[203] How to be effective as an archer?

Typically catapult is mounted on the highest front tower, so there is a good chance that enemy archer will be also in spot. In this situation choice is pretty obvious. ;)

 

SHOOT ALL THE THINGS

 

I still go by what Contrary showed me forever ago:
Cover, Cover and more cover.

If you're out in the open, you will die. Many times I frequently shoot archers who stand on an out cropping. Sure, they can run back and get heal, but slip up and you're dead.

Second is to have a retreat plan, if you don't, what may have been a smart shooting position turns into where the next knight is going to be. In addition, slower movement on charging arrows means you need to retreat sooner rather than later.

And finally, Priority for shooting should go:
Whatever is the biggest threat. Almost always it will be enemy archers, but in their absence it'll be knights. However, if you've got archers, knights, and a catapult, you need to go for whatever is the most destructive. (e.g. a catapult shooting just out of range is secondary to a group of knights fighting)

I'd also like to refine Contrary's statement that it's all about quantity not quality:
Because the new arrows have standardized power, it means you don't have to focus on charging for a certain time at all, which is really nice. But, that means it's all about aim, in addition to quality; being a good archer means understanding the angle of arrows at low, mid and full velocity, and choosing an appropriate speed for the situation. Sometimes you'll need to spam arrows over a wall, etc.

...Sorry for such a long post.

*Also I'd love to reiterate that Fellere made a wonderful point: Starting out as builder nets you loads of cash for arrows, you can give the resources to a friendly builder, and take a small break from fighting.

 

Oh guys I was just being grumpy on the bit about spam. Of course you have to be able to hit stuff. >.>

But Carver, I don't think that could have been said better.

 

Well... spam is for highest dps but when you can hit nearly perfect charged arrows anywhere on screen you can dominate other archers and you even can stay in the open - you can't do that by spamming them if they don't hit as they sooner or later will kill you.

When you have no valid targets in your range you can always spam arrows over the screen as it will create pressure on enemy team and give your team extra time to move war front into enemy territory and make necessary preparations for defending that spot.

 

I'm not fan of this tactic. Most of the time I'm looking for height advantage even if this means that I'll stay in open. Gravity works and shooting uphill results in much slower arrows - easier to avoid. I prefer to be on offence than in defense. Typically tower provides very few good shooting positions. Covering/changing position in tower sometimes takes more time for enemy, than readjusting target for me.

 

For me, it's a matter of priorities.
I'm happy to put my neck on the line if it means that we can make a successful push, or something. That said, I usually have no trouble with dancing in the open, since the majority of archers I play against are shithouse.

 

The principle behind the "stay alive" attitude, taking cover, having a retreat path, is the fact that dying wastes a lot of time. Even if you're not killing people as effectively as someone hopping out in the open, you're there twice as long and can kill more people in total and maintain a constant presence. I mean of course you gotta take risks, Carver knows this and jumps into the frontlines when he's needed, but there's no sense in hopping around in the open when you don't need to (which is the majority of the time). I mean, the plebs aim about as well as stormtroopers but they'll get lucky eventually.

 

Labla, you are quite right, cover isn't as important now that arrows take longer to charge and fly much slower than a few builds ago -- That being said, cover should be a priority whenever you don't have height advantage, primarily when the other team has control of the central hill (assuming it's default; Most servers go with the default).

 

Carver I agree with that. Shooting from lower point is much harder than from hill. You'll probably use only boosted shoots and your aim (cursor) will be much more off target than enemy. On other hand enemy shooting from hill can use much weaker shoots (gravity will do the most of the work, speeding up arrows).

 

Or rather, they can use fully charged shots that will go nearly straight and will move too fast for most morons to dodge! =P

 

How to be effective against knights - whenever you are dealing with a knight, 1v1 knight has 70% of winning ,90% if he has a bomb.Im talking about mid-close range.

Remember that shooting non-fully charged damages enemies anyway.You can catch off guard some knights - make 2 full charged shots on them and make a really quick 3-d.They may be not prepared for it and get damaged.

Always help your knights - when 2 knights are dueling if it possible,jump over enemy knight and shoot him(not charged) arrows in his back,while keeping distance , or shoot him with a fully charged bow to break his shielding and let your knight stab-stab-stab him.Frags < Assists.

 

My priority has always been: Catapult> Builder> Archer> Knight
I'd rather shoot the archer's builders, to prevent them to move forward / build.

Staying in a place where I can retreat when necessary, while having a good range. I prefer to use the minimum zoom, at least for me seems to be about 5 ~ 6 squares of range more than the standard zoom, show me the path that the arrow is doing and to show what happens around me.

sry for my google-translated English,
Oleker

 

My cqb style now is based upon mobility and extreme luck. Never fight in tunnels or in the open as you have no mobility. In those instances retreat. To fight in close quarters combat you have to get used to movement in mid air. Always try to gain the height advantage over your opponent. If you do and are practically atop of their head fire a quick minimally charged shot to their head. If they are a shielded knight use that opening in order to either advance or retreat. This is of course suicidal but you will be able to take out key enemy structures when you acquire cqb related talents for archers.