage 108%
Level 10: MP -7; Damage 180%
Level 20: MP -14; Damage 260%
Double Shot - Maxes at Level 20
Pre-requisite: Level 1 Arrow Blow
Description: Fires two arrows at once to attack an enemy
twice.
Level 1: MP -8; Damage 56%
Level 10: MP -8; Damage 92% Level 20: MP -16; Damage
130% (for each arrow)
C1B Passive Skills
The Blessing of Amazon Maxes at Level 16
Description: Increases accuracy
Level 1: Accuracy+1
Level 8: Accuracy +8
Level 16: Accuracy +16
The Eye of Amazon - Maxes at Level 8
Pre-requisite: Blessing of Amazon Lv. 3
Description: Increases the range of attack for both bows
and crossbows.
Level 1: Range of attack for bows and crossbows; +25
Level 4: Range of attack for bows and crossbows; +100
Level 8: Range of attack for bows and crossbows; +200
Critical Shot - Maxes at Level 20
Description: Allows you to perform a critical attack
with a certain success rate.
Level 1: 2% success rate, critical damage 105%
Level 10: 20% success rate, critical damage 150%
Level 20: 40% success rate, critical damage 200%
-NOTE- This is -just- a guideline, you can do whatever
you want, this is what I feel is a good guideline. I
will list other feasible set-ups. You will get a total
of 61 points to spend between level 10 and 30. The way
they are listed is the way you should distribute it.
Argh I keep changing my mind on what I think is good for a build.
First I was one of the few GO FOCUS! Bowmen. I got criticized etc
etc. I then tried the Arrow Blow build and I kinda liked it so I
recommended it but now I like the Focus build again, because if
you go FA’less you can end up maxing Focus
This section is not even necessary anymore. Well…it
mathematically tries to convince ANYONE wanting to use Arrow
Blow.
USE DOUBLE SHOT. IT’S MUCH BETTER. IT’S MORE STABLE.
CRITICAL CAN ACTIVATE TWICE.
Critical Shot adds 100% damage, doesn’t double your damage.
So,
Damage wise:
DoubleShot:
130%+100% x 2 Arrows = 460% when both activates
or:
130%+100% (Critical for one shot) +130% = 360%
Arrow Blow:
Critical:
260%+100%=360%
You can see right away how useless Arrow Blow is. Since there is
two arrows you have two chances of activating Critical Shot and
even if only one activates, it’s damage equals Arrow Blows, and if
two activates it overpowers AB by far.
It should be noted that two arrows shot=defense applied twice, but
that’s not important.
AB can knockback monsters, while DS can’t because of two lower
damaging arrows rather than one higher damaging arrow.
This is the most COMMONLY asked question for the Bowman
class, it's the equivalent of the Mage's "Energy Bolt or
Magic Claw?” The -general- guideline is for Hunter's to
go for DoubleShot, and CrossBowman to go for ArrowBlow.
This is WRONG! Go DoubleShot REGARDLESS! It’s like Mages,
EVERYONE USES MAGIC CLAW, NO ONE USES BOLT.
Doubleshot/arrow blow information
i) Critical shots and final attack are both
multiplier. You get damage by multiplying them to
base damage then minus the defence factor.
ii) Do not worry too much.
Arrow Blow is obviously more powerful than Double
Shot since the defence factor affect less.
i.e. once compared to twice in Double Shot.
Say, your base damage was 1000. For the fairness,
say, you always hit with base damage of 1000 and
all without Critical Shot or you may assume all
with Critical Shot.
Also say defence factor reduce 100. (It was known
that if a monster's D is 200, it reduces 100
damage.)
Arrow Blow: 1000 - 260% - 100 = 2500
Double Shot: (500 - 260% - 100) = 1200 - 2 = 2400
Dark Golem knocks back when it got 1500+ damage.
So, only Arrow Blow will knock Dark Golem back.
However, stable damage is also important.
Critical Shot has 40% chance to attack at 200% at
max level.
Now take that into account.
Arrow Blow with C.S.
1000 - 260% - 200% - 100 = 5100 (40% chance)
Arrow Blow without C.S.
1000 - 260% - 100 = 2500 (60% chance)
Double Shot with 2 C.S.
(500 - 260% - 200% - 100) - 2 = 5000 (16% chance)
Double Shot with 1 C.S.
(500 - 260% - 200% - 100) + (500 - 260% - 100) =
3700 (48% chance)
Double Shot without C.S.
(500 - 260% - 100) - 2 = 2400 (36% chance)
Say, you are hunting a monster with 3500 HP.
You will have 40% of one-kill and 60% of two-kill
for Arrow Blow.
You will have 64% of one-kill and 36% of two-kill
for Double Shot.
In this damage range, with double shot, you can
train efficiently with double shot by finding
monsters with HP around 3500.
Thanks to zephy from GameFAQs for contributing that.
If you don't understand that (yep, a lot of math) it
means that Arrowblow has a higher probability of doing
higher damage, but damage is not as stable as
Doubleshot. For example you may do 1000 damage one turn,
and do 200 the next, but for DoubleShot you may do 600
for one and 500 for the other arrow.
SUMMARY: CHOOSE DS!
---
C3 - ABILITIES (STAT POINTS)
---
Note:
Hunters need their STR to be Level+5. Crossbowmen will only need
their STR to equal their current level at L30 and after.
Hunters need lots of DEX, and a bit of STR to equip
bows. DEX raises damage, avoid ability, and accuracy. STR
gives more power when smacking with a bow, using
PowerKnockback (a second job skill), and is required to
equip bows. STR should always be +5 your level, and the
rest of the points go into DEX. However, I suggest you
pump STR up a bit more than it needs to be in the
beginning stages so you can equip a sword/axe as it'll
out damage your bow. Here's what it should look like.
Every one DEX raises your ACCURACY by .8 point, and
every four DEX raises your AVOID by 1 point (each DEX adds .25
AVOID)
(2 LUK raises avoid by 1 point, but archers don't need LUK)
FOR A BUILD WITH AXE/SWORD USAGE UNTIL L15
L10 - 20 STR, rest into DEX
L15 - 25 STR, rest into DEX
L20 - 25 STR, rest into DEX
L25 - 30 STR, rest into DEX
L30 - 35 STR, rest into DEX
And so on ..
If you don't want to wield a sword or axe and use a bow
right off the bat here's what you should have.
L10 - 15 STR, rest into DEX
L15 - 20 STR, rest into DEX
L20 - 25 STR, rest into DEX
L25 - 30 STR, rest into DEX
L30 - 35 STR, rest into DEX
Remember Crossbowmen need 5 less STR at L30 and beyond.
Also, if you plan to train on slimes for awhile (until L18 or
so) then I suggest you pump up STR a bit more, since most slime
maps are populated and you'll be smacking too often if you used a
bow/xbow.
Maximum Damage:
( (DEX * 3.6 + STR) /100) * W Attack
These damages are excluding the defence of the monster
that you attack.
Convert Mastery percentages to decimals.
e.g. 60% --> 0.60
If you have 0 mastery, or yet to have that spell, the
"Skill Mastery" is 0.15.
If you notice from the formulas, what makes Crossbowmen
do more damage is the 3.6 multiplier, compared to Hunters'
3.4 multiplier.
---
C5 - RECOMMENDED WEAPONS
---
I'll list what weapons I believe you should use etc.
Lower levels (Both Bowman and crossbowman)
Level 10 - Metal Axe
Level 15 - Metal Axe (should find an above average one
from slimes) or Fork Spear (also from slimes)
Double Axe is good too.
Level 18* - Battle Crossbow
Level 22 ** - Balanche
Level 25* - Battle Bow
* - Use a Bow/Crossbow EVEN if you're an opposite class.
Below level 30 it doesn't matter which weapon you use.
at levels below 25 both Bows and Crossbows have the
same attacking speed, so it's beneficial to use the
Crossbow, because you have a gain in weapon attack
over the bow. (Bows are supposed to be faster but
weaker). At level 25 the Battle Bow becomes
"Fast" as opposed to the others' "Normal".
So that's when you start using a Bow.
** - Buy this bow if you have money to spare.
Otherwise skip it until the Battle Bow.
*Note* At this point you'll have to stick with your
classes' bow, because the spells won't work with
the opposing weapons.
FOR CROSSBOWMAN
Level 28 - Mountain Crossbow
Level 32 - Eagle Crow
Level 38 - Heckler (Dropped by Zombie Lupin) or make
Level 42 - Silver Crow(Dropped by Zombie Lupin) or make
Level 50 - Rower : Make
Level 60 - Golden Crow (Dropped by Taurospear)
Level 70 - CrossJaager (Dropped by Jr. Balrog)
FOR HUNTERS
Skip the Ryden (level 30 Bow) if you can.
It's hard to make, and it has an attack speed of
NORMAL. However when you train on wild boars if you find a
decent Ryden, consider using it. If the damage boost you’ll get is
noticeable then go for it.
Level 35 - Red Viper (Attack Speed Fast)
Level 40 - Vaulter 2000 (improved attack over the
Red Viper, but attack speed of Normal.
Refer to section C6 [which is a bit down, scroll a few lines]
for a discussion of Red Viper and Vaulter 2k)
Level 50 - Olympus: Dropped by Wild Cargo
Level 60 - Asianic Bow: Dropped by Dark Yeti or
Taurospear
Level 70 - Red Hinkel: Dropped by Jr. Balrog
---
C6 – Red Viper and Vaulter 2k Analysis
---
I like the Red Viper more. End of that.
...
...
...
...
Just kidding, here’s a detailed analysis by a sleepywood.net
user itirnitee:
“
Introduction
One of the biggest convoluted misconceptions in the archer
community is the comparison of the level 35 bow Red Viper and
the level 40 bow Vaulter 2000. It's time some facts were
brought into play.
Red Viper Stats
Level: 35
Drop?: No – Dark Golems are supposed to drop them, but for
reasons unknown
do not.
Forged Attack Power: 50
Attack Speed: Fast
Vaulter 2000 Stats
Level: 40
Drop?: No
Forged Attack Power: 55
Attack Speed: Normal
Attack Power Synopsis
Vaulter 2000 undoubtedly cannot be dropped by any monster, it
can only be made. It has also been confirmed that Red Viper
cannot be dropped either in GMS, despite being listed under a
drop of Dark Golems. Whether this is a glitch or intended is
yet to be known. Red Viper comes out forged with 50
attack power, while the Vaulter 2000 is forged with 55 attack
power. This bow comparison becomes tricky, but where the heart
of the argument lies. We don't have a clear cut way to say
that one bow trumps the other in all aspects because the
attack power and speed comparisons become hazy. For this
section I am only going to compare attack powers, in order to
only begin shedding light on the complete comparisons that
will be further analyzed in future sections. We will begin
with the minimum and maximum damage equations.
For bowman, damage is calculated as such (seen in this thread
- Damage
Calculator Thread - thanks to starlitsky for this info):
Minimum damage = [((STR*0.9*3.4*mastery)+ DEX) / 100] *
Weapon
Atk
Maximum damage = [((DEX*3.4) + STR) / 100] * Weapon Atk
Average damage = (minimum damage + maximum damage)/2
I am going to do this bow damage comparison according to
different "perfect" strength and dexterity possibilities by
level multiples of five from levels 40 to 55. I'm also going
to assume mastery is level 19 or 20 (+60%).
Ideal stats for level 40 bowman (45 STR and 167 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 50
Min damage = 193.66
Max damage = 306.4
Average damage = 250.03
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Min damage = 213.03
Max damage = 337.04
Average damage = 275.04
Ideal stats for level 45 bowman (50 STR and 187 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 50
Min damage = 215.9
Max damage = 342.9
Average damage = 279.4
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Min damage = 237.49
Max damage = 377.19
Average damage = 307.34
Ideal stats for level 50 bowman (55 STR and 207 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 50
Min damage = 238.14
Max damage = 379.4
Average damage = 308.77
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Min damage = 261.95
Max damage = 417.34
Average damage = 339.64
Ideal stats for level 55 bowman (60 STR and 227 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 50
Min damage = 260.38
Max damage = 415.9
Average damage = 338.14
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Min damage = 286.42
Max damage = 457.49
Average damage = 371.95
We clearly see that when speed is not factored in Vaulter 2000
is superior. No surprise here.
Attack Speed Comparison
The biggest confusion is the attack speed dilemma. What
exactly does Fast and Normal mean? I used a metronome to
compare the speed of both weapons. Assuming that there are no
breaks in attack pattern [which there are, but it's the same
for both weapons]: Red Viper attacks 88 times per minute
Vaulter 2000 attacks 76 times per minute
Assuming that you fire nonstop, this means that every minute
you use Vaulter 2000 instead of Red Viper you lose 12 shots.
This translates to firing an additional shot every 5 seconds
(60/12=5) with the Red Viper. Obviously, you don't always fire
nonstop, but if you just think of it as comparing times where
you do shoot repeatedly and add up a minutes worth of time in
between those shots, the same principle applies.
A sort of off topic point to consider: The Least Common
Multiple of 88 and 76 is 1672 [I do this for whole number
value comparisons in order to avoid decimals]. It would take
the Red Viper 19 minutes to shoot 1672 times. It would take
the Vaulter 2000 22 minutes to shoot 1672 times. That is a 3
minute loss in firing time.
Attack Power vs. Firing Speed Comparison
Now we'll do comparisons including firing rates of the two
bows in conjunction with their average damages to reach more
concrete conclusions about which bow is better in which
situations. We'll get a summation of each bow's average damage
within a minutes time.
Ideal stats for level 40 bowman (45 STR and 167 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 50
Average damage = 250.03
Average damage per minute = 250.03 x 88 = 22002.64
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Average damage = 275.04
Average damage per minute = 275.04 x 76 = 20903.04
Average damage per minute difference = 1099.6 – In favor of
the Red Viper
Ideal stats for level 45 bowman (50 STR and 187 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 50
Average damage = 279.4
Average damage per minute = 279.4 x 88 = 24587.2
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Average damage = 307.34
Average damage per minute = 307.34 x 76 = 23357.84
Average damage per minute difference = 1229.36 – In favor of
the Red Viper
Ideal stats for level 50 bowman (55 STR and 207 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 50
Average damage = 308.77
Average damage per minute = 308.77 x 88 = 27171.76
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Average damage = 339.64
Average damage per minute = 339.64 x 76 = 25812.64
Average damage per minute difference = 1359.12 – In favor of
the Red Viper
Ideal stats for level 55 bowman (50 STR and 187 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 50
Average damage = 338.14
Average damage per minute = 338.14 x 88 = 29756.32
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Average damage = 371.95
Average damage per minute = 371.95 x 76 = 28268.2
Average damage per minute difference = 1488.12 – In favor of
the Red Viper
** Numerically, the average damage per minute of the base
attack power Red
Viper is better no matter what level.
Scroll Effects
We’ve already seen that a base attack Red Viper does more
average damage than a base Vaulter 2000. This section is to
see if the effects from scrolls change this synopsis. We will
look at the most common scroll build which are seven 100%
scrolls on each bow. I will calculate average damage per
minute in this one section alone, as opposed to doing it in
two sections as done above for the base attack levels for both
bows. I will also separate by levels in multiples of five,
based on the ideal stats for that level.
Ideal stats for level 40 bowman (45 STR and 167 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 57
Min damage = 220.77
Max damage = 349.3
Average damage = 285.04
Average damage per minute = 25083.08
Vaulter 2000 - attack 62
Min damage = 240.13
Max damage = 379.94
Average damage = 310.03
Average damage per minute = 23562.508
Average damage per minute difference = 1520.57 – In favor of
the Red Viper
Ideal stats for level 45 bowman (50 STR and 187 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 57
Min damage = 246.13
Max damage = 390.91
Average damage = 318.52
Average damage per minute = 28029.58
Vaulter 2000 - attack 62
Min damage = 267.72
Max damage = 425.2
Average damage = 346.46
Average damage per minute = 26330.96
Average damage per minute difference = 1698.62 – In favor of
the Red Viper
Ideal stats for level 50 bowman (55 STR and 207 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 57
Min damage = 271.48
Max damage = 432.52
Average damage = 352
Average damage per minute = 30976
Vaulter 2000 - attack 62
Min damage = 285.29
Max damage = 470.46
Average damage = 382.88
Average damage per minute = 29098.64
Average damage per minute difference = 1877.36 – In favor of
the Red Viper
Ideal stats for level 55 bowman (60 STR and 227 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 57
Min damage = 296.83
Max damage = 474.12
Average damage = 385.48
Average damage per minute = 33922.24
Vaulter 2000 - attack 62
Min damage = 322.87
Max damage = 515.72
Average damage = 419.3
Average damage per minute = 31866.47
Average damage per minute difference = 2055.77 – In favor of
the Red Viper
** The evidence here is clear, and the trend is the same as
the base attack powers. In fact, the higher attack powers due
to scrolls make the Red Viper even more superior numerically
no matter the level. Basically, as far as average damage per
minute is concerned, the Red Viper becomes more superior
as it is scrolled more even if the Vaulter 2000 is scrolled at
the same pace.
Critical Shot
I’m going to use level 20 Critical Shot to help reach further
conclusions here. Level 20 Critical Shot does twice the damage
40% of the time. I willbe using the base damage for each bow
because above we saw how scrolls make the Red Vipers larger
average damage even more so. For Red Viper, since it attack 88
times per minute, this means 35.4 (88 x 40%) shots per minute
will be critical. For Vaulter 2000, since it attacks 76 times
per minute, this means 30.2 (76 x 40%) shots per minute will
be critical.
Ideal stats for level 40 bowman (45 STR and 167 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 50
Average damage = 250.03
Average damage per minute = 250.03 x 88 = 22002.64
Added average critical damage = 250.03 x 35.4 = 8851.06
Total average damage per minute w/ Critical Shot = 30853.70
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Average damage = 275.04
Average damage per minute = 275.04 x 76 = 20903.04
Added average critical damage = 250.03 x 30.2 = 8306.21
Total average damage per minute w/ Critical Shot = 29209.25
Average damage per minute difference = 1644.45 – In favor of
the Red Viper
Ideal stats for level 45 bowman (50 STR and 187 DEX) –
Red Viper - attack 50
Average damage = 279.4
Average damage per minute = 279.4 x 88 = 24587.2
Added average critical damage = 279.4 x 35.4 = 9890.76
Total average damage per minute w/ Critical Shot = 34477.96
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Average damage = 307.34
Average damage per minute = 307.34 x 76 = 23357.84
Added average critical damage = 307.34 x 30.2 = 9281.67
Total average damage per minute w/ Critical Shot = 32639.51
Average damage per minute difference = 1938.45 – In favor of
the Red Viper
Ideal stats for level 50 bowman (55 STR and 207 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 50
Average damage = 308.77
Average damage per minute = 308.77 x 88 = 27171.76
Added average critical damage = 308.77 x 35.4 = 10930.46
Total average damage per minute w/ Critical Shot = 38102.22
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Average damage = 339.64
Average damage per minute = 339.64 x 76 = 25812.64
Added average critical damage = 339.64 x 30.2 = 10257.13
Total average damage per minute w/ Critical Shot = 36069.77
Average damage per minute difference = 2032.45 – In favor of
the Red Viper
Ideal stats for level 55 bowman (50 STR and 187 DEX) -
Red Viper - attack 50
Average damage = 338.14
Average damage per minute = 338.14 x 88 = 29756.32
Added average critical damage = 338.14 x 35.4 = 11970.16
Total average damage per minute w/ Critical Shot = 41726.48
Vaulter 2000 - attack 55
Average damage = 371.95
Average damage per minute = 371.95 x 76 = 28268.2
Added average critical damage = 371.95 x 30.2 = 11232.89
Total average damage per minute w/ Critical Shot = 39501.09
Average damage per minute difference = 2225.39 – In favor of
the Red Viper
** As with damage scrolls, the critical shots only make the
Red Vipers larger average damage per minute more and more
apparent. The fact that more shots are being fired (12 shots
per minute) has such significant effects on damage.
Wrap Up Thoughts
We've basically seen here that the speed of the Red Viper
makes it a bow that does more average damage over time, even
if the attack power of it is lower, because of it’s superior
attack speed. There are other things to consider though that
can’t be summed up with numbers, but can still be contributory
towards the overall argument of Red Viper vs. Vaulter 2000.
** Shooting more often for less damage (even if doing more
average damage) does consume more arrows. Soul Arrow is a
plausible solution to this dilemma
though.
** Shooting more often for less damage (even if doing more
average damage) does consume more mana if using skills. If
Double Shot takes 16 mana per shot, having your 16 mana do
more damage per Double Shot cast with Vaulter
2000 would be more conservative.
** Shooting more often for less damage (even if doing more
average damage) gives you less chance to initiate knockback on
tougher monsters like Golems, Drakes, and Cargos. This is far
more critical at higher levels.
** Using Red Viper for its faster attack speed helps keep
weaker enemies at bay easier.
** It is important to recognize that the difference between
the average damage of Red Viper and Vaulter 2000 is not that
vast enough to be crucially significant. Doing 1000-1500 more
average damage per minute is only 16-25 more damage per
second. You sort of have to self evaluate using your playing
style to decide if this is worthwhile when also factoring: the
extra mana expended for having to shoot more often with
skills, the extra arrows expended for having to shoot more
often, and the lower chance of knockback.
** Vaulter 2000 is far more expensive to make and/or buy.
Conclusion
This is my synopsis through the research done here. At lower
levels, I’d say levels 30-45 the Red Viper would be a better
choice. I think the higher chance to knockback monsters after
level 45 (quite possibly somewhat earlier for some, depending
on play style) becomes more crucial at that stage of the
game and switching to Vaulter 2000 becomes a good choice to
make. If I had to make a brief summation, I’d say that
although the Red Viper does more damage over time, the Vaulter
2000 is more of a bow for convenience which becomes an
advantage more useful at higher levels (i.e. less mana spent,
more knockback occurrences, and even the least important less
arrows spent benefit). Seeing as how it is a higher level bow,
this would be a sensible call to make. If we are looking only
at numbers and not situational so much,it is brutally apparent
the Red Viper is far far far superior in all aspects
---
C7 – THE ARCHER JUMP SHOT
---
Just to put a rest to those that keep emailing about the archer’s
jump shot.
YES it is possible. NO it does not work like it does for the assassin.
For the bowman if you press jump and your attack at the exact
same time occasionally your character will have the attacking
animation, be cancelled by jumping animation and then fire an
arrow. I can not do this consistently and no one I know can,
although I hear high levels in jMS, kMS etc can do it.
Not my problem I’m not going to kill myself learning it.
I can do it occasionally, and I try to practise when
I just finished killing most of the monsters and I have some
time to fool around.
I hit it around ~25-30% of the time.
--------------------------------------------------------
SECTION D – ARCHER LEVELLING GUIDE
--------------------------------------------------------
---
D1 – WHERE TO LEVEL FOR THE FIRST JOB
---
If you plan to use an axe or sword for the first few
levels, then train on something you can kill in one,
maybe two hits. It's better to kill a slime for 10exp in
one hit, then it is it smack at a pig for three hits to
earn 15exp.
There are quite a lot of low level monsters, so choose
whatever you like, but make sure you can kill it in one
hit, but an archer's damage is varied, so that's fine.
This is just a general guide, I'm not going to list all
the monsters you can kill, you should explore and see
which monsters you can kill.
Level 1-10 - Green Snail(8HP, 3exp), Blue Snail(15HP, 4exp),
Litte Shroom (20HP, 5exp)
L10-15 - Blue Snails, Little Shroom's (5exp, 20 HP)
Slime (10EXP, 50HP)
L20-25 - Ribbon Pig (20EXP, 120HP), any of the monsters
from L15-20, and maybe the Party Quest (consult another guide
for details how to do the PQ)
L25-30 - PQ, PQ, PQ and more PQ. The Party quest is fast
experience, and you are guaranteed prizes if you
complete it properly. The only negative is the waiting
time required, as only one party per channel is allowed
to participate, and hackers take advantage of this at
times. If you don't want to PQ, train on Dark Stumps,
Normal/Ribbon Pigs, Octopuses, or Green Mushrooms and Horned
Mushrooms.
You should be one-hitting or in bowman terms, doing it most of the
time for Horned Shrooms and Green ones.
---
Monster Locations:
---
Blue Snails are located pretty much everywhere.
Common around Lith Harbour and Henesys.
Little Shrooms are popular around Henesys.
They are also in the Hidden map "Mushroom Garden"
Consult a Hidden Street/Warp FAQ for how to get there.
Slimes are common around Lith Harbour, Henesys.
There is a tree dungeon completely full of slimes
a few maps south of Ellinia in one of the trees on the far
left.
They are also located in "The Tree that Grew" two maps north
of Ellinia.
Pigs are commonly located in "Pig Beach" a hidden map.
It's at the three road split, press up on a patch of yellow
flowers. Consult a FAQ for more detailed information.
Orange Mushrooms are commonly located in "Mushroom Garden".
They are also located one map WEST of Kerning.
Green shrooms can be found on the map west of Henesys or in the
tree dungeons south or north of Ellinia.
--------------------------------------------------------
SECTION E – THE WAY OF THE HUNTER/CROSSBOWMAN
--------------------------------------------------------
---
E1 – REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A HUNTER/CROSSBOWMAN
---
In order to advance as a Hunter, you must have be level
30, a bowman (no further comment), and have spent ALL
your skill points from the first job.
---
E2 - WHERE AND HOW TO BECOME A HUNTER/CROSSBOWMAN
---
Head to Henesys, enter Mushroom Park and talk to Helena.
She'll comment about "how much stronger you've become"
and ask if you want to advance. Tell her yes, and she'll
give you a letter to give to a Job instructor. The
instructor is on the first map that you go through when
you go to Sleepywood via Henesys. He's at the top right
and when he receives the letter he'll send you to a
"special map". There you will take the 'test' andadvance.
Bring HP and MP potions along with you.
---
E3 - THE ADVANCEMENT TEST
---
Inside this map, you'll have to defeat the two monsters
inside to collect marbles. You'll need to collect 30,
and not all of the monsters drop it, so be prepared to
spend a bit of time in here. The two monsters are evil
eyes, and Zombie mushrooms. They are a bit more weakened
than their common forms in Victoria, but they are still
annoying nonetheless, as mobs of them are stuck in
there, this is horrible for an archer. Defeat the
monsters that are alone, and change channels. You won't
lose your marbles..haha.that was a pun of mine (nevermind
me). After you collect 30, talk to the instructor and
you'll be given a "proof of hero".
---
E4 - BECOME A HUNTER/CROSSBOWMAN
---
When you show the Proof of Hero to Helana, she'll ask if
you want to be a Hunter (Bowman's advance) or a
Crossbowman. She'll briefly explain the spells to you,
and you'll be given the choice of choosing. If you still
haven't decided which you like more, refer back to my
comments and information up in B3. When you become
either one, you'll be given one skill point, more HP,
more MP, and more ETC space.
--------------------------------------------------------
SECTION F - SKILLS FOR THE HUNTER/CROSSBOWMAN
--------------------------------------------------------
---
F1 - HUNTER SKILLS
---
Attack Spells
```
Arrow Bomb Max Level - 30
```
Description: Fires an arrow with a bomb.
It attacks up to 6 enemies and may stun them.
Only works with a bow in hand.
Level 1: MP -14; Stunner 31%, damage 72%
Level 15: MP -14; Stunner 45%, damage 100%
Level 30: MP -28; Stunner 60%, damage 130%
---
Passive/Active Skills
---
```
Bow Mastery: Maxes at Level 20
```
Description: Increases the bow mastery and accuracy. It
only applies when a bow is in hand.
Level 1: +15% bow mastery, +1 accuracy
Level 10: +35% bow mastery, +10 accuracy
Level 19: +60% Mastery, +19 accuracy
Level 20: +60% bow mastery, +20 accuracy
```
Final Attack : Bow Maxes at Level 30
```
Pre-requisite: Bow Mastery Level 3
Description: If successful, another attack follows
an attack. The attack is very fast striking.
Only works with spells such as DS/AB.
Pre-requisite: Bow Booster Level 5
Description: Allows firing of arrows without using up
any arrows for a set amount of time.
THIS WORKS WITH SPECIAL ARROWS (Bronze/Steel)
Level 1: MP -15; Attack for 30 seconds without using up
an arrow
Level 10: MP -15; Attack for 300 seconds without using
up an arrow
Level 20: MP -30; Attack for 600 seconds without using
up an arrow
---
F2 - Crossbowman Skills
---
Attacking Spells
```
Iron Arrow: Maxes at Level 30
```
Description: An arrow is fired and goes through up
to six enemies (doesn't stop at the first one).
Damage is decreased for each enemy it goes through.
Only works when Crossbow is equipped.
Description: Increases the crossbow mastery and
accuracy. It only applies when a crossbow is in hand.
Level 1: +15% crossbow mastery, +1 accuracy
Level 10: +35% crossbow mastery, +10 accuracy
Level 20: +60% crossbow mastery, +20 accuracy
```
Final Attack : Crossbow Maxes at Level 20
```
Pre-requisite: Crossbow Mastery Level 3
Description: If successful, another attack follows
an attack. The attack is very fast striking.
Only works with spells such as DS/AB. Only works
with a crossbow in hand.
Level 1: 2% success rate, final attack with crossbow
damage 105%
Level 15: 30% success rate, final attack with crossbow
damage 175%
Level 30: 60% success rate, final attack with crossbow
damage 250%
```
Crossbow Booster Maxes at Level 20
```
Pre-requisite: Crossbow Mastery Level 5
Uses HP and MP to temporarily boost up the
attacking speed of the bow. It only works with a
crossbow in hand.
Level 1: HP -29, MP -29; Increase in crossbow attacking
speed for 10 seconds
Level 10: HP -20, MP -20; Increase in crossbow attacking
speed for 100 seconds
Level 20: HP -10, MP -10; Increase in crossbow attacking
speed for 200 seconds
Power Knock-Back Maxes at Level 20
Description: This is an attack. When activated
the character swings the bow and adds higher knock back
rate to swing up to 6 enemies back.
Description: Allows firing of arrows without using up
any arrows for a set amount of time.
THIS WORKS WITH SPECIAL ARROWS (Bronze/Steel)
Level 1: MP -15; Attack for 30 seconds without using up
an arrow
Level 10: MP -15; Attack for 300 seconds without using
up an arrow
Level 20: MP -30; Attack for 600 seconds without using
up an arrow
---
F3 - SKILL POINT ALLOCATIONS
---
This is a general guide. Change what you want and when you want
to. For example you might want to put 2 mastery one level and put
one point into booster to try it out. I encourage you to do that, as it
makes the game a bit more fun.
Okay the first thing we’ll talk about is Final Attack: Bow/Crossbow.
Some people like it, some people don’t.
PROS
Basically Final Attack is an attack that initiates at a certain
percentage rate and if it works an additional shot is fired after YOU
USE DOUBLE SHOT OR ARROW BLOW. That shot is MUCH faster
than a normal shot and does up to 250% of your normal damage.
That’s the good part, it could result in your one-hitting a monster
that you couldn’t because you did low damage initially.
Also Final Attack is a free 250% which equals an additional DS or
AB, so you skip out on saving mana.
Final Attack doesn’t have the minimum range problem, so no
smacking occurs.
CONS
HOWEVER, sometimes FA is very annoying. It could activate when
you don’t want to and result in a death. When you’re fighting a
boss monster that requires timing and synchronization between
jumping and shooting FA could kill you.
Also if you one hit a monster you’ll be wasting time by doing an
additional shot.
FA is also a problem for mobs. If you did enough damage to knock
back a monster, which is godly for an archer and WHAM FA
activates and the monster stops being knocked back and chases
you.
That’s a problem. FA also doesn’t work with third job skills, so if
you are going to max it, max it out early so you get the most “fun”
out of it before it becomes obsolete.
If you skip FA you can max out other more useful spells faster.
Alright I believe that’s enough briefing.
You get a total of 121 points to spend in the second class.
-----------------------
FA-LESS BUILD:
Do in the following order:
1 Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow
19 Bow/Crossbow Mastery(Pt 20 doesn’t give mastery, only ACC)
6 Bow/Crossbow Booster (1 Minute)
2 Soul Arrow (1 Minute)
14 Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow
20 Power Knockback (Maxed)
Save 15 points and max Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow
4 Bow/Crossbow Booster
8 Soul Arrow
10 Bow/Crossbow Booster (Maxed)
10 Soul Arrow (Maxed)
Which leaves you with 12 points remaining.
DON’T PUT IT INTO FINAL ATTACK.
Dump the remaining of the points into Focus (which is a nifty spell
by the way). If you dumped the points into Focus at the end of the
first job, you’ll have maxed focus and leftover points that you can
stick into blessing and 1 into mastery.
If you don’t like Focus. Put one into Mastery for Accuracy and the
rest into Blessing.
--------
FA
BUILD
---
1 Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow
19 Bow/Crossbow Mastery(Pt 20 doesn’t give mastery, only ACC)
6 Bow/Crossbow Booster (1 Minute)
2 Soul Arrow (1 Minute)
Save FA points for 5 or so levels
-if you have a very low level FA it’ll mess you up more than it’ll
help. Save for awhile and dump it when it becomes more useful.
30 Final Attack
20 PowerKnockBack
9 Booster (Or just 4 Booster and put them into SA)
29 Arrow Bomb
5 Soul Arrow (Or 10 Soul Arrow if you saved them from Booster)
30 Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow +1
31 Mastery +3
32 Mastery +3
33 Mastery +3
34 Mastery +3
35 Mastery +3
36 Mastery +3
37 Mastery +1, Final Attack +2
38 Final Attack +3
39 Final Attack +3
40 Final Attack +3
41 Final Attack +3
42 Final Attack +1, Booster +2
43 Booster +3
44 Booster +1, Soul Arrow +2
45 Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow +3
46 Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow +3
47 Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow +3
48 Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow +3
49 Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow +2, Final Attack +1
50 Final Attack +3
51 Final Attack +3
52 Final Attack +3
53 Final Attack +3
54 Final Attack +2, Save SP
55 Save SP
56 Save SP
57 Save SP
58 Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow +13
59 Arrow Bomb/Iron Arrow +2, Power Knockback +1
60 Power Knockback +3
61 Power Knockback +3
62 Power Knockback +3
63 Power Knockback +3
64 Power Knockback +3
65 Power Knockback +3
66 Power Knockback +1, Save SP
67 Soul Arrow +1, Booster +3, Save SP
68 Soul Arrow +1, Booster +3
69 Save SP
70 Soul Arrow +1, Booster +3, Focus +1, 1 Extra Point
---
F4 – HUNTER/CROSSBOWMAN COMPARISON
---
Hunters shoot faster, even if the bows and the crossbow have the
same attack speed, and generally their bows have FAST speed.
Crossbowman do more damage, even if the bows are the same
weapon attack and usually their bows have more weapon attack
than that of the Hunters. Basically Hunters shoot for less damage
but shoot faster, and crossbowman damage harder but slower.
Hunters have Arrow Bomb, which does less damage but Stuns.
Crossbowman have Iron Arrow which does more damage but
doesn’t stun. Usually people don’t use Arrow Bomb and Iron Arrow
for damage, so for this reason, I lean toward Arrow Bomb, because
the 60% stunner when maxed controls mobs.
Crossbows are USUALLY cheaper, along with their scrolls than
Bows. I also think Bows look nicer. And those holding crossbows
hide their earrings <.<
--------------------------------------------------------
SECTION G - LEVELLING GUIDE FOR HUNTERS/CROSSBOWMEN
--------------------------------------------------------
---
G1 - Training and Levelling guide for
Hunters/Crossbowman
---
As both Hunters and Crossbowmen are pretty much same
classes for the early stages, training spots can be in
the same places.
The following places/monsters I list may be useful, but
may not, depending on your training style, so keep that
in mind.
L28ish-32 Horny/Green Mushrooms, Zombie Mushroom
L33-38 Wild Boars, Evil eyes for later stages
L39-45 Fire Boars, Jr. Sentinels
L46-50 Fire Boars, Curse Eyes, Jr Grupins/Cellions/Lioners
L51-55 Stone Golems, Copper Drakes, Jr. Yetis?
L55-60 Grupins/Cellions/Lioners, Dark Stone Golem
L60+ Coolie Zombie, Fire Drakes, I dunno, Tauromacis?
--------------------------------------------------------
SECTION H - THIRD JOB ADVANCEMENT
--------------------------------------------------------
---
H1 - General Skills of the Ranger/Sniper
---
The Ranger and Sniper are the third advance class of the
Archer/Crossbowman. The advancement is made at level 70
on the island Ossyria, which at the time of this writing
is not released yet, and this is the class where the
Bowman/Crossbowman class finally prospers. In my
opinion, I think the Ranger's skills sound more strong,
but it's just an opinion as I've never actually
seen anymore than screenshots. I will list the spells
that either class will be presented with.
It is a common belief that the third job is where the
archers excel (more than the other classes), although
some say that the thieves are just as good
===
RANGER
===
```
Thrust: Max Level 20
```
Description: Your Movement Speed will increase.
(this spell is passive, so it adds speed permanently).
```
Mortal Blow: Max Level 20
```
Description: A certain chance of attacking an enemy when
it gets too close with a certain chance of instantly
killing an enemy with less than 50% HP.
THIS IS A PASSIVE SPELL. ELIMINATES THE RANGE PROBLEM. AN
EXCELLENT SPELL TO HAVE.
Level 1: 32% success rate, basic attack 110%; Kills the
monster with HP at 20% or less, with a 1% chance of
succession.
Level 10: 50% success rate, basic attack 200%; Kills the
monster with HP at 35% or less, with a 5% chance of
succession.
Level 20: 70% success rate, basic attack 250%; Kills the
monster with HP at 50% or less, with a 10% chance of
succession.
```
Puppet: Max Level 20
```
Description: Summon a puppet of yourself to take damage.
Monsters target the puppet instead of you.
```
Fire Shot: Max Level 30
```
Description: Enchant an arrow with Fire and shoot it at
an enemy. The fire bursts around the enemy and will
damage others in the vicinity.
Level 1: MP -20; Attack power 50% with fire
Level 15: MP -25; Attack power 112% with fire
Level 30: MP -30; Attack power 150% with fire
It’s okay, the Xbowman’s Ice shot seems a lot better because it
also freezes.
```
Arrow Rain: Max Level 30
```
Description: Fire many arrows into the air to pursue and
attack up to 6 enemies.
Level 1: MP -18 Base attack 60%
Level 15: MP -23 Base attack 122%
Level 30: MP -28 Base attack 160%
Sounds awesome, looks awesome, and best of all NO MINIMUM
RANGE PROBLEM!
```
Silver Hawk: Max Level 30
```
Description: Summon a silver hawk to fly around you and
attack nearby enemies for a set time, or until its HP
reaches 0.
Level 1: MP -32; summons a hawk that attacks 13 times in 180
sec.
50% success rate of stunning
Level 15: MP -60; summons a hawk that attacks 50 times in 180
sec.
88% success rate of stunning
Level 30: MP -80; summons a hawk that attacks 70 times in 180
sec.
99% success rate of stunning
Seems okay, better than puppet of course.
```
Strafe: Max Level 30
```
Description: Shoot 4 arrows at an enemy at once.
(not sure if its instantaneous like DS, or one by one)
Level 1: MP -26; Basic attack 52%, attack 4 times
Level 15: MP -26; Basic attack 80%, attack 4 times
Level 30: MP -32; Basic attack 100%, attack 4 times
Awesome. Fires 4 shots, although not instantly its very fast.
===
SNIPER
===
Look at my comments for the Ranger, same applies here, except
that the Ice shot is better than Fire Shot IMO.
```
Thrust: Max Level 20
```
Description: Your Movement Speed will increase.
(increases by one per level, to a max of 20,
this spell is passive, so it adds speed permanently).
```
Ice Shot: Max Level 30
```
Description: Enchant an arrow with Ice and shoot it at
an enemy. An ice floe will erupt behind the enemy,
damaging any other enemies who touch it.
Level 1: MP -20; Base ATK 100%, freezes enemy for 1 second
Level 15: MP -25; Base ATK 128%, freezes enemy for 2 seconds
Level 30: MP -30; Base ATK 140%, freezes enemy for 3 seconds
```
Arrow Eruption: Max Level 30
```
Description: Cause many arrows to erupt from the ground
to pursue and attack up to 6 enemies.
```
Golden Eagle: Max Level 30
```
Description: Summon a golden eagle to fly around you and
attack nearby enemies for a set time, or until its HP
reach 0.
Level 1: MP -32; summons a hawk that attacks 13 times in 180
sec.
50% success rate of stunning
Level 15: MP -60; summons a hawk that attacks 50 times in 180
sec.
88% success rate of stunning
Level 30: MP -80; summons a hawk that attacks 70 times in 180
sec.
99% success rate of stunning
```
Strafe: Max Level 30
```
Description: Shoot 4 arrows at an enemy at once.
(not sure if its instantaneous like DS, or one by one)
Level 1: MP -26; Basic attack 52%, attack 4 times
Level 15: MP -26; Basic attack 80%, attack 4 times
Level 30: MP -32; Basic attack 100%, attack 4 times
---
H2 - THIRD JOB SKILLS DISCUSSION
---
Strafe - The BEST offensive move by far you’ve ever encountered.
It fires 4 arrows in RAPID fashion. 4 Arrows means 4 times to
activate critical shot! At level one it does basic attack of 52% each
arrow. If critical shot were to activate 4 times that would be
(52%+100%)x 4 which is 608% FOR A LEVEL ONE SPELL! It comes
out extremely fast, as someone says “can be spammed 90 times
per minute with a bow”.
This should be maxed ASAP.
Mortal Blow - A passive ability that, when maxed, lets you have a
70% chance to shoot a 250% damage arrow instead of smacking
you bow for the minimum range damage. Mortal Blow also has a
10% chance to 1 hit KO the monster if the monster's HP is less
than or equal to half (prior to activating Mortal Blow). As an archer
you should be very familiar with the smacking animation and how
annoying it is. Well Mortal Blow solves that. At least for 70% of the
time. Mortal Blow is very useful, but doesn’t exactly replace
Powerknockback.
Puppet - At first I found this spell seemingly useless. Researching
more on it made me discover its usefulness. Basically the puppet
diverts the monsters attention. Summoning the puppet will
automatically set it a few steps in front of you. Usually monsters
don’t attack you until you attack first. However if you set the
puppet in front of you, the monsters will attempt to attack the
puppet instead of you. Meaning you can stand safe from a distance
and snipe off the monsters. However the monster can still attack
you, if your in the path of the puppet and the monster, naturally.
Magic attacks like stomping also affect you as well as the puppet if
you are in the range. Keep that in mind.
When the monster is targeting the puppet, even if you hit them,
they’ll be focused on the puppet and won’t attack you. Until the
puppet dies the monster will leave you alone. Even when the
puppet dies though, the monsters will return to their neutral state,
so you can re-summon another puppet.
Also the puppet has a much larger amount of Weapon Defense and
magic Defense. It is much more durable than your character itself.
The puppet is used mainly for luring purposes.
It does work on bosses, so those bosses like Jr. Balrog become
useless for the time that the puppet is active :D.
Arrow Rain/Arrow Eruption - Another godly spell. THIS ATTACK HAS
NO MINIMUM RANGE! Which means you can activate it from
ANYWHERE! Even with mobs right next to you. That’s HUGE for an
archer, as usually we’d have to PKB it, jump away or in third job,
hope for a mortal Blow, but that doesn’t necessary knock them
away. Arrow Rain/Eruption also triggers critical shot (up to 6 times)
and is a very fast spell. It has nice range and damage is not spread
out. It attacks all around your character in all directions.
This move is strong, doesn’t have minimum range, is a mob
control, and looks extremely nice. If you can POSSIBLY find a fault
in this move, you shouldn’t be an archer.
Fire Shot/Ice Shot
The shot is similar to Arrow Bomb in the way that it “fires”. An
arrow comes out hits the first target and fire rains down/ice rains
down and damages them. Obviously the arrow is enchanted with
fire and ice respectively to their arrows and the damage is
multiplied by 1.5x to those weak to it. The two shots are similar but
the Fire Shot has Critical Damage, does more damage (150%)
doesn’t stun/freeze, but the Ice Shot does 140%, doesn’t have
Critical Damage, but freezes.
Silver Hawk/Golden Eagle
This spell requires a 5k summoning stone, but that cost will be
negligible. When summoned a giant hawk appears and after a few
seconds it starts attacking monsters closest to it. The damage of
hawk/eagle is very low but it has a very high stun rate independent
of the monster’s avoidability and your accuracy. The hawk is
uncontrollable, but it follows your character so it’ll attack the
monster closest to you.
Thrust
This is a passive ability that increases movement ability. I
overrated this move at first. The +30 speed is not as great as I
thought it would be because at that level a number of equipment
already add speed and chances are, you’ll be partying with a thief
that has Haste so Thrust will be wasted.
Put Leftover points and never exceed 10 points into it because the
first 10 SP adds 2 speed and the next 10 merely add 1.
---
H3 – THIRD JOB SKILL BUILD
---
Having never actually reached the third class this skill build is just a
compilation of what I know, how useful spells are, which point that
they become less useful, and what’s most important.
All the skills that are now important and put to the level that they’ll
be the most useful so now:
Max Puppet
Max Eagle
Leftover points into Thrust
I believe you’ll have enough points to do that. For the third class
ALL of our spells are godly, or at the worst, quite nice. Unlike the
other classes they have useless spells like Shield Mastery,
Alchemist, MP Recovery, etc, etc etc.
And for other people’s opinions here’s an excerpt from an email
that I received from an knowledgeable reader. He has included his
opinions and his skill build. I will include mine after his, as I have
disagreements on some aspects.
Thanks to: Wenqi Yang for this
”Thrust: Just add 10 in it. It'll give you 20% extra speed.
You can get the rest of the speed by scrolling equipments.
Mortal Blow: Great, but not that great. Arrow Rain/Eruption
ignores minimum range if mob approaches, and you can simply
walk away if single enemy approach. Add 5 in it because it's a
requisite for Arrow Rain/Eruption, then add 6 in it in the end
because you have no where else to add them.
Puppet: Puppet is, very useful. If you put a maxed puppet at
one direction of enemy and attack from the other side, the enemy
will NEVER attack you unless it's a full-screen effect. For effects like
earthquake, simply put a puppet at a different platform and
yeti/mushmom will not punch the floor anymore.
Fire Shot: Very useful crowd control, although there's still
this annoying minimum range problem.
Ice Shot: This skill is the uber leet move. Not only does it
damage, it freezes enemies solid, and has elemental bonus at Cave
of Trial III against Bain. DEFINITELY MAX THIS ONE OUT.
Arrow Rain/Eruption: Good skill to avoid minimum range, but to
effectively use it you have to be in the middle of a crowd, meaning
you'll take a lot of damage.
Silver Hawk/Golden Eagle: 99% stun rate, automatically attack.
Need I say more? Max it.
Strafe: 400% damage, each with their own chance of critical
(which hits up to 800% damage). MAX EET ASAP.
This is not exactly true. Although Mortal Blow is naturally a better
spell because it could kill, does more damage, and doesn’t require a
trigger (it’s a passive spell). Higher level monsters won’t be
Knockbacked as easy as monsters were when they were lower
level, so it becomes less useful. An experienced archer says that
knockback’s success rate is dependant on the level of the monster
relative to you
Regarding about PKB. Basically PKB becomes less useful, but still
will be used here and there.
---
About me
---
I'm one of the first people to played this game
(played when it was one channel AND during Beta) and generally I
have
a thorough understanding of the game, and especially
for fire wizards and hunters. If you have questions,
comments, find a grammatical error, disagree with
something, or anything in general, EMAIL ME! If you
find an error, or something wrong with my content,
and I agree, I'll give you credit.
You can reach me at --> goNucks[@t]gmaiNOSPAMl.com
If I forgot to credit you for something (if it was
very minor I may have forgotten), let me know and I'll fix
it.
DON'T EMAIL ME ASKING FOR FREE ITEMS, FREE MONEY, ETC.
I WILL NOT REPLY.
ALSO DON’T ASK FOR PERMISSION TO PUT THIS IN YOUR SITE, I
WON’T ANSWER ANYMORE.
Credits:
CJayC for hosting the FAQ on the site first
Wizet for making the game (why’d they wipe beta though ;_;)
Friends: for supporting me
Zephy from GameFAQs for having DS/AB calculations
www.hidden-street.net for some various skills, items, and also
hosting my file
itirnitee – Red Viper/Vaulter 2k Discussion
optakeover – various typos
Haan Li – MP Mistake in Xbow skill
Yeo Han Yi – typos
Wenqi Yang – Skill Guide for 3rd Class
God how’d I ever type all this out o___o;;
-V2.10 End Of File-
