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Post by Balduvard on Jan 8, 2012 4:36:05 GMT
Unflinching FletcherWhat the build is- Offensive - High AB and damage from Arcane Archer levels
- Defensive - Monk levels grant additional defense in the form of AC and defensive skills
- Support - Wizard level grants the ability to use scrolls and wands, greatly increasing your contributions to any party when not attacking
What the build is not- Fire and Forget - An Arcane Archer is very often tied to limited damage types, and your foes will vary in weaknesses. To be effective, you will have to constantly be aware of what you are attacking and what you are attacking with, as you lack physical damage to make up for misused elemental/exotic damage.
- A Tank - Monk grants defensive abilities that add stability to a ranged character, however they still remain a ranged character; they are subject to attacks of opportunity with each attack they make within melee range.
- Cheap - Any character that consumes purchasable items in order to attack will set you back some gold in order to stay at the top of your effectiveness. This is fortunately offset by magical quivers or bows offering unlimited arrows, however you must find these items.
Unequipped at Level 60:  The Arcane Archer is the bridger of gaps between the high damage output of a mage and the weapon-focused combat of a fighter. Through their studies they acquire the knowledge to imbue arrows with devastating magics and use their bow to rain down destruction upon any in their sight. The Order of Kennerthym (those sworn to challenges) is a monastic group of Grey Elves, taking the arcane power acquired through their studies and balancing it with defensive training to enable them to stand alone against enemies that would give any other archer cause to flee. The Order was born of necessity, as the Grey Elves are physically weaker than some of their more commonly encountered kin, developing in isolation in the harsh northern mountains near the Spine of the World. Here they encountered many challenges to their continued existence, fostering a culture valuing self-defense in all aspects of life and a natural talent for archery well served on the uneven mountainous terrain not easily traversed. Outside of their native homelands this has led them to tackle challenges many would consider impossible, often being described as arrogant for their perceived recklessness in putting their own lives in danger. In actuality, the Order knows no other reality, as they spend much of their early lives in constant danger. What is death to those that have stared it down daily? Within are documented the training regimens of the Order, which have produced some of the most revered Masters of the Bow.  Arrows of the Indomitable - A Treatise on Arcane Archery and Self-DefenseChangelog1/22/2012-Replaced all image links 1/9/2012-Fixed broken image links in Introduction and Chapter I 1/8/2012-Replaced Wood Elf with Grey Elf to negate 20% XP penalty -Renamed build name to something more lore appropriate, added additional lore regarding the Order -Rebalanced Concentration investments into pre-legendary levels to gain 11 points at the end. -Dropped two Great Dex feats to maintain Point Blank Shot lost from subrace switch, picked up Blind Fight. -1 AB/AC/Reflex
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Post by Balduvard on Jan 8, 2012 4:36:32 GMT
 Introduction: Points ForwardAn imbued arrow in hand is worth two in your foe.--Ancient Elven Proverb  The PathSo, you have determined that you wish to walk the Path of the Order, striving for balance in your study of the bow and its capabilities when coupled with the powers of magic. There are many things you will learn upon the Path; many concerning your foes, much regarding your tools, and perhaps even something about yourself. First and foremost about what you must know in order to walk the path, is the path you have chosen to walk. There are three disciplines of the Order, and they are thus:  Monk (10)The balance and training required by the Order bestows upon its Followers many defensive boons.  Monk AC Bonus - Adds additional Armor Class (AC) points based on Monk levels and Wisdom modifier
 Monk Speed - When danger arises, the small boost in speed from this feat will help in relocating to safe location to resume the fight.
 Still Mind - Grants +2 bonus to all saves against mind-affecting spells
 Purity of Body - Makes one immune to all non-magical diseases
 Evasion and Improved Evasion - enables the adept to avoid damage through successful reflex saves
 Wizard (1)Inherent along the Path is the necessity to acquire some arcane knowledge to unlock the potential of the Arcane Archer. A key benefit of the arcane casting class is having automatic success on casting from scrolls and the ability to use rods to cast arcane spells. As Grey Elves have no specific Favored Class, the Favored Class of the base race is used (Wizard), making its choice over Sorcerer or Bard preferable in order to prevent a 20% experience penalty. Arcane Archer (29)Naturally, as the core focus of the Order, the benefits of the Arcane Archer should not need much exposition here. However, below are some of the key facets of the Arcane Archer that you will encounter along the Path:  Enchant Arrow - Adds +1 - +15 to Attack Bonus (AB), which stacks with all other sources, giving Arcane Archers a natural edge when trying to hit a target with higher Armor Class.
 Imbue Arrow - Imbues an arrow with an explosive enchantment, exploding in a fireball when it hits its target. Later along the Path, special bows will permit the element of the explosion to change.
 Seeker Arrow - Fires an arrow that cannot miss its target and does magic damage. At later levels, it is also imbued with a Bigby's Interposing Hand spell, dropping the target's AB by 10.
 Hail of Arrows - Fires a volley of arrows hitting all targets in the area. At later levels this increases in damage and decreases in area to the size of a focused cone effective against a tight grouping of many enemies.
 Arrow of Death - Fires an Arrow that forces a target to make a Fortitude save or be slain. At later levels this can be toggled to be imbued with a Wail of the Banshee spell.
More information on the specifics of the Arcane Archer class and its customizations on Higher Ground can be found on the Arcane Archer Wiki page. Expanding CapabilitiesAlong the Path, there will be many opportunities to increase or improve your capabilities by acquiring one of any number of feats. Members of the Order have selected the following feats to maximize their offensive and defensive capabilities: - Combined Feats
 Great Dexterity I - VIII - Adds +4 to AB, AC, and Reflex Saves at Great Dexterity VIII
 Blind Fight - Decreases effective enemy concealment by allowing you to reroll the miss chance percentile (double chance to hit). Listen is more effective at reducing concealment (see the skill description below), however Listen is ineffective if deafened. In addition, Blind Fight negates an invisible enemy's bonus to hit you in melee.
- Offensive Feats
 Point Blank Shot - Negates the -4 attack roll penalty for using missile weapons in melee, and gains an additional +1 to attack roll and damage with ranged weapons when the target is within 15 feet. Is a prerequisite feat for Arcane Archer.
 Rapid Shot - Enables an extra attack per round at -2 AB
 Weapon Focus (longbow) - Adds +1 to AB. Is a prerequisite feat for Arcane Archer.
 Greater Weapon Focus (longbow) - Adds +1 to AB
 Epic Weapon Focus (longbow) - Adds +2 to AB
 Epic Prowess - Adds +1 to AB
 Epic Skill Focus: Listen - Adds 10 to all Listen checks, making it easier to hit concealed targets
 Legendary Weapon Focus (longbow) - Adds +3 to AB
- Defensive Feats
 Bullheaded - Unlocks Legendary Skill Affinity: Discipline in Legendary Levels
 Great Fortitude - Adds +2 to Fortitude saving throws
 Iron Will - Adds +2 to Will saving throws
 Toughness - Adds +1 HP for every level
 Armor Skin - Adds +2 innate AC (Refer to Chapter IV for details on how Armor Class is broken into categories)
 Legendary Skill Affinity: Discipline - Enables Discipline to be taken as a class skill
 Legendary Fortitude - Adds +7 to Fortitude saving throws
 Legendary Will - Adds +7 to Will saving throws
Skills of the OrderAn Arcane Archer is not afforded a great deal of skill points. However, the Elven Able Learner ability allows them to expend what skill points they do have in order to put points into cross-class skills as if they were class skills, raising them above the caps they would otherwise have. The following skills are honed along the Path:  Concentration - Useful both for spellcasting and resisting certain combat techniques, Concentration is a skill worth investing some points into, however not nearly as much as a dedicated caster would need.
 Discipline - As a combatant, Discipline is honored foremost among the Order. Without Discipline, one will be subject to many combat techniques that can disable or otherwise make continued combat difficult.
 Hide - As a modifier for concealment, Hide is among the most valuable of skills in preventing enemy attacks from hitting their mark. Use of camouflage or concealment spells will use the ranks invested in Hide to determine the amount of concealment you receive.
 Listen - There are many foes along the Path for which the eye alone cannot be trusted to hit. Use of the Listen skill enables the Arcane Archer to track their target by sound, effectively reducing the value of an enemy's concealment.
 Parry - Being able to deflect is an important defensive skill engendered early in training with the Order. A high Parry skill allows one to shrug off damage from critical hits and, if raised above 100, will prevent devastating mortal strike or called shot attempts on you by foes.
 Tumble - Moving on the wind, shooting on the wind, the Arcane Archers of the Order greatly value mobility in a fight. Tumble permits one to move around in combat without drawing attacks of opportunity, and provides a bonus to Armor Class, making it a wise defensive skill choice.
With the above in mind, you are well prepared to start upon the Path of the Order. |
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Post by Balduvard on Jan 8, 2012 4:38:25 GMT
Chapter I: Nocking your first Arrow"Attacking while face down upon the dirt has proven prohibitive. More research and reflection is necessary."--Caelsarreth, Initiate of the Kennerthym  As you walk off of the boat onto the Docks of Ascension, you begin your journey along the Path. In the early levels, you will often be procuring arrows from the Merchant's Emporium in town (refer to the Getting Started guide for more of an introduction). As you venture outside of the town walls, you will have a chance to find random and set quivers of unlimited arrows to ease the burden on your wallet. Joining a group with someone in more of a melee role will allow you to let loose with your archery skills; your party will certainly appreciate your ability to hit a target. If going alone, remember your summon spell and pick up Summon Creature scrolls from the Item Shop to give you a better fighting chance in the wilderness. Starting AbilitiesThis build uses Grey Elf as a subrace. Choose Elf as a base race and then enter Grey Elf as the subrace by clicking on the Subrace button. Below are the starting ability investments and their result after the ability modifiers for Grey Elf (-2 Strength, +2 Intelligence) are applied. You can find the other starting selections for Level 1 in the Level Progression table below (when prompted to select a Package, choose Configure Package in order to be able to allocate your own first level skills and feat). Any alignment is acceptable for leveling this character, though after character creation you should avoid actions which shift your alignment towards chaos, as you will not be able to take Monk levels until you shift your alignment back to Lawful. | Ability | Starting Investment | Starting Ability | | Strength | 12 | 10 | | Dexterity | 16 | 16 | | Constitution | 14 | 14 | | Wisdom | 14 | 14 | | Intelligence | 12 | 14 | | Charisma | 8 | 8 |
[/i][/ul][/li][li] Ironguts - +4 to Fortitude saves against Poison for 10 minutes [/i][/ul][/li][li] Mage Armor - +1 Dodge, Deflection, Natural, and Armor AC [/i][/ul][/li][li] Protection from Alignment - +2 Deflection AC bonus, +2 to saves, and immunity mind effects used by creatures of chosen alignment for 2 minutes [/i][/ul][/li][li] Summon Creature I[/i][/ul][/li][/ul][/td][/tr][tr][td]3 - Monk 2[/td][td] [/td][td]       Concentration +2 Discipline +2 Hide +2 Listen +2 Parry +2 Tumble +2[/td][td] Point Blank ShotNegates the -4 attack roll penalty for using missile weapons in melee, and gains an additional +1 to attack roll and damage with ranged weapons when the target is within 15 feet. Is a prerequisite feat for Arcane Archer[/td][/tr][tr][td]4 - Monk 3[/td][td]  Dexterity +1[/td][td] Concentration +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble +1[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]5 - Monk 4[/td][td] [/td][td] Concentration +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble +1[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]6 - Monk 5[/td][td] [/td][td] Concentration +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble +1[/td][td] Rapid ShotExtra attack that will become your new best friend.
Only turn it off if you have difficulty hitting targets.
(Adds -2 Attack Bonus penalty to all attacks)[/td][/tr][tr][td]7 - Monk 6[/td][td] [/td][td] Concentration +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble +1[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]8 - Monk 7[/td][td] Dexterity +1[/td][td] Concentration +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble +1[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]9 - Monk 8[/td][td] [/td][td] Concentration +1 Discipline +1 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +1 Tumble +1[/td][td] Weapon Focus (longbow)+1 to your Attack Bonus, another prerequisite for the Arcane Archer prestige class[/td][/tr][tr][td]10 - Arcane Archer 1[/td][td] [/td][td] Hide +1 Listen +1[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]11 - Arcane Archer 2 [/td][td] [/td][td] Hide +1 Listen +1[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]12 - Arcane Archer 3[/td][td] Dexterity +1[/td][td] Hide +1 Listen +1[/td][td] Greater Weapon Focus (longbow)Another +1 to your Attack Bonus[/td][/tr][tr][td]13 - Arcane Archer 4 [/td][td] [/td][td] Hide +1 Listen +1[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]14 - Arcane Archer 5[/td][td] [/td][td] Hide +1 Listen +1[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]15 - Arcane Archer 6[/td][td] [/td][td] Hide +1 Listen +1[/td][td] Blind FightGrants offensive and defensive benefits against invisible creatures (refer to Introduction)[/td][/tr][tr][td]16 - Arcane Archer 7[/td][td] Dexterity +1[/td][td] Hide +1 Listen +1[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]17 - Arcane Archer 8[/td][td] [/td][td] Hide +1 Listen +1[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]18 - Arcane Archer 9[/td][td] [/td][td] Hide +1 Listen +1[/td][td] Toughness+1 HP for every level you get[/td][/tr][tr][td]19 - Arcane Archer 10[/td][td] [/td][td] Hide +1 Listen +1[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]20 - Monk 9[/td][td] Dexterity +1[/td][td] Concentration +11 Discipline +11 Hide +1 Listen +1 Parry +11 Tumble +11[/td][td] [/td][/tr][/tbody][/table] Level 20 SummaryAbilities | | | Skills | | | New Feats | | Strength | 10 | | Concentration | 19 | | Bullheaded | | Dexterity | 21 | | Discipline | 23 | | Point Blank Shot | | Constitution | 14 | | Hide | 23 | | Rapid Shot | | Intelligence | 14 | | Listen | 23 | | Weapon Focus (longbow) | | Wisdom | 14 | | Parry | 23 | | Greater Weapon Focus (longbow) | | Charisma | 8 | | Tumble | 23 | | Blind Fight | | | | | | | | Toughness |
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Post by Balduvard on Jan 8, 2012 4:39:33 GMT
 Chapter II: Forays into Arrow Enhancement"A steady hand drawing from the quiver, an apt imbuement causing foes to quiver."--Mantra of the Kennerthym  As your adventures take you further from the Town of Ascension and deeper into the wilderness, you will start to find the arrows sold in the Imports shop offering more damage than your previous store bought arrows. These arrows will also outclass the unlimited quiver arrows at the same level, so if you have the money to spare, they can be an effective investment; it would not be recommended to buy them for anything other than bosses however. In epic levels you will also start to find bows outside of the Town that outclass what is available in the shops, so keep your eyes open. The same also goes for most other equipment. Your Arcane Archer abilities will start to come into their own in epic levels, all of them becoming unlimited usage by some point. This is particularly useful for Seeker arrow, which provides a large amount of magic damage against hard to hit boss targets, and death arrow, which provides repeated attempts to kill a target that is hard to kill by damage alone. Epic Level ProgressionLevel 40 SummaryAbilities | | | Skills | | | New Feats | | Strength | 10 | | Concentration | 22 | | Armor Skin | | Dexterity | 31 | | Discipline | 43 | | Epic Weapon Focus (longbow) | | Constitution | 14 | | Hide | 43 | | Great Fortitude | | Intelligence | 14 | | Listen | 43 | | Epic Prowess | | Wisdom | 14 | | Parry | 43 | | Iron Will | | Charisma | 8 | | Tumble | 43 | | Great Dexterity 1 - 5 | | | | | | | | Epic Skill Focus: Listen |
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Post by Balduvard on Jan 8, 2012 4:39:54 GMT
 Chapter III: Becoming an Archmage of the Arrow"Power is nothing without a target to unleash it upon."--Caelellon Cyredeplith, Grand Marshall of the Chasm  With your forays into Legendary Levels, you reach the major point of Ascension as an Arcane Archer, as you can finally obtain the coveted Arcane Archer Bows which imbue your arrows with a specific damage type, ideal for targeting the weaknesses of any foe. If pursuing these treasured bows, it is highly recommended to first track down and obtain the Legendary Archer Bow, which will allow you to absorb all of your bows into one and easily switch damage types on the fly through the use of the SIMTools !damXX commands (refer to the Legendary Archer Bow Damage column on this page to see what the command is for each damage type). These commands can be placed on your quickbar using custom commands to make every damage type instantly available at your fingertips, as shown below, binding /talk !damfi to put the switch to Fire damage onto the F1 slot on the quickbar:  Note that the command will not work until you have absorbed the appropriate bow (in this case, it would be Phlegethoras) into the Legendary Archer Bow. With all of the bows absorbed, you will have a great deal of control in what damage you deal, resulting in a set of quickbars that could like the following:  Another thing to highlight in the above quickbar setup is the support capabilities placed on the Shift bar slots through use of various magic wands and consumables. As you gain more legendary levels, your Arcane Archer abilities will reach their peak, and you will find yourself relying less on Seeker Arrow for damage and Death Arrow for killing as your offensive capabilities through attacking surpass them. However, Seeker Arrow is still a great ability to use when a party is struggling or when faced with a boss, as a -10 penalty to a target's AB is rarely frowned upon, and the Spell Penetration for Seeker Arrow will reach high enough to even handle some spell resistant targets (even most targets if a druid lands a Nature's Balance against them). Legendary Level ProgressionLevel 60 SummaryAbilities | | | Skills | | | New Feats | | Strength | 10 | | Concentration | 29 | | Legendary Skill Affinity: Discipline | | Dexterity | 44 | | Discipline | 63 | | Legendary Weapon Focus (longbow) | | Constitution | 14 | | Hide | 63 | | Legendary Fortitude | | Intelligence | 14 | | Listen | 63 | | Legendary Will | | Wisdom | 14 | | Parry | 47 | | Great Dexterity 6 - 8 | | Charisma | 8 | | Tumble | 60 | | |
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Post by Balduvard on Jan 8, 2012 4:40:40 GMT
Chapter IV: The Arrow as an extension of the Self"Waves of foes set upon us and shall be splashed back like the tide upon the rocks, for we are the unshakable, the unmovable, the indomitable force of balance to their onslaught."--Selar Arkenealtin, Master of the Bow  This chapter is dedicated to the culmination of your training and studies, and provides information on best practices and equipment to put it to good use. Other BonusesThere exist certain other items that grant an innate bonus to your character, which are of a rare variety and of which only one may be consumed by each character. The following are the recommended items to be used: - Artifacts
- Artifacts add 2 points to an ability score and provide other innate bonuses. The wisdom artifact (Pyramid Energy) makes a character immune to fear and can be used once per day for a temporary HP boost. An alternative to the Wisdom artifact would be the Intelligence Artifact (The Eye of Vecna) for confusion immunity, however there are items which provide confusion-specific immunity, but fewer that provide fear-specific immunity.
- Pandects
- Dragon Blood
- There are certain named dragons that drop blood which Open subrace characters can use to give themselves special bonuses. The most useful dragon blood for this build would be the Blood of Dach'xilith'az'ichityl, which adds the Dodge feat, granting +1 AC against your current attacker.
DefenseArmor ClassThe key factor in defense is Armor Class. The Armor Class for this build is detailed below. The range of values encompasses the following bonuses - Ability bonuses - +14 maximum to each ability, or +7 to each modifier
- Demigod bonuses - +4 maximum to each ability, or +2 to each modifier
- Artifact bonus - +2 to wisdom, or +1 to wisdom modifier
- Equipment bonuses
- Armor - Robes with +10 - +15 AC
- Dodge - Assumed +20 maximum between equipment and buffs
- Deflection - Equipment with +10 - +17 AC (+20 AC if using an artifact)
- Natural - Amulets with +10 - +17 AC
- Tumble - AC is (Tumble ranks/5)
- Other - Armor Skin adds +2 AC
| Armor Class Bonus Source | Bonus | | Base Armor Class | 10 | | Dexterity | 17 - 26 | | Wisdom | 2 - 12 | | Armor | 10 - 15 | | Shield | 0 | | Dodge | 20 | | Deflection | 10 - 20 | | Natural | 10 - 17 | | Tumble | 12 | | Other | 2 | | | | | Total Armor Class | 93 - 134 |
Girding of Faith, cast by an epic Cleric, can add an additional 2 to Armor Class. Saving ThrowsThe majority of saving throws is fairly rudimentary, however there is some delineation in pre-epic levels based on the control class. The saving throw progression is dependent on what each class considers their base saves. The base saves for this build are as follows: - Monk: Fortitude, Reflex, Will
- Wizard: Will
- Arcane Archer: Fortitude, Reflex
Using that information and the base save progression in the link above, the saving throws from pre-epic levels can be calculated. In addition, the feats that were taken in Pre-Epic and Legendary levels will bolster the saving throws, as illustrated below. Ability and equipment bonuses are dependent on what equipment or buffs you have; the maximum is +14 to abilities and +20 to saving throws. | Saving Throw | Pre-Epic | Epic | Legendary | Ability Bonus | Equipment Bonus | Total | | Fortitude | +6 Monk
+0 Wizard
+7 Arcane Archer
+2 Great Fortitude | +10 Standard progression | +5 Standard progression
+7 Legendary Fortitude | +2 - +11 | +20 | 59 - 68 | | Reflex | +6 Monk
+0 Wizard
+7 Arcane Archer | +10 Standard progression | +5 Standard progression | +17 - +26 | +20 | 65 - 74 | | Will | +6 Monk
+2 Wizard
+3 Arcane Archer
+2 Iron Will | +10 Standard progression | +5 Standard progression
+7 Legendary Will | +2 - +12 | +20 | 57 - 67 |
Similar to saving throws, much of Attack Bonus is straightforward aside from Pre-epic levels, where each class contributes to a character's Attack Bonus based on their Base Attack. The contributions for this build are as follows: Monk: 3/4 * 9 ~ 6 Wizard: 1/2 * 1 ~ 0 Arcane Archer 1 * 10 = 10 Base Attack Bonus (BAB): 16 Legendary weapons will provide a magical attack bonus of 16, the remainder of the +20 cap on magical attack bonus is provided by buff spells or effects. | Attack Bonus Source | Bonus | | Base Attack Bonus | 16 | | Epic Base Attack Bonus | 10 | | Legendary Base Attack Bonus | 9 | | Ability (Dexterity) | 17 - 26 | | Weapon Focus (longbow) | 1 | | Greater Weapon Focus (longbow) | 1 | | Epic Weapon Focus (longbow) | 2 | | Epic Prowess | 1 | | Legendary Weapon Focus (longbow) | 3 | | Arcane Archer Bonus | 15 | | Magical Attack Bonus | 16 - 20 | | | | | Total Attack Bonus | 91 - 104 |
To continue along the Path of the Master of the Bow, one must train their minds and bodies to be as swift as the winds of the mountain forest, finding your targets and dispatching them with haste. There are many secrets to be learned along the Path, some of which shall be shared here: - Know Yourself
- Arcane Archers can be defensively weak. You do your best damage when you're attacking, so it does not behoove you to be moving around much. Know what enemies you can handle attacking you and which ones you can't. If you're in over your head--relocate before you wind up dead. The attacks lost in relocating will be made up by the attacks you'll be making over someone on the ground.
- Know Your Enemy
- This is what sets apart most Arcane Archers. You need to know exactly what each enemy is doing, what threats they pose, and how best to eliminate them. A large percentage of this is decided in your damage selection. Knowing what damage type an enemy is weak against greatly increases your combat effectiveness, enabling you to keep up with most high-end damage tanks and casters. Without this knowledge and properly applying it, you're trying to take a butter knife to an ice cube, and your damage output will reflect it.
- Review the Bestiary for whichever run you are on, these often contain useful information such as what damage types to use, what damage types are dealt, and what mobs will cause kickback to you or your party.
- To maximize your damage output, the use of loggers is recommended to help you analyze the combat data that is showing up in your logs
--YAL is recommended for real-time damage output, in order to quickly determine if a particular damage type is the best to use
--SNARL is recommended for preparation and overview data on enemies, as it has the functionality to use a Know Vulnerabilities database containing information on what damage types enemies are weakest against. Good for double checking a damage type before switching targets, or recalling what damage heals a particular enemy, but requires significant legwork in building the database.
- Make a Plan
- What enemy are you going to attack after you're finished with the one you're on? Will your character auto-attack something you do not want it to? Should you be switching targets to something more important? These are all questions that should be frequently asked, as it impacts your party's efficiency. This touches more on the target selection aspect of playing an Arcane Archer.
- Always know where the kickback mobs are.
- Do they do personal, or party kickback? Do you have the right immunities to be attacking something that gives personal kickback?
- Adjust your equipment as necessary so that you can keep attacking without having to spend time healing instead, from doing too much damage to yourself. Remember that changing out any piece of equipment causes all attacks for that round to miss, as part of an anti-exploit.
- Can you reposition yourself so that you have another enemy between you and the kickback mob?
This will reduce the chance that you will auto-attack the kickback mob after killing your current target
- Be prepared to use a heal potion
--This is one of the best ways to cancel all actions, so that you do not end up auto-attacking a party kickback mob, or if you accidentally have, then you can heal the damage you've done. Alternatively, you can !voicebind !abort or put /talk !abort on your quickbar to cancel your attacking.
- Attack, Attack, Attack!
- The more attacks you make, the more damage you do. By being a ranged attacker, you can start fighting as soon as you see an enemy, and not stop until all the enemies are gone. In addition to simply trying to make sure you are attacking as often as possible, there are several other ways to increase the number of attacks you are making:
- Rapid Shot: This extra attack (at -10 AB for a -2 overall AB penalty, if it is your only bonus attack) is very useful in increasing your overall damage output, so keep it on at all times. Due to the extra +15 AB that Arcane Archers get via Enchant Arrow, this class can easily afford the -2 penalty in most cases. If you have difficulty hitting targets with higher Armor Class, consider turning this off.
- Clockwork Boots: Provides an extra attack (at -15 AB assuming Rapid Shot and Hasted) that will likely hit against most enemies
- Note that being quick to attack as soon as a spawn appears can sometimes work to your disadvantage, as being the first PC to attack an enemy can cause that enemy to attack you directly unless something else draws its attention away. For less defensive characters it is recommended to attack enemies that are already engaged, keeping you from having to relocate and lose attacks because an enemy is beating down on you.
There are no Ends, only ForksDo you feel you have reached the end of the Path, having mastered the arcane imbuement and balance of the Order in becoming a respected and feared member among the Legends of Ascension? There are always more places one can go, including the walking of a different Path. Through use of the Reincarnation system, you can change minor or major facets of the character to make improvements, adjustments, or fixes as necessary on a limited basis. The natural evolution of this build is the DevAAstator, which uses a BUR subrace, Erinyes. Gaining bonus starting abilities and feats, the DevAAstator walks the Path of Destruction, bringing down massive amounts of damage by incorporating more physical damage and a focus on critical hits. Minor improvements can be made with various subraces that allow upgrading from one Tier of subraces to another, such as Yukio, Stargazer, Planewalker, or Kolyarut. Each of these choices impact the build in various ways due to their base race, their ability bonuses, or their feats. Careful consideration should be made when attempting to upgrade to another subrace or when reincarnating in general.
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Post by tyranlthixis on Mar 6, 2012 4:18:53 GMT
 holy crap. The build and guide are fantastic. This is just great job and I think everybody can see that.
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holy crap. The build and guide are fantastic. This is just great job and I think everybody can see that.