Archery and its use.

[Sinatra SUN-FoW]

My friend is starting and is dead set on being an archer.... I know from playing during this era archery was kind of worthless..... how does it fair on this Shard? Thanks.

[Faust]

Depends what you're using it for. If it's pvp it's pretty much worthless, but if it's not for that purpose it's not too bad.

Archery probably will get a slight boost when the new swing timers are put in place sometime in the near future.

The equip delay will still hurt it pretty badly though.

[Sinatra SUN-FoW]

Any idea when that will go into effect? Thanks for the quick response.

[archaicsubrosa77]

Swords
tactics
Archery 95
Wrestling 60
Eval 80
Meditation 80
magery 95
Resist 90 as if they had the chance

X-bow, Explo, hally whack,harm,PC E-bolt,Hally, release E-bolt totally field, or PK

It sounds messed up, but if you land most of this sequence you got them defensive, you land all of them its practically guaranteed to kill.
Time some explosion pots right, you could call it murder.

Basically its to get two distant attacks in (three if you had the timer ticking on an ex-pot before screening) before closing in with the hally and finisher to put them on the defensive to keep you from being too vulnerable when you get into melee range to cast.

A good magic bow would make up for the shaved points in archery and then some.

Best thing about this is you can do an archer mage with 100 str 25 dex 100 int. If you feel gutsy drop meditation for anatomy* don a dexxer suit (except a magic hat and stay potted up) and go true tank, if you drop to 20 mana and he is still squirming let the bugger live and recall out, the gods have decided his fate...for now.

(*I would only drop mediation for anatomy if you are getting gated in with guns blazing as a PK template**, its also an option to don full plate but there might be a slim chance you may have to draw out the katana where a little dex goes a long way, the benefit for having less chance of being disrupted however may be worth it as well as the fact you would have minimal mana to draw upon in which to heal. )

(**A pair (or more) of these guys would be a horrifying experience to endure to be certain. Due to quick recalls a strong offensive is highly desired by most PKs, this maybe one solution for them. You can decide for yourself.)

[Faust]

The new timer has been on the list of things to do for quite some time now. However, Derrick has stated in the past that he does not plan to even think about coding it until the new .Net Framework is released which is due sometime in March the last time that I checked. Batlin and me(more so him) have been hard at work on this timer since he first produced a code replication of it after extracting it out of the core.

[archaicsubrosa77]

Are these changes on test right now? It seemed awfully fast for 25 dex. Maybe archery is static like wrestling?

I was trying to set a new profile that could be used with that temp I posted above. Once I get a hang of it I know its going to be boss. Its just really quirky having to manipulate two two handed weapons as well as a single handed one. But I tell you what when I wasn't fumbling the hotkeys the damage output was amazing.

[uofuntime]

Archery isn't *that* worthless. =) As you know it's great for fighting monsters but as some people have mentioned, it can work in pvp as well.

Heavy X bow is the slowest weapon in the game but also the strongest. With my 100 dex archer, the rate of fire is about 7.5 seconds. HOWEVER, you instantly shoot when you first enter combat regardless of DEX (I believe this is called insta-hit??? not sure). So, if you manage to get a shot into your opponent at that first instant, it's pretty nice. You can utilize different skills (e.g. magery) to finish them off, if you're lucky. I sometimes enter "Capture the Flag" with my archer and you can really pick off some unsuspecting players who do not expect a huge chunk of damage done to them from afar! Basically at the right opportunity, it can be quite useful. But in most cases, in 1v1, a pure archer has got to flee or be killed!

[benny-]

Archery is a great skill, but imo it shouldn't be used to replace a melee skill. Unlike some shards, archery alone doesn't work in 1 vs 1's. But in group pvp and pvm it can be very effective.

[Failivrin]

Im totally new to all this with weapons timers, been spending some hours here on the forums reading about it, think Im starting to get a hang of the basics but Im still a bit confused, especially with archery. Done some testings ingame...

Hally wack - wrestle timer - hally wack
HxBow - wrestle timer - Hally wack

so fare all good, insta hit on both of em with a ~2.5sec delay

but I cant get
Hally wack - wrestle timer - HxBow
when I equip the HxBow I have to wait full time before I fire a shot.

Why is the archery timer reset when I equip the Hxbow? I was under the impression it went under a separate timer not affected by the regular weapons timer?

[uofuntime]

Im totally new to all this with weapons timers, been spending some hours here on the forums reading about it, think Im starting to get a hang of the basics but Im still a bit confused, especially with archery. Done some testings ingame...

Hally wack - wrestle timer - hally wack
HxBow - wrestle timer - Hally wack

so fare all good, insta hit on both of em with a ~2.5sec delay

but I cant get
Hally wack - wrestle timer - HxBow
when I equip the HxBow I have to wait full time before I fire a shot.

Why is the archery timer reset when I equip the Hxbow? I was under the impression it went under a separate timer not affected by the regular weapons timer?

Yeah, it's the same for me too. Always, I have to use the xbow first for the instant shot. The timer resets when I re-equip it, yes. If I use it in the middle of battle, it would mean waiting at least 7.5 seconds to shoot again.

I read about hally mages and their technique and I'm trying to get the general idea. So if they use a halberd and swing, even if they unequip that, the timer goes on so when they reequip, they can hit instantly (since the swing timer went on)? But does this work with two different weapons? Say, they used katana, sliced and unequiped, waited for katana timer, reequip halberd... would the halberd strike instantly after the katana timer? Or would it reset with a halberd timer and you would have to wait to swing? Reading the wiki article, the timer "counts towards the last weapon you equipped"...

*goes to test this in game* <- Edit: It appears that with different weapons, the timer resets. I'm waiting for the full swing time of each if I switch back and forth between the katana and halberd. But with just one weapon, e.g. the halberd, it is very effective. Timer still goes on when un-equipped, resulting in an instant attack right after re-equip. Makes a lot of sense now!

I've been testing the archery timer in game, and it is indeed separate from the melee timers. I can shoot a heavy xbow, equip a katana/dagger/kryss and strike at the swing speed of the current weapon. No instant hitting but no need to wait for the 7.5+ second swing time of the heavy xbow.

It sure would be nice if the bow timers kept going after unequipping, and worked similar to halberds. Is this what they're going to implementing with the "new swing timers"?

[Failivrin]

Yeah, it's the same for me too. Always, I have to use the xbow first for the instant shot. The timer resets when I re-equip it, yes. If I use it in the middle of battle, it would mean waiting at least 7.5 seconds to shoot again.

I read about hally mages and their technique and I'm trying to get the general idea. So if they use a halberd and swing, even if they unequip that, the timer goes on so when they reequip, they can hit instantly (since the swing timer went on)? But does this work with two different weapons? Say, they used katana, sliced and unequiped, waited for katana timer, reequip halberd... would the halberd strike instantly after the katana timer? Or would it reset with a halberd timer and you would have to wait to swing? Reading the wiki article, the timer "counts towards the last weapon you equipped"...

*goes to test this in game* <- Edit: It appears that with different weapons, the timer resets. I'm waiting for the full swing time of each if I switch back and forth between the katana and halberd. But with just one weapon, e.g. the halberd, it is very effective. Timer still goes on when un-equipped, resulting in an instant attack right after re-equip. Makes a lot of sense now!

I've been testing the archery timer in game, and it is indeed separate from the melee timers. I can shoot a heavy xbow, equip a katana/dagger/kryss and strike at the swing speed of the current weapon. No instant hitting but no need to wait for the 7.5+ second swing time of the heavy xbow.

It sure would be nice if the bow timers kept going after unequipping, and worked similar to halberds. Is this what they're going to implementing with the "new swing timers"?

Yes they are definently on different timers, but why is the archery timer reset on equip after a hally wack? I mean you can shot the xbow and equip the hally and have a swing ready, why not the other way around? What am I missing?

[KydVicious]

Yeah, it's the same for me too. Always, I have to use the xbow first for the instant shot. The timer resets when I re-equip it, yes. If I use it in the middle of battle, it would mean waiting at least 7.5 seconds to shoot again.

I read about hally mages and their technique and I'm trying to get the general idea. So if they use a halberd and swing, even if they unequip that, the timer goes on so when they reequip, they can hit instantly (since the swing timer went on)? But does this work with two different weapons? Say, they used katana, sliced and unequiped, waited for katana timer, reequip halberd... would the halberd strike instantly after the katana timer? Or would it reset with a halberd timer and you would have to wait to swing? Reading the wiki article, the timer "counts towards the last weapon you equipped"...

*goes to test this in game* <- Edit: It appears that with different weapons, the timer resets. I'm waiting for the full swing time of each if I switch back and forth between the katana and halberd. But with just one weapon, e.g. the halberd, it is very effective. Timer still goes on when un-equipped, resulting in an instant attack right after re-equip. Makes a lot of sense now!

I've been testing the archery timer in game, and it is indeed separate from the melee timers. I can shoot a heavy xbow, equip a katana/dagger/kryss and strike at the swing speed of the current weapon. No instant hitting but no need to wait for the 7.5+ second swing time of the heavy xbow.

It sure would be nice if the bow timers kept going after unequipping, and worked similar to halberds. Is this what they're going to implementing with the "new swing timers"?

Yes they are definently on different timers, but why is the archery timer reset on equip after a hally wack? I mean you can shot the xbow and equip the hally and have a swing ready, why not the other way around? What am I missing?

This was a fix back when T2A came out because the archer/mage was king then and bow timers were set to ridiculous speeds and they acted just like the melee timers upon re-equip. That's why an archer/mage could distance you, dump, equip bow fire off two ridiculously fast shots in a row at which point you were probably dead because bow damage had too much love back then. Then the PATCH as it was known took place and The Dexmonkey then took over as timers were based off dex and stamina. The long spear and katana became feared weapons by mages, and without the bow's speed being based off it's speed number, crazy bow damage and re-equip timer working like a melee weapon's mages had to learn running tactics. Numerous patches later UO levelled out and Tanks and Dexxers seemed to be on fairly equal ground. Of course before the archer/mage days the Dreadlord days just plain sucked because meditation in full plate was allowed....ouch.

[klep]

Yes they are definently on different timers, but why is the archery timer reset on equip after a hally wack? I mean you can shot the xbow and equip the hally and have a swing ready, why not the other way around? What am I missing?

This was a fix back when T2A came out because the archer/mage was king then and bow timers were set to ridiculous speeds and they acted just like the melee timers upon re-equip. That's why an archer/mage could distance you, dump, equip bow fire off two ridiculously fast shots in a row at which point you were probably dead because bow damage had too much love back then. Then the PATCH as it was known took place and The Dexmonkey then took over as timers were based off dex and stamina. The long spear and katana became feared weapons by mages, and without the bow's speed being based off it's speed number, crazy bow damage and re-equip timer working like a melee weapon's mages had to learn running tactics. Numerous patches later UO levelled out and Tanks and Dexxers seemed to be on fairly equal ground. Of course before the archer/mage days the Dreadlord days just plain sucked because meditation in full plate was allowed....ouch.[/quote]

Ahh back when UO pvp was fun like a first person shooter!

[Psilo]

Archery isn't useless in pvp:

1. Good for ganking, especially if you got a power or vanq bow. The arrow delay is nice and can be deadly because it is often overlooked.
2. it works okay as a first shot then switch to another weapon
3. Good in CTF


Archery is great in pvm.


I recommend that your friend get a second weapon skill along with archery, that way he will be efficient in all fighting. Besides, it's only realistic that an archer knows how to use a blade or stabbing weapon of some sort once he is too close to his enemy to use a bow.

[Kylock]

As of now archer tanks are good in group fights, 2v2s or more so 3v3s, but in 1v1s it seems waay too slow and underpowered compared to swords.