Does magic archer ever get good?

[A-Mac]

I just feel like I deal no damage and I can't knock down enemies like a normal bow.

I'm level 5 magic archer right now

[miralight]

it depends it uses magic stat mostly but homing arrows

[Huggles the Cat]

It's only as good as the player.
***no offense intended.

[letir]

MA is extremly versalite Vocation, and can adapt to any situation or enemy on the battlefield, he is spellcaster with sub-optimal stats and augments. You need to take levels in other Vocation, especially Sorcerer, and take right augments to make up for that.

Magick Bow is secondary weapon, most powerful skills have restrictions or more useful in teamplay.
Seeker Bolt is weak against usual mobs, but can target big monsters (like Dragons) up to 10 times.
Explosive Rivet shoot sticky fire bombs, but they should be detonated by physical attacks.
Ricochet Hunter effective only in cramped quarters and useless in the open.


If you want simple ranged class, you should go with Ranger. MA is a tricky Vocation.

[Ticklestache]

Yes. What bow are you using and have you upgraded it? three fold bolt, seeker bolt, and ricochet seeker are the main ones you probably want to use

[Gimp]

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

It's only as good as the player.
***no offense intended.

That is laughable... The magick archer class requires almost 0 skill. Your only important abilities are all auto lock on requiring absolutely no aim.
The Magick archer can sit safely out of the way against almost every boss, just pop demon peripats and lay waste to anything in the game. There is nothing that the Magick archer has trouble with. Also with decent daggers you can go to town with immolation and hundred kisses.

That being said it will hurt you early on to just solely play Magick archer as they have the worst stat gains per level for a magick based vocation. Ideally you would play mage lvl 1 - 10, sorcerer lvl 10 - 200 to maximise your magic stat, but not entirely neccessary. I would wait til you pick up a decent MA bow though before playing that vocation.

[A-Mac]

I kinda missed headshotting goblins so I changed back to strider. Maybe I should try out ranger..

[just.nuke.em]

Originally posted by A-Mac:

I kinda missed headshotting goblins so I changed back to strider. Maybe I should try out ranger..

If you want to really headshot, get comet shot on range. Crazy zoomed on that skill...

[Ticklestache]

Yeah the autolock is what killed the magic archer for me. Definitely give ranger a try if you havent yet, it has a heavier feel to it compared to the strider and is not as quick but very satifying on those headshots and you can knockback a lot of enemies...damn, now I wanna go play ranger

[Huggles the Cat]

Originally posted by Gimp:

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

It's only as good as the player.
***no offense intended.

That is laughable... The magick archer class requires almost 0 skill. Your only important abilities are all auto lock on requiring absolutely no aim.
The Magick archer can sit safely out of the way against almost every boss, just pop demon peripats and lay waste to anything in the game. There is nothing that the Magick archer has trouble with. Also with decent daggers you can go to town with immolation and hundred kisses.

That being said it will hurt you early on to just solely play Magick archer as they have the worst stat gains per level for a magick based vocation. Ideally you would play mage lvl 1 - 10, sorcerer lvl 10 - 200 to maximise your magic stat, but not entirely neccessary. I would wait til you pick up a decent MA bow though before playing that vocation.

You'd be surprized how bad some players can be.

[A Cute Kitty]

If you're a big fan of the strider and his/her climbing shenanigans, Magick Archer is the next logical step in that process. Pop Immolation, cling to something like Brendan Fraiser's ex wife does to money, and repeatedly stab it in its sensitive areas. Clinging to Grigori's heart and stabbing it has killed him faster than I thought possible.

The Magick Archer's bow is rediculous. Just point in the general direction of something nasty and let it handle the rest.

But the Ranger is still the best in terms of Ranged DPS. Blast arrows and tenfold flurry violates anything it hits.

However, in terms of balance across the board, MA's arguably the best. The vocation's catalog of moves means it can exploit nearly every elemental weakness. I prefer Mystic Knight since he can block and has nifty counterattacks.

[Level 9 Hamslayer]

http://orig05.deviantart.net/647a/f/2012/178/3/6/immolation_by_immp-d5518hj.jpg

It gets pretty fun. But the Black Cat sells a magic bow that if you stand still without it drawn, it regens your health. Past the grey area. PErsonally, ONe time as MA I had to fight Grigori as one with just a melee pawn... And I did it.

That bow gives access to decent low level health regen that you can't get until later BBI.

[Karathrax]

Originally posted by A-Mac:

I just feel like I deal no damage and I can't knock down enemies like a normal bow.

I'm level 5 magic archer right now

You mean a Rank 5 magick archer, level not stated. The two are not synonamous.

Magick Archers are limp spinach with a side of weaksauce until they start getting decent equipment.... which doesn't happen until much later on in the game from where you are now.
Let's say you're up against a Skeleton, whose HP is 1300. This game operates on a reduction system.

I'm going to assume you're low level.... ?


The DEF stat of a skeleton is 120, which you have to defeat to damage it. Its magick defense is 120 as well. It is weak to bludgeoning, such a blow gets a 50% bonus to its damage. If what you have is an un-upgraded Magian Crutch, it does 113 magick, and your base magick stat, assuming arguendo you are 1-10 mage, 11-19 MA at level 19, is 152. So one shot from the basic shot, hitting a Skeleton, does 151 points to a Skeleton's HP. More, if you have a correct elemental damage buff, which in this case is Holy.

You now know that the undead are weak to holy. You can only use holy magick on your bow if you're using Seeker/Hunter bolt, which you probably don't have yet.... or if you get a Mage or Sorcerer to buff your single shot (on a controller that's the right trigger shot) with Holy. Otherwise, your bow's assigned elements will work against you.

You have several options. Use a physical set of daggers buffed with holy, or you can swing your mage staff with the Heavy attack for a bludgeoning physical hit, buffed with holy. A strike from Biting Wind will do good if your daggers are holy buffed, even better if you hit them from behind on a second strike when they're out of battle stance because being staggered and/or not holding weapons at the ready will give you additional damage.

Does that help?

[cdarklock]

What I like about Magick Archer is that I can rapidly swap between staff/levitate and dagger/double jump which makes exploring a little easier.

I'm not experienced enough with his bow abilities to give much of an opinion there. They look like once I get a handle on them they'll be borderline OP, though.

[Smug Kot]

use utility skill for dagger, mostly the magic boost for you whole party so you want manly sorccerer in you group for that.

also auto aim, ninefold bolt, magik radiance and explosive valley mind you magic archer get the most op skill upgradeable with ring.

Originally posted by A Cute Kitty:

But the Ranger is still the best in terms of Ranged DPS. Blast arrows and tenfold flurry violates anything it hits. s.

Blast arrow its stupid broken just like throwblast anyway.

[LAG]

Originally posted by Gimp:

Ideally you would play mage lvl 1 - 10, sorcerer lvl 10 - 200 to maximise your magic stat, but not entirely neccessary

boy one must be dedicated or like sorcerer to play a vocation you don't like for the entire game just for the stat gain.