Archery and PvP

[Cyric_SP]

I've been seeing ALOT of people play mages when they pvp lately, so I was wondering if archers are any good in pvp anymore. I know there were a few templates that were good way back when so was looking for input on how viable they are now, if at all.

The 3 main pvp templates I remember from years ago were:

ABC Archer
SW Archer - usually with 1 or 2 other people
Stealth Archer

Any or all still viable for pvp and/or factions?

 

[Podolak]

I'll somewhat answer your questions but really I am not the person with the most experience here.

Stealth archers and archers with resist are still viable for PvP. ABC without resist would not be a smart thing to do. Here are a few key things with archers:

Max your damage output (100 di on the suit, 120 anat/tactics if it fits into your template, etc)

50 EP - Healing and stat reasons.

120 Resist (as discussed)

Get at least the 200 skill point weapon special mana reduction bonus if possible, 300 preferred.

You will almost positively need at least 80 ninjitsu for when you are dismounted and ganked.

Here is a spellweaving pvp template I enjoy:

120 Archery
120 Tactics
120 Anatomy
120 Resist
100 Healing
80 Ninjitsu
60 Spellweaving (Pixies, attunement, gift of renewal, etc)

This gives you pixies which are fun and people like complain about them. With 100 DI on the suit and 120 tact/anat you are maximizing our DI output.

If you go elf you can make a beastial suit work with this template pretty well. No mage armor needed on the gorget, you can use woodland arms and get either di or hci bonus on them and the +20 mana from elf goes a long way.

I tested having joat med/focus vs not having it (elf) and it wasn't a huge difference in mana regen. Mostly you want a big mana pool, hit as many specials as possible and hopefully everything lands right with your specials and the pixies spells and you win.

120 archery and 80 ninjitsu allow you to qualify for the 200 skill point weapon special reduction so the 80 ninjitsu has dual purpose.

Use enhanced bandages to get a bit extra out of your healing.

That's it I think.

 

[Lynk]

If you play solo, an archer is a great PvP template choice. You just have to know how to play it.

If you play with a smaller group I'd say a mage is better for team play, but archers are also great for dismounting.

I agree with the above poster that if you're going to be a good archer you should have 120 tactics and 120 anatomy with 100 damage increase. If you can crank out 26 dmg moving shots with a heavy + double hit spell you can take some people down on the run.

There are many variations of archers. There are fencer archers, archer tamers, chiv archers, etc. All are good. My favorite is a nox/swords/archer.

If you do go archer and have a little ninjitsu on your template, make sure to get a nice 100% cold damage Yumi. Imbue dragon slayer, mana leech, and HLD on that beast, take down a gdrag in just a few double shots.

*edit* Also carry around all the important talismans. Vermin slayer, conj trinket, and beetle slayers, etc.

 

[Cyric_SP]

What do you suggest for imbuing a suit with? I would imagine HPR would be one property, and increasing mana an stam. On the bow HLD and all 3 leeches?

I hate feeling like a newb when it comes to this stuff

 

[CorwinXX]

I don't think leaches help you in PvP. I'd try something of HLA, HLD, hit lightning, velocity. It depends on special moves you have got on the bow. Each bow/xbow has its own use (depends on its special moves).

 

[Lynk]

What do you suggest for imbuing a suit with? I would imagine HPR would be one property, and increasing mana an stam. On the bow HLD and all 3 leeches?

I hate feeling like a newb when it comes to this stuff

In the end, most suits end up with the same goal for dexers.

Max HPI
Lots of stam inc (at least 180 stam after pot)
lots of mana (90 mana at a minimum)
max hci/dci/di
40 lmc
as much mR as you can fit
all 70s

 

[Cyric_SP]

Ok, newb time ... LOL

How do you guys go about making your suits? Do you use runics to craft the base items or just use exp armor pieces? I can't get my armor to 70s resist using only one imbue spot on each piece. I can get one or two at 70 but the rest fall around the 65+ range. Even with GM Armslore it seems like 47 total resists on a piece of armor just isn't enough. With all the mods that Lynk listed, I dont see how all that can be put onto one suit, unless I just dont understand how it all works which is probably more the case.

Could someone give me like a step by step. What materials you start with, what tool to craft with, etc. I sorta have the order of imbuing down, start with Relic Frags first so you dont fail and work your way down. What I can't seem to understand is how you know which intensities to take each mod to. Even reading about imbuing in the crafter's forum, I am still lost on this one.

I dont have the Mace and Shield glasses nor will probably be getting them any time soon, unless someone hands them me LOL. I thought about using Heart of the Lion as my chest since it has the 15 DCI on it, but it can't be imbued. /shrugs

 

[CorwinXX]

For example, few days ago I crafted an armor that has 70/79/70/70/75 with Hunters Headdress using just 4 imbue (79 fire vs corpse skin). HH has just 39 resists. With a crafted helm I could get 70/70/70/70/75 with 3 imbues for 6 pieces only.

It's very easy to do:
1. Craft 1000 of each armor pieces. Leave the best 20 of them, trash others.
2. Try all 20^5 combinations and select one with resists you need.

 

[CorwinXX]

Could someone give me like a step by step. What materials you start with, what tool to craft with, etc. I sorta have the order of imbuing down, start with Relic Frags first so you dont fail and work your way down. What I can't seem to understand is how you know which intensities to take each mod to. Even reading about imbuing in the crafter's forum, I am still lost on this one.

It depends on several factors:
1. What is the race of your character?
2. Do you need mediable armor?
3. How many gold you can spend on it?

 

[Cyric_SP]

It depends on several factors:
1. What is the race of your character?
2. Do you need mediable armor?
3. How many gold you can spend on it?

1) Elf
2) Isn't medable always the way to go? Use to be back in the day.
3) I have about 2 mil to my name

 

[CorwinXX]

It's difficult to get something good for such low price.

I suggest you get (atlantic prices):
Bronzed Armor Of The Valkyrie = few k
ring and brace 20 dci, -100 luck = 100k
Quiver of Infinity = 400k
Shadow Runic Hammer = 60k
Mana Phasing Orb with hci and di = 300-400k

1. Helm
Craft a circlet from normal ingots with 5-6 fire resists.
Reforge it (Powerful Re-Forging, Vicious/of Slaughter). If you don't get 5 hci, or get 5 hci with useless mod, craft another.
Take on a hummer with +skill (the best you have). Enchant it with valorite ingots. If you lose the circlet then craft another (chances to lose are more than 50%).
PoF to 150 durability
Imbue it with 8 SI, 8 MI, 5 HPI, max (20?) fire resist.
You should get a helm with 62-63 total resists.

2. Arms, Gloves, Legs, Gorget
Craft from barbed leather. Base armor resists 4,5,5,6,7. Max imbue-able resists: 17,19,18,18,18.
You need 2 items with 4-5 phys res and 2 items with 5-6 cold res. Check which resist you will get after imbuing. Continue crafting until you get proper items.
PoF to 150 durabilty
Imbue them with 6 LMC, 8 SI, 8 MI, 4 HPI, max (phys or cold) resist.
You should get 4 items with 59-60 resists.
The total suit will have 350-355 resists.

3. Jewels
Imbue ring and brace with hci, di, ep


p.s. I hope there is no typo's in my post

 

[Cyric_SP]

Thanks a ton Corwin, that helps alot.

I already have the Bronzed Armor from fishing and the Orb from thunting, though I think mine has DCI on it and not the HCI. The quiver I've had since before I left UO back in 2007. I'll have to hit Shame and keep an eye out for the jewels.

By the +skill hammer I'm assuming you mean the Ancient Hammer. I'll see if I can find one cheap, though I don't mind spending the $10 to get the Ancient Forge Tool either so I don't fail enhancing.

The one place you lost me was "Check which resist you get after imbuing". I really have no idea what you mean by that. As for getting the items with that low of resists, is that even possible with GM Armslore?

Now, that leaves only one problem .... my character is male, so that leaves out the Bronzed Armor

 

[CorwinXX]

though I think mine has DCI on it and not the HCI

With two 20 dci jewels and a quiver you have 45 hci and only 35 hci (30 on jewels, 5 on helm) so you need a mana orb with hci.

I'll have to hit Shame and keep an eye out for the jewels.

It's much easier to buy it. It may take you ages to find one yourself. Although I don't know prices on your shard. In any case you can farm Shame for relic fragments and may be find 20 dci jewel.

By the +skill hammer I'm assuming you mean the Ancient Hammer.

You can enchant without Ancient Hammer but your chance to succeed will be less. I believe you have blacksmith so you can get an Ancient Hammer pretty cheap.
And you lose just few k gold with fail (iron ingots, cheap runic charges and your time).

I don't mind spending the $10 to get the Ancient Forge Tool either so I don't fail enhancing

With a forged tool (Forged Metal of Artifacts) you can make much better armor. Also you can trade a forged tool for a hole suit .

my character is male, so that leaves out the Bronzed Armor

Then make 5 leather items like 7 LMC, 8 SI, 8 MI, 4 HPI, one almost max resist (2 phys, 2 cold and 1 poison). It will be even easier to craft "blanks" in this case.

 

[Cyric_SP]

Ok, finished the circlet. After grabbing a shadow hammer and some pof off a vendor, only took me about 1/2 hour to make. Followed what you had step by step and this is how it turned out. Is that even close what it's suppose to be resist wise? They total 62 resist, just seems odd with cold and phys sitting below 10.

 

[CorwinXX]

Nice item... and I believe it's not expensive.

Now craft other pieces from barbed leather. Save pieces that have min or min + 1 in some resist. Then try to find a combination that will give you 70/70/70/70/75 providing the lowers resist will be imbued to max.
But if you imbue resists to max (100 intesity) you will have to imbue less some of other props (there are few variants)

And only when you got all blanks ready you may start to pof and imbue them.

 

[Cyric_SP]

After a very LONG process and making tons of leather pieces (making suits really sux BTW), I finally have my suit ready to imbue. I stuck everything in a spreadsheet to see where I needed to change resist intensities and on which piece. I did end up making a new circlet because I just didn't like the cold sitting that low. It is ready to imbue now. It looks great on the spreadsheet so hopefully it will look just as good once it's finished. Here's the final outcome. The number in red are the resists that are getting imbued. The numbers toward the bottom without any explanation are the resists that are getting added to the suit after being imbued. Now to find some DCI 20 jewels and I'll be good to go.

 

[CorwinXX]

I don't understand why you need 75 cold if the cap is 70.
I believe you need 75 energy.