IntroductionAfter a long time I have finally decided that some people might be at least a little interested in a quick guide/tip page by myself, not being the best archer in the world and of average skill at most, it's just a nice pick-me-up for budding archers.
Hello and welcome to Tennenoth's Worthless Archery Tutorial, or TWAT for short! Here I will be hopefully helping a few newbies find their archery feet and some veterens better understand why I and a lot of other archers run away so much. This guide highlights more or less the "Skirmishing bundle of sticksory Archer" build, the one that can out run a lot of things and deal reasonable damage.
This guide assumes you know some of the basics, it assumes you have common sense and of course it assumes you'll take artistic liberties with it. It assumes that you won't follow it by the letter and it assumes it's writer doesn't know everything there is to know about archery or other classes but has just written about how he feels is best to deal with things.
If you only take away some basics from this, then I will have done my job. Please save any questions, feedback and/or death threats, please wait until the end of the wall of text and post below, thank you.
Table of Contents
The Basic Build
Stats:
Strength: 18
Agility: 21
Power Strike: 3
Power Draw: 6
Athletics: 7
Weapon Master: 7
1/2 Handed: 50
Archery: 159
Now, this build allows you to have a basic defence against infantry that want to attack you, if you have a nice heirloomed 1 slot weapon such as a langes messer or a mace then your life as an archer will be a hell of a lot easier, but we'll discuss equipment in a bit.
The archery level is more than enough to be accurate with a basic longbow, which I believe is the best bow for a number of different reasons. You should have a reasonable reticle for medium distance, you can forget about long ranged even if you had pin point accuracy because of the lack of missile speed these days.
ArmourBasically, it's up to you what you wear for clothes however, over the time i've been an archer I have found the best equipment for any archer is as follows:
| Item | Gold | Upkeep | Weight | Head Armour | Body Armour | Leg Armour |
| Felt Cap | 24 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Sarranid Leather Armour | 2,262 | 159 | 4.5 | 0 | 28 | 12 |
| Mail Gauntlets | 3,427 | 240 | 0.5 * 2 = 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Rus Cavalry Boots | 412 | 29 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| | | | | | | |
| Totals: | 6,125 | 430 | 6.3 | 8 | 34 | 31 |
Now, this armour is a completely mix & match and makes you look like a bit of a fool so I would take some artistic liberties with it. As a general rule of thumb, keep your equipment level below 7 weight and remember that gloves are 2 times the stated weight and helmets are 3 times.
Now, the reasoning behind this is because it's still below the 7 weight mark but on top of that it gives the most armour, now at full heirloomed levels it would be this:
| Item | Head Armour | Body Armour | Leg Armour |
| Felt Cap | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Sarranid Leather Armour | 0 | 32 | 16 |
| Mail Gauntlets | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Rus Cavalry Boots | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| | | | |
| Totals: | 12 | 45 | 39 |
That's about as good as Cuir Bouilli over Mail for body armour for a fraction of the cost.
With regards to what I wear, I use the Mail Gauntlets, they are without doubt
the best gloves for archery available, they're light enough but also strong enough triple heirloomed to give good defence. They gain 7 body armour and become better than Heavy Gauntlets by the end of it for 3.6 less weight. Certainly a must.
The hat, there are many variations of the weightless 8 armoured ones and I use my straw hat just for fashion & nostalgia for the community who recognise me by it. Basically however, if you're shot in the head, you're pretty much buggered no matter what happens, archers cannot wear a decent helmet without losing accuracy but for arguments sake, if you really want some reasonable head armour, you can grab the Desert Turban that's inkeeping with the Sarranid look with only pushing over the 7 limit by 0.3, which will have a minimal and likely unnoticable effect on your accuracy.
Sarranid Leather Armour is the best archery armour for someone who wants defence over anything else, it has the best weight to defence ratio and at base value, it is better than my triple heirloomed Leather Jerkin that has only 27 body armour & 10 leg armour.
The Rus Cavalry Boots are once again the best boots for archers, they give 1 more armour than normal Leather Boots & only cost a slight bit more but have the same weight. These little guys fit quite nicely with the Sarranid Leather Armour and as a rule of thumb your leg armour should always be at least 70% of your main body armour so that it does the same damage whether or not you get hit in the leg of the body. In this case, 34 body armour and 31 leg armour gives 91% therefore getting shot in the legs will do less damage than the body as it should.
BowsAlright, so lets talk bows. No matter really, which bow you're looking at using, the build I recommended is useful for all of them because you're highly maneuverable and able to hit reasonably hard. As I said, the build is a skirmishers build, you don't want to get caught out in melee since you've only basic skills, enough to strike back against uneducated foes and those you know you can catch by surprise. I wouldn't take this build unless you have basic blocking skills (you can follow blocks and the odd feint) and the brain power to know when to break away from the melee.
Bow Stats:| Bow | Gold | Upkeep | Missile Speed | Accuracy | Damage | Damage Type | Speed Rating |
| Horn Bow | 7,896 | 553 | 37 | 97 | 24 | Cut | 63 |
| Yumi | 8,658 | 606 | 31 | 100 | 25 | Cut | 60 |
| Rus Bow | 9,974 | 698 | 37 | 101 | 29 | Cut | 59 |
| Longbow | 11,100 | 777 | 38 | 97 | 26 | Pierce | 50 |
As a longbowman, I stand by the longbow as being the best weapon to deal with anyone barring archers or crossbowmen. The speed isn't an issue for shooting into melee players because of the fact that you can move while you reload, 7 athletics means that you can still move away from your targets if necessary and run, turn 180 degrees and fire, don't jump though, or you'll only end up doing a penguin hop.
The Rus Bow is a good archer/xbowman killer, whether or not you use the normal cutting arrows or if you use the piercing bodkins, you'll have an advantage over the longbowmen and most of the slower xbows due to your higher movement and fire rate. This bow is a great all rounder and these days is more effective than the longbow since you can do effectively the same amount of damage, shoot the same distance and even fighter faster. More or less the bow I would recommend despite my love for the longbow.
The Yumi, i'm not a fan, it's like a bow for people who can't afford a decent one... I'm sure it might have it's uses for a Horse Archer but i've vowed never to ride my UTI (Universal Transport Individual, no I had that acronym long before writing this, i'm not intentionally trying to fill this guide with lots of Cleverly Rendered Acronym Points.) I have no comments for this flimsy piece of wood.
Horn Bow, if you really want to, you can take this one, it'll open up a lot more options with regards to melee weapons, not really suited to this build as you don't need so much accuracy so you can shove a bit more into your chosen melee skill or alternatively you can put more in and be very accurate with basic damage. Maybe take your archery skill down to 145/140 and use the points elsewhere. This bow is only good as a foot archer for taking out other archers faster than they can take you down, although I would still say, not as effectively as the Rus Bow. You'll find that you sit closer to your targets thus actually having to break into melee more often therefore investing in some more melee is a good option.
I will state here and now that I have not used many of the bows other than the longbow for a long time, what I have writen here is based from observations, general stat preferences on the weapons and how they would best suit a play style. As I say, the Rus Bow and Longbow are the two best bows for this build, or the Yumi I suppose if you're too cheap to buy something half decent.
Arrows
Nothing to see here quite yet.
Alright so arrows, there are four different kinds and it basically depends on what you want to have. There is one piercing option, the bodkin arrows. You will do more damage to heavily armoured enemies such as tin cans and your targets will be more or less people who're heavily armoured although overall, the piercing damage does do more damage to the majority of targets, especially since shooting lighter armoured targets does only slightly less.
Arrows, Tatar Arrows and "the other ones" are all cut, they have different degrees of damage and correlating numbers of arrows per quiver. This completely depends if you want more damage per hit, or more hits.
WILL FINISH LATER!
Melee WeaponsFinally for equipment we move onto the melee weapons you're looking at and my recommendations to maximise the number of arrows that you have.
| Weapon | Gold | Upkeep | Type | Length | Speed | Swing Damage & Type | Thrust Damage & Type |
| Hammer | 589 | 41 | 1 Handed | 55 | 100 | 21 Blunt | No Thrust | Knockdown |
| Military Sickle | 3,208 | 225 | 1/2 Handed | 75 | 100 | 26 Pierce | No Thrust |
| Fighting Axe | 3,375 | 236 | 1/2 Handed | 84 | 95 | 32 Cut | No Thrust | Bonus Against Shields |
| Mace | D: | D: | 2 Handed | D: | D: | __ Blunt | No Thrust | Knockdown |
| Langes Messer | 7,517 | 526 | 1/2 Handed | 92 | 98 | 33 Cut | 23 Pierce |
| Weapon | Gold | Upkeep | Type | Length | Speed | Swing Damage & Type | Thrust Damage & Type |
| Hammer | 589 | 41 | 1 Handed | 55 | 100 | 21 Blunt | No Thrust | Knockdown |
| Military Sickle | 3,208 | 225 | 1/2 Handed | 75 | 100 | 26 Pierce | No Thrust |
| Fighting Axe | 3,375 | 236 | 1/2 Handed | 84 | 95 | 32 Cut | No Thrust | Bonus Against Shields |
| Mace | D: | D: | 2 Handed | D: | D: | __ Blunt | No Thrust | Knockdown |
| Langes Messer | 7,517 | 526 | 1/2 Handed | 92 | 98 | 33 Cut | 23 Pierce |
The values shown for the 1/2 handed weapons are for the 1 handed variety, I will update them for 2 handed when I have the stats.
The Hammer, it's the 0 slot defence weapon for blocking, and practically blocking alone, not recommended for this build unless you want more than 1 stack of arrows. You only really want 1 stack of arrows if you're a longbowman because you're more than likely to pick your targets before you fire. It has knockdown, the perfect chance for you to leg it before the bugger gets back up and knocks you for six.
The Military Sickle is the best weapon for dealing damage if you're quick on both your feet and sharp with your blocking skills, you need to get up close and personal with this pointy fellow in order to actually kill your targets, the complete opposite of what you really want to do. However, due to the fact that it's a pierce weapon, it's more than suited to killing your medium to heavy armoured targets, for example, the ones that you've unloaded 3 arrows into, and they still haven't quite gone down. It doesn't have stab, but why you would need it when swinging is just as effective!
Fighting Axe, now this is your worst choice for general purpose fighting, the damage and the range are less than the Langes Messer and another weapon without stab. The only reason you might want to take this is to weaken the shields of people before you run off and shoot them, but if that's the case, why not just be a 2 hander?
The mace, it feels slightly slower than the Langes Messer but it does blunt damage and has knockdown. The knockdown can really be a lifesaver as with the basic hammer, it's your chance to get out of there, or have another swing at him if you think he's not going to get up after another bash on the head. Very versatile weapon for archers due to it's knockdown, reasonable damage and speed.
Langes Messer, my personal favourite, it looks good, it works well, and you feel like an idiot while thrusting. It's nice and fast and has a reasonable range, perfect for the archers who can actually fight and hold out for a long time before they either kill their enemies or they die trying and looking particularly valiant while doing so. It has no bonus features such as knockdown but the ability to at least stab can throw some people off if they don't realise that you do it
quite like that. The stab animation is the polearm stab and for that reason, the range of the weapon is significantly reduced but with 7 athletics you're easily able to dart in, get the hug stab and kite back out to arms length. This one comes highly recommended by me.
General Fighting Style
Archery isn't as easy as some people claim it is, those people don't know the half of it, they see a good archer either high up the scoreboard or they see a group of archers doing volleys of arrows towards a single target and start screaming about easy mode.
I've had so much practice with the different methods of archery throughout my time playing, i've been in the armour plated snipers era, the lightweight 1 shotting tin cans era and the current, more or less balanced era which this tutorial, so to speak, is aimed specifically at.
This build is classed to kite enemies, it's classed to get to that good position, shoot to kill and get to your next position without getting hounded by enemies and in the event that you get caught out or are forced to head into melee, you're able to fight your way through it with reasonable effectiveness.
No matter which bow, armour or melee weapon you've chosen, you're looking to shoot to kill, watch your enemies armour closely, choose the ones that you're most effective at killing that is as a rule of thumb, as follows;
Movement and brains are key in this line of practice, you've got to keep yourself detatched, know your surroundings and know your targets, the peasants really aren't worth your time and grabbing for kills isn't going to help your teammates get that x5.
Don't camp the roof for as long as you can, you'll become a target and you'll lose a lot of options. Enclosed high up areas are good defence if you need to get your arse out of somewhere and make sure you can survive a little longer to help your team but don't always rely on them, because they're more than likely not going to be there.
Fighting CavalryCavalry are one of your biggest nightmares, they're quick, they're heavy damage and they're completely overpowered unless you have a pike! Ok, that's not completely true, but they have some ridiculous game mechanics that give them so many more advantages than basic infantry of any kind.
Firstly, i'll start with some more rules of thumb;
Most importantly:
DON'T PANIC you've got more time than you think, if you panic, you have less chance to actually hit your targets effectively. That horse isn't going to break through the screen and naw on your ear.
Both lancers and one handed cavalry can be dealt with in the same methods whether with a few minor differences. With your bow, you shoot them, simple as that, if you have a high damage bow and arrows, such as longbow/rusbow and bodkins, aim for the horses head or the rider depending on the distance and the type of shield that they have. If they have anything above a basic "cavalry shield" it's pretty hopeless shooting at them from head on, therefore aim for the horses head.
For horse archers, these guys are more or less just a pain in the arse, there damage is low (although somewhat annoyingly increased due to the fact that they're allowed to use bodkins as well now) but they just move quicker and have a harder chance to hit you. Down the horse, the rider stops firing giving you some rest bite to gather yourself and shoot them while they're on the floor. If they're a dedicated horse archer, they'll be more used to fighting while moving than on foot, so they'll be weaker at that giving you a better chance. Most horse archers are not very good melee's either so utilise your slight advantage with having put some into your skills if you're close enough. Shooting at them without any thought to your surroundings is always a bad plan and will just annoy them and they will start trying to bump shoot you, so watch that one, it's dirty but you can use it to your advantage with the same ways as fighting lancers and one handers, which moves us nicely onto general cav killing;
Backing away from horses into walls, fences or other immovable objects is the best thing you can do when fighting cavalry, especially the melee varieties. If they're stupid enough to change you thinking "I can hit this guy with my couch lance" or "he'll never be able to block my side swing" then you've got an advantage, you're able to use the better movement of being on foot to jump the opposite direction to their weapon (most likely this'll put you into the horses path). If you get knocked down by the horse, you have a faster recovery time than they do from hitting the object so just get up and slash the bastards horse to pieces. Hopefully you'll do enough damage to drop the horse, in which case, you need to instantly decide to slash the guy on the floor and fight him, or leg it. There are many cases where it's much more viable to draw your melee weapon, when the horse goes down, slash the bugger when he's defenceless on the floor and run. Even a hammer slap will deal some basic damage giving the poor sod you've left to fight him, a slight advantage.
Getting high up, somewhere they can't reach is always a good idea when there are a lot of them on the enemy team. It'll allow you to keep away from their home ground and they'll be more likely to avoid coming near you so you can unload your arrows into them. Horse archers won't like it much either since they do low damage to start with and shooting up will only further decrease it, this gives you a nice advantage on both short quick movements & bow power. Even climbing a hill in order to lower their movement speed is a good way of getting better shots at cav.
As a final point, most shields from horseback tend to have less protection on the feet. This means that you can effectively shoot their feet if you have enough time and accuracy and can't get past the shield. Despite the fact that cavalry should wear heavier foot armour because it's their "weak spot" for damage, most of them don't and therefore this is a good place to start, but always remember the basics of the game, hitting the feet does 70% of the damage and that means if they have reasonable foot armour, then you've less chance of damaging it.
So, to sum up when fighting cavalry you should;
- Back into a wall
- Aim at the horses head if they have a shield.
- Aim at the rider if they don't have a shield.
- Use your higher movement to avoid getting hit, your multidirectional jump is a winner here.
- Go places they can't such as a roof.
- Shoot down at them.
- Climb hills to gain a movement advantage
- Aim for the feet if you're in a tight spot.
You should not;
- Tease the horses, it's cruel and you'll hurt the riders feelings.
- Engage them in open areas, always try and run if you're stuck fighting a competent cavalryman.
- PANIC!
Fighting Crossbowmen
Crossbowmen, the strongest of the ranged classes but still not without their weaknesses. In short though, they can one shot people in 60 armour so they're sure as hell going to one shot you. You've got to keep yourself away from these guys but if you do find that you've come into direct fire, then you've got to use your movement and the fact that they use cover to reload to your advantage.
You'll rarely see a crossbowman out in the open reloading, because, let's be honest, that's just idiotic, but they do it at times. That's always a good time to fire if they haven't noticed you, if you're accurate enough you can interupt his reload and do some damage. This'll give you an advantage should you have to fight him later.
It's more likely that these guys will be camping like a boss up on someones roof causing the children to think Father Christmas has come early... You can easily escape them because they are unlikely to want to come down and risk getting themselves chopped up. If this is the case, then they're like turrets, they've got a small area that they can fire from and they'll stay there unless they know it's safe to come down.
Cover restricts view, for both parties in question, the one using it to hide, and the one trying to see the person hiding. A tree for example will only block a small view, but due to the mechanics of view, the crossbowman can quite happily see round it and you can't necessarily see him or how far he is through reloading, best thing to do is run out of his effective range, where he will find it hard to hit you, he can't move while he reloads so you can just move.
If there is more cover, such as a building he is hiding behind, it works a bit more in your favour, he will be less likely to be able to see you, so it'll be easier to strike at them. Move yourself around by using the cover to mask your movements, get into a better position for yourself in order to take a crack at them or, just once again, get away from their effective shooting area.
I know this all sounds rather cowardly, but keeping yourself alive is the best thing for everyone but your enemies. If you don't have the advantage, why fight against the odds when you can turn them around to your favour? It's silly, make sure you can keep yourself in the advantage and if you find yourself slipping from it, gain it back and then hit.
Get out of their view when they reload and come back in a different location, more suitable to your movement style and then hit them. It's whatcha gotta do to stay alive. As you will well know, crossbowmen have a higher missile speed than you or I so that makes them all the more deadly at longer ranges let alone the close ones. Keep yourself out of their direct line of fire. Shoot them when they're not looking or reloading in a stupid place. Try and flank them away from the bulk of your team in order to get some clean, free shots before they realise what you're doing. Those are your best bets. Their advantages to your advantages, their cover to your commando movements!
OutroThanks for reading this guys, I will hopefully be adding more to this as time goes on. Some of you know me on the battlefield and I have been asked a fair amount what my build is, how I play and, as this guide is practically a rip from a personal message I was asked to send, through personal messages.
I hope this wasn't too boring, I tried to keep it spiced up a little with stupid acronyms and other things but all in all, as I said in the beginning, if one person takes something useful away, it will have been a success and I will be well on my way of having more Tenne clones running around!
This guide is only a guide and therefore some of the information within isn't accurate for all situations and you
have to employ some common sense. For example, not all crossbowmen do camp a roof, there are times that they can't or they simply don't want to but make educated decisions as to what to do, don't just blindly go "derp, I wasn't told what to do, i'll stand and fire with tunnel vision." YOU HAVE A BRAIN! (I assume, even if you're some AI program, but then I suppose it is harder to "think for yourself".)
Comments, corrections, general feedback & personal experiences would be appretiated greatly so please don't hesitate to post!
Tenne.
***Please note that some of this isn't completely finished, such as the "mace" statistics aren't filled in. I have just rushed over this and edited in different areas, it'll be updated shortly to include some of this stuff so please don't go screaming about that! ;)***