How is Archery?

[LBgr]

<DIV>I was just wondering, before i make my scout who is going to become a ranger, how is the archery system now in EQ2? is it the same as in EQ1? what changes have they made?</DIV>

[Ragepowers]

<DIV>It has a built-in point and auto fire now.</DIV>

[norcal]

dont know i didnt really do archery on eq1. no need to thank me for the help <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Ragepowers]

<DIV><FONT color=#66ff00>Oh and the best part you can watch your arrows stick into the mob.</FONT></DIV>

[pseudocide]

i still have never used auto-archery attack except on a whim, but the archery CAs are very nice, im not to 30 yet but by the looks of our spell tree i think we should be doing more dps with bow specials than with regular melee CAs (the refresh on the archery CAs seem to be generally longer than the melee ones however).

[matheis]

so is it like DAOC style archery where i can pull back the arrow and fire or is the crappy auto shoot that feels fake <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[bli]

<DIV>well, no, you don't directly control bow use, but with the chaining of specials and moving in and out of range and constant adjustments that need to be made in a fight, it would be almost impossible to ALSO control the pull of a bow.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Don't worry -- it's still fun.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anyway, you aren't playing this game for realistic fighting simulation, you're playing it for role playing, social interaction, a chance to get together with a group and risk your **mods 4 teh win!!1!** for some nice armor. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Arba]

<DIV>No it is not like DAoC. At Lv 14 I have found it to be just target and hit range attack. I am not sure about specials. I had a 50 Archer in DAoC and loved it and was hoping for something similiar in EQ2 but it is not so for me till this point.</DIV>

[Arduv]

Archery is pretty similar to EQ1 from what I've seen, with the addition of some special attacks. In reality, the advantage of archery is that it can kill or injure your opponents from a safe distance, or keep them pinned in place with the threat of harm. In EQ2, you'll get off a single shot and one or two specials before the mob is on top of you, unless you're in a group and you can get away with standing a bit apart to fire continuously, but I'm not sure how the DPS between ranged and melee compares.Better mob AI could make archery more useful, like if they hid behind rocks and trees and waited for an opportunity to charge. Archery specials that temporarily immobilized or frightened a mob might be a reasonable approximation. I know the devs don't want a situation in which rangers can fire at their enemies from complete safety, making archery very difficult to balance. Still, seeing how many archery specials my ranger will get compared to other abilities, I sometimes wish I'd gone with a swashbuckler instead. Right now I'm just trusting that the specials will be worth it at higher levels.

[matheis]

well i just got my first bow i tried it for first time at level 13 I am disspointed i was hopeing it would be like daoc where i could control the bow but insted this game made it the standerd cookiee cutter form like all the other mmorpgs have.

[bli]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> blitz wrote:<BR> <DIV>well, no, you don't directly control bow use, but with the chaining of specials and moving in and out of range and constant adjustments that need to be made in a fight, it would be almost impossible to ALSO control the pull of a bow.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>I can't stress this enough -- if you had to manage the actual operation of the bow you would not be able to function effectively in a group setting.  I agree that it would be cool to have the direct control, but you can't have that AND be juggling specials, and this game is built on the CA's <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[Timt]

I think that archery is fine the way it is. I use it practically for every mob.Forget using the normal ranged attack, you'll only get 1 shot off before the mob is on you anyway and then you have to switch to melee. You're much better off sneaking up and opening with a shadow blade or something. Only time I use ranged attack is when running away from a mob just to make it angry as I sprint into the distance <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />However, the archery Special Attacks are something else, especially when you are in a group. You can start your melee specials, back off and fire your Archery specials like Back Shot whilst the melee recharges, close in again for sustained melee with all your special moves again.In the speed of battle, I'd hate to have to actually aim my bow too. I don't have to do it for my melee attacks, so don't see the need for it in ranged.

[Sanji]

<DIV><FONT color=#ffff99>I used to only use a crappy bow and crap arrows to pull mobs to me, but now I use a good bow with iron arrows on everything since i have some good skills.  I may get some carbonite arrows for especially hard mobs, but i'll have to price check them first.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#ffff99></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#ffff99>i just dinged level 20 and am on part 2 of my armor quest.  this morning i had some great shots that took those giant kodiaks (which con white to me) down 30 to 40% off just two shots from my bow before they even got to hit me once.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#ffff99></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#ffff99>makes my life a whole lot easier when my enemies start the fight with only 60% of their hp's.</FONT></DIV>

[Timt]

<blockquote><hr>Sanjiro wrote:<FONT color=#ffff99>I used to only use a crappy bow and crap arrows to pull mobs to me, but now I use a good bow with iron arrows on everything since i have some good skills. I may get some carbonite arrows for especially hard mobs, but i'll have to price check them first.</font><hr></blockquote>At level 21 you get the ability to make your own arrows out of nothing using the 'Makeshift Arrows' skill. At the basic level you get 10 arrows every 10 minutes, not enough to keep you going if in a battle, but you can build up a nice big stockpile beforehand whilst you're doing easy quests, selling or just exploring. Oh, and they are carbonite arrows too, so very good <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Ra]

<DIV>Well I think ranged attacks should do infinity billion damage.  But other than that, I think it's fine.  :smileyhappy:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Theo]

<DIV>ya so how exactly is the dmg w/ bow use ? i seen on the latest boards that highest hits are going to an assain right now . .he hit in the thousands ? lol prolly w/ a backstab type stealthy shot .. .anyway .. are we ever capable of that kinda dmg?</DIV>

[bli]

<DIV>Assassins have more shots from stealth on longer timers that hit for high dmg, and almost no medium dmg shots.  Most of our shots are medium dmg on low timers.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So no, we aren't a "big hitter" class to the extent of the Assassin, but we can keep up with Assassins pretty decently well.</DIV>

[Sanji]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Timtim wrote:<BR><BR>At level 21 you get the ability to make your own arrows out of nothing using the 'Makeshift Arrows' skill. At the basic level you get 10 arrows every 10 minutes, not enough to keep you going if in a battle, but you can build up a nice big stockpile beforehand whilst you're doing easy quests, selling or just exploring. Oh, and they are carbonite arrows too, so very good <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV><FONT color=#ffff99>no [Removed for Content]?  that would be great!  atm i am spending about 15 silver per day on arrows so free arrows will be great for my bank account! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />)</FONT></DIV>