How to Archer Revived

Join Date: 06 November 2015

Posts: 3133

Last edited on 30 October 2016 - 05:43 PM by lachlol

Hai peeples. I'm definitely not the most qualified to be starting a thread like this, but whatever!

This is Greywalk's thread about getting better at archer, so thanks to you for helping people @greywalk :D

edit3: his youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt0GUkNuAKyGr6lYgK4XcfQ

Anyways, I'm gonna cover some basic stuff that I know about to help out less knowledgeable players.

First, it is possible to dodge the arrows instead of strafing when you are far enough away from each other, and so you need some kind of way to see the arrows. I just turn on Hitboxes by hitting F3 and B at the same time, making the arrows surrounded by very visible little white hitboxes. This doesn't work for everybody, but yeah there's other options probably like arrow trails or something. You just need SOME way of seeing the arrows.

Okay so now that that's done, I'm gonna break the game down into the various ranges you can fight at, getting progressively closer in range as the list descends.
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– Super Far

I'm gonna define this as the range where they haven't rendered yet on 1.8 versions lol.
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– Far

I remember watching a Hivlik video where he said something along the lines of, "When I started to get good at Archer, I would fight far, and I'd also focus more on DODGING the arrows than hitting the other guy."

Obviously focusing on aim is good, too, but uhh, one thing at a time. Learn to dodge, then worry about hitting them. As long as the shots are in the general area, he'll probably run into one at some point.
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– The Agent Smith Zone (Midrange)

It's high intensity and you're still dodging!

This range is different for everybody based on your connection, reaction time, how well you're playing at the moment, whether or not you're being attacked by a cat, etc. Here, you can barely dodge the arrows, but you're still dodging them, and doing so very consistently. It's good to fight here, because you're still dodging hopefully all of the arrows and he's probably given up on that and is strafing, meaning you'll guess correctly a lot of the time and be winning.

edit: there's also a trick where if you are both charged, you can wait for his shot, like RIGHT when he releases his, you can release your shot and dodge.
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–Close

You can't dodge the arrows anymore, but the damage is still kinda high. This range is really dangerous, and you definitely need to have an unpredictable strafe. I don't know how to strafe well, but as far as beating people with bad strafes… well let's go through a few things you might see.

-dat guy who just stands there

Well if you can't beat him, you can't beat anybody x_X.

-dat guy who strafes right, left, right, left, over and over again.

You always know where he is. Keep alternating.

-dat guy who only strafes in one direction.

He'll probably switch to the other side when he gets hit, but yeah.

Okay so those are all easy.

But what if the guy does something like left, right, right, left, left, left, right, etc (trying to be more random)

One trick I found is you can just aim to one side of him if you can't read it, and you'll hit him like half the time lol. You can also try to read if he switches the side he's gonna strafe when he gets hit. Most people do.

So yeah a more random strafe is better, and you can also throw in standing still! It really throws people off, especially when they think you are good or something.

Oh and let's not forget the most obvious trick. When you already have your bow charged up, and they are jumping around getting ready to shoot, you can just wait for them to start charging, and then shoot them. Of course they can fake shooting an arrow, release it, strafe, and then charge, but yeah.

Idk I am not as knowledgeable here. And I know I know it's a bit tldr, but I think it's important to be kinda thorough in the original post.

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–Very Close

Idk. You can do that thing where you hop around like a fucking frog, or do a grounded strafe, idk, mix it up or something.
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Misc.

Jumpshotting – If they are doing this and you are far enough away, you can just dodge the arrows forever and eventually you'll hit them. Otherwise, they are at an advantage if they wait for your arrow or mix up the timing or something, and you need to find a way to get at him without getting hit or to get far.

Separated by a small hill – Lob arrows over it, or find a safe way to approach (unpredictable), or just back away to a less lame dynamic? Idk

Epearls – Don't pearl in, generally, because good players can snipe it for free damage, but idk it works sometimes. Depends! You could always pearl behind a structure that is closer to them that they can't shoot behind. Pearling on top of something high is generally a bad idea because it's usually very restricting on your movement, and they'll just shoot you anyways. Also, it might be a good idea to hold on to a couple of these because on some of the maps people can indefinitely hide by pearling to certain locations. Also, you might somehow get cornered, and they're really good for getting out of situations like that where you are just getting arrow after arrow to the face and can't move.

Massive health advantage – Get close, where anyone can hit anyone, the damage is lower, you probably trade hits or something, and you win!

Steak – If you click the book on slot 1, you can customize your kit for various ladders. Arranging the excess steak in your inventory is very important. If you're going to be one of the cool kidz, you have to make an awesome pattern so that when they go and look at their match history to see how many hearts you had or whatever cus they forgot, they'll also be blown away by your amazing Steak Art. How expressive!

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Alright so whatever. That's the basic idea.

So yeah!

Though I am fairly highly rated, I feel very fraudulent at this game. Some of the more well-rounded top players have just kinda realized you can get in close and I'm pretty easy to beat, so any advice on close would be appreciated!

But just generally, tips about Archer, etc. Go crazy!

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edit: I know this probably isn't the best or most comprehensive guide, but I thought it might help or something idk

edit2: Lower your FOV. 70 is like ideal probably. Seeing the arrows is like impossible on Quake Pro.

Also yeah, bow boosting is great to get away from people or to get closer, or just to extricate them from a camping spot like behind a wide tree. Just go into unranked or duel some people and learn it if you don't already bow boost. It's really not hard to learn with a little practice.

edit4:

At first, I don't really think it is necessary to play someone at my level in order to get better. Just play a bunch of Archer, learn how to do the basic stuff up close, learn how to dodge at far. Once you are pretty good, if you're looking to practice, then it might make more sense. But yeah good luck / have fun!

edit5: @Unshift made a thread about archer as well, here it is https://www.badlion.net/forum/thread/123893

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