Returning player, could use some suggestions

[Rendar1970]

Hello all, I used to play this game a lot around 2 years ago.  I was part of a Hoplite group, which I cant even remember the name of.  I had 2 main toons that I loved playing with, one a Hoplite build, the other a Hybrid Archer.

So I decided to try the game out again, with a STF hybrid archer toon.  Went 18/24.  It was terrible.  Using a Rus Bow, I could shoot a guy in cloth 3-4 times and not get a kill.   I was constantly getting killed because every STR build in Full Plate ran twice as fast as me.  I just dont get what im supposed to do anymore.

So here is a few questions.

1. Is a bow/1h hybrid archer any good anymore? If so whats a good build?
2. How are guys in full STR builds (im assuming STR builds since they seem to 1 shot everyone they fight) running twice as fast as me with my 8 Athletics?
3. Is archery just no good anymore, Last time I played you would see about 1/3 of the people with bows, now I only see 1 other person on my team with a bow usually.

Thanks for any help.

[Schoi]

Arrows are quite heavy, and the guys that killed you most likely have +3 Full plate, if you're using a non-loomed bow, maybe that's why you're having trouble killing people. 6 Power Draw is also not very much, I always go 30-15 when I use an archer. +3 Arrows and a +3 Bow are very important to have. They increased XP and gold gain so getting +3 items is slightly easier.

Archery is considered a pussy choice to some people, melee is the dominant force in the game, especially 2h weapons.

Archery is not ineffective, you just need to have a lot of power draw and loomed items or be very accurate.

[Tristan_of_Erzoth]

30-15 is a great pure archery build but if you're trying for hybrid I'd do 24-18 or 27-18. Thats just me tho

[Sparvico]

Definitely agree with tristan and schoi (never thought I would say that )

You're pretty much never going to run faster than a melee build with two stacks of arrows.
However if you drop those arrows and have 6 ath you can often outrun most people as you will be in lighter armor. 

24 Is the lowest I would go str wise as bowman, and if you use a rus bow and bodkins with good aim you can do quite well against most players. The main thing is to ensure you have adequate wpf for your powerdraw and good situational awareness.

That said they have pretty much made it so that fighting in melee with the bow and arrows still equipped is extremely unforgiving. I would recommend at least 115 onehand wpf and to drop your bow before you engage in melee. You can almost always pick it up later if you survive.   

[Tristan_of_Erzoth]

made some mock up builds. havent actually tested any


Build 1:

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Pro: Very balanced. Decent power strike means you wont be helpless in melee and the ironflesh will let you take multiple hits. Cons: Not very high archery wpf so you will probably miss more often than not


Build 2:

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Pros: more damage with a bow. Cons: Weaker in melee and slower in general


Build 3:

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Pros: More accurate than build 1 and faster in both melee and archery. Cons: no ironflesh means less effective WPF and lower hp. lower athletics means slower overall.

[Sparvico]

Those are pretty solid, though personally I would always max PS at the expense of a bit of IF.

[BlackxBird]

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this is what I am using atm. Im totally okay with the melee skills, I mean like really, who dafuq needs wpf anyways. Im doing incredibly much dmg and still Im faster than most enemies!

Would totally recommend that build for high lvls, can't imagine anything better (even though my kd sucks pretty hard, but Im actually not that good at archery xD)

[McKli_PL]

@Bbird
yeah there is a little improved build(slightly it's not so far away from 27/21) the build -30/18-> wpf archery 140, 10Pd/10Ps,0 wpf melee and rest into ath so why this build is better than 27/21 u may ask?
1) if ur playing a tons of hours as an archer u seriously don't need a lot of wpf in arch. just go for heads(always use FPS mode- rebind key to ALT key or Control so u will use Shift/Zoom and Fps combo very fucking efficent, use 'close field of view as much as u can put fps mode on 55 FOV or something like that, headshots will be much more easy to pull and if ur in combat just fast switch to 3rd Person view FOV dont know what u like 75 or even more like 80)
2)yes i agree that putting points in 1h wpf is bit stupid why? melee players will have much more wpf than archer anyway, so its better to put some crazy PS 9 or 10 and fuck them up pretty hard and take 1h blunt because PS scalling is way better on blunt than on cut especially without any wpf in 1h
3)10PD>9PD but on Rus bow!- from my game expierience long bow 9PD headshot is very similar to 10 PD Rusbow but! rus bow is way faster to reload, better to switch targets, easier to maneuver and dogde and shoot to enemy range or spamming trowers(axes,snowfalkes,knifes etc) and in cluster fight it's easier to shoot without teamhiting your own team playeres with LB it's bit harder

[BlackxBird]

well, this is working for you, cuz you're an expereinced archer! Im not. Im great at melee and actually doing well at archer!

The difference between the builds is: Mine is a pure archer build with a bit melee. Which is totally enough for me to kill everyone who is actually not beating me in a normal duel.
And playing melee without ath? WHAAAAAAAT Id change 10 ps to 2 ps and 2 ath! Ath is way more effective! If u abuse the speed bonus and the holdings, you will do way better in melee. As an archer, it is not about killing the inf which is fighting u fast. It is about him trying to kill you fast. He will spam dafuq outta u, outrange and kick. With ath and enough ps to not glance I can actually beat him just by abusing his mistakes. With 10 ps and no ath I can't. Well, probably I could, but it is WAY harder.  I do rarely loose duels when Im archer. Actually Im getting less hits than with my melee, just cuz I look easy to kill, but I am actually not. With a 27 18 nordic tincan and a flamberge I look like someone who knows what he is doing. With a spiked mace and no helmet I look like a noob who is probably not going to block even one hit! And with speed bonus and holdings, nudges and kicks I can actually rekt most heros with 4-5 hits!

Oh and I need the improvement of wpf. As I said Im no pro archer, I can actually hs everyone standing still on 50 meters with the first shot, but when they are moving.... holy shit I suck when they are moving, thats why I need the wpf

But thx for ur advice, I will try 30 18 too, but not with 9 ps xD I will take like 5 ps and 4 ath!

Oh and actually Im using the long bow, cuz we have it +3 in the armoury. If I could get a rus bow I would probably play with that one, but with the long bow you're such a fucking great cav counter! The third map I played with this archer, I had 190 points, hell I fucking outscored varadin Tommy and kreus easily just by shooting enemy horses!

[Rico]

I recommend one of these. Aim for the head.

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Code: [Select]

Level 37 (110 099 555 xp)

    Strength: 18
    Agility: 30

    Skills to attributes: 12

    Athletics: 10
    Power Draw: 6
    Weapon Master: 10

    Archery: 210


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Code: [Select]

Level 37 (110 099 555 xp)

    Strength: 18
    Agility: 27

    Skills to attributes: 6

    Ironflesh: 2
    Power Strike: 6
    Athletics: 9
    Power Draw: 6
    Weapon Master: 9

    One Handed: 115
    Archery: 170


[AwesomeHail]

I recommend one of these. Aim for the head.

(click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]

Level 37 (110 099 555 xp)

    Strength: 18
    Agility: 30

    Skills to attributes: 12

    Athletics: 10
    Power Draw: 6
    Weapon Master: 10

    Archery: 210


(click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]

Level 37 (110 099 555 xp)

    Strength: 18
    Agility: 27

    Skills to attributes: 6

    Ironflesh: 2
    Power Strike: 6
    Athletics: 9
    Power Draw: 6
    Weapon Master: 9

    One Handed: 115
    Archery: 170


you aught to update the builds here, I don't see a beginning player hit lvl 37 anytime soon (im working hard on it with 16 gen char and it still takes ages)