Stickied - priestsallore



EPISODE DISCLAIMER:

This guide was originally written when Episode 3 was out. I retired from actively playing the game before EP4 was released. However, I did stop back in after the initial release of EP4 in order to update the guide heavily. As such, it contains things up to that point but is incomplete beyond that. In other words, it doesn't include anything from EP5 and beyond and it never will. It likely does not contain everything from later updates to EP4 either.

That being said, much of the guide is still very relevant. Just because you see (EP4) in the title does not mean that EP5 renders the knowledge obsolete. The newer you are to the class, the more you can still learn from this. The info in this particular thread is more general and thus is still valuable. Much of the other threads again are still valuable, they are just rendered incomplete as they don't include new information regarding the latest episodes. I have overhauled the skill guide for EP5 to the best of my ability (not 100% complete though).

I don't play anymore and while my curiosity has me check back for a few days after a major episode release, I will never again update this portion of the guide. If the community deems that an updated version is necessary and wanted, someone else will have to be my successor because I've moved on from Shaiya, my friends, and I won't be back.

I know it's a massive undertaking and very few players possess the disposition to actually tackle such a task as I did, but if nobody will step up, then you will have to make do with this work as long as it will hold out. In any case, Shaiya will not last forever, and Shaiya 2 is already in development, not to mention your lifespan as a player will only be a smaller portion of the game's lifespan (few hardcore enthusiasts aside). But if the massive amount of experience and knowledge within this guide does not teach you well enough to continue on the path to mastery without further written aid, then I do not think a completely updated guide would change anything. Eventually, the student must move beyond the need for external teachers.

INTRODUCTION:

It was decided that much of the information in this guide be split up into several smaller guides. This should make it easier to navigate and find the information you are wanting. The Archer/Hunter skills are now in their own guide, the Archer/Hunter gear is now in its own guide, as well as the builds and quests/grinding locations. Follow the links below for those guides. The rest of the information is left here in this guide.

• ARCHER / HUNTER SKILL GUIDE (EP5)
  
• ARCHER / HUNTER GEAR GUIDE (EP4)
  
• ARCHER / HUNTER BUILD GUIDE (EP4)
  
• ARCHER / HUNTER QUEST & GRIND GUIDE (EP4)
  

Before we go any further I should introduce myself for those who don't know. In the world of Shaiya I'm known as Aes (pronounced "ace"). My archer is on the Lailah server, a lvl 58 UM named Aes. I've played every class in the game and most of them to high level. While I know a lot about all aspects of the game and all classes, archer is where my true expertise is. I have about 2000 hours logged. I've reset my stats many times, done multiple tests, and spent billions in gold just to have a better understanding of how things work. So I've got quite a bit of experience when it comes to playing and testing stats both in PvP and PvE of all levels. I retired from Shaiya in Spring of 2009 and have no plans to return. I occasionally check this guide and update it.

INDEX:

Those familiar with online guides recognize the indexing system below. You can use the Find feature of your browser (Ctrl + F) and type the letter code for the section you want to jump right to it. Each "Volume" is merely another post/section in this page, the first being this post right here. Remember most of the information in our archer/hunter guide system is not in this topic but in those linked to above. Be sure to read them all for total archer/hunter knowledge awesomness.

VOLUME I

• Introduction
  
• Catalog of Guides
  
• Index
  

VOLUME II

• Class Strengths and Weaknesses - [XCSAW]
  
• Choosing Your Mode - [XCMDE]
  

VOLUME III

• Common Terminology - [XCTRM]
  
• Kiting Techniques - [XATCH]
  
• Making Gold - [XMGLD]
  

WHY CHOOSE ARCHER/HUNTER?
Index Code: [XCSAW]

I suppose this is the first thing I should comment about before getting into the skills and armors and whatnot. People often ask this kind of question. Why be an archer/hunter? Are they better than other classes? What use is there for an archer/hunter? The first thing I'm going to say is the most important thing when choosing a class of character. PLAY WHAT SEEMS MOST FUN TO YOU. This is a GAME, in the end the only purpose it serves is fun.

I've had the benefit of playing to 60 UM in every class (on a test server) which gave massive insight and experience. After all that, archer/hunter is still my favorite class. That's why I play sniper in other games, that's why I play ranged classes. That's why my toon is female even though I'm not. Do what is most fun to you, because if you don't have fun you have epically failed the most important quest in this game. Don't just pick a fighter because they are easy to play, play what you enjoy playing. Now every class has strengths and weaknesses and archer/hunter is no exception.

OUR STRENGTHS

• Archers/Hunters have range, the longest range of any class in the game. Besides casters, all the other classes have to fight in close combat. This range also means we take less damage since most targets cannot strike back from a distance.
  
  
• Archers/Hunters have decent HP. We have enough to be able to solo effectively in PvE. We are not tanks but we can take a hit and live to tell the story.
  
  
• Archers/Hunters don't need to rely on parties. We can solo just fine so we don't have to wait around for others in order to get some EXP.
  
  
• Archers/Hunters have very high DPS (damage per second) against single targets. Combined with our range, this makes us very good in PvP and boss fights.
  
  
• There are much less people playing archers/hunters than there are fighters/warriors and other classes. This means you will be part of a smaller population, and it also means that archer/hunter gear is less than half the price of other classes, because the demand simply is not there. Though this also means selling your old gear can be difficult.
  
  
• Archers'/Hunters' main attack is classified as "shooting attack". This means we get .3 ATK for every 1 LUC when we use a bow. So we get a serious ATK boost from having LUC; which means making 95% critical hit LUC builds is our specialty.
  
  
• Ultimate mode archers/hunters get a skill called Magic Defy which basically makes the threat of enemy magic a moot point. It's a serious advantage that makes it easier as you don't have to really worry about magic hurting or killing you, both in PvE and PvP.
  
  
• Archers/Hunters do not specialize in AoE attacks. But we can kill equally fast by burning through mobs one at a time. This means because of a mobs reset range we are not limited to finding spots on the map that support effective AoEing. We can kill effectively and quickly anywhere.
  
  
• In PvP, because of our range, we have the ability to kill enemies even if they are hiding behind their guards or towers since we don't have to be close to attack them. This also makes us very powerful against squishier classes as we can pick them off in a few shots before they even realize what's going on. Also because we are LUC based, or should be, at high level we have the ability to do more damage to high defense targets like guardians. Our LUC somewhat bypassing their defense and thus giving us the ability to take them down (with help). Absolute Attack and Pantera Vision skills makes anyone a two hit kill.
  
  
• Unlike mages/pagans, archers/hunters do not have cast times on most of our skills. So there is no delay when we fire off our skills and being hit does not prevent us from attacking or using a skill.
  
  
• The most dangerous attack is the one you never see coming. That pretty much describes our ability in PvP, especially when fighters are running in getting all the attention while we go unnoticed picking off targets one by one. Consider it an honor when warriors start targeting you as they recognize the threat you pose.
  
  
• The very highest of end game bosses need archers/hunters to kill or assist in killing them.
  

OUR WEAKNESSES

• Archers/Hunters level slower than fighters/warriors, defenders/guardians, mages/pagans, and priests/oracles. The latter three need to have parties though, otherwise they won't level much at all. But archer/hunter is not THAT slow. Especially in UM towards higher levels, archer/hunter is a fairly fast class to level.
  
  
• Archer/Hunter damage gets cut in half at close range. So if I normally hit for 1000, I would likely hit for around 500 if the target is very close to me. There are ways around this though, we call it kiting and I explain it in detail later.
  
  
• Our native stat (every class gets 1 stat point in a certain category every time you level up) is LUC. Unfortunately LUC is best in large quantities. Which means if you are not a LUC build, or if you are lower level, that extra stat is kinda wasted.
  
  
• Archers/Hunters are best suited for high LUC builds, as I said. But this requires a LOT of stat points to pull off effectively. Which means you need not only LUC but DEX and STR as well. To do it properly you will need very good gear, which can be expensive. It's something to keep in mind; LUC builds are great but they are complex. This is also why it is usually recommended to play archer/hunter only in HM or preferably UM mode. Because in Normal mode you have almost half the stat points of what you get in Ultimate mode, which puts you at a serious disadvantage in your build possibilities.
  
  
• There is this annoying programming issue in the game; land obstacles. Sometimes you cannot attack and the reason given is that there is a land obstacle. But in a lot of cases there is simply NOT anything in your path and it can be annoying for archers/hunters especially since we attack from range. Sometimes you have to move closer to your target, thus giving up some advantage just to get around what seems to be a programming issue. Jumping before you attack can sometimes remedy this.
  

VS OTHER CLASSES

In PvP it really comes down to the team you are playing with. PvP is not a solo man's game. Your build, mode, gear, and level are also huge factors. It's not fair to pigeonhole a class and say one is better. But I will say some GENERALITIES. Of course this is not always true in every case, there are too many factors involved. But IN GENERAL, this is how archers/hunters tend to stack up against other classes, assuming mode and level are the same.

Mages/Pagans - Typically if they don't use Health Assist archers/hunters can kill them in one or two shots, and certainly kill them before they kill you. UM archers/hunters are at a serious advantage in this match up because of Magic Defy skill.

Priests/Oracles - Most are not battle builds and thus a healer can't really hurt you but some are attack builds, which puts them in a similar category as a mage. Again Magic Defy is a huge advantage and if they don't use HA they typically are pretty easy to take down and usually do not pose a big threat to archers/hunters.

Rangers/Assassin - In my experience if you keep the proper dispelling potions on you, assassins are not a huge threat. You can damage them from range but if they get close their biggest advantage is stunning you, but that can be negated with a stun cure scroll. They typically don't hit hard enough to kill you fast like a fighter could.

Archers/Hunters - Given that they are the same class things are pretty even. At this point it comes down to build and more so to who attacks first.

Defenders/Guardians - If they are a tank build they can't really kill you. They can still be annoying with all their debuff skills and very hard to kill with their high DEF and HP, not to mention their untouchable skills. But while a tank may be impossible to kill he likely can't hurt you either. Battle builds are more troublesome as they CAN kill you but still have most of the benefits I just listed. They will have less HP and DEF than a tank but if things get bad for them they will pop an untouchable skill which makes them very hard to kill. Lvl 60 UM battle guards are the most overpowered class in the game, making them very much hated in PvP.

Fighters/Warriors - Their damage is so massive and so fast that most of the time if they get close to you you will die. They also have respectable HP so it can be tricky to take them down before they get close enough to kill you. If they do get close you best hope is to run. You simply cannot stand toe to toe with a similar level and mode warrior and expect to come out alive. We are a ranged class and gimped at close range.

CHOOSING YOUR MODE:
Index Code: [XCMDE]

Before we begin I should explain the modes. When you create your character you have the option to choose between four modes at the bottom of you customization window. Easy, Normal, Hard, and Ultimate. Both Hard and Ultimate modes are locked and you must first get a Normal Mode character to level 40 to unlock Hard Mode and then a Hard Mode character to level 40 to unlock Ultimate Mode. By the way, you don't have to keep these characters on your account. Once you reach level 40 and unlock the next mode, your account is flagged so you can delete any or all of your characters, you can even switch factions. Once a mode is unlocked on your account there is nothing you can do to "re-lock" the modes. So don't worry, when HM and/or UM is unlocked, it's unlocked forever on that account on that server, no matter what you do.

The other point to make is this. Everyone abbreviates the modes. Normal Mode is called NM, Hard Mode is called HM, Ultimate Mode is called UM. You'll see those letters a lot in this game and that's what it means.

NORMAL MODE:

Wait, what about Easy Mode? Easy Mode is pretty much a waste of time. You get the same amount of stat and skill points as a NM but need less EXP to level up. However you are capped at level 30 and can't use special skills, so there is nearly nothing you can do with an easy mode character in the end. The EXP difference isn't big enough to warrant choosing Easy over Normal mode.

Normal Mode is usually just played to unlock HM. This is not always true though. My Normal Mode character was a level 58 mage which I leveled just for fun. There are lvl 60 NMs out there. Depending on your class, the usefulness of such a high level NM toon varies. In general, I don't recommend that one takes an archer/hunter to level 60 in NM unless you don't intend on playing HM at all. I've seen how they struggle with the lack of stat points. My UM archer/hunter with gear that most would call uber still struggles. Archer/Hunter builds are tough, and even in UM can be tricky to pull off. I've seen NM archers/hunters at high level and they are nearly gimp against high level mobs because they just don't have the stat points available, and typically don't have the funds to make the uber gear they would need to stand a fighting chance. Let's look at it this way. There are three reasons to play Normal Mode.

• You need to get to level 40 to unlock Hard Mode.
  
• You want to go even higher, to 50+, to farm to help fund your next character.
  
• You decide to take NM to higher level, maybe even 60 and use it as your main character.

Everyone has to play NM to at least 40. If this is your only intention for Normal mode I don't suggest you play archer/hunter. Archer/Hunter will level slower than other classes and you end up just making this task take longer and more of a struggle. As much as I don't like seeing everyone play fighter/warrior, I have to recommend that class for this purpose.

If you've decided you want to take an NM up to level 50+ in order to farm and fund your next mode character. Again I have to recommend you don't do this as an archer. You need more stat points to make an effective archer. You can make an effective fighter/warrior with far less resources and thus far less gold needed to make your farming toon competent. There is no point in making a temporary farming toon that needs 100s of millions worth of gear just to do the job. And there's no point in making this task more expensive or more of a struggle. In the end, this character is a means to an end and will be replaced by the very toon it is temporarily funding. In other words, you use a 50+ NM to fund an HM until that HM is the same level and therefore superior. Then the NM gets fired lol. You have to give this situation some thought before deciding. The choice is different for everyone. In any case, I do not support archer/hunter for this sole task. If that's all you want I have to swallow my pride and again recommend the fighter/warrior class.

I support playing archer for you main class. It's the class I love and it is a class I like to see being played and built with care, time, and quality. It's a class that is hard to be successful with if you don't have the proper amount of stat points. That is why I don't fly a banner for playing archer/hunter just to unlock the next mode or temporarily farm for another character. You don't want to put the time and quality and resources into such characters and thus archer/hunter is not suited for those tasks.

If you want to play NM as your main character, is there a good reason to do so? Yes. People do it. Like most MMOs, Shaiya is very time intensive. Grinding is tough, it takes months of daily play. It could potentially take years of more casual play to reach the highest mode and level. The point I'm making is that it's 5 times easier in NM to level a character, in terms of the EXP needed. So if you don't have a whole lot of time to devote to the game, yet you still want to reach the higher level stuff, NM may be the way to go for you. The problem is simply that after about mid 50s you will be pretty weak as a NM archer/hunter and unable to do anything solo as you won't be able to kill the mobs alone.

The journey to 60 as an NM archer is not easy. You will need uber gear. You will need others to help you. The only way you can kill solo end game mobs is with amazing gear. But again, it's just a game. How much time you want to spend playing and what level and what objectives you want to do in the end will ultimately determine what mode you should be. In the end I would rather be a lvl 60 NM than a lvl 45 UM. Don't think that you'll be able to get to 60 NM as an archer/hunter unquestionably though, it will take time and more importantly it will take tons of gold or other people to heavily assist or drag you along.

HARD OR ULTIMATE?

Unlocking HM is not really a problem, even if you don't play 10 hours a day. Reaching lvl 40 in NM is fairly easy. An experienced player could do it in a few days. A lot of people simply choose to unlock HM and then make a lvl 15 or 30 HM toon to PvP with. I don't recommend PvPing in NM. I think it's worth the time to unlock HM/UM and PvP with that toon. But If you are serious about your main toon being a useful PvP or end game archer/hunter then really it comes down to will I make it a Hard Mode character or an Ultimate Mode character? Both have benefits and drawbacks.

HARD MODE You get 7 stat points and 4 skill points every level. You need roughly 4 times the amount of EXP that a normal mode does to level up. You get skills not available in NM. You CAN lose EXP when you die but you don't need resurrection runes and you can stop the EXP loss much cheaper with a no xp loss item. You can use the leader rez function when you die in a party. Because you don't need rez runes, PvPing is much cheaper and death is not a big issue in HM.

ULTIMATE MODE You get 9 stat points and 5 skill points every level. You need more EXP to level up than an HM but it's not a ton. Basically a lvl 60 HM is equal to a lvl 59 UM in EXP so it's really just that last level extra in UM. You get skills not available in HM. You cannot lose EXP ever as when you die, you are either resurrected in some way or deleted. Of course, you need constant resurrection runes in UM and if you are in a situation in which you will die a lot you need to activate a continuous resurrection rune. this makes PvP pretty expensive for a UM. Death is an issue for UM characters, you must be careful. But in my opinion the extra stats and skills and ability to wear goddess armor is worth it.

HOW SERIOUS ARE YOU?

UM is seriously fun, yet you have to be serious about it or it won't be fun. To me, the point of playing UM means I want to be the best I possibly can be. If I didn't care so much I would just be HM because honestly HM has a few big advantages over UMs, the most obvious one being that you don't need runes, you can die as much as you want, PvP for hours with no worry, etc. The advantage of UM: better skills, 2 more stats per level, 1 more skill point a level, and the ability to wear goddess gear. That's about it. And I'm willing to pay the price of runes to get those benefits.

Someone who chooses that should be pretty serious about their character. If not, HM is just great because honestly what's the difference? 118 points at lvl 60 and a couple skills, most of which you will be perfectly fine without. Also there is goddess gear. But to the average player it will not be easily or cheaply obtainable.

My point? The benefits are not huge but the cost of them is. Anyone willing to pay those costs should be pretty serious about it, otherwise a well built HM is pretty comparable to a UM and allows you to play in a more casual and less expensive manner. A completely broke UM has no hope of even legendary gear much less goddess; and a HM with great gear is better than a UM with crap gear. So all I'm really saying is if you can't afford to play UM to its fullest, better to play HM to its fullest. Just my opinion but UM is about wanting to be the best you can be, and that requires a lot of time, resources, or in game gold.

Everyone has a different playing style. It all depends on what you want and what you are willing and able to do to get it. Ultimate Modes are the most powerful characters, but that doesn't mean it's the best choice for you. If you can't afford rez runes just forget it and stay Hard Mode. If you are a PvP junkie and don't have a way to keep a supply of continuous runes on you then again just stay Hard Mode. The choice is different for everyone. Personally I would not like the idea of being an HM toon, unable to wear the best armor, not having the maximum amount of stat points that I could, but that's me and my perfectionist attitude. HM with great gear CAN be competitive against UMs with great gear.

THE ULTIMATE ARCHER/HUNTER:

If you're reading this then you've chosen Ultimate Mode for your archer/hunter. You have the potential to be one of the most powerful damage dealers in the game. But be warned, UM is not to be taken lightly. I see so many UMs get deleted and it just seems silly to me. To be successful in UM you must either be good enough to not die or more importantly you must take the necessary precautions to prevent the deletion of your character. If you don't then you are not really serious and you probably would be better off with an HM archer/hunter instead. When UM characters die, they have 180 seconds or so to get resurrected or they are deleted. There are basically 4 ways to get resurrected.

• A lvl 31 or higher priest/oracle that has resurrection lvl 2 skill can bring you back to life. This is the best and cheapest way to save your UMs life, but there is not always a priest around to save you.
  
  
• Normal resurrection runes. These are one time use AP items. You keep them in your inventory at all times, and when you die you can click "OK" and be resurrected in the nearest town and one rune will be used and disappear. These also save you if you die after having been disconnected, you don't have to be there to click "OK" have at least one of these and you are safe.
  
  
• Continuous resurrection runes. These need to be activated, and once you click them they run for a set period of time. They come in 3 hour, 6 hour, 7 day, and 30 day timers (the 3 and 6 hour versions stop counting down when you log off the character, the longer ones do not). When you have a continuous resurrection rune activated, you can die an unlimited amount of times, and every time you will be resurrected in the nearest town. This is essential when you want to PvP in UM as you will die a lot.
  
  
• The last way is a target resurrection rune. This allows anyone to resurrect someone else. It's basically an item that gives any class the ability of a priest's/oracle's lvl 2 resurrection skill. They are one time use of course and disappear when you resurrect somebody.
  

Now we've got that out of the way. If you are serious about being a UM archer/hunter you should always have a few normal resurrection runes on you at all times just in case. Lag, disconnection, eyes bigger than your bow, accidents happen and it's not worth the risk of losing your toon, the time you spent on it, and all the gear you have. However, you really shouldn't need continuous resurrection runes unless you plan to PvP or do end game stuff.

For the first 50 levels or so as a UM archer I rarely died. One of the reasons UM comes after HM and NM is so that you'll have some experience and know how when you get to UM. If you play smart you can minimize most of the risk of UM. Especially in PvE UM offers a big advantage, because the mobs themselves (for the first 50 levels or so) are designed to be weak enough that even a NM can kill them. Working with nearly double the stat points as a UM you will be able to cut through them far easier and thus the risk of dying is minimal if you play smart. This changes after lvl 50 as the end game stuff is made to be challenging for a UM, which is why NM archers/hunters are practically rendered useless at that point unless you have awesome gear. But for the most part it means that you will be able to play UM for much of the time with little risk IF YOU PLAY SMART.

HOW TO PLAY SMART

Keep one resurrection rune on you at all times. You can get away with just one, so long as you stay out of PvP. At higher level and better gear you can start protecting your investment a bit more. Note that you can drop rez runes in PvP. But PvPing in UM means continuous rez runes at all times, which means lots of gold, which means you don't have to worry about deletion as you already have the funds to stop that. It also means Prevent Item Drops at all times so you won't have to worry about dropping expensive gear or your rez runes. So please tell me you can swing for a single rez rune by the time you start your serious UM archer/hunter. If not, perhaps consider getting one of your previous mode toons up a bit higher and making some gold with it first. So you've got your rune(s) and you're ready to go. Here are some tips to protect that valuable rune; although they apply to keeping you alive in any mode, it is especially important to do so in UM.

• A rune is worth more than a potion. Admittedly I've made this silly mistake before, even after many months of playing; not wanting to waste a potion and pushing my luck trying to kill a mob, only to get a bit of lag or something and die. Value of potion: 10k ; Value of rune: 10 mil ; Value of being such a newbie after a year of playing: Priceless.
  
  
• A rune is worth more than a kill. If you're going to die, just RUN. Don't get the Kill Fever. The mob will reset, you can rest, and then kill it. As they say, know when to hold em know when to fold em. And don't get ganged up on. As an archer/hunter you are a single target killer. If you aggro too many mobs to handle, again RUN. Let them reset and you can go back to killing one at a time.
  
  
• A priest/oracle on your side is always a benefit, not to mention the fact that a good archer/hunter takes little damage, and a priest can handle the little that you do, and also resurrect you (after level 31) if you do happen to die. However, it can be hard as an archer/hunter to get parties or duos so you can't count on having a priest in your pocket all the time.
  
  
• Test your damage. Unsure whether or not you can kill it before it can kill you? Try it out cautiously while prepared to run. I like to test it with Rapid Shot, once you get it. If my RS doesn't significantly move the target's HP bar, I know it's gonna take me a while to kill it, which likely means I am in danger of being hit pretty hard by such a mob.
  
  
• Find mobs you can easily kill. As an archer/hunter your best and fastest way to level up is to kill mobs that you can actually kill before they reach you. Attack from maximum range and by the time the mob runs all the way to you it should be dead or close to it. That is the ideal killing strategy of an archer/hunter. In general my advice is look for yellow or green mobs and kill those.
  
  
• Level difference trumps all in this game. Green names on a target means they are roughly the same level as you, Yellow means they are one or two levels higher, Orange one or two higher than that, Red even higher (and red mobs ignore the defensive abilities of your armor as do purple and gray), Purple mobs should have you turning around, Gray mobs are so far out of your reach that even if you somehow by the grace of a higher power were able to take them down the game does not award you any EXP. This is to discourage even trying because it will end in your death every time. Blue, light blue, and white mean the target is progressively lower level than you.

COMMON TERMS:
Index Code: [XCTRM]

Here I will list some common terms that come up when discussing archers/hunters or general slang terms you will here often when you play this game. Most players already know what they mean but for the new player this may help.

Kiting - When referring to archers/hunters, this is the term used to describe the process of strategically moving away from your target in the effort to maintain your distance. It is primarily done, not so much to save HP, but rather because archers/hunter get massive damage penalties for being at close range. It's in the (40% reduction range though that's not exact.) Kiting also refers to the same or similar process of strategic running around with the purpose of healing in mind.

RS - This is an abbreviation for the skill Rapid Shot.

DS / WS / EWS - These are abbreviations for the fighter/warrior skills Deadly Strike, Windspin, and Enhanced Windspin. This class is considered one of the archer's biggest threats and so these terms often come up.

VSS - The abbreviation for the archer/hunter skill Viper Sting Shot.

Jav / Xbow /Duals - In casual talk most people call crossbows "xbows". I personally usually call javelins "javs" in causal discussion. The terms "duals" is what people use to refer to dual axes or dual swords. This usually applies to fighters/warriors but hunters can also use dual axes.

AoE - It's not specific to archers and as an MMO player you should already know what it means but just in case. It stands for "area of effect" and what that means is a skill or attack that places its effect on an area rather than a specific target. The way this translates for archer skills is you attack a target and every enemy within a certain distance of that target will also get hit with the skill's effect/damage.

Aggro - Again standard MMO lingo. It's a slang form of the word aggravation or some would say aggression. It means the, usually PvE, monster has become upset with you and is now following/attacking you. Archers seem to have the ability to pull aggro off of other classes, assuming they are not heavy REC/DEF aggro holding tank builds. This is theorized to be because we are a ranged class so it is meant to be a disadvantage to us. In the end it is more a benefit than weakness though, you can save your pure INT caster friends easier when things go wrong in a party and your tank may be dead or busy elsewhere.

DPS - This means "damage per second". Though second is the word used, the phrase really points to damage per timeframe. It means overall damage done within a given period of time. So for example, some who deals damage of 100 per hit and hits 5 times in 10 seconds deals 500 damage in ten seconds. Someone else maybe hits only 3 times in 10 seconds but perhaps deals 170 damage per hit. They basically have the same "DPS". The term is used in many ways, almost always referring to some more complex calculations. To the average person, it simply means which setup will deal more damage.

ATK, DMG, Crit, DEF, ELE - These are all abbreviations for damage related figures. Attack, damage, critical hit, defense stat. "DEF" is also used to abbreviate the class "defender", for example, a "battle def" meaning a defender with a build to deal damage rather than defend against it. "Ele" is just short for element, referring to either the armor of a target or the attribute of the weapon's attack. It's also used to refer to elemental lapis in general.

Tank - not so important to archers/hunters and standard MMO lingo but a tank, if you don't know, is a character built with high defense (heavy armored tank is the correlation) in order to take tons of hits from many targets at once and sustain little damage. Any class "can" be a tank, but archer/hunter is not one that is well suited for it in the end.

PvP, PvE - though if you have any experience with online games you already know this. PvP means player versus player and PvE means player versus environment (meaning computer controlled opponents.)

Buff, Debuff - A buff is a skill that acts more passively and boosts your abilities or your team's abilities. Long Range being an archer/hunter buff that increases our range of attack for a set period of time. A debuff is similar except it acts negatively on your opponent by reducing their abilities for a short period of time. Something like Misfortune or Blunt is considered a debuffing type skill.

DoT - Stands for "damage over time". It means a skill that works like a debuff but deals damage to either HP, SP, and/or MP over a period of time. Viper Sting Shot is a DoT skill as are things like Sustain and Nailed Shot. Aside from VSS I'm not a fan of the archer/hunter DoT skills.

Uber - Word used most commonly to describe the author of this guide. Just kidding lol. It is a German word that, in short, gets commonly used by gamers to mean the highest in superiority. Essentially, it's used as an adjective to imply the subject of the topic is the best or near the best.

NM, HM, UM - These refer to the modes you can choose, normal, hard, and ultimate mode.

Nos - Shaiya is a "free to play" game. Meaning, as you already know, you don't have to pay anything to download or run the software. In order to make money with the game, the company offers an item mall where you can buy many things to make the game easier and your character stronger. Nos is short for nostrum, what Shaiya calls the stat enhancing items you can buy. They wear off so they are a tangible resource. Most disappear when you die as well. For the most part, any item like this is referred to as nos. There is also ice cream, which is obtained from merchants in the game during promos, which can also be generalized in the nos category as they do the same thing that AP nostrum does, they just don't last very long.

*Though it is hated in PvP and considered "cheap" and "unskilled" to use, a big share of AG profits come from people using nos, or "nossers", in PvP, especially 1-15 PvP. So it will never go away. It would be financially very hurtful to the company and kill the game in the end as it became unprofitable to keep it going. It's a game to you, it's a business to the people who make playing it possible. Just remember that when you want to cry about something like this. I agree that using nos is "cheap" in PvP and I wouldn't use anything except melon ice cream. That is my choice because I believe in the integrity of building a character with the resources the game has and not simply supplementing it with add-ons. I'm big on statistics and optimization as you will see if you read all the guides. So me and nos don't mix well. It feels fraudulent to me. It's not your character, it's the performance enhancing drugs that are getting the kills. In PvE though I'm all for it in certain situations. The big one being grinding. To me the game is about PvP though and using nos to double your stat points does not make you good at the game. That's something I would not have on my head and name. The game isn't about getting rank fast. PvP is the game, you should be enjoying it and savoring it, not speeding through it. After max rank, that's it. Game boring. PvE in the game is storyless and mundane, just gear farming for PvP, why speed through the PvP?

More will come when I think of them.

KITING TECHNIQUES:
Index Code: [XATCH]

As you may or may not know archer/hunters are a ranged class. And when at close range, very close range actually, you get damage penalties. You do nearly half damage when the target is right next to you. So it's important to stay back a bit so this doesn't happen. The technique for doing this is called kiting, which is just a glorified way to say, run around. This came up in another topic so I'll pretty much just paste what I said there.

There is two techniques that I use. I like to keep my left hand on the 1 2 3 and W keys. I use W to move forward of course and I can reach most of the skills via the 1-5 keys without stretching too much. Anyway I use my other hand on the mouse. So I run forward with W but I turn by holding the right mouse button on moving the mouse. That's what feels best to me as it's similar to a FPS. Anyway I say this only because I know some people rarely use the mouse so I wanted to explain how I control the game. So as far as kiting...

Technique 1: I attack a mob and if it gets close and it's not dead (then it certainly is near dead). So I use the mouse to click the ground slightly behind where I am standing which causes me to run to that spot. after which I press 1 (which I have normal attack set to) or some other skill button to attack again and I repeat if necessary when the mob gets close again. I'm not trying to avoid damage with this move, just trying to maintain the distance a bit so I still hit for full damage. Kiting doesn't have to be any harder or more complex than that. Press 1 to shoot, click the ground a bit behind me and repeat.

Technique 2: If I know for sure a mob will not be dead or near dead when it gets to me, or that it will hit me very hard I use a preemptive kiting strategy. I attack a few times and before it reaches me I click on a spot farther to the side of me and I continue shooting as I click my way to the side. The reason this works is because while I start moving as the mob is still running to me, the mob is usually not smart enough to adjust for my movement. Thus it keeps running to where I was when I started attacking him. But alas I am no longer there. Still he tags up to that spot before turning and then coming to where I now am. If you pause or slow certain mobs sometimes readjust and go straight for you sometimes, but most of the time it works. It's useful to buy some more time, but it's not often needed since now almost all mobs except bosses are pretty easy to take down before they reach me. And if they are not I simply find ones that are rather the spend extra time and energy with excessive kiting techniques.

Kiting is mainly about keeping full damage, not necessarily preventing yourself from being hit. Except when soloing bosses or mini bosses, where you may want to run very far away, stun them and shoot until they get close, then repeat, because some of those mobs hit very hard and pots have recharge times. You may need to kite like a defender in some of those situations (run around not attacking for the sole purpose of letting the blessing regenerate your HP as your pots are cooling down) But against normal mobs just a little inching backup while shooting is usually enough to maintain that distance. Keep in mind though that a mob will only stray so far from its spawn point so you can't run too far back or it will reset. If that is the case you will have to inch sideways and then double back towards the spawn point when kiting to keep it from resetting. But again, if you find you have to kite too much just try to find easier mobs and kill faster and thus level up faster.

What about ranged mobs - mobs that attack from afar and thus don't get close to you? Well, ranged mobs are actually more dangerous as they can start damaging you as soon as you attack them. Against normal mobs your defense doesn't matter too much because they spend most of the fight time running to you and by the time they get close enough to attack they are dead or close to it. With ranged mobs you will burn more healing pots or rest a lot more between fights. You don't have to kite such mobs but you will waste far more time resting between every fight. Ranged mobs are not good for anyone, and archer/hunter is really no exception. The reason we don't need high defense is because we are not meant to take many hits.

GOLD DIGGER:
Index Code: [XMGLD]

After seeing the pretty goddess armors and sparkly high stat lapis, and then seeing the price tag that people put on them when selling them, the first question a new player is going to ask is, how do I make the gold to buy this stuff? Before I answer, I want to discuss a few things. These are not unique to Shaiya, they are common to most MMO games.

First, before we all burn the house down with our flaming tears and witch cries of "GREED!" let's concede the first point of this topic. The items were meant to be obtained by killing difficult monsters in the game. People selling to you are doing so for selfish reasons of course but they are not obligated to sell, they are the ones who killed the monster and obtained the item. Go play on a private server that has low population and see how things are. You won't be able to kill any bosses, get any of the stuff, and more importantly without other players the game blows. Just remember, other players are not NPCs and don't have to sell you the Goddess Freya armor they got from Freezing Mirage or the Croker More they got from Fantasma Dragon.

3 billion gold is not cheap but go kill the dragon boss yourself. Oh wait, you can't? Then you don't have options nor room to complain. Yes I understand that most of the time a single guild monopolized a server and gets max level first and collects the high level players, making competition difficult or impossible. Nevertheless complaining won't get you anywhere. I say this from an impartial perspective. I don't play anymore, when I did I was not in the "power guild" on my server, for the most part I did had to buy my gear and it was not cheap. Beat em, join em, give em your gold. Those are your options when it comes to getting gear from more powerful players. Complain about others monopolizing bosses if you want.

But don't complain that it's too hard to make gold and you can't afford to get the gear because you are technically supposed to be getting the gear for free by killing the endgame bosses. Buying Goddess gear for several billion is not just a product but a service. Someone else, and by someone I mean many many someones, spent hours killing one of the highest level bosses in the game to get that armor for you. Parts and labor my friends, and labor is the biggest cost. Anyway, the following are some options to make gold, and no, none of them are particularly amazing. You're not going to solo farm something worth 200 million gold as an archer/hunter. This is a F2P game with an item mall which means you either put in no money and lots of time or no time and lots of money.

Rather than tell you the few best options, I'll just give you the full story about all the things you possibly could farm. I'm not really a "do this" kinda guy. I'm more of a "here's your situation and options" kinda guy.

LOW LEVEL OPTIONS:

You don't have many, low level gear is typically not rare or expensive. There are a few exceptions to that but remember things that are valuable are wanted by all and thus farmed by many. For the most part you simply can't and don't farm and make gold as a low level archer/hunter or any other class for that matter. You take the junk drops you get while grinding and sell them to NPC merchants for some pocket cash.

Noble 1-15 PvP Gear (with orange stats) - The PvP enthusiast will demand they have armor that came from a drop and not a quest because you can add orange stats to it boosting your performance. You could try to farm these. I don't know where they drop or how rare/expensive they are.

Worship/Heroic 1-15 PvP Gear - These are "one in a million" random drops. There are barely any in existence and you cannot purposely farm them. If you did get one it would be worth many billions to the 1-15 PvP enthusiast.

Quest/Enchant Items - You have to know what you're looking for, what's junk and what's not. You could make some significant gold with this strategy. Not billions, but many millions depending on how much you farm. It's probably your best option for gold as a low level.

Level 1 Lapis - It's pretty much useless, and by pretty much I mean completely. You're not going to get any significant gold selling these. You can buy them from an upgraded guild house in cheap and unlimited supply.

MID LEVEL OPTIONS:

* Keep in mind your mid level options, with the exception of level 1 lapis, include all the low level options as well.

Level 2 Lapis - It's worth more than level 1 of course and many people might want to put it in temporary grinding armors. But it won't net you all that much. Still you can buy them from an upgraded guild house in cheap and unlimited supply.

Worship/Heroic/Dread 20-30 PvP Gear - The worship and heroic stuff drops from the dungeon on map 1; Cornwells Ruins for lightside and Argilla Ruin for fury. The mini bosses drop both worship and heroic gear, they are Graveyard Loca for Lightside and Kargos for fury. The bosses also drop the worship and heroic gear, Asmo for lightside and Knight for fury. The latter two being "quest bosses" and thus against the rules to farm if you or someone in your party does not have the uncompleted quest active at the time. Still, people do farm them and while there is a lvl 35 cap on the boss room, the mini boss has no such cap so people bring level 50+ characters to farm him. The value of the level 24/25 pants, armors, and weapons can be quite high, especially the armors. Fury gets the 25 protector from a quest but lightside does not.

As far as the dread pieces go. I don't know if they drop from mobs or not. Some come from quests and they do have value. But they cannot take orange stats. As said, I don't know if there is a way to get level 28/29 dread armors and high 20s/30 dread weapons from a drop, I don't believe so though.

Legendary 20-30 PvP Gear - Same story as 1-15 Heroic gear. "One in a million" random drop. I put that in quotes because it's just a figure of speech not an actual statistical drop rate. From map 3 if i'm not mistaken, maybe map 2. Anyway who cares because you can't farm them purposely, they are far too rare. Again if you happened to get one it would be worth billions to the right PvP enthusiast.

Level 3 Lapis - This could probably still net you some significant gold. People would want it for temporary grinding gear. You can buy it from an upgraded guildhouse in cheap and unlimited supply though. Otherwise you farm them in D-water (1-60 PvP zone) dungeon one or dungeon two. If all you wanted was level 3 lapis, dungeon one is easier of course. D2 having the possibility for better EXP at higher level and also level 4 lapis further in the dungeon.

HIGH LEVEL OPTIONS:

* Keep in mind your high level options, with the exception of Asmo/Knight and Level 1 and 2 lapis, include all the low level options as well.

Level 4 Lapis - Finally one that can't be bought in an upgraded guild house. You get it further inside D-water dungeon 2. It's still worth around a million+ depending on the type.

Mid Level Dread Gear - This is in the high level options because you have to kill bosses to get it, bosses you'll want to be higher level to kill and compete with other players. Ajuha, the boss of Fedion dungeon on map two for lightside drops them. I won't list them all, there's probably a few of them for each faction that drops stuff like this. The value is likely not huge as they are temporary gear at best. Dread ARMORS though are more valuable. There are level 36+ Dread sets and can fetch millions. I personally don't think it's worth it to buy such temporary gear but that's another story.

High Level Dread Gear - I consider "high level" in this case to be the mid forties set and the 50-53 set. I mean armor for the most part. At this level standard dread/heroic weapons become nearly worthless in resale because of the far better and super common Pando/Lanhaarr weapons. Anyway, the mini bosses inside Cloron's Lair for lightside and Fantasma's Lair for fury drop these Dread armors. The mini boss room contains a plethora of mobs that also drop these Dread pieces. I believe the minis and bosses of Maitreyan/Aidion Neckria also can drop Dreads. Again you're looking for the lvl 43-46 Dread armor and the level 50-53 dread armor. The 50 set also drops in Dread form from the normal monsters inside Cave of Stigma/Aurizen Ruin.

Pando/Lanhaarr Weapons - These used to be drop limited to something like 26 or was it 46 of each weapon per server. Whatever the figure was they were super rare and on Lailah the initial "power" guild farmed them all and then got banned with the majority of them sitting in their warehouses. This left us with only a few of each weapon type and in some cases literally only one or two in existence. I used to have one of the two Pansk (Pan's Shot) bows on the server. It was a fire/lvl 5 bow and cost around 600 mil at the time (which was the equivalent of billions nowadays). But things are different now. The limited status on the drops was removed and they drop in unlimited supply now. Luckily I sold that bow before this happened and got my full investment back. Thus, they are so common now that most of the people in the position to farm them don't even bother selling them, but rather just NPC them. The issue being that if you can farm these, you are quite high level and mode and thus you need millions and billions of gold and selling something for a few hundred thousand gold is a waste of your time, assuming you can even find a buyer.

Legendary Gear - Basically after about level 43 the standard type of gear is Legendary. They drop from the boss of Maitreyan, Ankylul on lightside, and the boss of Adion Neckria, Astaroth on fury. They also drop from the mini boss of Cloron's Lair, Cloron Troll, and Cloron Dragon himself, as well as the Cloron Dragon and Freezing Mirage Dragon chests that spawn after the dragons die. That is for lightside, the fury equivalent is the mini boss of Fantasma's Lair, Fantasma Troll, as well as Fantasma Dragon himself. And the chests that spawn after Fanta and Haruhion Dragons die.

Dread and Legendary 55+ Armor The legendary version obviously fetching a decent price, the dread not so much. There is also Noble versions which are completely worthless. They drop from the boss mobs in the Jungle and Deep Desert maps. The level 57 pants are particularly rare, making them fetch near the one billion mark for legendary in some cases. Even the dread pants retain higher value because of the rarity.

Level 55 Three Slot Weapons - These are not worth that much at all because, aside from a Normal Mode, no high level will really want to use them. They are not very good in their potential with only three slots and low base stats. Anyway, they drop from the bosses in Elemental Cave as well as the Cloron Troll for lightside which is Rubber Chaos and Fantasma Troll for fury.

Level 5 Lapis - These drop from the bosses in Cave of Stigma (lightside) and Aurizen Ruin (fury). You cannot kill these by yourself as an archer/hunter. The issue is that there will be a ton of mobs respawning on you in a tight space, plus the boss attacking you, plus the handful of boss guarding mobs which have very high HP and take a little while to kill. All this means that you, at the very least, need to be pretty uber and have a healer with you. Fighters/Warriors typically farm all these bosses anyway and you won't outdamage them if they decide to compete for the kill. I don't know if these mobs were determined to be bosses or normal mobs and whether or not it is against the rules to "steal the kill" from another player. Still, level 5 lapis is very wanted and very expensive as a result. If you could manage to successfully start a farming business you could make a lot of gold this way.

End Game Gear - Rather than list is all separately I'm just going to clump it all together. If you can farm this stuff you don't need to read this and thus likely won't even see this. The Goddess 4x armor top and pants as well as the Goddess high 40s/50 weapons drop from Freezing Mirage Dragon / Haruhion Dragon. The Goddess 50-53 Armor drops from the Cryptic Throne bosses, as does the level 56 weapons. The level 59 weapons drop from Cryptic the Immortal Dragon (hardest boss in the game currently). What is commonly called the Cloron/Fantasma drops are of course from Cloron Dragon / Fantasma Dragon. These are all worth hundreds of millions each, many billions in the case of goddess armors. But you simply cannot farm these alone, you need to be in a guild, and typically there is only one guild per faction per server that does the FM/Haru and CT bosses.

Sky City Weapons - In general you want the Legendary and Goddess versions of these weapons. The Goddess versions are slightly better than the Cloron/Fanta weapons in their potential and thus worth just as much. The Legendary versions are not quite as good but still very respectable. Dread and lower is not worth that much at all. These are a reward from a repeatable quest but you need to be very high level and mode to farm the items you need to complete the quest. As the name implies they are found in Sky City and the Quest NPC is under the tree in D-water (the entrance to Sky City).

Elemental Lapis - One of the most fought over item in the game. It drops from Kimaraku, the boss of D-water dungeon 2. He spawns 12 hours from after he is killed. Both factions have to "share" him, meaning unlike every other boss, lightside and fury do not get their own spawn. Since he's in a PvP zone there's only one and he at best only spawns twice each day. This makes his loot even more in demand and valuable. They sell for hundreds of millions each but the competition is massive and you need to be 58+ to kill him. A level 60 UM fighter/warrior can do it solo with healing potions, but aside from that you'll need some kind of help to pull it off, not to mention the other faction attack that will come at you. At least, as an archer/hunter, you don't need to rely on weapon elemental lapis because you have the buff skills you can use.

WHEN IN DOUBT.... THROW SOME CASH AROUND

Selling AP - It's the easiest way to make tons of gold, billions of gold. The catch is that you need to spend real money to buy the AP. But if that doesn't turn you off or if you don't want to spend unnecessary amounts of time farming in game you can make billions upon billions of gold by selling AP items. If you wait until they run "buy one get one" promotions you can double the effectiveness of your money. You could quickly and easily get enough gold to buy full Goddess Armors and endgame weapons if you spend money and sell AP items. It's worth taking a little time to understand the market and know what items are popular. At the time of writing this the enchantment lapisia (non breakable kind) is very hot and people will pay more for that then they will for a comparably priced AP item like an exp stone or something.

I retired from playing the game over six months ago. But when the Sky City update was added I found my way back to the forums to update this guide. This required a lot of in game time to do the proper research/revamping of the guide. I intended to just get in/get out but I'm still here working on it since I decided to make it a true archer/hunter guide rather than just the archer specific guide it once was. Anyway, Over those six months I apparently amassed some free AP on both my accounts. I had about 4k, which I sold wisely and made, i don't even know how much. I sold cheap and quick and it was over 1 bil. I'm not sure exactly because I bought stuff for the research and gave away hundreds of millions to old friends. Anyway, you can see how easy it is to make gold this way and it require minimal time. It just costs money instead.

LISTEN UP FOLKS

Dual Lapis - I saved this for last because it is likely going to be the best option for the majority of high level archer/hunters. Dual lapis is not rare, it drops in plenty from Jungle and Deep Desert 1 starting mobs. The +17 stat versions sell for quite a bit each. The other options still sell for several million a piece. There is enough to go around compared to other high level drops. The only issue is that they drop in a PvP map and thus they are shared between factions and the opposing faction can and probably will kill you regularly. You have to be at least level 53 and have good gear to farm these by yourself. Nevertheless this is still considered the best way to make gold as a high level archer/hunter.

NOW GO PLAY

Thanks for reading. Hopefully this has helped you and will make the game a more enjoyable experience. I hope you enjoy playing as an archer, or hunter. This guide is not meant to replace actual experience so get out there and play. Remember, this is only a portion of the massive amount of cataloged information. The archer/hunter guide is no longer just one guide but rather five guides. Don't forget to check out those other guides, linked to in the introduction of this guide, for the full wealth of information regarding our awesome class.

SPECIAL THANKS:

This guide has been a long time in the making. I put in a massive amount of time, work, and dedication to the game and this guide. But by myself alone it would not have been possible. I know I will forget many people and as I remember them I will add them here in the future. Thanks to everyone who helped out during my time with Shaiya and everyone who helped with this guide both directly and indirectly. There are far too many to recall and name but I will do my best. In no particular order...

Kryyn, iLoveThanh, bloodyblade (Disco), buddhistsoldier, Tomal, Sowaroc (Rex), missed_me (yums), AimeeLee, Ervae, CrazyFox (Witchblade), xybolt, the old school guys from Primal Instinct on Lailah, Avyn, PrymeTyme (Xero), AranTelen, Hypnos, Eta, Tantalus (Theaitetos), shaiyamaps.com, Wolfheart, duzildo, frightful, jeejaestitches, Kacia, Arkias, Bullbuttox, LaMa_Will, Isador, Semnphix, Sw0rDsPin, GreenieEm, Stwang, FinallXX, anneefischer, Bril, Pugly, kikix, Dragon Reign on Lailah, n3cr0m33p5, spanner208 (Shoxx), _namora_, TroutofTerror, Maeji, the old school players from Asylum on Lailah, Aeria Games, SonoV, and anyone who ever asked a question that forced me to gain a deeper understanding of the game to answer them.

And for those not listed, your names may have been forgotten but your contributions and my appreciation will remain for all to see. Without you all, this would not be the greatest Shaiya guide in existence. Archers and Hunters FTW!

Thanks for reading. Have fun!

- Aes

are you gonna be making this guide for all modes or just for UM?
also are you gonna list the best places to grind and what quests would be good quests to do?

This is absolutely sexy AES Im lovin it. Not sure If I can but lemme know if theres someway I can help out. A more modern guide, def would help^^

I will keep all modes in mind though i have most experience with UM. I've played Hm archer to lvl 30 and i duoed (as a mage) with a NM archer until lvl 58 so i saw her experience as an NM.

I will probably list grinding spots/quests but it will be for AoL archers not hunters as i've never seriously played on the fury side.

Thanks Xero I'll let you know if i need anything. ^^

you start out with 5 skill points no matter what mode

Steady on there mate! You're forgettin the entire dark side! Hunters deserve a spot here too!

I have one, I'll run that up for ya.

I don't have the pix or anything though.

Skills are the same, except instead of crossbows it's javelins.

Armors, starts with:

Brutal
Gloves lv2, boots lv3, lower lv4, upper lv5.
Plain, noble (I think I once saw a worship, but that was from an event or something)
The lowest level armor. Need I say more?

Er...Gah crap I can't remember the next one. Sorry!

I'll finish this up later, once I've gone back to my huntress and looked again ><

Great Guide! Even so far Aes!


But imho you should add what AimeeLee and I did:

Grind in PvE as a REC Archer, basically a tank, that allows you to level much quicker then a standard Archer build, by doing an aoe duo with INT Priest/Mage or Fighter. And on HM or UM the grind will take significantly more time at higher levels.


Edit: Also great Signature for your guide