cRPG
cRPG => Beginner's Help and Guides => Guides => Topic started by: Penitent on February 14, 2012, 04:14:48 pm
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Here is be brief guide for new AND old players on how to not get constantly pin-cushioned by archers (Bow AND Crossbow). First, the ground rules. Then the tactics.
GROUND RULES:
1. Sometimes archers will kill you no matter what you do, so don't be shocked. This guide will help it happen less.
2. Of all the tactics you can employ, whining is NOT an effective defense mechanism. The arrows will still penetrate you. Complaining in game, on the forums, or lobbying for a ranged nerf will only hurt the game and your own sense of self-worth. It is not a good long term solution, and it will not make you a better player. This guide will.
TACTICS
1. Bring a shield. Even a practice shield will absorb a few arrows and can save you. A difficulty 1 shield can take even more.
2. If you can't bring a shield, stick by a teamie with a shield. (Teamwork!?). Sometimes you can spam:
[q][f][f] KEEP YOUR FORMATION
and
[q][f][w] SHIELD WALL
When there is cav, you stick by teamies with a pike, right? When there are archers, stick by teamies with a shield. Let them go up ladders first. Let them take the lead when advancing on archer positions. IT'S THEIR JOB.
3. Use cover (trees, walls, etc). Archers have limited ammo. Eventually they will run out, but be careful. Hiding in a building is safe -- hiding behind something like a tree will only work for a little while. The archers will eventually circle around and get you in a cross fire.
4. Bring a siege shield and make your own cover. If you have several teamies do this, you can even build a pillow fort and hide-out!
5. Practice dodging. The zig-zag, the double-back, the random dance, the last-second juke, and the "non-dodge!" Learn them well.
6. Wear heavier armor. When all else fails, suit up and employ all of the above tactics with redoubled vigor.
7. If the enemy TEAM has way more archers than you, you have 2 choices. You can turtle up and hide behind cover (works for a while sometimes) or RUSH them. Closing distance against a ranged-heavy team will help take their advantage away. If you can coordinate your team using voice commands, you can rush the archer positions, scatter then, and conquer.
8. Can you think of more?
EDIT: Another tip: don't run in straight lines. If you are running towards/away from an enemy, curve your approach or zig-zag slightly. It makes it much harder for an archer to lead you with their shot!
SPECIAL NOTE:
(and secret tactic)
Sometimes you will still get killed by archers. Even if you use all of the tactics above, you still might still fall victim to the "lucky headshot." It happens. Analyze how it happened, and try to do better next round. This is the last secret tactic to employ: adaptation and self improvement.
Good luck out there!
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Questions:
Does putting the shield on your back as a 2h/polearmer have any effect on your speed/damage/whathaveyou, or would it be better to drop the shield?
And would there be a difference between a 1skill board shield and 1skill roundshield on the back?
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Questions:
Does putting the shield on your back as a 2h/polearmer have any effect on your speed/damage/whathaveyou, or would it be better to drop the shield?
And would there be a difference between a 1skill board shield and 1skill roundshield on the back?
Having a shield on you rback will not affect your damage or swing speed. However, it will reduce your run speed because of the weight. Practice shield weigh 3, so not too much. Norman Shields weigh 8.5, so that is considerable!
I'd say if you are in a hurry, drop the shield!
When a shield is on your back, it will help protect you from arrows that hit your back. It reduces the damage you take. I'm pretty sure it is the armor rating of the shield is added to your body armor when you are hit in the back by a ranged attack.
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What strikes me as amazing was that ultimate nerf of archery wasn't reduction of damage, it was removal of ladders.
:D
IMO, archers aren't as much pain in the ass as they use to be.
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I have a request. Can you BOLD number three? Just saying... it is one of the most effective ways of stopping arrows from making friendly with your body.
Oh, and one more thing. Avoid using teammates as cover. Most of the time they will zag at the last second and the arrow will poke your eye out. True story.
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SPECIAL NOTE:
(and secret tactic)
Sometimes you will still get killed by archers. Even if you use all of the tactics above, you still might still fall victim to the "lucky headshot." It happens. Analyze how it happened, and try to do your best next round. This is the last secret tactic to employ: self improvement.
Good luck out there!
Yeah you gotta love the all-the-way-across-the-map-lucky-headshot right at the beginning of a round.
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After a few dodges, standing still becomes a dodge. The archer will be trying to predict your movement. so standing still of just going straight will occasionaly work. Basically, break up your pattern. And dont jump unless you know you're in range. Jumping randomly is a free hit for the archer when you land (unless you're jumping into cover)
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After a few dodges, standing still becomes a dodge. The archer will be trying to predict your movement. so standing still of just going straight will occasionaly work. Basically, break up your pattern. And dont jump unless you know you're in range. Jumping randomly is a free hit for the archer when you land (unless you're jumping into cover)
Yes.
Could also add to that - DO NOT move in predictable ways, but also DO NOT move backwards (if you want to catch the archer)!
Dodging by going backwards (or simply going back by changing the direction of looking and pushing W) gives archer time to run away a bit farther, pick another arrow from quiver, draw a bow and... voila, once again another arrow to dodge!
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Yes.
Could also add to that - DO NOT move in predictable ways, but also DO NOT move backwards (if you want to catch the archer)!
Dodging by going backwards (or simply going back by changing the direction of looking and pushing W) gives archer time to run away a bit farther, pick another arrow from quiver, draw a bow and... voila, once again another arrow to dodge!
That is true, but if the archer is holding ground, or if it is an xbower, quickly running backwards at an angle is very unexpected and they almost always miss. I've never gotten hit doing this....good points though!
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I also want to add that while backing as a stand alone move is a bad dodge, when an archer has their arrow 'notched' I tend to face away from them and very slightly move away while I do my dancing. Since speed bonus is based off of your movement in relation with the projectile you take more damage when hit while running forward towards the archer, and therefore less when you are moving away from them.
Of course you still need to close the gap with the archer, but if i'm going to get hit I want it to be for less damage :)
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..this is the spirit of non QQ..as X bow sniper giving to this trhead ++1
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I find that turning sidewards as they shoot is also a great way of making 'em miss. You become a way smaller target after all.
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About time for an anti nerf archery thread. Very useful indeed.
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this thread fails on so many levels
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this thread fails on so many levels
Which parts aren't working for you? I'll update things or clarify if my some parts of the guide are inaccurate.
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This common sense will not be tolerated by the c-rpg community. You will feel our retribution!
How dare you suggest we be responsible for what our characters do and where they go in game. Or that we actually adapt to what is happening on the battle field!!!
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Might be worth noting that people that bring shields don't have to keep their shield up the entire time. I see so many people trying to stalk down an archer but they hold their shield up even between shots and the archer can simply backpeddle them with ease. I'm thinking it's somewhere around a 30% speed reduction with shield up, which is pretty considerable.
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8. Never ever in your life as 2hand hero jump, the jumper dies always.
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See?
geetin a shield as first recommendation :P
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9.
Ignore all the 8 previous steps and switch to your cavalry with mamluk horse !
Use pro hardcore X2win tactic against them and profit.
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One more tip:
Remember the forcefield on your shield is always active. This can be used in several ways:
1) if you are forced to change weapon and arrows are whistling about you, turn right as you do it. Your shield will be on the left side, so you're effectively moving your shield in front of you (Or between you and the archer) as you are changing weapon. This only accounts onehanded weapons.
2) If you want to run away while under fire, you can sometimes lower your shield but keep it turned between you and the enemy ranged.
+ more things I can't think of right now.
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Bump because people seem not to realise that charging a light armored archer with high agility is not the best option...
(hmm, why does this sound reminiscent of ranged on a horse?)
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I'd like to expand on #7.
The enemy team is likely to have 2-5 archers alive during the battle, more of them will sprout from the ground towards the end of the fight. There will probably be a cav, some infantry, or a cylon who knew where you were the entire match, and he is coming to eliminate you so that he will have enough points for valor. If this is the case, your best option is to stay in an enclosed space and kill any invaders. The enemy archers might get careless and approach with the cylon. When you see an opening, go for the archer. Instinctively, many archers will turn and run when they get a whiff of your ball-sweat and determine the enormous capacity for housing such glands is bigger than they can handle. Now, pull out your rocks and use them to stun the archer into submission, then lay your blade deep inside his soft body. Repeat for any remaining archers. If there are horse archers on the other team, save everyone some time and suicide.
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Bump. Please read this guide before posting anything in game balance discussion. :rolleyes:
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1. Bring a shield. Even a practice shield will absorb a few arrows and can save you. A difficulty 1 shield can take even more.
This tactic seem pretty obvious and the average player who is tired of getting turned into a pincushion enough that he has to go to the forums for guidance has probably already considered shielding and wearing heavier armor.
2. If you can't bring a shield, stick by a teamie with a shield. (Teamwork!?). Sometimes you can spam:
[q][f][f] KEEP YOUR FORMATION
and
[q][f][w] SHIELD WALL
When there is cav, you stick by teamies with a pike, right? When there are archers, stick by teamies with a shield. Let them go up ladders first. Let them take the lead when advancing on archer positions. IT'S THEIR JOB.
If this is in battle, it will likely only be effective if the shielder in question is one of your buddies; and as if coordinating your movements with a random guy on a public server isn't hard enough, most experienced archers pick their targets well, and the prospect of shooting a straggler trying to hide behind his teammates shield is one that makes archers salivate at the mouth.
4. Bring a siege shield and make your own cover. If you have several teamies do this, you can even build a pillow fort and hide-out!
This is probably a bad idea considering a siege shield weighs a significant amount and will make you run like a snail. Unless you're in a fixed location and plan on defending an enclosed location, I wouldn't recommend this
5. Practice dodging. The zig-zag, the double-back, the random dance, the last-second juke, and the "non-dodge!" Learn them well.
And know when to stop dodging as well, I believe it has been touched on in this thread, but the guys who do the least amount of fancy dodging antics get away a lot more times than the guys having mini-seizures on the battlefield.
6. Wear heavier armor. When all else fails, suit up and employ all of the above tactics with redoubled vigor.
Keep in mind this will slow you down, making you an easier target. Try to find a good balance between weight and protection, otherwise you could find yourself taking a lot more arrows than before.
7. If the enemy TEAM has way more archers than you, you have 2 choices. You can turtle up and hide behind cover (works for a while sometimes) or RUSH them. Closing distance against a ranged-heavy team will help take their advantage away.
There are many more options for those who do not wish to taste the sting of an arrow or bolt; such as going archer and taking sweet revenge on the archers who targeted you. Going cavalry is another option, as you will quickly learn that you can make chop suey out of groups of inattentive archers while quickly making your retreat with little to no damage.
Knowing timing is also important, when archers are engaged with your teammates, it's the perfect time to help change the tide of battle while also having the satisfaction of cutting down those who hailed down hellfire on you. Calculate your risks, even if they don't see you, engaging more than 2 archers solo is a tough task. And lastly, remember that arrows are always incoming.
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Telling 2handers not to run in straight lines is clearly racism. It's almost as bad as suggesting to them to get a shield.
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How to Defend against Archers/Xbows?
Summon rain or fog.
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You're not too innovative, Segd.
Check the third post here:
Click! (http://forum.meleegaming.com/guides/crossbowery-basics-and-tricks/)
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If you wonder that you get hit while walking zigzag lines, the reason is that some archers have a brain. The hardst thing to hit is the professional random dancer.
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Lots of good suggestions here. I actually just finished up a gen of archer, so I think I can re-phrase or elaborate on some of the tips...things that frustrated me as an archer.
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bamp
still get so many ranged rage posts, maybe these people can learn a thing or two.
Who am I kidding, everyone is special and does what they want...fuck trying to adapt. If you get killed, roll the dice and complain to devs, it's typically been a great strategy for "fixing" things that kill you.
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As a melee hiding behind covers you should also know from what direction you can get hit. Learn also what covers are the best, because some of them are not protecting your legs.
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Bump. Just as relevant today as when it was written!