Luminara

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Very well done guide, and fun to read to. been helping me quite a bit as I raise my Ill/Ta up.

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For all of you who are finding my guide useful, it'd tickle me several shades of orange, blue and mauve if you'd scroll down to the bottom of the page and 5-star it. I like stars.

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On the topic of TA and IOs, I have been very happy with the Achilles Heel: Chance for Res Debuff I put in Acid Arrow. When it fires off, stacked with disruption, thats a solid 50% res debuff. Considering the unbuffable status of my Phantom Army (and my veteran attacks!) thats pretty huge.

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I'm just itching to respec Dancing Hawk into at least a partial IO set build, including one of those -Res procs in Acid. I've been playing with one over on Liberty, in my Energy/Rad blaster's Radiation Infection, and I really like it. I want to try out the Call of the Sandman [u]Chance to Heal Self[u] proc I bought, too!

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Cant wait to see that proc fire off over a lit oil slick! *happy sigh*

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You can put a -Res proc in OSA. Against +0s, it won't be doing much good, they're going to be barbecued anyway, but +1s and above, you'll get some benefit out of it. And it'd definitely be useful when fighting EB/AVs/GMs.

I've been doing some experimenting with procs and OSA, though, and so far they aren't impressing me. The power is on such a long recharge, I think I'm just going to be happier with procs in powers with shorter recharge times where I can see them working more often. I might be expecting too much out of procs, though, I'm not sure yet. Need to test them some more.

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Thanks, Dude. I love Ill/TA so far. I love the extra controls that it offers my poor control deficient illusionist. I'm only to lvl 9, but i already love having that missing single target immob that sets up containment. i'm very much looking forward to ice arrow to put that with blind for a boss remover combo. I've definitely noticed that stamina is going to be a big deal. I run out so fast even with no toggles.

My one big concern is the fact that everything is so clicky. I have a game pad that allows me to have 5 attacks ready, but all the rest I have to either keybind or click with the mouse. Has anyone else had this problem. I'm mostly worried that i'm going to be clicking the screen constantly. I'm almost happy that many of the attacks have a min+ recharge. My plan is to have Entangle, Ice, Spec Wound, Blind and Acid Arrow be my big 5 and then click or bind the rest.

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I can offer just a little help with the click-fest relief. Not much, but it'll make it a little less annoying.

If you aren't picking up Teleport for your travel power, you can use your mouse to do most of your location-targeted clicks (PA, Phantasm, Oil Slick, etc).

/bind shift+lbutton "powexec_name Phantom Army"
/bind shift+rbutton "powexec_name Phantasm"
/bind ctrl+lbutton "powexec_name Oil Slick Arrow"
/bind ctrl+rbutton "powexec_name Spectral Terror"

Those binds will let you click a little less often. PA will be auto-summoned wherever you're clicking, the others will have to be clicked with the left button again. You can switch any of the powers to any of the binds, so if you wanted Oil Slick on the shift+lbutton bind so you could drop a slick with a single click, for example, that would work just as well.

If you are going to use Teleport, the alt+lbutton and alt+rbutton also work, so you can bind a couple more powers to the mouse if you need to.

There's also a bind for targeting Oil Slick Target so you can ignite it (presuming you're Magic or Tech origin, or have a temp power that deals Energy or Fire damage), but I've never used the bind so I'm not certain if I remember the exact string. Something like...

/bind P target_custom_next "Oil Slick Target"

Substitute any key for P. If the string isn't correct, I'm sure someone will meander through and give the proper one shortly.

Those binds will allow you to move some of your powers out off to the right in the trays and move your other powers to the left for quicker activation using the number keys (and Ctrl or Alt + number key).

You'll still have a lot of clicky action going on, but this might make it less burdensome.

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I started up a Ill/TA based on your recommendations. I've found one bug and wanted to see if anyone else had noticed it. If I lead off with Entangle Arrow and Immediately queue up Blind or Spectral Wounds, I do not get Containment on the Blind or SW attack. I have to wait about a second for the web part of the animation to start in order to get containment. Have others noticed this? Do you think I should /bug it?

Thanks!

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Very old known issue with Entangling. The problem was significantly worse from I5 through I10. It used to land, and the target would keep running for 20-40', then stop, and then Containment would kick in. The delay is much smaller now, about a third of a second, but it's still there.

From playing my Fire/TA, I've narrowed it down to about a third of a second, so the simplest and easiest workaround is to just not queue your next power while Entangling is still animating. You shouldn't even have to wait until you see the net appear, just not having Blind or SW green-lit and ready to go as soon as Entangling finishes seems to be enough. By the time the animation for the attack/hold ends and the damage is applied, Containment should already be active. At least, that's how it's working with Char and Ring of Fire, and even though they aren't quite as snappy as Blind or SW, it should still be a viable tactic for Ill/TA.

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Neither will BackAlleyBunny.

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Hmmm.........

<Runs off to the costume designer cackling madly-er>

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Oh good heavens, what kind of monstrosity have I spawned this time? O_o

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My Trick/archery just dinged 50 this week (first 50 after over 3 years of play - that should say something right there to the enjoyability of this combo). I found your previous advice VERy helpful and often referred to it during my journey to 50. Again thanks for keeping this game enjoyable.

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Congratulations and welcome to the party! Drinks are on the house.

Um... if you didn't take a travel power, you might have trouble reaching the drinks, but they're up there anyway. On the house. >.>

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It is going to be difficult finding another hero I enjoyed as much as this one.

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Try a /TA controller, or a different TA/ or /Archery defender, or an Archery/ blaster, or a /TA mastermind.

Or keep playing your TA/A. I know I didn't level mine to 50 just to put her on a little shelf somewhere, I did it because she was enormously fun and being level 50 doesn't really change that, it just gives me more flexibility in how I play her. And even the act of exploring those options, the various IOs and IO sets, gives me reason to keep logging in and playing, even when I'm bored with the content.

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One tiny little thing I noticed in your guide... You suggested a Range or To-Hit Debuff enhancement in Flash Arrow if you're leaving it with just the default slot, but Flash Arrow does not accept Range Enhancements.

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Argh. I thought I checked all of the enhanceables for all of the powers. >.<

>.>

<.<

I hold Rush_Bolt and Trickshooter entirely responsible, since they were my proofreaders. LET'S BURN THEM! *gets out the torch and pitchfork*

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RoA, as absolutely gorgeous and wonderful as it is, isn't a fine cup of coffee or night with a beautiful partner. Stop trying to stretch it out and make it last, just shoot the darn thing!

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Luminara, you have a lovely way with words.

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I try. I don't always succeed, but I do try. I love words even more than I love sharp, pointy sticks.

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That said, I will still keep my Ice Slick for the floppy-fun goodness that is watching Freakshow Tanks fall flat on their back.

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Do! Absolutely do keep using Ice Slick that way! No-one should change their play styles or try to force themselves to stop using powers that they like just on the basis of "I read it in a guide". This is Co*, the game was designed to make as many different play styles and powers useful as possible, so by all means, don't ever change anything because I make a suggestion or recommendation. It's the different things that we all learn to do that makes the game better as a whole. I love seeing people doing different things and playing different ways, it's just such a delight to know that we can make the game itself adapt to us and our choices.

Customizable characters. Customizable costumes. Customizable powers. Customizable combat. That's what makes this game worth playing over any other, and every time someone comes up with some new tactic or decides to go a way that I wouldn't, it just reminds me how lucky I am to be able to play something so adaptable and flexible. I like to be more direct with my attacks, you like to play a different way, and neither is better or worse because the game was designed with variety in mind. That's just marvelous, it really is.

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1) RoA is amazing and up a ton. I also got the comment on a team (as you mention) to stop killing everything and leave some for the other guys That said, it doesn't do OMGBBQ dmg - it's more like a bone-smasher to everything in its radius. BU+AIM+TF still puts way more hurt on a single target.

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RoA with 3 ticks deals a total of ~253.38 damage unenhanced (factored to include the new 1.125 Ranged Damage modifier for blasters).

TF deals 197.97 damage unenhanced.

Bone Smasher deals 144.59 damage unenhanced.

It's not uncommon for RoA to only hit with one or two ticks, and TF will deal more damage in those cases, but a full 3 ticks of RoA on anything outstrips TF by a sizable margin (barring Lethal resistance).

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3) I'm a little bummed at archery's damage overall. HeroStats doesn't track RoA but it does on everything else. The archery attacks are doing less dmg than my Plant/Fire dom does under domination and Firey Embrace - his Blaze hits for 220+ and tics, same (around) for Incincerate. Blazing arrow is checking in at more like 203 and the other attacks less.

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With the number you listed for Blaze, I can discern that you either have it massively overenhanced for +Damage, or have ~8% +Damage from IO set bonuses in addition to Blaze being fully enhanced up to ~95%, or a combination of overenhancing Blaze and some +Damage from set bonuses. You're also factoring in Fiery Embrace, which is an 85% +Damage buff (to Fire, 68% to everything else). And your dominator is level 50.

For Blazing Arrow, you're using only the enhancements, no Aim, Build Up or Defiance buffs, and at level 42. And it appears that you've got it underenhanced for +Damage, looks like around 75% (base damage for all ATs at level 42 is 52.4628, DS for Blazing Arrow is 1.96, Ranged Damage modifier for blasters is 1.125, so {1.125 * 1.96} * 52.4628 = 115.68. so in order to achieve ~203, the enhanced value would have to be 75-76%, or 115.68 * 1.75 = 202.44). None of that is taking Defiance into account, as that would mean you've slotted Blazing even less with +Damage and I really don't want to try to figure all of that out.

Level difference also matters. The higher your level, the more damage your attacks will deal. It's an incremental increase, but it adds up, just like status effect durations or hit points.

It's a lopsided comparison. You've got Blaze buffed to the gills and an 8 level lead with your dominator, whereas you're using Blazing Arrow with what appears to be ~75% +Damage from enhancements and no other buffs.

Heck, in 8 more levels, you'll be dealing more damage with Blazing Arrow, even if you limit yourself to just enhancements, unless you leave it underenhanced.

I'm not attacking you, I'm just trying to show you why Blazing Arrow is looking unimpressive in your particular case. If you give it a fair shake, it'll reward you.

As for the other attacks, Snap Shot still lags a little behind the "bottom feeders" in other blast sets, but it makes up for it with the greater accuracy native to Archery, lower endurance cost and faster recharge. Aimed Shot is very good now, and Fistful/EA are generally in line with similar cones and AoEs from other blast sets. The single-target and multi-target damage in Archery is very good, even when compared to sets like Fire or Ice, but if the enhancements aren't there and the buffs aren't used, it's not going to be any different from any other set under similar restrictions.

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I feel my DB/WP scrappr does more dmg. From everything I read I thought they had really boosted blaster dmg but it doesn't feel uber yet -- my Stone Melee / Elec brute certainly does more.

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Are you comparing a brute with plenty of Fury, or a DB scrapper's combo potential, or are you looking at base numbers and making reasonable and accurate comparisons? I'm not asking to put the spotlight on you, I honestly don't know how brutes or scrappers compare to anything (i play one melee character, Electron Girl, my Kinetics scrapper), but I have to question your conclusions based on the other two points to which I've responded (RoA versus TF/BS and BA versus Blaze on different ATs). I think you're giving Archery the short end of the sharp, pointy stick with comparisons based on very unequal situations.

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4) lethal resisant mobs suck - robots of all kinds I'm looking at you!

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I'm still traumatized by the spawn of 8 +1 Clockwork that my TA/A had to fight back in the early days. And those dirty, rotten, cheating Crey Tanks with their superspeed and high Lethal resistance. >.<

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Here's to pointy sticks (that occasionally go "boom" or "acid!" or "zap!").

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Castle won't let me have any ZAPPY ARROWs. Neither will BackAlleyBunny.

They won't let me have a pet duck in the game, either.

They're afraid that I'd take over the entire world. I mean with the duck, not the ZAPPY ARROW. The ZAPPY ARROW is just something that'd be fun. "No, Lumi, you can not be complete overlord of all existence, now stop asking." Feh. Whatever.

Hey, is that corn? *wanders off, sniffing the air*

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Curse you, Luminara. You're making me consider rolling an Archery Blaster.

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*waves hands mysteriously*

O_o

*puts down duck and tries the hand wavey thing again*

Dooooooooooooooo eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. Be the ball. Er... bow. Be the bow.

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I have too many alts as it is!

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Then one more couldn't hurt, right?

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While I know you don't want to spend a lot of time on the Epic pools, what is your thought about using Munitions Mastery for a "double-nuke" (RoA + LRM Rocket)? My hope is that while the long recharge of LRM makes this a rarely-used tactic, it should be a really hard hit when combined with Aim and Build Up...

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Frankly, I think it's overkill for anyone but /Devices. I have no doubt that it'll really deal a lot of damage, but RoA already deals a lot of damage, enough to really decimate practically any spawn if you use Aim and Build Up, and I haven't even seen what it could do with some Defiance +Damage on top of that (and you do have some headroom for that, because even with Aim, Build Up and 95% +Damage from enhancements, you're still roughly 143% below the damage cap).

The minions are going to be defeated with RoA. Gone. Nada mas. I suspect that the Defiance buffs that you could stack up before using RoA would take care of the lieutenants as well. So that's going to leave... what, two or three bosses, if it's a really massive spawn? Just doesn't seem like the best use of something as powerful as LRM Rocket, polishing off two or three critters.

Now, since /Devices has no Build Up, the tactic would definitely be useful for Archery/Devices. Tossing LRM Rocket into the mix makes more sense for this type of blaster, it completely makes up for the +Damage that they don't get from BU. And if you know that the spawn is going to be composed of critters with Lethal resistance, like Crey or Malta, then it also makes sense for any other type of Archery blaster. But for average spawns, even +3s, RoA should be more than enough damage output for Archery/* with Aim, BU and some Defiance stacked, and LRMR really just feels... pointless. Wasted.

While I'm at it, I also don't think the "Use Ice Slick, then pull, then use RoA" or "Use Flash Freeze, then RoA" tactics really have a point either. By the time one finishes dropping that Ice Slick and pulling, or putting the spawn to sleep with Flash Freeze, you could already be in the process of defeating the spawn with RoA. RoA, as absolutely gorgeous and wonderful as it is, isn't a fine cup of coffee or night with a beautiful partner. Stop trying to stretch it out and make it last, just shoot the darn thing! Flash Freeze will be of limited value anyway, since it won't Sleep bosses, so you'd actually end up just giving them time to get out of the RoA AoE by using FF first. And instead of pulling into an Ice Slick, you could RoA the spawn and use the 0.8 seconds that it takes for RoA to deal its damage to step around a corner/tree/rock/box/whatever and drop that Slick. Saves time, completely denies any chance of minions or most lieutenants hitting you, leaves only the bosses to come running into the Slick and cuts your damage taken much better than doing it the other way around.

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Anyhow, those 2 powers are balanced, but with IOs, I have to give a nod to bolt now.

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Poo on that. There's no way MY human PB will ever give up those gorgeous white eye lasers, I don't care what the numbers say. YOU'LL HAVE TO RIP OUT MY EYES BEFORE I'LL EVER USE BOLT INSTEAD OF EYE!

*shoots everyone with white eye lasers* PEW PEW! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Bother and pie. Now I want to log in and play Solarsong, but I still don't have SHODAN rebuilt. >.<

*shoots Plasma in the face with white eye lasers*

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As a long time Arch/ fan let me just say..,,

WOW! Great guide! Fun to read and awe inspireing with the details. Bravo!

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It was a delight to be able to write it. It really was. I adore Archery in ways that probably aren't healthy.

Oh, and I got a PM from a Rad/Archery defender! IT EXISTS! The player says that it's a very, very nice combination. I'm even more tempted to make one now.

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My God...it's...it's so...beautiful!

*sobs*

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Thank you!

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Thanks Lumi

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It was my pleasure.

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Well, I did the respec last night. I took a couple chances based on this guide and a hunch I had: I took the accys out of the archery attacks leaving them with dam (think one has a range an one has rech redux) and end redux out of everything. I put the slots in to Acid arrow and Stamina which I previously had but not slotted. Also, swapped Disruption Arrow for PGA.

Solo, I did well vs even cons and had little to no end issues. Didn't have time to up difficulty and try facing bosses because... I got a team invite and got to face some purples. Even with spamming TA and A powers I really didn't have any end issues and didn't miss the accys in my attacks that much.

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Woo, go Acid Arrow!

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The only problem I had was that Totems seemed to really like me every so often and would plant me before someone could heal or get them off me. Now I just have to figure out what I want at 28 & 30.

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Boo stray aggro. >.<

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Thank you for the guide. Definitely covers "everything" whew!

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It's... um... a complex powerset that crosses many different boundaries. Yes, that's exactly why the guide is so long. Nothing to do with verbal diarrhea, nothing at all.

>.>

<.<

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I like some of the IO slotting ideas (hadn't really occurred to me to mix up similar IO's from different sets to spread the boost around, I'm usually all focused on the sets themselves)....

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I was pretty firmly targeted on +Recharge when I started playing with different IO builds, even on characters that didn't need it or weren't benefiting from it nearly as much as I'd hoped. It took a while to stop, to step back and look at it from a different angle and realize that the set bonuses were just one means to the same end, enhancing the various attributes of powers. Then I went back and saw new avenues and possibilities using partial sets and individual set IOs, sometimes getting bonuses, sometimes sacrificing bonuses to make a specific power just right.

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will have to look at that on EMP and some others. I also will probably take out my 2 End Mods from EMP and switch to boosting the hold....I like the dropped blue bars but it never really drops it all the way so I just don't feel like its a real Sapper Arrow...and I like the idea of a longer hold now that I have had EMP for a while.

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The lack of critter -Recovery made me shy away from sapping. Even if I could drain something, one tick and it'd be back to attacking anyway.

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Interesting IO Slotting I have done recently was the Call of the Sandman Chance for Self Heal Proc IO in Poison Gas Arrow.

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I want to get one of those. I don't know how useful it'd be, since I tend to use PGA as an alpha, and I'm usually not starting a fight with less than 90% HP, but I still want one just to see what I can do with it.

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Welcome back. The ducks and Lusca missed you.

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There's one in my sig! It keeps nipping at me!

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Really nice guide, I made one as well and it was not nearly as good as this!

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Well, I have been preparing for this for almost two and a half years in a lot of ways. It's the sum total of everything I've gotten from playing, talking to developers and other TA players, figuring things out from posts that referenced underlying game mechanics... I'm sure there are still some things I missed or left out, but I really tried to make it comprehensive this time. My last TA/A guide all but ignored controllers and masterminds, and I never quite stopped berating myself for not doing it "right".

I hope I got this one right.

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tl;dr

:P

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That's why I broke it up into specific sections.

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Kidding. Excellent guide. I have Disruption arrow right now, but not pga. Might respec and swap the 2 since I'm only 26.

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If you haven't really felt like you need it up to this point, there's no reason to respec into it. It's good, but if you already have what you feel to be enough mitigation, it can wait until you think you need more.

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Otoh, I'm 26 and have OSA, yay!!!

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YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! *throws undies into the air*

O_o

Where the heck did those come from? O_O

TA guide, I11 compatible and with full mastermind stats and information is now available.

Also an Archery guide for those interested in data on the three attacks from Ninjas.

Both Trick Arrows and Archery guides, I11 compatible, are posted now. TA/A players can scroll down to the 4th post of the TA guide for TA/A-specific information.

Trick Arrows guide update for I11 is finished and available.

Fully updated Archery guide for I11.

[u](Section 4 - Accuracy tables)[u]

Acc = Accuracy enhancement, Single Origin (SO)
THB = ToHit Buff enhancement, Single Origin (SO)
T = Tactics
TD = Targeting Drone
+0, +1, +2, +3 = critter levels

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
Defenders +0 +1 +2 +3

Aim (0 Acc) 144.38% 132.83% 122.43% 113.19%
Aim (1 Acc) 192.02% 176.66% 162.83% 150.54%
Aim (2 Acc) 239.66% 220.49% 203.23% 187.90%

T (0 Acc, 0 THB) 101.06% 89.51% 79.12% 69.88%
T (0 Acc, 1 THB) 103.95% 92.40% 82.01% 72.77%
T (0 Acc, 2 THB) 106.84% 95.29% 84.89% 75.65%
T (0 Acc, 3 THB) 109.00% 97.45% 87.06% 77.82%
T (1 Acc, 0 THB) 134.41% 119.05% 105.23% 92.94%
T (1 Acc, 1 THB) 137.84% 122.89% 109.07% 96.78%
T (1 Acc, 2 THB) 142.09% 126.73% 112.91% 100.62%
T (1 Acc, 3 THB) 144.97% 129.61% 115.79% 103.50%
T (2 Acc, 0 THB) 167.76% 148.59% 131.34% 115.97%
T (2 Acc, 1 THB) 173.56% 153.38% 136.13% 120.79%
T (2 Acc, 2 THB) 177.35% 158.18% 140.92% 125.58%
T (2 Acc, 3 THB) 180.95% 161.77% 144.52% 129.18%

Masterminds +0 +1 +2 +3

T (0 Acc, 0 THB) 95.29% 83.74% 73.34% 64.10%
T (0 Acc, 1 THB) 97.02% 85.47% 75.08% 65.84%
T (0 Acc, 2 THB) 98.75% 87.20% 76.81% 67.57%
T (0 Acc, 3 THB) 100.05% 88.50% 78.11% 68.87%
T (1 Acc, 0 THB) 126.73% 111.37% 97.55% 85.26%
T (1 Acc, 1 THB) 129.04% 113.68% 99.85% 87.56%
T (1 Acc, 2 THB) 131.34% 115.98% 102.15% 89.87%
T (1 Acc, 3 THB) 133.07% 117.71% 103.88% 91.59%
T (2 Acc, 0 THB) 158.18% 139.00% 121.75% 106.41%
T (2 Acc, 1 THB) 161.05% 141.88% 124.63% 109.29%
T (2 Acc, 2 THB) 163.93% 144.76% 127.50% 121.16%
T (2 Acc, 3 THB) 166.09% 146.91% 129.66% 114.32%


Blasters +0 +1 +2 +3

Aim (0 Acc) 129.94% 118.39% 107.99% 98.75%
Aim (1 Acc) 172.82% 157.46% 143.63% 131.34%
Aim (2 Acc) 215.70% 196.52% 179.27% 163.93%

Build Up (0 Acc) 103.95% 92.40% 82.01% 72.45%
Build Up (1 Acc) 138.25% 122.89% 109.07% 96.78%
Build Up (2 Acc) 172.56% 153.38% 136.13% 120.79%

T (0 Acc, 0 THB) 94.71% 83.16% 72.77% 63.53%
T (0 Acc, 1 THB) 96.33% 84.78% 74.38% 65.14%
T (0 Acc, 2 THB) 97.94% 86.39% 76.00% 66.76%
T (0 Acc, 3 THB) 99.17% 87.61% 77.21% 67.97%
T (1 Acc, 0 THB) 125.96% 110.60% 96.78% 84.49%
T (1 Acc, 1 THB) 128.12% 112.75% 98.93% 86.64%
T (1 Acc, 2 THB) 130.27% 114.90% 101.08% 88.79%
T (1 Acc, 3 THB) 131.88% 116.52% 102.69% 90.40%
T (2 Acc, 0 THB) 157.22% 138.05% 120.79% 105.45%
T (2 Acc, 1 THB) 159.90% 140.73% 123.47% 108.14%
T (2 Acc, 2 THB) 162.59% 143.41% 126.16% 110.82%
T (2 Acc, 3 THB) 164.60% 145.43% 128.17% 112.83%

+0 +1 +2 +3
TD (0 Acc, 0 THB) 102.65% 91.10% 80.71% 71.47%
TD (0 Acc, 1 THB) 105.86% 94.31% 83.91% 74.67%
TD (0 Acc, 2 THB) 109.06% 97.51% 87.12% 77.88%
TD (0 Acc, 3 THB) 111.47% 99.92% 89.52% 80.28%
TD (1 Acc, 0 THB) 136.53% 121.16% 107.34% 95.05%
TD (1 Acc, 1 THB) 140.79% 125.43% 111.60% 99.31%
TD (1 Acc, 2 THB) 145.05% 129.69% 115.86% 103.58%
TD (1 Acc, 3 THB) 148.25% 132.89% 119.06% 106.77%
TD (2 Acc, 0 THB) 170.40% 151.23% 133.97% 118.63%
TD (2 Acc, 1 THB) 175.72% 156.55% 139.29% 123.95%
TD (2 Acc, 2 THB) 181.04% 161.87% 144.61% 129.27%
TD (2 Acc, 3 THB) 185.03% 165.86% 148.60% 133.26%

+0 +1 +2 +3
T + TD (0 Acc, 0 THB T, 0 THB TD) 110.74% 99.19% 88.79% 79.55%
T + TD (0 Acc, 0 THB T, 1 THB TD) 113.94% 102.39% 92.00% 82.76%
T + TD (0 Acc, 0 THB T, 2 THB TD) 117.15% 105.60% 95.20% 85.96%
T + TD (0 Acc, 0 THB T, 3 THB TD) 119.55% 108.00% 97.61% 88.37%
T + TD (0 Acc, 1 THB T, 0 THB TD) 112.35% 100.80% 90.41% 81.17%
T + TD (0 Acc, 1 THB T, 1 THB TD) 115.56% 104.01% 93.61% 64.37%
T + TD (0 Acc, 1 THB T, 2 THB TD) 118.76% 107.21% 96.82% 87.58%
T + TD (0 Acc, 1 THB T, 3 THB TD) 121.17% 109.62% 99.22% 89.98%
T + TD (0 Acc, 2 THB T, 0 THB TD) 113.97% 102.42% 92.03% 82.79%
T + TD (0 Acc, 2 THB T, 1 THB TD) 117.18% 105.63% 95.23% 85.99%
T + TD (0 Acc, 2 THB T, 2 THB TD) 120.38% 108.83% 98.44% 89.20%
T + TD (0 Acc, 2 THB T, 3 THB TD) 122.78% 111.23% 100.84% 91.60%
T + TD (0 Acc, 3 THB T, 0 THB TD) 115.18% 103.63% 93.24% 84.00%
T + TD (0 Acc, 3 THB T, 1 THB TD) 118.39% 106.84% 96.44% 87.20%
T + TD (0 Acc, 3 THB T, 2 THB TD) 121.59% 110.04% 99.65% 90.41%
T + TD (0 Acc, 3 THB T, 3 THB TD) 124.00% 112.45% 102.05% 92.81%

+0 +1 +2 +3
T + TD (1 Acc, 0 THB T, 0 THB TD) 147.28% 131.92% 118.09% 105.80%
T + TD (1 Acc, 0 THB T, 1 THB TD) 151.54% 136.18% 122.35% 110.07%
T + TD (1 Acc, 0 THB T, 2 THB TD) 155.80% 140.44% 126.62% 114.33%
T + TD (1 Acc, 0 THB T, 3 THB TD) 159.00% 143.64% 129.81% 117.53%
T + TD (1 Acc, 1 THB T, 0 THB TD) 149.43% 134.07% 120.24% 107.95%
T + TD (1 Acc, 1 THB T, 1 THB TD) 153.69% 138.33% 124.51% 112.22%
T + TD (1 Acc, 1 THB T, 2 THB TD) 157.96% 142.59% 128.77% 116.48%
T + TD (1 Acc, 1 THB T, 3 THB TD) 161.15% 145.79% 131.97% 119.68%
T + TD (1 Acc, 2 THB T, 0 THB TD) 151.58% 136.22% 122.39% 110.10%
T + TD (1 Acc, 2 THB T, 1 THB TD) 155.84% 140.48% 126.66% 114.37%
T + TD (1 Acc, 2 THB T, 2 THB TD) 160.11% 144.74% 130.92% 118.63%
T + TD (1 Acc, 2 THB T, 3 THB TD) 163.30% 147.94% 134.12% 121.83%
T + TD (1 Acc, 3 THB T, 0 THB TD) 153.19% 137.83% 124.01% 111.72%
T + TD (1 Acc, 3 THB T, 1 THB TD) 157.46% 142.09% 128.27% 115.98%
T + TD (1 Acc, 3 THB T, 2 THB TD) 161.72% 146.36% 132.53% 120.24%
T + TD (1 Acc, 3 THB T, 3 THB TD) 164.92% 149.55% 135.73% 123.44%

+0 +1 +2 +3
T + TD (2 Acc, 0 THB T, 0 THB TD) 183.82% 164.65% 147.39% 132.05%
T + TD (2 Acc, 0 THB T, 1 THB TD) 189.14% 169.97% 152.71% 137.38%
T + TD (2 Acc, 0 THB T, 2 THB TD) 194.46% 175.29% 158.03% 142.70%
T + TD (2 Acc, 0 THB T, 3 THB TD) 198.45% 179.28% 162.02% 146.69%
T + TD (2 Acc, 1 THB T, 0 THB TD) 186.51% 167.33% 150.08% 134.74%
T + TD (2 Acc, 1 THB T, 1 THB TD) 191.83% 172.65% 155.40% 140.06%
T + TD (2 Acc, 1 THB T, 2 THB TD) 197.15% 177.97% 160.72% 145.38%
T + TD (2 Acc, 1 THB T, 3 THB TD) 201.14% 181.96% 164.71% 149.37%
T + TD (2 Acc, 2 THB T, 0 THB TD) 189.19% 170.02% 152.76% 137.42%
T + TD (2 Acc, 2 THB T, 1 THB TD) 194.51% 175.34% 158.08% 142.74%
T + TD (2 Acc, 2 THB T, 2 THB TD) 199.83% 180.66% 163.40% 148.06%
T + TD (2 Acc, 2 THB T, 3 THB TD) 203.82% 184.65% 167.39% 152.05%
T + TD (2 Acc, 3 THB T, 0 THB TD) 191.20% 172.03% 154.77% 139.44%
T + TD (2 Acc, 3 THB T, 1 THB TD) 196.52% 177.35% 160.10% 144.76%
T + TD (2 Acc, 3 THB T, 2 THB TD) 201.84% 182.67% 165.42% 150.08%
T + TD (2 Acc, 3 THB T, 3 THB TD) 205.83% 186.66% 169.41% 154.07%
</pre><hr />

Archery/Devices blasters will note that a total of 58% or higher enhancement to ToHit in Targeting Drone will allow them to hit +2 critters with 90% accuracy (which puts them at the streak breaker's 1 miss allowed point, so it's effectively the same as having capped accuracy), and be capped against anything below without slotting a single Accuracy enhancement in their attacks.

*/Archery defenders will need about 77% enhancement value for ToHit in Tactics to achieve 90% against +2 critters with no Accuracy enhancements, which will be extremely difficult to achieve.

Masterminds can't get Tactics up high enough to get better than roughly 80% against +2s (and that only with the same difficult as defenders trying to reach 90%) without Accuracy enhancements or some other method of increasing hit chance in addition to Tactics (Tactics has a base 7.5% for masterminds).

For PvP accuracy stats, use the +3 tables for all three ATs. Everyone has a base 50% chance to hit in PvP, which is only 2% higher than the base chance to hit +3 critters, so these calculations will actually be ever so slightly less than what your hit chances in PvP are against other players without +Defense.

[u](Section 3 - Building and Playing Archery)[u]

Archery commentary and tactical breakdown

Archery fits both single-target and multi-target styles very well. Despite Fistful and Explosive having base damage scales below 1.0, the high damage scale of RoA and the frequency of its availability makes it very easy to play Archery as both single-target and multi-target by level 33/39 (when you've been able to dedicate some slots to RoA).

Blasters will find their AoE happy place a bit sooner and more easily than defenders, as they'll not only have Explosive and RoA sooner, but can also use Build Up (except Devices) to buff the damage output significantly. Defenders are limited to Aim (and Power Build Up if they choose the Power Mastery APP), and their longest ranged AoEs come at later points in the game, but a Fistful + Explosive combo deals only a little less damage than Tenebrous Tentacles + Nightfall, so it's not a lost cause. Watch out for that Knockback, though, it really can be problematic if you're not careful.

Masterminds are limited to only the first three Archery powers, so they won't be building a high damage AoE combo, but let's be honest here, masterminds are walking AoEs anyway. Building a full Archery attack chain is also next to impossible for masterminds, so the attacks are best used as fillers to assist henchmen in fights.

<ul type="square">[*]Blasters: If you're still reading this guide, I'm presuming that you're interested in Archery as a ranged attack powerset, not as a supplement to melee combat (blapping). If you are building a blapper with Archery, there isn't much advice or help that I can offer, other than to avoid trying to use Ranged Shot or RoA in melee combat. This guide is written for and from the viewpoint of ranged combat. And coffee. And some of those delectable cherry cheesecake danish.

Develop your single-target chain early, get comfortable with it and expect to be using it throughout the game. Archery has some fantastic AoE potential, but AoEs don't defeat lieutenants and bosses, single-target attacks do. You'll also get better +Damage buffs from the newly improved Defiance if you're using single-target attacks from your primary (Archery, duh), which will help put some extra punch into your AoEs.

Ranged Shot will have some added value for blasters with the new Defiance. The long animation results in a very nice Damage buff, so Ranged will give you a nice boost for the next few seconds of your attack sequence, getting you started on the right foot. You don't have to use it if you don't want to, you can build up plenty of +Damage by simply sticking with your regular attack chain, but this extra benefit may make the snipe more attractive to some players. You could also try to use it as a normal attack, by slotting it with Interrupt Reduction enhancements, but always keep in mind that it's risky. It can still be interrupted and it will still have a long animation.

Regardless of what attack chain you develop, I recommend using Fistful at least every four to six attacks. It's fast, it's cheap, it recharges quickly and the damage that you deal to the critters near your target will reduce the time you have to spend on the spawn as a whole (as noted in my Snap Shot diatribe, Fistful = better DPS). Especially if you've built up a healthy +Damage buff from Defiance.

I am unable to give a definite sustainable Archery attack chain while I'm writing this guide. I can't log into my account, so I can't test. Running through some quick calculations, however, the closest I can get to a sustainable chain is to alternate Snap Shot with each of the other attacks. Snap/Blazing/Snap/Aimed/Snap/Fistful/Repeat. However, this chain relies on every attack having a minimum of 66% +Recharge (such as 2 Recharge Reduction SOs), and there are still delays (primarily Snap, which would have a recharge time of 1.8 seconds with 2 Recharge Reduction SOs, not quite fast enough to be fully recharged after Aimed (1.67 second animation time) or Fistful (1.17 second animation time)). You may find yourself having to rely more on your secondary than you have in the past, or slipping in Explosive or Stunning when possible. Alternatively, a bit of extra +Recharge might be just enough to close the gaps (common IOs above level 30 and various +Recharge bonuses from IO sets and special IOs are generally easy to acquire).

Once you have access to Rain of Arrows, your entire combat sequence will change. Open on every spawn with Rain of Arrows, buffed by Aim and/or Build Up, and follow it up with Explosive or Fistful. This is a viable method even when soloing, and RoA's fast recharge makes it very easy to do for every spawn. Decimate the minions quickly with your AoEs and cone, then focus your single-target attacks on the lieutenants or boss(es). Don't forget to use your controls, even if it's just Stunning Shot, to mitigate some of your incoming damage, or you'll likely find yourself making kissy faces with the ground. I got mono the last time that happened. Trust me, you don't know where that ground has been and you probably don't want to know. Don't worry about building up your Defiance buff at this point, you're going to have plenty of damage output with RoA, Explosive and Fistful, especially if you're using Aim and/or Build Up.

Late game, expect to spend a lot of time mezzed, and glad you built up enough +Recharge (through enhancements, bonuses, Hasten or whatever) to get Snap and Aimed recharging quickly, as you'll be able to shoot those two attacks even while mezzed. Since they're both single-target, your Defiance damage buff should accumulate quickly, too. With Snap and Aimed delivering more damage these days, and the Defiance buff, being mezzed may not be the tactical nightmare that it used to be. Nevertheless, keep a Break Free or three available, just in case.

All of the blaster secondaries can be played with Archery, with varying results.

Energy is the strongest for players who want to go with "pure ranged" characters. You get Build Up very early, Boost Range and Power Boost later, and don't have to take any melee attacks other than the default first one unless you want to (and even the default melee attack is useful because it's a powerful Knockback). Total Focus hits extremely hard, and many Archery/Energy players pick it up for boss fights, both for the damage and because it's a mag 4 Stun (Stuns bosses with one hit). It also has Stun, a melee mag 3 Stun (almost like it was named for what it does... spooky!) that you can stack with Stunning Shot to Stun a boss, or you can use Stunning Shot on one critter and Stun on another one. Energy is my favorite secondary to play with Archery, though I avoid the melee attacks (personal preference. if i want to punch things, i'll play my Kinetics scrapper, Electron Girl).

Devices lacks Build Up, but you get some extra damage and damage mitigation tools in its place. Web Grenade will Immobilize a lieutenant or below, Caltrops will give you a small AoE Slow, Targeting Drone buffs your chance to hit (ToHit buff) and Perception, Cloaking Device will give you a small amount of Defense and reduce the distance at which critters will aggro to you (it's a concealment power, like Stealth or Stealth IOs), Smoke Grenade is the blaster equivalent of Flash Arrow or Smoke (TA power and Fire Control power, respectively), and most of the other powers are damage dealers of varying utility. Devices is the "utility belt" powerset, so if you're looking for something like that for your Archery character, this is it.

Ice offers a lot of control and debuffing to offset the general lack in Archery. An Immobilize, PBAoE Knockdown patch, cone Slow, PBAoE Sleep and toggle Slow aura can all be useful in increasing your survivability. And, of course, Build Up. One thing to note is that a few players recommend using Ice Slick to control critters before using RoA. Don't bother, you're wasting time doing it that way. By the time you've placed your Slick and gotten the critters into it, you could've already decimated the spawn with RoA and followed it up with Explosive or Fistful. RoA is one step shy of an IWIN button for blasters, there's no need to try to extend your combat time and waste powers, just RoA the darned spawn and get on with it!

Elec's Lightning Clap (and Thunder Strike) will stack with Stunning Shot, and the Knockback can be useful if used intelligently, but there isn't much else that synergizes with Archery in this powerset (other than Build Up). There's also a Hold in the set, at level 38, and the rest of the melee attacks have a chance to Sleep foes (except Thunder Strike, which is a Stun). Power Sink will go a long way toward resolving any endurance issues you might have (you don't get it until level 35 though). And Thunder Strike, like Total Focus, is a powerful attack, and available sooner than TF (but it won't Stun a boss by itself).

Fire will significantly increase your AoE potential, if you still think you're going to need more AoE damage by the time you've acquired and slotted RoA. Consume, like Power Sink, wouldn't be a bad choice if you go into Fire. Hot Feet will give you a PBAoE Slow to control the flow of combat a little more, and again, it has Build Up.

Don't be afraid to experiment. Players are pairing Archery up with all five of the blaster secondaries these days, and enjoying their characters immensely. They all have something to offer. Pick the secondary that you feel is going to be the most fun, fit your concept best or be the play style that you're looking for.
[*]Defenders: Archery as a defender secondary lacks some of the oomph that it has as a blaster primary, but it's no less of a single-target and AoE machine. You're going to have some issues building a good attack chain, because of the reduced animation times and possible necessity of using Snap Shot (yes, i know, some of you think it's peachy, but this is my guide and i don't like it for Dancing Hawk, so ), but depending on your primary, you'll also likely have other powers that you can use in your chain, so it should be a smooth ride.

The same advice regarding single-target and AoEs that I gave for blasters is applicable here. Develop your single-target chain, then start getting yourself prepared to switch to AoEs as you near level 38. Take me at my word on this, you are going to want to use RoA as often as possible once you see it in action.

Dark Miasma is a popular choice for Archery defenders. Tar Patch's resistance debuff really puts some extra sharp and pointy into your sharp, pointy sticks, as well as keeps everything neatly confined so you can torture them at will. Howling Twilight's effects include a mag 2 Stun, which you can stack Stunning Shot with to make those mean, ugly bosses stop hitting you and/or your friends. You get a powerful heal for yourself or your team and lots of ToHit debuffing to help you avoid needing that heal much of the time. Dark also has some extra controls (a single-target Hold and a cone Fear), and you even get your own pet... floating... nebulous... poo man.

&gt;.&lt;

ANYWAY, Empathy is also, surprisingly, a popular pairing for Archery. Don't ask me why, don't ask me for play tips, I've never even attempted to play Empathy. I suppose as long as you're not an "aura rocker", you'll have plenty of time to blast, and Archery certainly fits the bill.

Force Fields is another choice for players who want to spend most of their time blasting. Get your bubbles up and get down to the business of making critters look like cactus'. Cacti. Whatever. Repulsion Bomb's Stun stacks with Stunning Shot, though you're likely to be yelled at if you use it on a team. I don't know why, it's absolutely hilarious to see the ragdoll animations when critters go flying, but apparently mass Knockback effects like that are frowned upon.

Kinetics has gained popularity over the last year for Archery players. Despite some of the powers being melee-oriented, the buffs and debuffs do work well with Archery and offer a lot of extra utility. Take it from someone who tanked two AVs (seperately, not together. i'm a Lumatic, not stupid) and a Monster as a Kin/Elec scrapper, Kinetics is powerful in the right hands and can really perk up Archery as a defender secondary.

Radiation Emission... now this is the odd bird in the nest. Rad is a perpetually and universally popular powerset, but I don't think I've ever seen a Rad/Archery yet. I know I haven't run into one on Pinnacle or the test server, but I can't recall seeing one post in the forums, either. That in itself is a bit odd, because Rad seems like it would complement Archery relatively well. AM adds a nice bit of damage and shaves off some of the recharge times. RI not only applies a very strong ToHit Debuff, but also a Defense Debuff that could conceivably allow you to skip slotting Accuracy enhancements in any of your attacks. EF adds a wallop to your already buffed arrows, too, with its resistance debuff, and you even get LR, a Slow that applies a Regen debuff, and EM Pulse, one of the better holds in the game. Tack on a reasonably decent PBAoE Heal that also affects you for a nice bonus, and Fallout and Mutation make excellent teammate abus-... um... utilities. Maybe I'll have to start a Rad/Archery to see if there's a reason they appear to be rare.

Sonic is similar to FF, a mostly "set and forget" powerset that will leave you plenty of time to blast. Get the resistance shields up and go to town with Archery. Sonic has some cards hidden up its sleeve, though. Two Resistance Debuffs (one has to be used with a teammate as the toggle anchor), Liquefy and an enemy phase shift for emergencies are all very nice tools. There aren't many Sonic players, though, Archery or otherwise, due to the medical problems that the graphics used to cause (some people still suffer headaches and nausea with the new graphics, but apparently many less than before), so Sonic/Archery is rare territory at the moment.

Storm/Archery is another popular combination. Lots and lots of Slows, some Resistance debuffing, some ToHit debuffing, even some damage output, Storm is all about soft control and debuffing that borders on hard chaos. It's not a wonder that players like to throw sharp, pointy sticks into the mix. If you've ever seen footage of a hurricane and how it can turn even simple things like 2x4s and pieces of straw into projetiles (or lived through one), that's about what you can expect with Storm/Archery.

And for Trick Arrow/Archery players, I have a more thorough and in-depth coverage in my TA guide, The Trick Arrow Enchiridion, section 4!
[*]Masterminds: You poor boys and girls get the shaft (pun!), being stuck with only the three lowest tier Archery powers. That's more than any other villain gets, though, so never pass up the chance to flaunt it in front of them! Show them that you brought sexy back with those sharp, pointy sticks!

Masterminds don't get enough attacks to develop any kind of chain, unless you can somehow manage to get roughly 120% +Recharge, which would permit you to chain Snap/Aimed/Snap/Fistful with no gaps (Fistful would recharge about 0.04 seconds before you got back to it in that rotation, but even the tiniest bit of latency would mask that). Yes, it is possible, but something to keep in mind is that your Ranged Damage modifier is the same as controllers, 0.55, so the damage output of these attacks is going to be a bit on the low side. And you don't have Containment to make those attacks hit harder (though some of your secondaries do have Resistance Debuffs, which are powerful damage multipliers).

The three Archery attacks for masterminds tend to be more suited to helping your henchmen, if you take them at all, and if you aren't tied up with commanding and keeping them alive. Such is the life of a criminal genius, always buried in paperwork and never enough time to go out for a little fun and mayhem.

Three of the mastermind secondaries are essentially the same defender primaries, so scroll back up and take notes (hey, i made the defenders scroll up and read the blaster part, stop poking me!) on those powersets. Dark, FF and TA.

Poison and Traps are new ground to me, as I tend to play only heroes (i have CoV and i've made some characters... but i love Archery too much to level any of my villains. sorry). I'd recommend turning to some mastermind guides for advice, I'm just not qualified to go any further into mastermind territory. [/list]
Snap Shot and DPS
For a very long time, a heated controversy raged over Snap Shot. I know because I'm the one who started it. The core of the argument was over Snap Shot's DPS and whether or not it made the attack worth taking, slotting or using in favor of another attack (namely, Aimed Shot).

When I wrote my original guide, I very bluntly stated that Snap Shot should be skipped, or ignored if you couldn't skip it. As the responses to the guide piled up, I attempted to explain the reasoning behind my recommendation, but I'm afraid I was somewhat less than clear in my disagreements at that time. I simply pointed out that the DPS wasn't better, regardless of what it might appear to be on paper, and cited personal experience.

The criticisms of my recommendation came from people who either felt that they might as well use Snap Shot, since they had to take it (defenders), or those who thought that the faster animation time made up for the pathetic damage it dealt. "I use it because it's there", "I use it because I like the animation" or "I use it because it's better than wasting a good attack to finish off a mob", those are justifications that I can understand and support. Those are choices based on necessity or character concept.

Stating that it was better DPS, though, was simply spreading misinformation based on vacuum theorizing about DPS. Now I'm going to lay the DPS myth to rest, once and for all.

For the purpose of this exercise, I'll be using the damage stats given for Snap Shot, Aimed Shot, Blazing Arrow and Fistful of Arrows from Red Tomax's City of Data site, with a level 50 defender as the example.

Snap Shot - 24.58 damage, 47.93 damage with three Damage SOs
Aimed Shot - 36.15 damage, 70.49 damage with three Damage SOs
Blazing Arrow - 94.35 damage (including DoT), 183.98 damage with three Damage SOs
Fistful of Arrows - 32.89 damage, 64.14 damage with three Damage SOs

An average +0 minion's HP at level 50 is 430.8.

Our hypothetical level 50 defender using Aimed/Blazing/Aimed/Fistful/Aimed would've dealt 459.59 damage in 9.71 seconds of animation time, just enough to finish that average +0 minion. Snap/Aimed/Snap/Blazing/Snap/Aimed dealt 468.75 damage in 9.01 seconds of animation time. Looks like a slight increase in total damage and decrease in total animation time, right?

If you were only fighting one critter, yes. In every other case, no, you actually lost overall DPS and wasted time. And in the reality of the City of * game, you are fighting more than one critter in almost every situation.

In an average spawn, you'll be facing three critters. Using Snap/Aimed/Snap/Blazing/Repeat, or any combination thereof, means you were spending 9.01 seconds to defeat every single one of those critters and only dealing damage to them individually. However, by using Aimed/Blazing/Aimed/Fistful/Repeat, you were dealing damage to multiple critters every time Fistful hit (presuming, as always, that you were fighting more than one critter at a time, and that you had the good sense to line up your cone properly). That, in turn, increased your overall DPS by reducing the total number of attacks required to finish the spawn, and therefore the time spent.

Using Aimed/Blazing/Aimed/Fistful, the second minion in the spawn would've been defeated with only one cycle of your chain, shaving 1.67 seconds off of your overall attack time for two minions. In 17.75 seconds, you would've defeated two critters with this chain. Using the Snap Shot outlined above, it would've taken you 18.02 seconds. Essentially, the time you thought you'd saved by using Snap Shot, you gradually lost as the size of the spawn increased. In a spawn of 3 minions, the result was a clear loss in DPS, not a gain, due to the additional time spent per critter when using Snap Shot... and 3 is the standard spawn size at the first, third and fifth difficulty settings. In spawns larger than 3, the time differential grew, and thus the DPS differential grew.

So what about skipping Aimed Shot and using Snap Shot in its place? Some players chose to do this, but it was another idea that I strongly opposed because it ignored recharge times. It simply wasn't possible to build a chain with Snap Shot that rivaled the DPS unless Aimed Shot was included, because of Blazing Arrow's recharge time. Without Aimed Shot, there would've been a minimum of 0.97 seconds delay in the chain's cycle (presuming a Snap/Blazing/Snap/Fistful/Repeat cycle). A ~1 second gap in your chain isn't optimal for DPS, and it certainly didn't beat the DPS of a chain with Aimed Shot. It was possible for blasters to work around that with their secondaries, but that opened up a totally different question - why freaking bother using Snap Shot at all if you have better attacks from your secondary to build into a chain?! For defenders, it would've provided a space to insert one of their primary powers, but, again, that wouldn't've increased their DPS, it just would've filled the gap.

Thus my recommendation not to skip Aimed.

That brings up the final hope for a superior DPS chain with Snap, using Fistful to create a Snap/Aimed/Snap/Blazing/Snap/Fistful chain. The total damage of that chain was 462.40, and the total attack time rose to 9.37. That chain would've offered the best option for improving your DPS using Snap Shot while also accounting for the fact that spawns include more than one critter, but then you would've had to slot up four attacks to do the same thing you could've done with three attacks. I can't speak for everyone, but to me, slots are a precious commodity and wasting 2-5 of them on a power that I not only could've lived without, but could've placed in powers that gave a more dramatic and noticeable boost to my survivability was a lot more important than some misplaced need to make a pootastic power usable. It certainly wasn't worth the slots when you could make the "sacrifice" by not using Snap at all and achieve nearly the same DPS.

So there you go. That was the underlying foundation of my argument against using Snap Shot, for any of the ATs that could. The determined statement that "it's better DPS, this piece of paper said so!" was wrong. Don't misunderstand me, I highly respect pieces of paper. Some of the Lumiverse's most revered residents are pieces of paper. They're well loved for their wisdom and knowledge, and wow, can they dance. But they aren't always right, and in this case, the piece of paper that said Snap Shot's DPS was superior for any Archery attack chain was just plain wrong. One potential chain showed a slight, very slight increase in DPS, but the cost exceeded the reward.

Power Pools
Figuring out which pools to use is always something of a challenge. Many are so useful that it's difficult to limit oneself to just 4 pools. And for every player who's focused completely on creating the "strongest" character, there's another player who's determined to build his or her character exactly according to a specific concept, even to the point of picking less effective pool powers for "flavor". And with Archery being available to such a diverse spread of ATs, it's nearly impossible to point to any specific pool or power and say, "That's the one."

Fitness is probably going to be a relatively popular choice to get Stamina, as the reduced animation times for Archery mean the powerset is going to be somewhat more endurance-heavy than it was before. Fitness also fits (no pun!) the reason most players are likely to make an Archery character, the concept of a "natural" character.

<ul type="square">[*]Blasters: Medicine and whatever pool you choose for your travel power are good options. Concealment offers Stealth, Invisibility and Phase Shift, all useful. Leadership's buffs are on the low side for blasters, but if you have the extra endurance, they may be worthwhile. Going into the Fighting pool for Tough and/or Weave may also catch your eye, depending on how you're building your blaster.
[*]Defenders: Leadership and Concealment give you some extra buffs for your team, and Medicine for the primaries without status protection buffs or heals. All three of those pools also benefit you as a solo player, so they're good choices across the board.
[*]Masterminds: Leadership stacks nicely with Supremacy, and Concealment may allow you to maneuver your henchmen into combat positions or get through tougher missions without fighting all the way from the door. Flight or Teleportation for the group movement powers are also desirable for masterminds. If you're building a "petless" mastermind, picking up Air Superiority and one or two other attacks would probably be a very smart idea, as you won't have more than 3 Archery attacks. Medicine will also be useful if your henchmen (or you) need heals but don't have anything else available.
[*]Travel Powers: Hover/Fly is very complimentary for Archery, as it allows you to stay out of melee range, position your cone and AoE to the best effect, and make a rapid escape when necessary. Masterminds who want a team movement power for their henchmen can pick up Group Fly here if they don't mind the speed (or lack thereof) and don't intend to get into fights while using it (25% ToHit Debuff).

Combat Jumping/Super Jump are good for those who want to keep their feet on the ground (most of the time, anyway). You can bunny hop all around spawns with Combat Jumping, and Super Jump is always a solid choice for a travel power.

Super Speed gives you about the same level of concealment as Stealth, and it's fast, but it lacks vertical movement and unlike many powersets, nothing in Archery requires you to zoom into melee range to use. If it floats your wax lips, get it, but it doesn't offer much that supports Archery.

Teleport is... well, it is what it is. If TP is your thing, go for it. Team Teleport is at the 4th tier, for masterminds, if you're still looking for a team movement power.

All of the pools with travel powers also offer various other useful powers, though the degree of usefulness will vary by AT and player-specific needs/wants.[/list]
APPs/PPPs
Every character in the game gains access to special pools when he/she reaches level 41. For blasters and defenders, they're called APPs, Ancillary Power Pools. For masterminds, they're Patron Power Pools (PPPs). APPs and PPPs were designed to help fill out some of the missing options in each AT, giving them access to powers that their primaries and secondaries usually don't have. They work like the regular power pools, with the first two powers becoming available at level 41, the third power becoming available at level 44 and requiring you to take one of the first two powers before you can select it, and the final power opening up at level 47 but only if you've taken any two other powers in the pool. Unlike the standard power pools, you can only pick one APP or PPP, not four.

Which APP or PPP you select, or if you even select one at all (there's no requirement that you take an APP or PPP, you can always pick more powers from your primary, secondary or one of your power pools), is going to be up to you. There isn't enough room in this guide or time in my day to cover all of the APPs and PPPs, nor explain what each power can do and how it might be useful from an Archery standpoint, so my advice to you is to download Mid's planner (linked in the first section of this guide) and look them over for yourself. Get an idea of what's going to fit your concept, what you think might be fun to use, or which pool or power(s) will help you the most.

Blasters and defenders will have options ranging from resistance/defense powers to extra attacks to status effects to buffs and more. There's something for practically any play style in the APPs, and many powers are useful for Archery characters.

Masterminds have a more limited selection, as their PPPs are all the same (one "armor" power, one cone attack, one AoE Immobilize and one single-target Hold), differing only in the details (such as damage type or what level a power becomes available).

Stamina
Always a subject that sparks debate, do we need Stamina for our Archery characters?

As with most things I've mentioned in this guide, every player is going to have a different experience and expectations. Up to I10, Archery players didn't tend to need Stamina, though many (dare i say most?) did take it, for the convenience it offered.

The reduced animation times in I11 really did change the feel of Archery, though, and also made a significant impact in one of the major reasons that Archers could get by without Stamina, the tendency to recover some endurance over time while animations played out. Archery feels faster now, and it is faster, and it's also going to lead to your endurance bar dropping faster.

Some +Recovery, or a combination of more +End and an appreciable amount of Endurance Reduction, is going to be wanted by most Archers, I suspect. If you don't want to get Stamina, then consider going into Fitness at least up to Health and get the +15% and +10/20% IOs to get yourself 25% +Recovery, plus whatever you can stack up in IO set bonuses. Or focus your IO build on +Recovery and/or +Endurance bonuses. Regardless of how you do it, I think you're going to find yourself wanting some maintenance for your blue bar, and Stamina is simply the easiest option to get. If you're determined not to get Stamina, you'd be wise to at least slot some Endurance Reduction enhancements in your attacks, to lighten the load.

Hasten
Should you?

I don't see the point. Hasten is a great power for getting those excruciatingly long recharge times down to more manageable levels, but Archery doesn't have anything that suffers from excessively long recharge times. Archers can also make attack chains relatively easily, so they're not in the same situation as some other sets that have trouble creating sustainable chains without significant recharge buffs.

As much of an RoA freak as I am, I can't even bring myself to take Hasten for that power. There are 7 other sharp, pointy sticks to play with while I'm waiting for RoA to recharge, and I want to use them all, not spam RoA.

Where you would normally slot 2 Recharge Reduction enhancements in powers, Hasten would allow you to save those slots, but as I frequently point out when asked, it also means you're giving up those two slots worth of +Recharge every time Hasten expires and you won't be getting them back until Hasten has recharged. And that's... well, sucky.

You can also very easily stack up five of the 6.25% +Recharge bonuses from IO sets with Archery, and a 7.5% +Recharge, so if you're building with that goal in mind, you may find that you need Hasten even less than you might've previously thought. The sets that you'd be slotting into the attacks and Stunning Shot will reach those bonuses with 5 slots, and generally give you at least as much Accuracy, Damage and Recharge Reduction as if you were slotting 1 Acc/3 Dam/2 Rech (and potentially more), plus some Endurance Reduction or Range as a bonus, so you're typically going to see better results from that than you'd get from Hasten.

If you are thinking of taking Hasten, base the decision on whether it would benefit your other powerset and treat any time saved with Archery attacks as a bonus.

IOs (Invention Origin enhancements)
As I stated in my TA guide, I'm not going to tell anyone which IOs are "best" for them. The range of options available are simply too great to point to a single one or a very few and say that those will be the right options. Different players are going to want different things from IOs and IO sets, and what works for one players isn't necessarily going to be what another player considers optimal, or even playable.

You can use IO sets to accumulate bonuses, or you can use the IOs from sets individually to enhance various aspects of your powers. Pursuing anything with a single-minded intent can lead to problems, though, so be careful with your choices. IOs aren't going make you into a great Archery player, but they will allow a less skilled player to improve in some ways, and a great player to really do a lot more. But IOs are, at their most basic, really just a way for us to customize our characters even more than costumes. They allow us to personalize our characters in ways we've never been capable of before, and they help us fill in some of the deficiencies in our characters so we're more well-rounded or give us ways to strengthen our better aspects even further.

IOs won't walk your pet and pick up its poo, or wash your car, or do your laundry. Don't build a character to be so utterly reliant on IOs that you're incapable of functioning without them or when the set bonuses disappear (which happens if you exemplar below the levels of the IOs themselves). They don't play the game for you, they give you new ways to look at how you play the game.

A good way to start, and in general use IOs is to enhance individual powers in such a way as to save one or more slots over what you would spend using SOs or the equivalent. You don't have to use all of the IOs in a set, and you don't even have to use IOs from the same set to accomplish this. With the right combinations, you can get the same results with 4 or 5 IOs that you would've gotten from 6 SOs, ending up with results equal to or better than the suggested SO slotting in the descriptions above.

When you've decided which set bonuses you think are going to help you the most or give you ways to improve your approach to how you play your Archery character, start slotting those IOs to get the bonuses and watch your progress. In some cases, you're not going to see much difference unless you accumulate very high bonuses, in other cases you might notice the differences right away. When you achieve a goal, give yourself a little extra of that bonus type as a buffer, for those times when you're in over your head, then start looking at your build again. Do you need more of that bonus, or is there another bonus that you think may add more value?

For instance, +Regen alone isn't going to do a whole lot for most blasters because there simply isn't enough available in the form of bonuses and special IOs, even if Health is taken, to really improve a blaster's survivability. The blaster needs something more. +HP is one answer, and a very good one, because having a larger pool of HP means that +Regen is doing more and also that the blaster has a greater margin of survivability. But those two may still be not quite enough for the average blaster, so what else helps increase survivability and works in concert with +HP and +Regen? +Resistance/Defense. With +Resistance/Defense added to the build, the blaster is taking less damage, which in turn means the extra HP is extended even further and the +Regen has more time to work its magic.

Some IOs can also replace a power completely. A +Stealth IO can be substituted for Stealth or Cloaking Device (discounting the Defense aspects of those powers), or a -KB IO may alleviate the need for Acrobatics. IOs like that save you power selections and potentially allow you to expand your build much further.

Regardless, it's your character, build it how you feel it's going to work best. You're certainly welcome to post your IO build, in this guide's thread or in the appropriate forum, and doing so will not only give you valuable feedback but also give others ideas and perhaps even help you make some choices. I know I'm always looking for something interesting and fun to do with IOs, so by all means, show off what you've created.

PvP (Player versus Player)
The reality of PvP in this game is that practically anyone you encounter is likely to have some Lethal resistance, and that's going to make it difficult, so your best tactic is to utilize the fact that Archery attacks are difficult to trace back to the source. Hang back, find a comfy spot to hide and unload your attacks from the furthest range you can manage. Catching other players off guard won't typically mean they'll have their Resistance powers turned off, but it will usually buy you enough time to get one or more extra attacks in and deal enough damage to make up the difference.

Ranged Shot and Blazing Arrow are your two main tools. Fire one of them off, then follow up immediately with the other, you'll deliver a tremendous amount of damage in very little time.

Stunning Shot, because it's a Stun, is going to be more effective than Holds because the most common protection, Acrobatics, does nothing to protect against it. You won't be Stunning any of the melee ATs (unless you just got very lucky and caught one with his status protection down), but most of the ranged ATs don't have access to any Stun protection, making them much more vulnerable to this control. The big FF and Sonic PBAoE bubbles, and the various gadgets that grant the same effects, do protect against Stuns, so don't waste this on them.

Most of your PvP combat will be with single-target attacks. The AoEs that are so incredible in PvE are much less impressive when you're facing real players who can and usually do move around frequently. If you can catch a player, or a small group of players with RoA, that's great, but in general, locking yourself into that animation for that long will just get you laughed at and beaten up. Explosive and Fistful are best saved, too, for PvE or as fillers while you're waiting for your better single-target attacks to recharge. Fistful is also a bit less wanted here, because of the shorter range.

Use your primary or secondary in every way that you can. Blasters will want to close to range and deliver that killing blow if they think they can get away with it, and it's a good tactic for fighting individual players. Defenders will want to hang back and find ways to use their primary and Archery together to disable and defeat players, or assist their teammates.

Archery/Energy blasters have something of an edge over any other type of Archery character, as they have access to Boost Range. The use of that buff can make it next to impossible to spot the character, and because Blazing Arrow's damage output is almost as high as snipes, Archery/Energy is the sniper build. Put 3 Centrioles or Dam/Range IOs into Blazing Arrow for this to get the range closer to Ranged Shot's, use Boost Range and you'll be shooting from so far away that very few players will ever see you and even fewer will be capable of returning fire.

Archery's high accuracy comes into play in PvP, too, because the base chance to hit in PvP is only 50%. Higher base accuracy means better totals when slotting Accuracy enhancements and using ToHit buffs, and that in turn means greater chances of hitting in PvP. It also means Archery attacks can generally be less heavily slotted for Accuracy, typically saving a slot that can be used for other things, like Recharge Reduction, Damage or Range.

[u](Section 2 - Powers)[u]

All powers are listed in the following format:
Power Name
<ul type="square">[*]Availability: The earliest level at which a player can select a power, as determined by AT.[*]Effects: This entry outlines precisely what it is that a power actually does.[*]Recharge: How long it takes for a power to become usable again after it has been used.[*]Animation: The length of time it takes for your character to go through the act of using a power.[*]Duration(s): How long the effects of a power last. Note that a power's Duration begins at the end of the Animation, not when the Animation begins.[*]Range: The maximum distance that this power can be fired to, discounting Range enhancements or buffs. You may use a power at any distance between 1' (right under your nose) and the listed range.[*]Endurance: How much Endurance it costs to use a power.[*]Accuracy: This entry gives the base Accuracy of the power. To determine your actual chance to hit, multiply the base power Accuracy by the appropriate modifier for the critter level.[*]Accepted Enhancements: The types of enhancements that can be used with the power.[*]Slotting recommendation: This is the suggested enhancements and number of slots to dedicate to the power. For this guide, assume all enhancement suggestions to be at least SOs. HOs and level 25 or better IOs are acceptable substitutes.

The values of IOs vary according to level, schedule and whether or not they enhance multiple aspects of a power (such as a set IO that enhances Accuracy/Hold).

Certain powers can be used in lieu of enhancements, such as Hasten, as they provide the same benefit or net result as specific types of enhancements. Other powers, such as Tactics, provide a net effect that may be close enough for your taste, and as such can also be used as a substitute for specific enhancements.[*]Usable IO sets: The IO set types that a power accepts. The IO set names or specific IOs in a set will not be listed, because of the sheer volume of space that would be required. You can look up IO sets and which IOs are in each set with Mid's Hero Designer, ParagonWiki or Red Tomax's City of Data.[*]Notes: Commentary on a power, explanation of usage, existing bugs and various information.[/list]
Snap Shot
<ul type="square">[*]Availability: Level 1 (all)[*]Effects: Damage (0.84 DS blasters, 0.68 DS defenders and masterminds)[*]Recharge: 3 seconds (blasters), 2 seconds (defenders and masterminds)[*]Animation: 1 second[*]Duration: Instant[*]Range: 80'[*]Endurance: 3.54 (blasters and defenders), 4.42 (masterminds)[*]Accuracy: 1.155[*]Accepted Enhancements: Accuracy, Damage, Endurance Reduction, Range, Recharge Reduction[*]Slotting recommendation: See Notes[*]Usable IO sets: Ranged Damage[*]Notes: Snap Shot is an attack that I recommended avoiding in my previous TA/A guide. At the end of this new guide, I've set aside a section to explain exactly why, so I'm not going to get into that in the notes for the power.

Defenders - You're stuck with it. If you slot it, I wouldn't advise using too many slots. It doesn't need Recharge Reduction, unless you're trying to use it as a proc triggering device by loading it full of special IOs and spamming it. It certainly doesn't need Endurance Reduction. If you've got any powers, IO bonuses or special IOs, or buffs that increase your chance to hit, put 3 Damage enhancements in it and leave it alone. Otherwise, 1 Accuracy and 3 Damage, and even that makes me cringe. Or pack it with procs and pray, if that's your happy place. Personally, I'd rather swallow broken glass than use this on my TA/A.

Masterminds - In your hands, Snap Shot deals almost exactly the same damage as a blaster's Brawl. You've got plenty of better choices throughout your career, unless you're making a "petless" mastermind. If you're absolutely determined to take it and use it, it's your character, just don't expect anything remarkable out of it. If you do take Snap, 0-1 Accuracy and 3 Damage, or try sticking some procs into it and see if they make it a little more useful.

Blasters - Totally, completely different situation. TAKE SNAP SHOT. Yes, I said TAKE SNAP SHOT.

The changes in Issue 11 have a profound impact on Snap Shot for blasters. The base damage scale has been increased to 0.84 (only the blaster version), and the Ranged Damage scale for blasters has been increased from 1.0 to 1.125 (separate change, roughly two weeks after I11 went live). Together, these two changes result in Snap Shot dealing almost the same damage that the "old" (pre-I11) Aimed Shot used to deal, and almost as much damage as Fistful or Explosive. Yes, the damage output finally makes it worth taking and using, for blasters. The new scales make an enormous difference for this previously hideous attack.

This is a good thing, too, because the combination of increased recharge time for Aimed Shot and decreased animation times across the board mean it's no longer possible for blasters to create a sustainable ranged attack chain with Archery unless Snap Shot is taken. It also fits well with the change to Defiance that allows blasters to fire tier 1 and 2 attacks (or tier 1 powers from their secondary) while mezzed.

Take it, slot it, use it. 0-1 Accuracy, 3 Damage and 1-2 Recharge (you'll want the Recharge Reduction because the recharge time was also increased for blasters, to 3 seconds). For blasters, it's a very worthwhile attack.[/list]
Aimed Shot
<ul type="square">[*]Availability: Level 1 (blasters), Level 2 (defenders and masterminds)[*]Effects: Damage (1.32 blasters, 1.00 defenders and masterminds)[*]Recharge: 6 seconds (blasters), 4 seconds (defenders and masterminds)[*]Animation: 1.67 seconds[*]Duration: Instant[*]Range: 80'[*]Endurance: 5.2 (blasters and defenders), 6.5 (masterminds)[*]Accuracy: 1.155[*]Accepted Enhancements: Accuracy, Damage, Endurance Reduction, Range, Recharge Reduction[*]Slotting recommendation: 1 Accuracy, 3 Damage, 2 Recharge Reduction OR 1-2 Range OR 1-2 Endurance Reduction[*]Usable IO sets: Ranged Damage[*]Notes: Aimed Shot is one of the staples of every Archery character I create. It's fast, it's easy on the endurance bar, it hits hard enough to make me happy and it recharges quickly. All three ATs should have this attack and plan to use it. This is where Archery really starts, it's the power that should've been the level 1 power.[/list]
Fistful of Arrows
<ul type="square">[*]Availability: Level 2 (blasters), Level 4 (defenders), Level 8 (masterminds)[*]Effects: Damage (0.91 DS)[*]Recharge: 8 seconds[*]Animation: 1.17 seconds[*]Duration: Instant[*]Range: 50' (blasters and masterminds), 40' (defenders)[*]Endurance: 8.53 (blasters and defenders), 10.66 (masterminds)[*]Accuracy: 1.155[*]Accepted Enhancements: Accuracy, Damage, Endurance Reduction, Range, Recharge Reduction[*]Slotting recommendation: 1 Accuracy, 3 Damage, 2 Recharge Reduction OR 1-2 Range OR 1-2 Endurance Reduction[*]Usable IO sets: Targeted AoE Damage[*]Notes: Fistful of Arrows is a solid attack. The damage output is respectable, it animates very quickly, the endurance cost and recharge time are both reasonable and it even looks nice. Masterminds take a small hit in the endurance cost, but it's manageable. Defenders have a shorter range, but again, it's manageable. For blasters and defenders, it makes a nice addition to your standard attack chain (see Snap Shot's notes for more information on using Fistful in an attack chain), and with only 2 other choices for multi-target attacks, it's not a bad idea to have it to round out your AoE abilities. Blasters will find it very nice for pairing up with Explosive Arrow for some lightweight AoE fun. For all three ATs, I recommend taking, slotting and using Fistful. Masterminds, this is the last Archery power you'll have access to, so enjoy it.

For all ATs, I also strongly recommend slotting Damage/Range enhancements in Fistful. Extending the range will give you the ability to pick one spot to stand or Hover and do your blasting, instead of moving around to get into and out of various ranges. Using Damage/Range enhancements means more sharp, pointy sticks in the air, and that's why you're playing with Archery. [/list]
Blazing Arrow
<ul type="square">[*]Availability: Level 6 (blaster), Level 10 (defender)[*]Effects: Damage (1.96 DS lethal), DoT (5 tics of 0.125 DS Fire)[*]Recharge: 10 seconds[*]Animation: 1.83 seconds[*]Duration: Instant (Lethal damage), ~4.6 seconds (Fire DoT)[*]Range: 80'[*]Endurance: 10.2[*]Accuracy: 1.155[*]Accepted Enhancements: Accuracy, Damage, Endurance Reduction, Range, Recharge Reduction[*]Slotting recommendation: 1 Accuracy, 3 Damage, 2 Recharge Reduction OR 3 Damage and 3 Recharge Reduction[*]Usable IO sets: Ranged Damage[*]Notes: First, disregard the in-game text description for Blazing Arrow. It does not have lower accuracy than the other Archery powers. This comes directly from Castle, the description is wrong, Blazing Arrow has the same 1.155 accuracy base as the rest of Archery.

Now that that's out of the way, wow. Blazing Arrow is a great attack. It hits hard, it's got a small DoT, it's got twice the range of similar attacks from other blast sets, and it even costs a little bit less endurance. The DoT is, according to Castle, supposed to be a chance to hit per tick, but testing and City of Data indicate that the ticks aren't checked, all 5 hit. For comparison, Fire Blast's Blaze checks each tick with an 80% chance to occur. Even more, Blazing Arrow's damage outpaces Blaze's damage if Blaze doesn't get a minimum of 4 ticks, which makes Blazing Arrow the highest consistent damage non-snipe ranged attack available to heroes.

There should be no reason, no excuses at all for not taking Blazing Arrow as soon as it becomes available, for either blasters or defenders. Period. If you pass this attack by, your Archer card will be revoked and you'll be staked out naked on a rooftop next to a ravening horde of Rikti monkeys.

Yes, I mean it.[/list]
Aim
<ul type="square">[*]Availability: Level 8 (blaster), Level 16 (defender)[*]Effects: Accuracy and Damage buff (8.0 ToHit, 5.0 Damage DS)[*]Recharge: 90 seconds[*]Animation: 1.17 seconds[*]Duration: 10 seconds[*]Endurance: 5.2[*]Accepted Enhancements: Endurance Reduction, Recharge Reduction, ToHit Buff[*]Slotting recommendation: 2-3 Recharge Reduction, optionally 2-3 ToHit Buff[*]Usable IO sets: To-Hit Buff[*]Notes: This is a standard Aim, just like most of the other blast sets offer. 37.5% +ToHit and 62.5% +Damage for blasters, 50% +ToHit and Damage for defenders. You aren't required to take Aim, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have it. I rarely pass this one up as a blaster, but I also don't try to cram it in at an early level, instead fitting it in when I've got a little more wiggle room in my builds, usually in the mid to late 20s.

As a defender, I actually passed on Aim completely. Between the native accuracy of Archery and the effects of my primary (Trick Arrow, Acid Arrow in particular), I never actually needed the ToHit Buff and I didn't consider the damage buff to be high enough to warrant replacing any of the other powers that I needed or wanted. However, many defenders are likely to want Aim. My choice to skip it was simply that, my choice.

Archery's Aim will draw your bow.[/list]
Explosive Arrow
<ul type="square">[*]Availability: Level 12 (blaster), Level 20 (defender)[*]Effects: Damage (0.90 DS lethal/smashing), Knockback (50%/critter)[*]Recharge: 16 seconds[*]Animation: 1.83 seconds[*]Duration: Instant[*]Range: 80', 15' AoE centered on targeted critter[*]Endurance: 15.2[*]Accuracy: 1.155[*]Accepted Enhancements: Accuracy, Damage, Endurance Reduction, Knockback, Range, Recharge Reduction[*]Slotting recommendation: 1 Accuracy, 3 Damage, 1-2 Recharge Reduction OR 1-2 Endurance Reduction[*]Usable IO sets: Targeted AoE Damage[*]Notes: I have a love-blah relationship with Explosive Arrow. As a blaster, I love it, but as a defender, it just never put the pickle on my sandwich.

Blasters will get a lot of mileage out of Explosive Arrow. The damage is almost the same as Fistful's, it's got great range and it fits into the AoE power of the set very well. For normal play, just using this and Fistful while alternating Aim and Build Up can really help you move along through missions. When the Knockback happens, it's a nice bonus that can help keep you out of the hospital. And once you have Rain of Arrows, it's the premium follow-up attack to finish off a spawn, due to the range and number of targets (Fistful is limited to 10, being a cone, whereas RoA and Explosive both affect 16). A full RoA/Explosive/Fistful combo buffed by Aim and Build Up is a truly devastating thing that you'll wish you could do every 30 seconds or so... oh, wait, you can!

But it's not quite as nice for defenders. The knockback can be a problem if it sends critters flying out of an AoE debuff that's keeping you alive, and the damage, despite being only 0.01 DS less than Fistful, somehow feels far less impressive (a perception thing, probably because the damage it deals is displayed as two seperate, smaller numbers, one for Smashing and one for Lethal). The endurance cost is also nearly twice that of Fistful, and you definitely notice its impact on your endurance bar. As a defender, I found that I always had something more useful to use than this attack, and eventually respeced out of it. I haven't missed it.

Explosive does deal some Smashing damage, and in a powerset that's heavy on Lethal, that does give it some additional merit. And the Knockback is directional, based on your position in reference to the spawn or critter, not radial like some AoE powers with Knockback, so you won't be scattering critters all over the globe, they'll just go flying away from where you were standing when the power was activated.

It also gives you some pretty nice multi-target damage potential when you use it with Fistful, and if you've played long enough to get Rain of Arrows, you'll probably be jonesing for AoE output every second that RoA is down. Fistful + Explosive fills that need rather well.

The two complaints I have about Explosive Arrow are the endurance cost and the recharge time. Fistful deals slightly more damage, recharges in half the time and costs nearly half the endurance. The chance for Knockback simply doesn't justify nearly doubled recharge and endurance, in my opinion, so if your build is tight, take Fistful and skip Explosive.

Also, the graphic for this power is simply gorgeous. A wreath of flame that expands out from the point of impact. Sometimes, it's worth having just to enjoy the lovely explosion.

And no, I have no idea why an attack that displays a fire graphic is dealing Lethal and Smashing damage. I don't make the sharp, pointy sticks, I just put eyes out with them![/list]
Ranged Shot
<ul type="square">[*]Availability: Level 18 (blaster), Level 28 (defender)[*]Effects: Damage (2.76 DS)[*]Recharge: 12 seconds[*]Animation: 4.67 seconds (3 seconds Interruptible + 1.67 seconds)[*]Duration: Interruptible (3 seconds), Instant[*]Range: 150'[*]Endurance: 14.4[*]Accuracy: 1.386[*]Accepted Enhancements: Accuracy, Damage, Endurance Reduction, Interrupt Reduction, Range, Recharge Reduction[*]Slotting recommendation: 3 Damage, optionally 1-3 Range OR 1-3 Interrupt Reduction, optionally 1-3 Recharge Reduction[*]Usable IO sets: Ranged Damage, Sniper Attacks[*]Notes: If you've been paying attention to the numbers I've been listing with each power, you'll notice that Blazing Arrow deals almost as much damage as Ranged Shot. This isn't an error, Blazing Arrow really is that powerful. That, in turn, makes Ranged Shot somewhat less appealing, with a higher endurance cost and recharge time and much longer animation. Ranged Shot does have nearly twice the range of Blazing Arrow, so it's not entirely overshadowed by Blazing Arrow.

You're likely to either skip this attack, or take it with the intention of using it frequently. There isn't really an in-between position. It isn't a bad attack, despite being a snipe, it's simply not terribly impressive in a set with an attack like Blazing Arrow.

If you are going to take it and use it, Ranged Shot makes a great companion to Blazing Arrow for hitting things really hard from really far away. Buffing up Blazing with some extra Range gives you the capability to use it from almost the same distance that Ranged offers, so you can hit two individual critters with snipe-damage attacks, or focus both attacks on one to deal a lot of damage quickly (a common tactic for Archery players in PvP).

Nevertheless, if you're looking for something to skip, Ranged Shot is probably at the top of your list, again because Blazing Arrow is just that good. Ranged also becomes available at a time when you're likely to have developed your play style to the point that it just won't fit in well, so don't work yourself into a frenzy trying to find a reason to take it or use it, you've got a really good list of attacks already.[/list]
Stunning Shot
<ul type="square">[*]Availability: Level 26 (blaster), Level 35 (defender)[*]Effects: Disorient (mag 3), Damage (0.25 DS)[*]Recharge: 20 seconds[*]Animation: 1.83 seconds[*]Duration: Variable (use Ranged Stun modifier for AT and BaseMez table in Iakona's guide to determine exact length at any level)
*Base value: 10 seconds
*Blaster: 10 seconds (level 26), 11.92 seconds (level 50)
*Defender: 13.4 seconds (level 35), 14.9 seconds (level 50)[*]Range: 60'[*]Endurance: 10.2[*]Accuracy: 1.155[*]Accepted Enhancements: Accuracy, Damage, Disorient Duration, Endurance Reduction, Range, Recharge Reduction[*]Slotting recommendation: 1 Accuracy, 2-3 Disorient Duration, 1-2 Recharge Reduction, 1-2 Range[*]Usable IO sets: Ranged Damage, Stun[*]Notes: Stunning Shot is a very reliable, useful power. It's the only control in Archery (disregarding the soft control from Explosive Arrow's chance for Knockdown), so characters in need of damage mitigation will find it extremely welcome. It also benefits from Archery's inherent accuracy bonus, making it even more potent as a control.

Regarding the in-game description, Stunning Shot is a mag 3 Stun, not a chance to Stun. All critters of lieutenant or lower level will be Stunned if they're hit. It won't Stun bosses or higher, but it does stack with other Stuns, and stacked Stuns will work on bosses.

Blasters should pick this up immediately, regardless of which secondary they're using. Energy Melee, Electric Melee and Devices have Stuns that can be used with Stunning Shot. For blasters using Fire Melee, Stunning Shot provides some much needed damage mitigation that's lacking in the secondary. Ice Melee blasters are likely to find it less useful due to the additional control and debuff options offered by that secondary. I'll say again, though, that the additional accuracy is a very strong incentive to take it, because controls that don't hit aren't doing much for your survivability. Regardless of your secondary, having a very accurate control that can take lieutenants or lower critters out (or be stacked with your other Stun to disable a boss) is a good thing.

Defenders have less reason to take Stunning Shot. It comes so late in the game that a defender isn't likely to have a pressing need for a (or another) single-target control by then. It's not useless for defenders, it's just less useful because their primaries should be fleshed out well enough to provide sufficient damage mitigation by level 35. Defenders playing with a primary that lacks any controls are going to get a lot of utility out of this power, whereas those with primaries that are already heavy on control will probably want to skip it. Dark Miasma, Force Field and Storm Summoning defenders have access to Stuns that can be stacked with Stunning Shot.

Whichever AT you're playing, don't slot this for Damage. It's not an attack, the damage is a side-effect and you will most certainly be disappointed if you try to use it as such.[/list]
Rain of Arrows
<ul type="square">[*]Availability: Level 32 (blaster), Level 38 (defender)[*]Effects: Damage (variable, 1.35 DS * 1-3), Avoid (critters)[*]Recharge: 60 seconds[*]Animation: 4 seconds[*]Duration: 1 second, 3 ticks[*]Range: 80' (blasters), 90' (defenders), 25' AoE centered on targeted location[*]Endurance: 20.8[*]Accuracy: 1.0 (special)[*]Accepted Enhancements: Accuracy, Damage, Endurance Reduction, Range, Recharge Reduction[*]Slotting recommendation: 1 Accuracy, 3 Damage, 2 Recharge Reduction OR 2 Accuracy, 3 Damage, 2 Recharge Reduction[*]Usable IO sets: Targeted AoE[*]Notes: First, Rain of Arrows is not a "rain" power like Rain of Fire or Ice Storm. Functionally, Rain of Arrows is identical to "nuke" powers, like Nova or Blackstar, with the one difference being that it's used from range instead of PBAoE. You activate the power, a targeting circle appears on your pointer, you select the location where you want Rain of Arrows to occur and click, and the power animates. At the end of the animation, the power summons a pseudo-pet that applies a PBAoE "nuke" at the targeted location. It can hit once, twice or three times, just like other "nukes".

The "Rain" part of the name comes from the graphic that's displayed when the power animates. Your character leans backward, draws the bow, fires an arrow into the air, and dozens of arrows come raining down from above.

Then you get up and go change your clothes, because the excitement and amazement of seeing so many sharp, pointy sticks come thudding down into your foes has made you soil yourself.

&gt;.&gt;

&lt;.&lt;

What do you mean, just me? O_o

*cough*

Right, anyway, as I was saying, treat Rain of Arrows as a "nuke", not a rain. The DoT only lasts a second, not 15 seconds, so there's no long period during which critters could run out of the AoE. Critters will aggro on you at the end of the "lean back and fire" animation, before the damage is applied, but not before that (unless you've already aggroed them). If you're in a team, you may not generate enough Threat to aggro the critters, in which case, yay you, blast away (blasters will be more likely to "steal" aggro when using RoA, due to the damage output). The hit checks aren't made until the pseudo-pet spawns. You can fire Rain of Arrows around a corner or from behind something that blocks line of sight, as long as you can rotate your camera angle enough to fire it where you want it (this is a bit of an exploit, as it very clearly bends the "line of sight" rules in the game, but there isn't anything stopping you from doing it and it's not actually "against the rules").

Rain of Arrows has no endurance recovery penalty, unlike all other "nukes", and the endurance cost listed is exactly what it states. There is no recovery penalty and no full endurance drain, no crash of any kind. Well, unless you're the victim of RoA... poor critters.

All of this, plus the base 60 second recharge time, means Rain of Arrows is the best nuke in the game, period, end of story, discussion over. Yes, it's all Lethal damage, but as comparatively low as the recharge time is and complete lack of any penalties for using it, so what. You can use it five times as frequently as "real nukes", other than Full Auto, and it even outstrips Full Auto in the number of targets it can hit (16, versus 10 for Full Auto) and how it's used (location-targeted AoE that can be fired from behind cover, whereas Full Auto is a cone). This is a power that you can and should use both solo and in teams.

Blasters with Aim, Build Up, Explosive and Fistful can tear through +3 minions in seconds. Even without Explosive or Fistful, minions have very little chance to survive a buffed Rain of Arrows. I can't count the number of times I've had other blasters send me a /tell asking me to stop using Rain of Arrows on every spawn, when I was in a team, because there's almost nothing left for them to fight. Whether or not lieutenants are defeated will depend on their relative level, but even they'll be hurting. Bosses will, obviously, take much more damage to deal with, but for the amount of damage that RoA does in the time that it does it, it's even good to use against bosses (presuming you don't have aggro. you don't want to spend 4 seconds with a boss beating on you, after all!).

Defenders have absolutely no reason not to take Rain of Arrows, either. Even without Build Up, even considering the defender Ranged Damage modifier, it's a powerful attack. No matter which primary you're playing, Rain of Arrows fits. With the variety of buffs and debuffs available to defenders, it's very easy to bring this attack up to blaster levels, making it that much more worthwhile.

There is an Avoid built into Rain of Arrows (Avoid tells critters to get out of the damage zone), but the damage is dealt so quickly that it's very, very rare for anything to escape (and when they do, it's always because they were at the very edge, weren't aggroed to anything and weren't ordered to retaliate by the AI).

The accuracy for Rain of Arrows is a special case. The base accuracy is 1.6, but the power summons a pseudo-pet, which has a base accuracy of 1.0. The pseudo-pet's accuracy overrides the power's accuracy, so the final, real accuracy of RoA is 1.0. Yes, it makes about as much sense as an alligator in a chiffon wedding gown, but that's how it works.

Even with additional accuracy, though, it can and does miss. Each tick is checked individually, per foe. Most of the critters in the AoE will be hit twice, some will be hit three times, some only once. I have never, in all the time I've been using RoA, seen any critters take 0 damage, and I can't think of a single instance of the first tick ever missing either. Using Aim and Build Up or Power Build Up before Rain of Arrows is a good idea, not only because they help it hit more often, but because they all increase the damage as well. Higher accuracy means more ticks hitting and more damage delivered, and that is Rain of Arrows, damage delivered on a silver platter with a side of "ZOMG!".

Some players will decide to skip slotting Accuracy enhancements in favor of using Aim and Build Up, or Tactics and/or Targeting Drone. For those not slotting Accuracy enhancements, 3 Recharge Reduction in Aim or Build Up and 1 in Rain of Arrows will get you to roughly equivalent recharge times for your ToHit buff and RoA (~45 seconds).

Personally, I prefer having the attack available as frequently as possible. 2 Recharge Reduction will get the recharge time down to ~36 seconds. A third enhancement will drop it to ~31 seconds, but the diminishing returns at that point make it less worthwhile, so I only slot 2. I'm an unrepentant fan of sharp, pointy sticks, and RoA has them in spades, so my goal is never to have synchronous buffs with my RoA, but instead to have RoA up as much as possible so I can fill the screen with wetness-inducing artificial forests of arrows.

O_o

STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! &gt;.&lt;

How quickly do the DoT ticks land? 0.8 seconds from when the pseudo-pet spawns to the last tick. I spent about two weeks flying around Brickstown with my Archery/Energy blaster, street sweeping. My tactic was very simple - find a spawn consisting solely of minions, hit Aim and Build Up and fire Rain of Arrows from maximum range. Nearly every spawn was defeated, the entire spawn, before their return attacks landed. Because of how the game works, that meant that almost none of that damage occurred. The minions had their attacks in the air, but because they were defeated before the attacks landed, the game simply deleted their damage. I took damage from one or two attacks, on average, for every spawn of 10-16. That's how fast Rain of Arrows works. Again, though, the damage doesn't occur until the end of the character animation (the "lean back and shoot into the air" part), so anything that happens to be moving about may leave the targeted location before the pseudo-pet is summoned and the actual damage begins.

A fun quirk of RoA is that it's not ground-based. You can fire it in any direction, including at walls and straight up in the air. The AoE is a sphere, so it can be used to hit the rare flying critter, but this aspect is mostly useless, just something that you can do for giggles.

There simply is no downside to Rain of Arrows. There's no reason at all that you shouldn't take it, slot it and use it like it's going out of style, regardless of whether you're a blaster, blapper, defender, offender or even an "aura-rocker". This power is everything that's good about "nukes", with none of the penalties. Go absolutely crazy with it.[/list]