ab vs ds

[starvewars]

i'm going to be assigning SP for my archer off this guide and i plan on chosing xbow for 2nd job, but it says not to go with DS because AB is more efficient, and that you should only take it if you know what youre doing. so, now i'm wondering if i should take AB or DS.. ive read that you're good to go with whatever you chose, but i've also heard

Comments

[fhqwhg4d5]

IMO, AB is better for x-bows and DS is better for bows. You could really take either though, its just a matter of preference.

[markslj]

I think that AB is better-suited for Crossbowmen, because when you see how slow DS is, you'll realize why I said that. However, when you get booster... meh. :P I usually take DS just because it's a greater damage, but I always keep AB on a shortcut for cases where I need a knockback. :P

[smacksaw]

Oh Sleepywood, how I love thee:

YOU ARE A COOKIE CUTTER!

NO YOU ARE!

I DO THINGS FOR THE SAKE OF BEING DIFFERENT, AND THEN JUSTIFY IT AFTER THE FACT.

YOU SHOULD INCLUDE MORE BUILDS THAT SUCK, LIKE THE 7 THRUST AND 11 BLESSING OF AMAZON BUILD!

Broken down...(1)

[smacksaw]

What does "FA-less" mean ?
It means skipping the 2nd jop skill, "Final Attack", entirely. This allow people who do it to max almost all other 1st and 2nd job skills, and enter 3rd job with a complete collection of skills.

Dead-on.

Why would one want to skip that skill ?
* It disrupts the Iron Arrow flow. IA is used to mow down mobs of monsters, and since it does not stun them, the xbow man has to keep attacking with IA until the mob is gone - IA has a very good kickback due to high attack power concentrated in one single arrow. If a Final Attack pops out during that process, the arrow that is fired will hit the 1st monster of the stack, while the remaining monsters will overrun the xbow man, making him whack on next attack or run to find another shooting position.

True

* Xbowmen have a slightly slower firing rate meaning the Final Attack slows down this process even more.

Also true, but he should mention slowing down gets you killed and actually SLOWS your training.

* this skill does NOT work all the time making it unreliable -

Broken down...(2)

[smacksaw]

Comments:
I put arrow blow early because
* it's mandatory in order to get Double Shot
* it's useful at level 1 (141% damage)
It can eat some potions though, so dont abuse it.
I choose important passive skills first, so you may use Arrow Blow until level 22-23.
You can choose Arrow Blow instead of Double Shot.

Yup. First point always in AB. The only thing I'd add is not to save points, because at that level you can hunt Wild Boars and the like (stuff with 500-600 HP) and if you saved points, you need to OVERKILL to kill them, so that's wrong.

30: Iron Arrow x1
31: Crossbow Mastery x3
32: Crossbow Mastery x3
33: Crossbow Mastery x3
34: Crossbow Mastery x3
35: Crossbow Mastery x3
36: Crossbow Mastery x3
37: Crossbow Mastery x1, Iron Arrow x2 (pay attention ! do not max mastery yet)
38: Iron Arrow x3
39: Iron Arrow x3
40: Iron Arrow x3
41: Iron Arrow x3
42: Crossbow Booster x3
43: Crossbow Booster x2, Soul Arrow x1

That is just horrible. Soul Arrow is the one thing you don't need...the one thing that a piddling amount of money can