MapleStory/Bowman: Difference between revisions

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The path of the Archer is probably one of the more difficult in MapleStory. They have the choice to use conventional bows or crossbows. Bows are faster than crossbows, but they also do less damage, while crossbows are the opposite. They have virtually unlimited accuracy and have medium HP and MP. At second job, archers have two options, Hunter or Crossbowman.

As an archer, the main stats used are Dexterity (DEX) and Strength (STR). Dex is used to handle the bow, while Str is used to hold it. The other two stats, Luck and Int, are worthless to archers, so to be one it is ideal to keep them as low as possible.  This means that when rolling stat dice in the beginning, the optimum stats for an archer are any amount of Str, any amount of Dex, and 4 luck, 4 int. Once these stats have been acquired, begin picking equipment. It really doesn’t matter what is chosen, as it will all be replaced in the near future anyway. After checking the name, hit OK and get started.

Like every class, beginning Archers start out on Maple Island, in Mushroom Town. There are a number of [[MapleStory/Quests|quests]] to do that serve to orient first time players to the game.  Be warned, however, that once a Mushroom Town map is left, it cannot be returned to. After leaving the starting area, players are given free roam on the island. The strongest monster is [[MapleStory/Monsters/Level 1-10#Orange Mushroom|Orange Mushroom]], which can be hazardous. Fortunately, beginners don’t lose EXP when they die. To do some quests, try traveling to [[MapleStory/Towns/Amherst|Amherst]], where simple quests can be fulfilled to get items. Some must-do quests include:

:Pio and the Recycling  (relaxer chair)

In addition, it is advisable not to use potions on Maple Island, as there is no penalty for dying. If health is needed, try finding a safe place to sit down and wait a few seconds to recover. Stay on Maple Island until level 10, as it provides a comfortable and relatively secure training environment. If that’s not up to personal preference, Maple Island can be left at any time by Shanks in [[MapleStory/Towns/Southperry|Southperry]], with 150 mesos. Keep in mind that once on Victoria Island, it is impossible to return (Except in ChinaMS), so any quests will remain permanently unfinished.  

The first step to being an Archer is already complete! Now that the prospective archer is on Victoria Island, or Vic for short, it’s time to head to the Job Instructor. For Archers, that’s Athena Pierce, in [[MapleStory/Towns/Henesys|Henesys]]. The best way to get to Henesys is via the taxi. In [[MapleStory/Towns/Lith Harbor|Lith Harbor]], the taxi is run by a man in a booth, near the ship.  

After advancing to archer, the max HP and MP will nearly double. Also, it’s finally time to equip a bow! The potion shop of any town sells arrows at 1 meso each, or they can be found from monsters for free. Unfortunately, a level 10 archer doesn’t have enough dex to do decent damage with a bow. It’s advisable for starters to continue using melee weapons until at least level 15. These can be found from monsters or bought from the Weapon stores in each town. The best melee weapons are from Perion, at the top of the world map. Buy a 2-handed Axe or a wooden sword for 3k meso (each k = 1000 meso).  Both STR and dex raise an archer’s damage, so don’t be afraid to pump it a little, though it’s not advisable to raise it above 30 (for now). Dex is better for bows and STR is better for melee weapons. STR affects the minimum damage range of a bow, but only very slightly, and at low levels almost unnoticeably. To use bows, a certain amount of strength is required. This STR requirement is equal to the level requirement plus five. For example, the level 25 bow will require 30 STR. Once the STR requirement for the current weapon is met, put the rest of the Ability Points (AP) into Dex. Below level 30, an archer can switch back and forth between bows and crossbows at will, which is a good idea, as it allows them to pick a preference.  

===First Job Tips===

#. Always keep a melee weapon handy to return to town with in case of an emergency, when out of arrows.

#. For unfunded archers, it is best to do Critical Shot first, and then Double Shot. Critical shot activates with all bow attacks, and costs no MP. Double Shot, at low levels, can be quite a drain on funds due to MP costs and the consumption of twice as many arrows.

# It is much cheaper to create arrows in Henesys, using 1 processed wood and 1 stiff feather. Talk to Vicious (found in Henesys Market left of the potion and weapons shop) when 1 stiff feather and either 10 branches or 5 firewood has been collected. He can then turn the branches or firewood into processed wood. Pi from [[MapleStory/Towns/Ludibrium|Ludibrium]] and Vogen from [[MapleStory/Towns/El Nath|El Nath]] can create arrows using the same materials as Vicious. Additionally, they can create bronze and steel arrows.  Bronze Arrows require 1 Bronze Plate (refine 10 Bronze Ore through Mr. Thunder, Chris, or various others), 10 Stiff Feathers, and 3 Processed Wood.  Steel Arrows, on the other hand, require 1 Steel Plate, 15 Soft Feathers, and 5 Processed Wood. In [[MapleStory/Towns/Japan|Zipangu]], particularly Showa Town, Red arrows which add 4 attack are sold.

===The Second Job Advancement===

Upon reaching level 30, return to Henesys. Talk to Athena Pierce, and she’ll send you off to the Second Job Instructor, who is located outside of Henesys on the path to [[MapleStory/Towns/Sleepywood|Sleepywood]]. She will send you to an ant tunnel type setting, where weakened Evil eyes and strengthened Zombie Mushrooms roam. It’s advisable to bring a number of potions, as this can take a while depending on luck. Three Arrow Blows or Double Shots per monster should do the trick. There are a fixed number of monsters on this map, so bring a melee weapon in case they respawn in an inconvenient location. The goal is to collect 30 Dark Marbles. If the test taker leaves the arena, either by changing channels or talking to the Instructor, all marbles are lost and the test must be restarted. Once these marbles are collected (a fairly simple task), talk to the Job instructor again. She will give you a medal and return you to the normal world. Take the medal to Athena, and be sure to know the second job to choose. She will ask whether the successful Archer wants to become a Hunter, who specializes in Bows, or a Crossbowman, whose name is self-explanatory. Choose the appropriate job, and be prepared to get another big boost in power. Go ahead and have some fun by putting the first point into Arrow Bomb or Iron Arrow.

# Do not create Boots! There are only two shoes that the average player needs: snowshoes and whitebottoms. Other shoes can be acquired from quests, if wanted. Speed is one of the more important stats for an archer, as it allows for escape from enemies faster. Snowshoes give traction in El Nath, as well as 7 slots as opposed to the 5 slots of normal shoes. Whitebottoms give speed everywhere else. It can be suggested that you keep whitebottom shoes for quite a while, and then scroll snowshoes for speed when it’s in the budget.  If Shoes that increase stats are preferred, simply use those that can be found or gained from quests. Another option is scrolling Snowshoes with 60% Shoe Jump, which adds one point of dex. These scrolls are fairly expensive, however.

# If a Hunter, then STR should be 5 more than level, with everything else in DEX; For Crossbowmen-to-be, STR only needs to be equal to their level, with everything else in DEX. NEVER PUT AP INTO HP, MP, INT OR LUK.  At level 30 (and assuming  perfect LUK and INT), a Hunter should have 35 STR and 127 DEX, and a Crossbowman should have 30 STR and 132 DEX. The best AP Distribution (for hunters) is as follows:

Repeat this for every other level. Use the last level to put in all the AP needed for strength.

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This table is not an end-all-be-all guide for where to train, and depending on how you build your archer, some of these places may not be good for you to level at all. For example, Fire Boars or Jr. Kitties at level 46 is much more effective for someone who has Bomb or Iron Arrow early but doesn't work for someone who is getting Final Attack at that time. Final Attack archers can take on golems earlier than archers who don't have FA, and so forth.

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After level 55, you should be able to figure out which training spots are good and which are bad. You can truly go nearly anywhere now, especially now that you are able to enter the level 50-only area in Ossyria. Coolie Zombies are generally the best leveling spot from level 55 till past level 80 or so, so give them a try.

More than what you need to know.

This is a relatively simple trick that is hard to master. There are 3 kinds of jump shots, forward jump shots, back jump shots, and stationary jump shots. While in practice, there is little to no reason to do a jump shot, it is necessary when fighting some bosses as you avoid getting hit entirely. For example, jump shooting against a Yeti will prevent earthquake damage and back jump shooting against Jr. Balrog will make you outside of his range of fire.

Back jump shots are the hardest, and most people cannot do them consistently. Basically, while walking forward, jump, hit back, and shoot at the same time. Again, some keyboards simply don't allow this as they only allow one button to be hit at once. Additionally, this is nearly impossible to do with snowshoes because you have to do this while you are "sliding". Go to El Nath to practice, slide forward, jump back and shoot all at once to see the effect.

This is a classic example of speed vs. power. While Hunters have a higher damage/minute output in early levels, Crossbowmen catch up quickly in 2nd job. This is unfortunate as it gives a bad example of the strength of Crossbows in the first 30 levels; where the damage difference is miniscule and the speed difference is massive.

Stat comparisons:

This basically means that if you are a hunter with 42 dex, you will do the same damage per shot as an Crossbow with 40 Dex. Or if you are a hunter with 210 dex, you will do the same damage per shot as a Crossbowman with 200 dex.  Bows have a Dex * 3.4 multiplier, whereas Crossbows have a Dex * 3.6 multiplier.  Everything else stays exactly the same.  For that same reason, the same amount of Weapon Attack has a higher net impact on a Bow in terms of unit output, while Dexterity has a higher net impact on a Crossbow in terms of unit output.  Similarly, due to weapon requirements, Bow users will overall have 5 more Strength and 5 less Dexterity than Crossbow users, and Crossbow users will overall have 5 more Dexterity and 5 less Strength.  Weapon Attack's impact overtime generates an increasing proportional rate to statistics such as Dexterity and Strength.  Diminishing returns currently do not seem apparent.

In the 1st job advance period, Hunter's edge on speed is superior to Crossbow's edge on damage. You're not spamming skills, and more speed and less damage vs. more damage and less speed generally comes to an almost equal damage over time, so the versatility of higher speed is better (especially considering the level 25, 35, and 90 Bows have a FAST speed rating). However, if you're spamming skills, then Bows are not better than Crossbows (though, not worse off either), and it becomes solely a choice.

* The main question in scrolling shoes is that between scrolling them with Shoe Jump Scrolls or Shoe Speed Scrolls. On the surface, it seems that you would want to stick with the jump shoes, because those add DEX and result in more damage. However, one must also consider that increased speed will allow you to train faster. Furthermore, the Jump from the +DEX shoes will also alter your jumpshot timing, which could lead to catastrophic results if you go Yepeing often. Lastly, Jump shoes are much more expensive to scroll.

* If the player can afford 5 60% speed scrolls (less than jump 60%) try a 3-4 speed Whitebottom shoe. Iron hogs drop them and they can be purchased in Henesys.  11 speed is what you’re aiming for. This is 4 60%, plus the speed that’s already on them. Normally, buying an 11 speed shoe is in the millions since it normally requires 1 10% and 4 60%'s working which is very rare.  Thus using boots that already have speed on them allow you to get 11+ speed boots. (120% or higher speed is wanted for fighting Jr. Barlog and with 11 speed boots, a speed pill that adds 10% and 2-3% from the 10% dex overall scrolls you might have on your armor is the best way to achieve 120%+ speed.)

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