It's been around five months since I first made an Archer that I stuck with for longer than level 15, and I've found it to be a very interesting and surprisingly rewarding journey. In addition to my own experiences I've had the opportunity to take part in discussions of Archer-related topics in one or two Maple-related forums for an extended period of time. Because of this I've come to realize that, in my opinion at least, the common conceptions of people on Archers are mistaken on several points. Because of this I felt that I should give my own views on these concerns and I do hope they will prove beneficial.
In my experience I have found that despite their similiarites, there are enough differences between Hunters and Crossbowmen that I, having not played a Hunter, cannot comment on them with the sort of detail I want to be able to include. For this reason I will concentrate solely on Crossbowmen, with little comparisons to Hunters.
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Pell's Review of Crossbowmen================================================
Hidden-Street:
http://www.hidden-street.netSkill Point Simulator (use Internet Explorer):
http://www.maple2.net/SIM/SKILL/Final Attack discussion:
http://www.hidden-street.net/forum/showthread.php?t=116151. Overview
2. The Basics
- Stat Allocation
3. Skills
- First Job (Archer/Bowman)
- Second Job (Crossbowman)
- Third Job (Sniper)
- Fourth Job (Crossbow Master)
- Commonly asked questions
4. Equipment
- Weapons
- Armor
- Scrolls
5. Training (To Be Added)
- 1-20
- 20-32
- 32-70
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Updates:
1. Got about halfway through and ended up quitting for awhile. Apparently I didn't get the memo that writing a guide is a fair amount of work. I suppose even crappy ones deserve some credit for being written at all.
2. Got third and fourth job sections done, as well as part of the equipment. *Had* all of the equipment done, but then friggin lost it (stupid Firefox) and am not really in the mood to re-type all of that now.
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1. Overview
The Archer I currently use was my third character since the release of MS Global, so by that point I was able to generate a small, but useable amount of saved mesos. I therefore consider my experience to be that of a moderately-funded Archer, but I will also take into consideration the options of a non-funded Archer for the purposes of this guide. If you're heavily funded with bookoos of mesos to throw into this, well, I probably shouldn't have to tell you what's going on.
This guide is intended for Archers, not Beginners, so will assume the following:
- You have a good understanding of the basics of the game, including movement, game menus, operation of inventory, and other things mostly covered in the in-game tutorial.
- You have reached Victoria Island, or at least know how to do so.
- You have a basic understanding of game terminology - i.e, potions, maps, portals, scrolls, NPCs, etc.
I will, however, define some terms, as I may use them differently in this guide than others or may expect a certain understanding without explanation.
Monster: Just that, any single monster.
Mob: A group of monsters in a small area.
AoE: Area of effect. Refers to any skill capable of hitting more than one monster.
Mobbing: A training method using AoE (area of effect) skills to primarilly hunt monsters in groups, rather than focus on individuals, usually resulting in a mentality that quantity of experience gained per given time is more important than the quality of experience gained per monster.
Bow-whacking: The animation that occurs when a character equipped with a bow/crossbow attempts to attack a monster within melee distance. This deals a small amount of damage and has a certain chance to knock the monster back a significant distance (knockback). How the chance for knockback is calculated I do not know, however weaker monsters are easier to knockback, and using higher-level bows/crossbows increase the chances of knockback, as indicated by the "Knockback" stat listed with the item.
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2. Basics
Archers are, as is well known, a class that relies almost exclusively on ranged attacks. They have very little strength in melee situations, and what few tools they do get are usually underpowered and used for a specific purpose, if used at all. This is a class that requires a certain amount of strategy to play well in order to prevent being constantly swarmed by mobs.
Archers are also, for now, the least popular of all classes. This is primarily due to the relatively difficult period of levels 10-23 or so. Not only are they still developing their primary skills, like other classes, but they also have to get used to the difficulties of using a bow/crossbow. The only other characters that have difficulty with close-range attacks are Assassins, but because of Archers' inferior mobility and inability to attack in mid-air they are left in a unique and often frustrating situation that the player must become familiar with early on.
The two biggest problems I see people make for themselves when using an Archer are:
- Actively trying to bow-whack monsters. I often see Archers sitting in one spot trying their best to knock a monster back in this way. At early levels bow-whacking has an abysmally low chance of working, and therefore only wastes time. You'll save yourself much time and frustration by simply moving away from the monster and getting to a distance you can shoot from. Even at higher levels bow-whacking is little more than an indication that you are too close.
- Maxing Critical Shot before Arrow Blow/Double Shot: explained in the skills section.
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- Stat Allocation
I'm not going to go into a terrible amount of detail here, as the general knowledge concerning Archer stats is mostly correct.
-When rolling stats for an Archer-to-be, aim for the lowest Intelligence and Luck possible. Dexterity and Strength can be anything.
-During your Beginner and early (if you decide to use melee weapons) Archer levels, a higher Strength will help in making your training go faster. I wouldn't recommend getting your Strength any higher than 23 before you start using ranged weapons. You *must* have 25 Dexterity at level 10 to become an Archer.
-Bows require a Strength of 5 higher than their required level (i.e. a level 20 Bow requires 25 Strength to use) and Crossbows require a Strength equal to their level (level 18 Crossbow requires 18 Strength). With this in mind, I strongly recommend experimenting with both Bows and Crossbows before level 30: using the weapon you prefer makes a significant impact in choosing your second job.
-Intelligence does absolutely nothing useful for an Archer. It increases magic defense, but will not be useful unless added in significant amounts, which will badly decrease the amount of damage you can do.
-Luck can decrease the amount of experience you lose when you die. However, because it is not known how much Luck saves you how much experience, at least to me, I will not recommend adding AP points to Luck.
-Never add your Stat points to HP or MP. Archers get sufficient amounts of both, and there are equipment bonuses that can add to it if need be. Adding points to HP or MP means that much fewer points you can add to Strength or Dexterity. It *does* make a difference.
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3. Skills
I will concentrate on suggested builds and skill importance, rather than what each skill actually does. To find out skill descriptions, I highly recommend the database at
Hidden-street. There you will find complete skill descriptions, as well as effects of each skill at every level.
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- First job
At level 10, with 25 Dexterity, you can talk to Athena in Henesys to make the first job advancement to Archer.
Level/Skill
10 Blessing of Amazon 1 (1)
11 Blessing of Amazon 2, Eye of Amazon 1
12 Eye of Amazon 3
13 Eye of Amazon 2, Arrow Blow 1 (2)
14 Double Shot 3 (3)
15 Double Shot 3
16 Double Shot 3
17 Double Shot 1, Critical Shot 2
18 Critical Shot 3
19 Critical Shot 3
20 Critical Shot 2, Save 1 SP (4)
21 Save 3 SP
22 Save 3 SP
23 10 Double Shot
24 2 Eye of Amazon, 1 Critical Shot
25 3 Critical Shot
26 3 Critical Shot
27 3 Critical Shot
28 3 Focus (5)
29 3 Focus
30 3 Focus
Totals at level 30:
Blessing of Amazon 3
Eye of Amazon 8
Focus 9
Critical Shot 20
Arrow Blow 1
Double Shot 20
Notes:
(1) - This build assumes that you will use a melee weapon for your first few Archer levels instead of a Bow. As I mentioned before, early Archer levels can be difficult for some because of your short shooting range and weak damage, so some find it easier to use a melee weapon until they've gotten some more Archer-oriented skills. If you want to use a Bow right away, I recommend using this first point for Arrow Blow instead, and then increasing Blessing of Amazon after. It's required for Double Shot anyway, and it's fairly useful at level 1 at this point.
(2) - Same issue as note (1). If you added Arrow Blow for your skill point at level 10, you won't need to add it here.
(3) - Two issues here.
a. You don't *have* to increase Eye of Amazon to 8 just yet. Level 8 range is at the farthest reaches of the screen, and it's rare you'll actually use that much. It doesn't make much of a difference either way, and you'll be maxing it eventually anyway, but you can follow this build to get started on Double Shot sooner.
b. I've seen a whole lot of guides say to start maxing Critical Shot before Double Shot. As I said before, I think this is a reason why people find Archers so frustrating. Low-level Critical Shot has a *very* low chance of activating, and therefore only adds to your damage a small amount of the time. Double Shot, while costing MP, adds to your damage 100% of the time, and so is much more reliable.
There is also the possibility of maxing Arrow Blow as your primary attack instead of Double Shot. I don't personally recommend this, and will explain why later, but some people prefer it. If you choose to max Arrow Blow increase it to 10 at this point and leave Double Shot at 0. At level 30 you'll have 20 Arrow Blow and 10 Focus.
(4) - At level 10, Double Shot does 100% damage per arrow and costs 11 MP per arrow. It used to be that Double Shot costed 8 MP at level 10 and 16 MP at level 11. Instead, the MP cost will increase automatically every few levels. However, the principle of saving SP still applies, I think, because it can help save money on potions by saving points and adding them all at once, since you use a Double Shot with a lower cost while not sacrficing too much damage. I find stopping at 10 is still a good compromise. Refer to the Hidden-Street database for exact MP cost/Damage tables.
(5) - Some people prefer to increase Blessing of Amazon instead of Focus, since BoA is a passive skill. I prefer Focus since it adds 1 avoidability per level in addition to 1 accuracy, as opposed to Blessing which only adds accuracy. Focus also has a fairly long timer (160 seconds at level 9 and 5 minutes at level 20), so its MP cost becomes insignificant over time.
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- Second Job
Hopefully by this point you've already decided whether to choose Hunter or Crossbowman as your second job. Talk to Athena again to begin the test for the second job advancement. As I said before, I will be concentrating on Crossbowmen.
Level Skill
30 1 Iron Arrow
31 3 Crossbow Mastery
32 2 Crossbow Mastery, 1 Crossbow Booster (1)
33 3 Crossbow Booster
34 1 Crossbow Booster, 2 Soul Arrow (2)
35 3 Crossbow Mastery
36 3 Crossbow Mastery
37 3 Crossbow Mastery
38 3 Crossbow Mastery
39 2 Crossbow Mastery, 1 Soul Arrow (3)
40 3 Iron Arrow
41 3 Iron Arrow
42 3 Iron Arrow
43 3 Iron Arrow
44 2 Iron Arrow, 1 Soul Arrow (4)
45 Save 3 SP
46 Save 3 SP
47 9 Iron Arrow
48 3 Iron Arrow
49 3 Iron Arrow
50 1 Crossbow Booster, 2 Soul Arrow
51 3 Power Knockback
52 3 Power Knockback
53 3 Power Knockback
54 3 Power Knockback
55 3 Power Knockback
56 3 Power Knockback
57 2 Power Knockback, 1 Crossbow Booster (5)
58 3 Crossbow Booster
59 3 Crossbow Booster
60 3 Crossbow Booster
61 3 Crossbow Booster
62 1 Crossbow Booster, 2 Soul Arrow
63 3 Soul Arrow
64 3 Soul Arrow
65 3 Soul Arrow
66 3 Soul Arrow
67 3 Focus
68 3 Focus
69 3 Focus
70 2 Focus, 1 Crossbow Mastery
Totals at level 70:
Crossbow Master 20
Final Attack 0
Crossbow Booster 20
Soul Arrow 20
Power Knockback 20
Iron Arrow 30
and Focus 20
Notes:
(1) - A few things here:
a. Iron Arrow is the first AoE skill you get, and that alone makes it useful enough at level 1 to use it as your level 30 skill point.
b. I'm a big fan of weapon booster skills. Faster attacking means faster killing means faster leveling. It's one of those skills that are very useful at low-levels, which means you want to get a little of it soon. Don't use it terribly often until you have it between level 4-6, as before then its duration will be too short to keep activated continuously.
(2) - I'm also a very big fan of Soul Arrow. Long timer (a whopping 30 seconds per level), no more buying arrows, a much cooler-looking animation, and a required level 5 Booster.
(3) - At level 19, Crossbow Mastery increases your mastery to 60%. Level 20 does not increase your mastery percentage and only adds 1 accuracy. You *will* want to increase it to 20, as shown, just now yet. And a little Soul Arrow here and there never hurts.
(4) - At level 15 Iron Arrow uses 14 MP. At level 16 it uses 28 MP. Unlike 1st job, though, the extra damage does help alot, which is why you want to use those SP on it before you have 15 saved. By now, you should have enough money that you can deal with the increased cost. Experiment a little with this to figure out when a good time to increase Iron Arrow past 15 will be. If you're doing enough damage as it is to the monsters you're at, you might not need to yet. And a little Soul Arrow here and there never hurts.
(5) - At this point, you're at what I call the "drone stages". You've got all the skills you're going to get in 2nd job, now it's just a matter of increasing the timers. For this reason, it doesn't matter very much in which order you increase Booster and Soul Arrow so long as they're both maxed by level 66 it's pretty much up to you.
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- Third Job (Sniper)
As I am currently only level 72 I really can't comment too terribly much on Sniper skill builds, but from discussions with others I've gotten somewhat of a general gist.
Strafe - Obviously the 3rd job Archer's staple skill for quite some time. However, I don't agree with the builds that suggest maxing Strafe from levels 70-80. Puppet, Arrow Eruption, and Blizzard are all too useful to be putting them off entirely for those first ten levels, and I get the impression that by level 80 you will want at least some levels in these skills to make you a more rounded out and generally more capable character - for training at Death Teddies, in particular. I've even heard this sort of idea coming from Rangers for their respective skills, so it can't be nothing. Obviously, however, you'll be maxing this eventually.
Blizzard - You are going to love. This. Skill. The damage isn't great, it doesn't crit like Inferno, and, as Hunter fans love to point out, there are more monsters weak to Fire than Ice, but that isn't your main concern here. By far its greatest asset is its ability to freeze monsters in groups. Its freezing duration is 1 second from levels 1-10, 2 seconds from levels 11-20, and 3 seconds from 21-30. By far the common consensus calls for Blizzard to be capped at level 21, reinforcing the idea that freezing is more important than damage. Get a level of it early, at either 70 or 71. Even 1-second freeze is extremely useful, and it's rather flashy to boot.
Puppet - I got three points of this at level 72 just because I think it's an awesome skill, but I probably shouldn't have this early and it's probably not necessary. I'm aiming for level 6 puppet to get the 20-second duration by the time I'm 80.
Mortal Blow - Lots of debate here, almost as much as Final Attack. The description makes it sound like it's God's way of telling us he loves us and wants us to be happy, but it's got its issues:
1. It's a percentile-activated skill, so it can't be relied on all that often, especially when it's not maxed.
2. It's melee-range, and now that you're 3rd-job you can expect the damage that monsters do to you to increase faster than your HP can compensate. Apparently at 9x squids will be killing us in two hits. In situations like these it's fairly unpopular to intentionally be at melee range.
All in all I'd say just grab 5 points of it to get Arrow Eruption.
Arrow Eruption: Req 5 Mortal Blow- We finally get an actual AoE, and it's the first skill we get that doesn't activate bow-whacking. Woot. I'm shooting to have 1 point in it by 80. Might even get that point by 75 or 76 to see if training at Pirates is any good.
Golden Eagle: Req 5 Puppet - A nice support skill, but the fact it costs a summoning stone per use makes it seem like a secondary, maybe tertiary priority. Still, a 50% chance to stun at level 1 isn't bad, though the duration
could be longer. I might throw a point in somewhere just for kicks. People don't tend to start maxing this until Strafe, Arrow Eruption, and Blizzard are either maxed or at acceptable caps. I don't see people using this skill consecutively all that often, either, maybe it's just me.
Thrust - If I'm not mistaken, if we don't max Blizzard or put extra points into Mortal Blow, we do have points left over for Thrust. I've watched level 100+ Snipers with Thrust, and watching them zip around maps was rather exciting. That said, Thrust is probably the lowest priority skill in 3rd job, if people get it at all. I'd definitely agree with the people saying not to raise it above level 10 and be happy with the +20 speed, if anything.
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- Fourth Job (Crossbow Master)
No, we don't have it yet, but it's cool enough to the point that I can't resist putting at least some stuff in about it. Call it a placeholder for future events.
Sleepy-wood forum skills list:
http://www.sleepywood.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1061129My favorite Maple video of all time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlRopyr6vG8--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Commonly Asked Questions:
I may add more to this as I recall other issues, but for the moment there are two big points concerning Archer skills that everybody asks about.
1. Arrow Blow vs. Double Shot
Everybody, and I do mean everybody asks this. This is as common as the Bows vs. Crossbows question. Here's what I think:
Due to misunderstandings, the Critical Shot skill description does not double your damage: it instead adds 100% damage to every arrow you fire. Meaning that a crit level 20 Arrow Blow will do 360% damage, and a level 20 Double Shot with 20 crits will do 420% damage total. I'm not going to go into actual calculations since there's alot of different ways to do so (and frankly it's a buttload of work), but it's a fact that Double Shot has a higher maximum damage than Arrow Blow. Some people prefer Arrow Blow since it has a higher chance of making a monster flinch, due to all of its damage being funneled into one arrow instead of spread out over two, but it seems to me that Double Shot is more effective. If you want to go Arrow Blow, though, it's entirely doable.
2. Final Attack
Archers' Final Attack works exactly the same way as Warriors' : it adds a certain chance that after using a 2nd job attacking skill, an additional attack will immediately follow it without MP cost.
For Archers, Final attack is a much more debated topic, since they are not supposed to be up close to a monster.
On the pro-FA side: The Final Attack's additional arrow, when maxed, does 260% damage - you're basically getting an Arrow Blow for free 60% of the time. People in favor of FA very often say that this makes it easier to get to level 70 because of the additional damage.
Against FA: Having Final Attack activate means an additional amount of time that you are standing in one spot, which in some situations can leave you vulnerable. In addition, FA only hits one monster and can activate after you use Iron Arrow, so it can cause problems if you suddenly start attacking one monster while before you were shooting 6, especially once monsters start to use ranged attacks of their own. On top of this, since Final Attack is maxed at level 30, you will have to sacrifice a significant number of skill points to be able to max it, meaning that you won't be able to max one or more of your buff skills. For some people this isn't a problem: personally I really like having a 10-minute Soul Arrow and 200-second Booster. And do remember that Final Attack doesn't work with 3rd job skills, whereas you'll be using those buffs all the time.
Again, it's up to you which way to go. It's entirely doable either way.
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4. Equipment
I'll try not to be too stringent here while still giving as much of my impressions as I can. Again, I've only made a Crossbowman under one starting financial situation.
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- Weapons
As I mentioned before, I highly recommend you try out both Bows and Crossbows during 1st job to get a feel for each. If you're sure you want to go Crossbow, or can't afford to buy a new weapon every 2-3 levels, I hope this will be helpful.
New Crossbows become available on levels x2 and x8, so you'll alternatingly be waiting six levels and four levels for a new weapon. i.e.: new Crossbow at levels 12, 18, 22, 28, 32, 38, 42.
A note about the differences between Bows and Crossbows: The primary reason that people say Crossbows are slower than Bows is due to the Crossbows' "loading" animation that takes place before every shot.
HOWEVER! This chiefly happens when you hit your attack (or attack skill) key individually for each shot, rather than holding it. If you hold it, the loading animation "chains" up with the last one which skips a slight delay at the beginning of the sequence. Therefore, if you hold the attack key constantly instead of hitting it for each shot, you actually fire faster - putting you much closer to the firing speed of Bows. You're still slightly behind, and you can't do this all the time, as you have alot more to think about than standing in one place and shooting most of the time.
I very much recommend using BasilMarket.com's auctions when looking for Crossbow scrolls. They tend to be significantly cheaper there than in FM, and *generally* you can trust the other person to come through on their end of the deal.
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1-15:
You very well may end up using melee weapons for your first few levels as an Archer. I don't know of anyone that likes the level 10 Bow, and the level 12 Crossbow isn't much better. Using the Crossbow as soon as it's available is somewhat more advantageous over the Bow, though, since by level 12 you'll have some points in Eye of Amazon, so your shooting range won't be quite as bad.
On the subject of melee weapons: For low-cost solutions, you can put your strength up to 18 or 22 and using a weapon bought from NPCs. That being said, your melee options are very limited. At level 10 your options are the Long Sword, Metal Axe, Wooden Hammer, Polearm, and Spear.
At level 15 you're only able to use either a Fork on a Stick (spear) or a Handbag (one-handed mace), and the Handbag requires 20 Strength. You may want to look into getting the level 15 Bow instead.
One other option if you either did the Fourth of July 2007 event or can blow some money on low-levels: The Stars and Stripes (one-handed sword). I'm thoroughly convinced this is *the* weapon to use for training characters through beginner levels and even somewhat beyond. With 30 weapon attack, +10 Strength bonus, and no level, stat or class require ment, there's nothing else that comes close to it until level 15. If you have it, use it, but don't go out of your way to buy one otherwise.
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16-30:
Again, I encourage you to experiment between weapons here. The level 20 Bow is a pretty good weapon to use relative to previous ones, and it gives a good comparison when bracked with level 18 and 22 Crossbows. However, this is when I first discovered the difference in sheer power between the types of weapons, as the level 22 Crossbow was significantly stronger than the level 20 Bow, even though it was only 2 levels higher.
For a better comparison, try out the level 25 Bow. It uses a Fast attacking speed, whereas all others -both Bows and Crossbows- use Normal. It gives a good indication of what life will be like using Normal speed Bows with Bow Booster, should you decide to be a Hunter. For me, though it also proved beyond a doubt that Bows seemed more and more like flimsy little pieces of wood. The level 22 Crossbow was easily on par with the level 25 Bow, if not better, and the level 28 Crossbow left the Bow in the dust. I could effectively train at Wild Boars before level 30 with the 28 Crossbow, something I have *never* been able to do with any other character I've either played or seen played.
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30-49:
You can either buy a level 32 Crossbow or scroll a level 28 with 100%'s to last you until 35/38. A scrolled 28 will, given average attack values, be on par with the level 38, but it'll cost you 490,000 mesos just for the scrolls. You're probably better off getting a level 32 along the way unless you really have the money to spend.
You've got alot of options here. There are two weapons you want to specifically look out for: the level 35 Maple Crow and the level 38 Heckler. These are the only Crossbows that have a base attacking speed of Fast, and if you follow my build up there, you'll have enough levels in Crossbow Booster to have a Faster attacking speed 100% of the time. Will it turn you into a quick-drawing god of arrows whose speed can rival even the speediest Assassin? Not nearly, and don't expect a significant change in your playing style, but it is noticeable. The Maple Crow even grants you +7 movement speed, which by itself isn't too helpful, but if you have some Whitebottom shoes you've kept around it might pull its weight.
I'd say the Maple Crow and Heckler are the first two Crossbows you might seriously consider scrolling. *Might*. Given average attacks and 100%'s, they come close to the level 42/43 Crossbows. Just remember that a minimum of 490,000 mesos can be a hefty price to pay for a weapon you're going to be using for less than 10 levels, so if you scroll it you might be skipping the next weapon in favor of keeping the Fast/Faster attack speed. Just keep in mind that you'll lose out on power.
At level 42/43 comes the Silver Crow/Maple Crossbow. Both are Normal attack, and the Maple Crossbow keeps the +7 movement speed bonus of its predecessor. Again, it's not much, but ideally by 43 you'd have both Whitebottoms and an Icarus(2) cape giving you at least a 120% movement speed, which is nothing to sneeze at. If not, you're hopefully training at Sakuras or Dirty Retz now, so speed might not be as big of an issue.
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50-70:
Ah, level 50. I've always thought this was a big milestone in a character's life. You've maxed out two or three of your most important 2nd job skills and this is really where your class' playing style starts to manifest. In addition it's also when you tend to start getting the really cool-looking stuff.
Rowers are fairly easy to find either in FM or Basil, so if you can at all afford it I'd skip the hassle of making one. Still, making it can be a memorable adventure in and of itself, so it's your call. This is the first Crossbow you'll be using for 10 levels, so start to look into using at least a couple 60%/70% scrolls, but going for broke generally still isn't generally necessary. 80 attack will be enough to breeze you through most anything in your 50's, try to shoot for the mid to high 70's if you're not looking to spend alot of money.
Golden Crows at level 60 are when things change alot. Gross Jaegers, the level 70 Crossbows, are very difficult to find and therefore rather rare. Currently the only monsters that drop Jaegers in GMS are Dark Yeti & Pepe, Jr. Balrog, and Gatekeepers. A slim list, and rather difficult at that. Twice as many monsters drop Golden Crows, and most of them are much easier than Jaeger suppliers. For this reason, Jaegers tend to be much more expensive than Golden Crows, so there's a good chance you'll be using a Crow during your 70's as well as your 60's, as it'll be much easier to scroll a good Crow than Jaeger. 100% scrolls shouldn't be considered if you can at all help it. If you can afford it, try for one or two 10%/30% scrolls as well.
That being said, I love Gross Jaegers, and I have yet to meet a Crossbowman that does not, after they've seen it. Purely for looks, I admit, but it's quite possibly the coolest-looking Crossbow there is. It's friggin' huge, and its bladed tip-things on the end make it look like a rifle with a bayonet while you're in the "combat" stance. I still consider myself lucky that my first attempt at scrolling a Jaeger went as well as it did. Keep in mind that there are rather few of them, though, and that every Crossbowman at level or near level 70 wants one to some degree. Right now average Jaegers will cost you three to four times the price of an average Golden Crow.
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- Other Equipment
It is important to note that before level 50, the only Archer equipment that require Strength to use are standard Hats and Weapons, and after level 50 the Hats don't need Strength either. You'll most likely add the Strength anyway, but it gives you alot of options if scrolling equipment for Strength later on.
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- Armor
All standard Bowman Armor-class equipments are Tops and Bottoms below level 50, and are Overalls for 50 and above. Overall Dex scrolls are very helpful, and since you can switch to a new Armor every 10 levels past 50 you can use 100%'s from an NPC instead of blowing millions on 10%/60% for one single Overall. You still can do that if you want, but it's not as necessary as it would be for, say, Thieves.
That being said, it's not a bad idea to take the level 30 Sauna Robe you get from your quest, hit it with 10 100% Overal Dex scrolls, and use it until level 50. It's a nice damage boost that's fairly cost-effective, and is significantly better stat-wise than using the standard Bowman Armors. You lose out on Weapon Defense, but Bowmen never had much defense to begin with.
More to be added later. Feedback welcome.
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