Having Archer C3 as the starting ranks will really have quite a different gameplay compared to mine though since they would pretty much change the Rank 7 class as well since they have zero benefits from Feint.
Nevertheless, some stuff on my guide could still help I guess.
I’m talking about the validity of taking A3. You have better multishot, but you don’t need a3 to access a semi decent multishot. It’s an A1 skill like swiftstep. So what exactly does A3 offer that other circles don’t have? Twin arrow. (on top of better swiftstep and better multishot…which you have access to from a2)
You not knowing how to use them doesn’t make them not useful.
Yeah a3 is such a complicated circle when two of the most useful spells come from circle 1. Pls teach me how to play A3 where u have 3 useful skill that requires little aim. Game’s too complicated 4 me.
Not saying you did (otherwise I would use the quote function like I am
now).
Yeah dw you can still try to be a lil more condescending in the future.
But thanks for the advice. Even though they weren’t really useful to someone with lvl 200 toons.
PS. Already did read Dream’s guide like 5 times.
haha i read your guide pretty thoroughly. I made 2 character, one is running your build, and this one is running A3 scout 3 canon. (planning to)
So far your build is the better of the 2. Barrage is pretty useful even at lvl 5. Twin arrow on the other hand…
The difference between Archer C3 and Archer C2 + Ranger C1 is really not that big.
If Multi-Shot comparison, Barrage can actually act as the Lv15 Multi-Shot but with 5 more additional hits. What I’m trying to say is,
Multi-Shot Lv15 = 30 hits
Multi-Shot Lv10 + Lv5 Barrage = 35 hits
Should also add that Barrage has a decent innate AOE attack ratio of 4 and has better spread compared to Multi-Shot making it a reliable AOE skill.
As for Twin Arrow vs Lv5 Steady Aim. I would side with Twin Arrow on this one. Twin Arrow has very nice sustained DPS which is perfect to act as fillers.
So overall, there’s not much difference. It’s just that Archer C3 feels so awful because it lacks AOE.
The only time such big difference appears is when the whole Rank 1~7 build is taken into consideration.
A3 shines or dies depending on your selection of later ranks, and of course besides how you can effectively use the class.
The usual reasons for going A3:
Max Swiftstep: works better for builds with a decent amount of DEX. Low DEX = low crit rate and evasion bonuses. Max Moving Shot Movement Speed is great for using no-cast no-aftercast-delay/animation spammable skills (e.g. crit shot, split arrow, etc.) and AA-ing. Not worth maxing for low DEX, high STR builds.
Max Multi shot: highest damaging skill per cast in the Archer tree with decent scaling - and the reason why you can’t move while casting it, it’s a bit tricky to land and gets cancelled when you’re attacked. The issue with quick charging not working at all times is due to server lag, not the skill or anything buggy. Not worth if you go Fletcher3 or AA (auto-attack build). Won’t get obsolete for skill-based builds.
Max Kneeling Shot: Don’t mind the damage bonus from DEX. Range and ASPD bonus is what makes this skill great albeit situational in usage. 10% bonus crit rate helps if you have a good amount of DEX (similar to Swiftstep’s crit rate attribute). Bad for PVP/GvG though. Maxing it works best for AA builds (e.g. works with QS’ running shot). Won’t get obsolete for AA builds.
Max Twin Arrows: no-cast no-aftercast-delay/animation skill with just 7sec cooldown. You can move around (w/ Swiftstep’s moving shot movespeed bonus) while spamming the overheat charges. Decent damage, and consecutively consuming all five charges totals similarly to a semi-burst high damaging skill. Can work as filler for other skills at later ranks. Won’t get obsolete and can work for either skill-based (as filler) or AA builds (as burst).
Max Heavy Shot (?): Rarely maxed. Not really sure about maxing it (might be useful for PVP). Can take it at just level 1 as knockback filler while Full Draw is on CD. I’ve read somewhere it has a hidden mechanic making it deal 50% more damage against plate-wearing targets so maybe maxing it does make sense if it fits your build.
As @Dream said, the problem with the build is just that it lacks AOE (at these levels) and that’s where A2 R1 is better.
Other than that, it’s NOT “completely garbage” unless your whole r1 to r7 build is.
No, Twin Arrows and Multishot are good filler depending on the boss armor type. The only thing you care about is spamming magic arrow, whatever you fit in between is all gravy.
I never had any problems leveLing a3… you might just have a spoiled palate and expect a3 to demolish a screen of enemies like a full farming scout3 build.
Coming from a dps cleric, my archer3 got to rank 5 at least 3x as fast as my cleric. (a3->wu2). It took me 4 days of casual questing, and on top of that I had 14 unspent skill points in my archer 3, meaning all I used was oblique shot and multishot to get to rank5, then I decided to pick up twin arrow later on to fill in the gaps.
It’s really just that barrage shreds so much at low level as to outclass anything else at rank 2 for leveling imo. You don’t need lvl 15 multi at all until later but it causes lvl 5 - 10 casts to charge faster. If you don’t like twin arrow you haven’t leveled your attributes enough imo.
Twin Arrows’ attribute actually doesn’t work right now, unfortunately. It’s going to be beastly when it’s fixed because of how the skill works.
But I agree, attributes are a HUGELY important part of character development. They’re applied very late in the damage formula so they increase basically everything else.
Lots of people don’t invest in attributes because they think they only affect the “base damage” the skill displays, but that’s not true. Remember that with a few exceptions, 100% of P.atk is added to skills’ base damage. So, before taking defense into account, each attribute level is effectively 1% P.atk scaling as well as 1% skill base damage scaling.
This is why Oblique Shot is so good. I have an archer3 at level 70 right now with 249-307 P.atk. Lv1 Oblique is 102 attack, so before defense, I’ll hit my main target for 351-409.
If I had 40% on the enhance attribute, that main target takes 491-572 before defense. The second hit is limited to 81% of the full damage at lv1, but it’s still way more damage output than autoattacking at this point.
And that’s level 70 with a DEX build. P.atk increases from leveling, equipment, AND str. This is why attributes’ cost scales up so hard (it’s roughly twice as expensive to buy ten levels, as the cost of the previous ten)
I’m making an A3 right now. Having AOE ATK ratio gear helps.
Enchanted headgears
Light Plate Armor set (+1 Aoe Atk)
Vubbe Fighter Gauntlets (+2 Aoe Atk)
Maga Bow (+1 Aoe Atk)
Gladiator Bands (+1 Aoe ATK x2)
Is that really true about the attribute? All I know is twin arrows does a lot of work for me, I’d drop it in a heartbeat if I was going fletcher but I’m not. What other spammable single target hard hitting ability is there?
I did some testing in this thread. Feel free to double check my math, because I’d be delighted to find out that I’m wrong and my silver isn’t wasted. 
Oblique shot is also good. I didnt go for a3 instead i put skill points on OBlique shot. Ievel 10 OS base damage is almost the same as level 5 twin arrow w/ w/ lower sp consumption.However the mechanics work differently. I replace a3 for R1. People recommend lvl1 OS but high level OS works for me.
Personally the increase to the skill’s damage isn’t worth the SP cost increase for me.
Then again, I’m stubbornly hanging onto the 500+ SP pots in my storage… 
_ ;;
Doesn’t Multishot scale better into late game though, compare to barrage? I thought that’s one of the reason why people stopped taking r3 after the steady aim nerf.
ive actually read your tests before posting this as well. I just thought since i wasn’t going to R3 and i already have a a2 r1 ill just make a A3 to see how strong/weak it is. Thanks for doing the testing btw. Really appreciate it.
If you mean leveling Multi-Shot makes it scale better then yes, it is better compared to Barrage in that terms. But if you mean actual damage dealt, Lv5 Barrage actually has abit more damage dealt per arrow compared to per arrow of Lv15 Multi-Shot even at end-game.
Multishot 15 and Barrage 5 scales better than Multishot 5 and Barrage 15, that is correct.
Multishot 15 is actually a really nice aoe skill if you have enough aoe attack ratio and sorcerer buffs. It out damages Crossfire by a significant amount for less SP cost, but it does come with a 17 second CD.
It’s also much easier to attribute since it’s a C1 skill, so when you have 50% attribute that scales up to 16-18 hits of aoe splash damage (with multishot gems being relatively cheap), it’s definitely amazing for aoe grinding parties.
Seems late to ask, but how did you get to pass that Scout C2 without grinding? 
just use addons and do all quest. You can just quest til 210 and grind from 210 and above.