Archers in details

[phonkey 5]

I know, that such topic could be really annoying for experienced players, but I really want to hear what other people experienced while playing those classes. How does it feel like to play with different archers (SR, PR and HE)? And please only people who had got their archers to a decent level - like 60+, to share their experience here. I don't want to hear who is better I want to make the conclusion on my own. So please, good people, tell me what are the differences in details.

What I know so far is that SR have got fastest running speed and probably slightly faster atk speed than others, but he also do the lowest DPS. PR ride on their high critical damage, but they are very fragile. There are different opinions about who do the most DPS, HE or PR, so I would like if somebody makes this clear (most DPS from auto attacks only and most DPS with the use of attack skills, those are different things and for me is more important who makes most DPS from auto attacks). HE is considered as the best archer in the game by many players, but I see that he is shining when he got buffed. 

Which archer can do the highest DPS in PvE while solo (trust on self buffs only)? I'm looking for an PvE archer which I can enjoy the most while playing solo, which means self-buffs and auto attacks (atk. skills are used mostly in PvP, so please take this in count when you calculate the DPS).

From all of the archers PR looks the worst for me. Dark elves look like zombies, their skin colour is awful and I hate how he turns the bow when shoot, lol. I think that SR is a classic archer, but if he lack DPS, then I will have no choice. SR has the highest atk. speed, but when I watch videos the difference in atk. speed between classes is so slight, that you can barely see it and I don't think, that this even deserve to be pointed out as an advantage. 

 

[Banish3d 65]

You resume pretty well about their pros and cons.

About archer, HE is the most popular because he is in between SR/PR for STR/DEX and have the most CON (better survivability in pvp).

HE can boost is STR with dye (+12 STR -15 CON) without lose too much HP rather than SR/PR.

Generally archer in Classic use mostly their auto attack, whatever their class but if you compare with skill power then PR win because he have the most STR (skill power) and a good skill at lv 59 (Fatal Counter) which is a another Double Shot more powerfull as lower is your HP.

When you said about PvE solo, if you look their buff, it look like that SR>PR>HE, because SR have every basic buff (P.atk/P.def/M.def/Speed) and a good mobility so he can hit and run better.

Conclusion, i think we have HE first mostly because he have a high CON, then SR with less DPS but a better Attack.Spd/Critical Rate and he have Rapid Fire (P.atk/Attack Speed boost but less range) and finally PR who are so weak (low HP) even if they have a good STR and good skill (Fatal Counter), in Classic it's not enough if you die too fast especially with this Death Penalty and Dye System (+12 STR -15 CON which is deadly for a PR).

[Sett 79]

Here is my two cents:

A thousand time spoken lie still does not become a truth.

HE isn't well rounded, PR isn't that fragile, nor that strong, SR isn't that fast.

Let me see. HE has the best overall DPS, highest HP/CP. He's by far the most common, for a reason. He has snipe, which is awesome for party PvE

Both elves have some tricks up their sleeves, that would be much more useful, if it wasn't easier to just stunshot everything.

PR has about the same DPS as HE. He's naturally faster*, has freezing strike that can slow down target, which may help slower party members to catch up with the target.... but again, stunshot is better for that. PR has ONE** extra point of STR over HE and loses four** point of CON to SR. Strong and fragile my ass... PR also has Hex and Power Break, but it's "meh" on ranged high DPS  char.

SR has about 20% less DPS and about 3HP/lvl more than PR. He's the fastest*, which is arguably the most important ability in high end pvp. He has entangle than can slow flagged (purple) enemies (while PR's freezing strike works on white too).

A special note on SR on Classic 1.0: Since buffs are severely limited, and SR has quite an arsenal of his own, he doesn't really need a party and can solo almost as effectively as with a party. This will, however, change, when more buffs are added in later updates. It also doesn't make SR the fastest solo farmer (slowest, actually), only a bit safer.

*HE is rather slow for an archer, but he has Dash, which, when used on cooldown, makes him actually faster than both elves on average, but it cost some mana, nand is annoying as f*ck, when you need to run longer distances..

 

That being said, the differences are minor. All of them hit hard enought to two shot a robe, all of them have stunshot. They only need to use different tactics fighting other archers. HE has better "stand and deliver" (and take it), while elves need a little more tactical approach against tougher foes.

As for DYEs, the effect of the same tattoo is (almost) exactly the same on all archers, and Lineage II is not a game of balancing stuff. On Archer you can go with various degrees of -CON, and get away with it. The biggest con of -CON is lower carry capacity (HE has highest CON and passive that doulbles his capacity), but you don't need to worry about that until lvl 50+, and even then only in well organised parties, where others can carry your soulshots around. PvE wise, on elves it is better to get at least one +DEX tattoo, instead of going full +STR. HE has that covered with Hawkeye self buff. You also may, or may not care to get +4WIT -5INT to cast buffs and slow faster.

And just for aditional emphasis. A lvl 60 PR has 2521** HP, SR has 2668** HP (+5,8%), and HE has 2959** (+17,3%). **This is actually a pre-GOD mechanics calculation, but the differences are very similar in the new system.

Differences in attack speed are negligible, with HE having a slight edge due to passives. Oh, and I really wouldn't worry too much about solo in Classic...

The best class for you to play is the one you enjoy the most. Enjoyment is why you play the game in the first place, after all

 

[iboyanov 0]

I'm more interested in the statistic department of this comparison. Game play, play style and etc. are secondary criteria for me. For example - how faster is the SR buffed in comparison to other 2 archers (also fully buffed); how much more attack speed and critical chance does it have (if that is the case). If the SR hasn't got considerably more speed, crit. chance and attack speed than other archers, then it is really no use of it (more or less).

Thank you for providing that HP table, it gives the idea of how much the CON difference between PR and HE provides in HP pool difference; we probably wouldn't be wrong to consider that it gives ~17.3% more stun resist, which makes the CON statistics pretty important in PvP, compared to STR and the inferior DEX stats.

Would be interesting to know how much does the superior critical power of the PR provides per normal attack, in comparison to other 2. For example, if fully buffed the PR crits for 2k, HE crits for 1.9k, SR crits for 1.7k or it is a completely different scaling.

So, probably people are not wrong at all picking up the HE out of the bunch as it sounds like the best and well-rounded of all three, statistics-wise at least. Any personal preferences are not a matter of dispute or measurement.

[Sett 79]

I'm more interested in the statistic department of this comparison. Game play, play style and etc. are secondary criteria for me. For example - how faster is the SR buffed in comparison to other 2 archers (also fully buffed); how much more attack speed and critical chance does it have (if that is the case). If the SR hasn't got considerably more speed, crit. chance and attack speed than other archers, then it is really no use of it (more or less).

Thank you for providing that HP table, it gives the idea of how much the CON difference between PR and HE provides in HP pool difference; we probably wouldn't be wrong to consider that it gives ~17.3% more stun resist, which makes the CON statistics pretty important in PvP, compared to STR and the inferior DEX stats.

Would be interesting to know how much does the superior critical power of the PR provides per normal attack, in comparison to other 2. For example, if fully buffed the PR crits for 2k, HE crits for 1.9k, SR crits for 1.7k or it is a completely different scaling.

So, probably people are not wrong at all picking up the HE out of the bunch as it sounds like the best and well-rounded of all three, statistics-wise at least. Any personal preferences are not a matter of dispute or measurement.

​The difference in speed is propabably not enough to make any difference if you are within 900 range, you won't run fast ebough to exceed maximum casting distance. In anything other than 1v1 it will depend on the slowest party member, which is unlikely to be the archer. And any archer will outrun any mage/tank/support.

Base speed In exact numbers:

Elf fighter - 143
(Kamael fighter - 140)
Dark Elf fighter - 139
Human fighter - 132
Dwarf fighter - 131
Orc fighter - 130

Elf mystic - 129
Dark Elf / Orc mystic - 128
Human mystic - 124

Passives are the same for all archers, as are the buffs.

Stun resistance: this issue was never tested properly, there are only scarce informations. It's very likely that it is linked to CON modifier, which is 1.12 for PR (no tattoos), 1.28 for SR and 1.58 for HE. Again this is pre-GoD. Furthermore, chance to land a stun depends on level difference between attacker and the target. How much, is determinet by skill used, but as a rule of thumb, do not expect to land a stun on a target more that 3 levels above the level where you learned the skill.

Because of the way critical damage works, the passives make very little difference except for dagger skills. Since GoD, however, STR affects critical damage multiplier (along with p.atk. itself), which in my experience has much higher impact. A 57(+16) STR PR does roughly double damage compared to 40 STR (+4) SR. Critical chance gives flat 5% buff to critrate, IIRC. Critical damage on the other hand is a flat (very low, affected by p.def.) bonus to critical damage.

 

[riOrizOr 25]

HE is the most complete Archer thats why its also most common.

He has the best from all 3 classes together. What the HE lacks the most (dex) he gets passive. He has passive boost attack speed, passive critical damage, passive critical chance and gets Dash (run speed).

In general the HE has the most balanced stat you can get. You have the HP (Con) from a Human, hit almost as hard a PR ( HE -1 STR ) and you shoot faster ( boost attack speed) as a SR + you can run faster than a SR with Dash. 

If you want to solo i recommend you to stick with a SR or PR both have basics buffs (might and shield lvl 2) the SR has a bit more with spirit barrier (m.def) and Sprint (wind walk)

L2 classic is all about grinding. Stay and hit. Some people like skills and fancy stuff like elemental heal, power break or hex, but all in all you dont need that! in some situations its needed but if you consider how many arrows you shoot away compared to how often you use hex, power break, entangle or elemental heal then these skills are a non factor.

Dont get me wrong i do not say that SR and PR are bad. In my personal opinion PR ist the most valuable Archer! why? Its all about damage. High Str, High Dex, High passive Crit Power. This is what my preference is. I do not care much about HP or getting stunned.

What i can tell you is that SR do not lack in damage! i played one by myself @ ru classic but i wouldnt do it anymore. Once you get a Party you get all these self buffs by a prophet and your "advantage" is gone.

So its basically impossible to outdamage a HE under perfect conditions ( buffs dances etc )

Iam a PR fanboy knowing that a SR solo is better but have to admit that HE is the overall best later on. Now you choose...

[Googleboon 8]

Does anyone know if there is a Speed Cap? Run speed. An SR with full buffs (ww, song, zerk etc)  and passives and a Elven Mithril Set could be interesting... I'd test it but ATM it's near impossible to get Elven Mithril Gloves on beta..

[San0 2411]

why is it impossible to get elven mithril gloves?

 

[HapIo 72]

HE = best all around with buffs, if you plan on only soloing, avoid picking HE, hes good in dmg, hes good in survivability, hes good in pvp. he's got sprint to run fast and snipe for pve where you dont have to run and during sieges (later on).

PR = highest crit dmg, best dmg there is + self buffs, but keep in mind if you plan on solo'ing, that means self buffs, not high crit rate, so that big dmg crit won't be as effective.

SR = best self buffs, lower in damage but faster attacks and better crit rate, which makes it the best archer when running on self buffs imo. (attack speed + crit rate affects every single attack you make, while PR's ''crit dmg power'' doesnt).

it really depends on your play style and on if you're going to be solo only. if you plan on solo'ing all the time go SR, if you plan on joining groups and having buffs, then HE/PR is the way to go.

[Googleboon 8]

why is it impossible to get elven mithril gloves?

 

​The only way to get them was full drop. Now I can get into Forgotten Temple and spoil the recipe! Previously the Geodata prevented me. 

[San0 2411]

that was fixed more then 1 week ago son  and even then i told you you could pm me or talk to me on skype and i would help you with those gloves.

[Narmontas 34]

Does anyone know if there is a Speed Cap? Run speed. An SR with full buffs (ww, song, zerk etc)  and passives and a Elven Mithril Set could be interesting... I'd test it but ATM it's near impossible to get Elven Mithril Gloves on beta..

​I've got them Even got all parts  get rcp and I can give them for free  

And about this Topic... 

I have PR 58  

What can I say?  His speed is high (good for pvp) especially 1x1 (both without buffs) Elven Mithril set 7 speed does a great deal. 
PR greatest weakness is CON stat. You can't add +12 str without feeling any consequences.  Ofc in my Opinion it's not a mandatory thing do add +12 str for him. It's enough to give +3STR-4DEX (couldn't find +3-3)   +4STR-4 CON + Plated leather set (+4str-1con)  = 52 STR 29 Dex 27 CON.  PvP vs dagger classes  FULL PLATE HEAVY is MUST. 
But again... low con = Character often gets  overburden...  9000 Soul Shots C (Max I could carry)  If + heavy armor... there`s a huge problem...

PR is a good solo archer class (similar to Elf) Aura attack/aura defence. Hex deals a lot of damage. If you're looking for TOP DPS  Phantom ranger deals the biggest dps. His role would be (pvp,raidboss,pve hunting) support damage role. Easily to get killed but deadly for his targets.  He also got Confusion (which is imba on pvp but not many ppl use it... which is weird tho...) Freezing strike , hex, poison. He can kill melee his targets just by running and casting curses and stuff...

HE is ideal archer class for inexperienced players and less hardcore than PR. Even though he's got 30 DEX  36lvl rogue atk speed passive adds 5% atk speed... Which compensates lack of DEX.  Quiver of Holding (passive can add +30% more weight gauge) so = more shots... Since archer class deals  strong damage from normal attacks and critical damage... (another passive critical chance helps a lot). here you can farm +4Str - 4 Con dyes... (From Drakes) . End game gear??? 
Plated leather Set +4Str - 1 Con 3x dye sets +12 STR - 12 CON = 56 STR [OMG dmg Boost] 30 DEX 30 CON.  Still can carry more than PR , still fast atk speed. High STR guarantees High Dps + High skill dmg...

If you need TOP supporting DPS and theres no HEX I advice you to take PR if there's tank like SK or any other Dark Elf  HE full built will do more dmg than PR does...

[Abruzzi 2]

Walllss of text I can add only (if its not mentioned) HE has capability to take enough shots for farm without restocking every 20 mins