Archery

§Shooting

Ready the bow like any weapon and press the right mouse button to shoot. Every shot uses one arrow. Arrows that miss fly on for a few seconds before they vanish.

A bow takes both hands, so a shield is useless to an archer. That makes Forbidden Shield Types a free discount on a custom class.

§How long you draw

By default a bow uses advanced archery: how long you hold the string before releasing changes both your hit chance and your damage.

So draw for between one and two seconds and let go.

§What adds up on every arrow

The hit chance and damage are those on Combat basics. For a bow the parts that matter are:

All divisions round down. These bonuses come from your stats, not your level, so a Wood Elf with Expertise has an edge at level 1 and every Agility point makes it larger. With Strength 45, Agility 75, Speed 65 and Luck 35, Expertise gives +13 to hit and +5 damage and the Wood Elf bonus another +10 to hit and +4 damage.

§Buying arrows

Weaponsmiths sell bows and arrows. Buy at least 50 before a dungeon. When you are out, switch to your short blade instead of retreating.

§Playing it well

• Shoot first from the dark. Crouch (C) to stay hidden until the first arrow lands.
• Shoot down corridors. Enemies walking a straight line toward you are easy targets.
• Keep a dagger readied for when they reach you. Short Blade in Major covers that.
• Online, arrows count as ammunition and are not dropped when you die in the Wrothgarian Mountains. See PvP and the Wild Zone.

§Look it up

• The bows and arrows: Short Bow, Long Bow and Arrow.
• How each material changes a weapon: Materials.
• The skill itself: Archery.