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The Archer, a long ranged staple in fantasy adventures, is a very strong vocation in Dragon's Dogma 2 thanks to their ability to deal very high damage from a safe distance. They also have incredibly powerful skills that can make use of many situations, and are able to aim for more precise targeting. This best archer skills guide goes over all active skills, when to use them, and my overall thoughts on their effectiveness and rather or not you should spend the Dcp on them.
Weapon Skills
Barrage Shot / Manifold Shot
- Fires a loaded arrow that adheres to foes or terrain. The arrow will burst when attacked or after a time, and can knock targets off balance.
- The advanced skill Manifold Shot fires a greater number of arrows.
- This is a good starter skill for archers, but will be quickly replaced by skills learned the further along the discipline.
Sweep Shot / Cascade Shot
- Fires arrows in a wedge pattern, allowing multiple targets to be struck simultaneously. Can be employed while moving.
- The advanced skill Cascade Shot fires a greater number of arrows.
- This skill provides Archer a reliable source of AOE damage when dealing with trash mobs, but not ideal if you're going on a boss hunt, unless the target has multiple weak points spread across it's body.
Dire Arrow / Deathly Arrow
- Fires a devastating shot that knocks down smaller targets. When using Steady Shot (r1), arrows become even more powerful if they are loosed the instant the bow is fully drawn.
- The advanced skill Deathly Arrow inflicts greater harm and has the ability to pin smaller targets to wall.
- This will be the Archer's most powerful skill until an even stronger version of it in the form of Heavenly Arrow is unlocked.
- While weaker than Heavenly Arrow, it is also much faster, leaving you in less danger from a charging foe.
Keen Sight / Lyncean Sight
- Special sight augments the user's vision while drawing, allowing them to fire on distant targets. Consumes Stamina while the bow is drawn.
- The advanced skill Lyncean Sight stabilizes the user's vision and consumes less Stamina.
- This is a decent skill that allows you to more easily shoot targets at a far distant, and allows you to auto aim from a far greater distance as well. I would not recommend this skill unless you plan to play as a sniper while your pawns are attracting all of the aggro.
Torrent Shot / Tempest Shot
- Fires multiple arrows in rapid succession. Rate of fire increases with consecutive shots. Prevents movement while active.
- The advanced skill Tempest Shot fires a greater number of arrows.
- A fun and super powerful ability that allows you to quickly rain down high DPS on your opponents. Best used on a stunned foe and aimed directly at their vital spot in order to deal exceptional damage.
Whirling Arrow / Spiral Arrow
- Fires a powerful spinning arrow that delivers a barrage of hits. Effective at overwhelming smaller targets. Can be employed while moving.
- The advanced skill Spiral Arrow appends still more strikes to the barrage.
- This is a great DoT skill that can be shot while moving, allowing Archer to constantly apply damage outside of their normal shots relatively safely. It is also very useful for striking vital points on a moving target as it constantly hits the weak point without needing to adjust your aim.
Exploding Shot / Erupting Shot
- Fires a loaded arrow that adheres to foes or terrain. The arrow will burst when attacked or after a time, and can knock targets off balance.
- The advanced skill Erupting Shot shoots with increased arrow speed. If employed while clinging to a target, the user pierces the target wit the explosive arrow directly.
- This provides a powerful blast AOE for the archer at the cost of special arrows, and is also good at knocking creatures over when they are in the tumbling phase, giving the Archer a quick stagger option.
Tarring Shots / Incendiary Shot
- Fires a loaded arrow that adheres to foes or terrain. Explodes after a time or if attacked, tarring the target and those who draw near. Usable only when carrying an applicable arrow.
- The advanced skill Incendiary Shot shoots with increased arrow speed. If employed while clinging to a target, the user pierces the target with the tarring arrow directly.
- This skill coats enemies in tar, which boosts the effects of fire damage, so if you're travelling with allies that have the ability to dish out heavy fire damage, bringing this along is recommended if you'd prefer to play a support role.
Drenching Shot / Deluging Shot
- Fires a loaded arrow that adheres to foes or terrain. Explodes after a time or if attacked, drenching the target and those who draw near. Usable only when carrying an applicable arrow.
- The advanced skill Deluging Shot shoots with increased arrow speed. If employed while clinging to a target, the user pierces the target with the drenching arrow directly.
- This skill coats enemies in water, which boosts the effects of lightning damage, so if you're travelling with allies that have the ability to dish out heavy lightning damage, bringing this along is recommended if you'd prefer to play a support role.
Blighting Shot / Nocuous Shot
- Fires a loaded arrow that adds to the target's blighted value on impact. Usable only when carrying an applicable arrow.
- The advanced skill Nocuous Shot shoots with increased arrow speed. If employed while clinging to a target, the user pierces the target with the blighting arrow directly.
- This applies blight, or poison, to the target, giving you reliable DoT atop of all other damage you can deal as an Archer. If your foe is weak or vulnerable to blight, this is highly recommended.
Heavenly Shot
- Fires an almighty arrow in exchange for consuming all of the user's Stamina. The arrow's potency is determined by the user's remaining Stamina when it is loosed.
- The Archers ultimate "masiter" skill. This deals an incredible amount of damage when a full stamina bar is used, and it scales based on total stamina, so if you have stamina boosting items or augments, you'll deal even more damage. Can often one shot weaker foes if aimed at a vital spot.
Core Skills
These are key skills that don't take up any slots and that should be unlocked as soon as they are available, as they make the archer not only more mobile, but able to deal more damage overall.
Leaping Punt
- Delivers a weighty kick that can knock foes off balance. Launches the user backward after it connects.
- A great ability that allows you to not only deal decent damage, but get away from a foe that is a tad too close for comfort.
Parting Shot
- Fires an arrow while jumping back after performing a Leaping Punt or mid-air Front Kick.
- Allows you to deal additional damage after the kick, especially useful after using Leaping Punt.
Swift Nock
- Enables the user to nock arrows more quickly when using Loose or Steady Shot
- A straightforward damage boost by allowing Archer to fire more quickly.
Puncture Dart
- Draws the bowstring to its absolute limit before firing. Makes aiming more difficult, but allows arrows to pierce targets with greater impact.
- This gives the archer the ability to pierce foes without the use of weapon skills, and foes often time line up more often than you think, making this useful.
Augments
- Ambuscade - Increases damage dealt by your attacks when targets are not in battle stance. This is useful if you're playing a more stealth archer role, or going for long ranged vital shots with the help of Keen Eye. This augment also goes well with other stealth disciplines like the Thief.
- Endurance - Increases maximum stamina. A must have augment for any class as stamina amounts to how much damage you can deal, the amount of time you can grip, as well as dashing.
- Verve - Augments your strength. A must have augment for all physical damage based classes. This is earned from levelling up the Thief vocation.
- Lethality - Increases damage dealt when striking a target's vitals. A must have augment for Archer as you will be constantly aiming at enemy weak points to deal the most damage with your skills regardless.
- Avidity - Enables you to clamber up cliffs and scale foes and other surfaces more quickly. A great mobility augment for just about all classes. With archer, you want to be mobile in order to avoid the enemies ire.
- Thew / Vitality- Enables you to carry additional weight / Increases your maximum Health. These can be used interchangeably depending on what you want more of. Vitality is unlocked from Warrior, Thew from Fighter
What to spend Dcp on / Priority
For Archer, first focus on unlocking whatever Core Skill you are able to at the level you're currently on. After this, focus on your important augments: Endurance and Lethality. Afterwards, if you want to play a pure offense archer, then Cascade Shot, Tempest Shot, Spiral Arrow, and Blighting Arrow are must haves. If you prefer the support role, focus your efforts on Lyncean Sight, Tarring Shot, Exploding Shot, and Drenching Shot. Any left over points should be spent on how you see fit.
