"Sting" Archer

Template Summary

The "Sting" Archer focuses on high-level vulns and debuffs to weaken his/her opponents. This template is designed for killing high level boss monsters, and as such, may not be the most effective template for general hunting purposes.

This template allows the Archer to fully debuff the opponent with level 8 spells, exponentially reducing the defenses of that opponent. The Archer then can fully take advantage of this by lowering their Accuracy Bar Level (potentially doubling their DPS), and focusing on Critical Hits (through the use of CS/CB bows, Fury Aetheria, and Luminance Augmentations). This template also allows the Archer to use top-tier Prismatic Arrows for extra damage and convenience.

If used correctly and geared optimally, an Archer using this template has the potential to out-damage any other template in the game (for top-content boss monsters, anyway)

Pros

Very effective against high hitpoint mobs
Can also be used as a support template in group quests / group instances.
Highest DPS of virtually any template ingame.
Very easy to solo top-tier content.

Cons

Template does not mature until very late (225 or 250ish)
Can become very expensive and time-consuming gear-wise.
Survivability is not as high as other end-game Archer templates.
Not effective against magic-immune creatures.

Attributes

Strength: 10
Endurance: 10
Coordination: 100
Quickness: 100
Focus: 100
Self: 10 (60)

Specialized Skills

Bow
Life Magic
Creature Enchantment
Fletching
Arcane Lore (If Undead/Empyrean)

Trained Skills

Arcane Lore
Melee Defense
Item Enchantment
Mana Conversion
Healing

Gear

Sigil of Fury VIII (Aetheria)
Sigil of Destruction IV (Aetheria)
Surge of Regeneration (Aetheria) - This keeps your hitpoints stable, reducing the amount of time you have to waste healing.
Five-Piece Dexterous Set
Four-Piece Dedication Set
Epic Coordination
Epic Bow

Augmentations

All Damage Rating augmentations
All Critical Damage Rating augmentations
+10 magics aug
+10 missile aug
Spell Duration augmentations
Specialization luminance augmentations

Playstyle

When first entering a boss fight, first clear away any secondary mobs. When the boss monster is alone, first debuff his magic defense. This will make landing your other debuffs much easier. Next, lower the opponent's strength, coordination, quickness, and missile defense skills. This is very important. Doing this allows you to potentially DOUBLE your DPS (damage per second), by drastically lowering the opponent's missile defense, thus allowing you to drop the accuracy level on your accuracy combat bar. Next, cast a Fester spell. Finally, imperil and vuln your target.

Whip out your CS or CB bow for the vulned element, knock on some top tier Prismatic Arrows, lower your accuracy bar, and fire away. Heal only when absolutely necessary. Your high melee defense should absorb most of the potential damage, and any hits that actually land on you are covered by your Regeneration Surges. Be confident, but also be someful rational. Healing wastes time...But dieing is a much worse alternative.