From my experience with playing Perfect World International, I have found some really off the wall builds. This applies to all classes. To some extent I can understand experiments. But I am not speaking in experiments here. I am going to provide you with solid and proven Archer Build Information, to help you create the best Archer that you can. Below is what I would consider as basic information you will need in order to build your Perfect world Archer the right way.
Understanding your Archer
Archers are the premier physical damage dealers in the game. They are ranged attack, and rely on heavy critical strikes to provide massive damage. Archers, Wizards, and Psychics are all very close to each other, as far as damage capability, choosing any will result in you being relied on to provide most of the damage in squad situations.
In a solo setting, Archers can be tricky, especially early in the game. As mobs move closer, your damage is less, and this can create quite an issue with disposing your enemies in a timely fashion. You will need to practice kiting and be aware of your surroundings in order to not attract multiple mobs to you. As you level, it will get easier, due to your higher damage output and skills like winged blessing and knockback, to keep your enemies further away
In a Squad, Archers are Primary damage dealers. They are there to prove the firepower for the tank to dispose of mobs quickly. They are also able to help their clerics, by providing protection from any mob that may slip past the tank. They can knock the mobs away and kill rapidly, offering the cleric great protection. When other squad members falter.
Understanding Archer Statistics
For every level gained, Archers receive increases in some of their statistics. HP, and MP being the primary focus here. For every level Gained, you will receive 26hp and 22mp. Being a physical class, your MP gain is actually very good. HP, I would classify as average.
You also receive about 1point to your physical damage for every level gained. This plays very little into your damage output, but every little bit does count to something.
Dexterity
Archers main attribute is their Dexterity. It is what gives them their devastating Critical strikes. And it is the most important Attribute to add to when building your Archer. For every Dexterity point you add you get 8 accuracy points and 6 evasion points. But those numbers are not as important as knowing that for every 20 dexterity points you add, you increase your critical strike by 1%. It may not seem like a lot, but it add up very quickly.
Vitality
Some Archers will add to their Vitality, you receive 13 Hp for every Vitality point added. It is my opinion that spending the points on Vitality is a waste of points. Pure damage is going to be your best survivability tool, and it is your strength, so I would build to your strength.
Strength
Strength again, serves no purpose other than to wear the latest gear of your choice, whether that is from your weapon or your armor. Archers will wear light armor, so you will be adding about 1 strength point for every level in order to maintain proper gear level.
Magic
Just as with any Physical Damage class, I would not recommend you waste any of your Attribute points by adding magic to your build. But, for your reference, you receive 11MP for every magic point.
Archer Gear
Archers are light armor builds. They are perfectly suited to that, giving them both elemental and physical defense. Even though they will see a lot of elemental attacks. They are not stated to wear robes. And to try to stat them for that would be a fail.
For ornaments, any would work. I am partial to using evasion ornaments. It builds on their already high evasion levels. You may see yourself taking more magic damage later on in game and may consider changing to Elemental ornaments, which is a fine idea.
Archers use ranged weapons, they have their choice of Bows, Crossbows, and Slingshots. They all vary slightly, but all are fine choices, it will depend on your needs.
Crossbows
Crossbows are the heaviest single shot damage weapons, they come at the price of speed though, I view crossbows as a solid option, but not the best for an archer who is looking for DPS, the crossbow is going to give you spike damage.
Bows
Bows are the in between, offering faster attack speeds than the Crossbow, with less damage. I prefer the bow over the crossbow, simply because, with an archer I want as many shots as possible, it increases my odds for more critical strikes.
Slingshots
Slingshots do the lowest single shot damage, but are the quickest ranged weapon for archers. Slingshots are going to offer you the highest DPS, and also with more shots being fired you increase your critical strike quantity. Personally I feel the slingshot is the best choice, but all are solid if you find quality.
Skills and Genies are covered in my ultimate Archer guide (Coming Soon!!!)
I hope this information gives you a stronger understanding of what a Archer is and how to correctly build your Archer. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free.
