Archer

Archer
If you like having a tool for every job, the archer is the class for you...especially if you like tools that explode, penetrate armor, trap enemies in magical spider webs, or transform into radiant energy. Archers leave behind a trail of victims that look like pincushions—many dead before they knew what hit them. The archer rewards the use of clever tactics and thinking two steps ahead of your enemy.

Adventuring archers use remarkable bows. Instead of a string of gut and leather, their bowstrings are of arcane energy. In place of wooden arrows, they fire arrows of pure willpower. An archer's arrows effortlessly punch through enemy armor, consume foes in fiery energy, and trap them so they can't even flee! Archers deal death from afar. They excel at firing from beyond a foe's retaliation range, and using their escape moves to stay there. They can take the high ground for a better view of the overall battle, pick off foes that flee for help, and deal out damage without pulling aggro from the tanks.

Characteristics & Fighting Style
Characteristics: Sustained DPS, Ranged, Light Armor The archer is a highly mobile, ranged dps class. By channeling energy into the bow, the archer is capable of a wide range of attacks, dealing massive burst or rapid damage to foes.
 * Marksman
 * An archer strikes hard, fast and from far off. As they level, their arrows diversify, if you're going to have just one trick, putting a hole in someone's head before they see you is a good one.


 * Sabotage
 * Archers learn plenty of dirty tricks: slowing targets, stunning them, or fooling them. All the better to sink arrows in their backs.


 * Armor: Leather
 * Archers wear light armor so they can take advantage of their speed and mobility. He who fights and runs away needs less healing at the end of the day.


 * Weapon: Bow
 * Their weapon is a bow, of course, but it's the broad range of arcane arrows that make the class: piercing arrows, exploding arrows, rapid-fire arrows, poison arrows, arrows that hit multiple enemies in one shot, and more.

Archer skills poison, stun, trap, and damage targets, giving them advantages in any encounter.
 * Solo
 * With high burst damage and skills that distance you from the foe, solo play as an archer is exciting and fun.

Skills: Incendiary Trap and Close Quarters
 * Party
 * In a party, the archer's main role is to provide a powerful combination of high damage and situational attacks which hit multiple targets.

Skills: Penetrating Arrow and Arrow Volley
 * Boss
 * Imagine a river of damage flowing from you to a giant monster. That's what it's like being an archer in a Boss fight, only the river has to keep moving lest the ocean notice and kill it dead.

Skills: Radiant Arrow and Backstep
 * Combos
 * Penetrating or Radiant Arrow -> Final Salvo:

Final Salvo triggers after using your big arrow attacks, letting you follow up a large burst of damage with a quick flurry of shots. The initial skills are used in almost all situations, so you'll be doing this often.
 * Close Quarters -> Breakaway Bolt -> Radiant Arrow:

Stuns, distances you from the target, then nails it for high single target burst damage. An MP-intensive but effective way to kill an enemy.

Skills Overview
Archer skills are mostly arrow attacks (that's what they do, after all). But as they advance in skill, they learn to vary their arrows to, trap, stun, and pick off whole batches of choice targets. They also learn to strike with their bow, dealing close-quarters damage while the archer leaps back out of harm's way.

Archers also have escape skills to avoid taking damage, and an array of traps that immobilize, poison, or just plain explode their enemies. Enemies often rush ranged fighters. Having traps punishes them for such unimaginative tactics. There’s even a web arrow to catch and immobilize foes who try to escape or run for help.