Do forgive me for asking this question, as it likely makes me seem like a complete and utter scrub, but does archery seem a bit underpowered to anyone else?
I understand that Warriors are supposed to be the major damage dealers, but i feel like my archers are gently wafting flower petals at my enemies, rather than skewering them with arrows.
Anyone have any advice?
I, and many others, actually think Archers are very powerful. During the early game, so long as you can stay away from enemies and get elevation, it should be relatively easy to stay alive and deal DMG.
Mainly: Full Draw (or Long Shot early on) + First Blood + Elevation + Stealth = ~500% DMG increase.
Lots of advice in this thread, in regard to Class and Skills, as well as party members.
Assassin Archer is great because it has awesome DPS and can spam Stealth, in addition to a bunch of other great Passives, for incredible Crit Damage. By the late game, you'll be one-shotting pretty much any enemy that isn't a high-armour boss.
Tempest Archer can spam Focus abilities and others through Flask of Fire, which lets you use an Activated Skill at least 4 times in a row.
Artificer Archer can get awesome party Crit Chance/Cooldown buffs. By the late game, you'll be waiting a second between each skill, with the right build and party.
Also, in terms of stats:
DEX is great, as it increases Attack % and Crit DMG %. During the early game, any items that increase Attack % or Flank % are amazing. During the mid game, go for as much DEX/CUN increasers. Late game, depending on what you're build is, focus on either Crit DMG or Crit Chance. I usually focus on Crit Chance, as this is relevant for many skills throughout the Rogue Skill Trees.
It never seemed to me that stealth was actually doing anything. Id see a puff of smoke, and still get attacked.
Tempest does seem very useful, but I've only just started using it.
Either way, I will give your strategies a good look. Thanks very much.
No worries. Maybe get the Passive that reduces Aggro? Easy to Miss is useful and it leads in to the Sleep Skill, which is also useful if you find yourself getting too much Aggro in battles. Stealth does give +50% DMG, though, which is great.
But I suppose if you're using Tempest, Flask of Lightning is great to get out of battles, as it slows the enemies and allows you to use Sleep and then run away w/o having to worry about pretty much anything. Get the Mercy Kill Passive at the bottom of Subterfuge and you get automatic critical hits, basically for free once you use Sleep under Flask of Lightning.
I never really bothered much with Subterfuge. Perhaps that was my problem.
I will definitely need to re-spec it seems.
I dont suppose you can offer any advice for making Varric more effective, can you? I've yet to grasp the Tactics for this game yet.
I understand that Warriors are supposed to be the major damage dealers, but i feel like my archers are gently wafting flower petals at my enemies, rather than skewering them with arrows.
Entirely the opposite IMHO.
Oversimplified, Warriors take damage, Rogues give damage and Mages buff, debuff and generally mess with everyone.
Of the two dagger and archer, tempest archers probably do the most damage at the moment. Who knows after the first patch.
Archery is amazing in this game. It's the first Bioware game since the original Baldur's Gate (where 6 archers could decimate most encounters) where an archer is an actual valid choice of character. Plus, archery assassin unlocks probably the most powerful combo in the game:
Step 1:
Your character: Mark of Death
Step 2:
Your character: Spam everything (full draw, fade rift + leap is really all you need)
Sera (Tempest archer): Thousand Cuts*, full draw, leap, etc.
Step 3: Pickup crafting materials from the dragon you just killed in 6 seconds.
* Yes, MoD + Thousand Cuts is just as ludicrous as it sounds, will remove the majority of health from basically any enemy (including every dragon in the game).
Entirely the opposite IMHO.
I agree that should be the case, of course.
However it always seemed to me that the Warrior was doing tons of damage, the Mage was protecting us/making enemies freak out and generally ruining their day, and the DW rogue (Cole) was murdering people.
The archers were just kind of standing in the back shouting "Hey guys? Guys? Am I helping guys?!" while doing comically little damage.
Sera (Tempest archer): Thousand Cuts, full draw, leap, etc.
Man...Id kind of rather get the crap beaten out of me in every fight than have her in the party.
No offense, but she's not my cup of tea.
I never really bothered much with Subterfuge. Perhaps that was my problem.
I will definitely need to re-spec it seems.
I dont suppose you can offer any advice for making Varric more effective, can you? I've yet to grasp the Tactics for this game yet.
Subterfuge is useful for those times your Warrior doesn't effectively draw Aggro. The idea with Archer Rogue is to kill your opponent in 1-2 shots before they even get the chance to get close.
As for Varric, get the two bottom Passives at the bottom of Artificer as soon as possible. Once that's done, max out on your Crit Chance and watch him spam Activated Abilities like no one's business. Opportunity Knocks is INCREDIBLE as it reduces cooldown. Because of this, have his focus be Long Shot and Full Draw. Alternatively, you can have him inflict Poison on lots of enemies at once, by having him use Poisoned Weapons and then something like Explosive Shot.
ALSO. If you're playing as a Tempest, you won't need Sera. Have Cole, re-spec him as an Assassin Archer and you have mostly the same set up. Get him to use Mark of Death and you cast Flask of Fire and spam your Focus ability and GG to most, if not all, enemies in the game.
I rank:
DW rogue > Archer Rouge >>> Reaver-DragonRageSpam-2Warrior>Dps Mage(No idea which spec does best..) > tanks.
Archer does very good damage. However, they hit a "sweet" spot between level 6-13 where they just don't hold up. At level 4, or so, you get Full Draw which will hit for about 1k-1.5k. That crries you. Once the enemies get some health, you start to struggle. At the 12-13 range you get your specialization up and running, and the joy is real. Artificer Archer? You'r a gattling gun. Assassination archer? Watch thing explode! Tempest Archer? Flask of fire means you get 4, or 5, longshots off for free for some burst.
Man...Id kind of rather get the crap beaten out of me in every fight than have her in the party.
No offense, but she's not my cup of tea.
None taken, just keep in mind that having her in your party with crazy utility / dps doesn't mean you have to bang her when you go back to town 
She fights for LITTLE PEOPLE!
Thank you once again. I didnt expect quite so good of an answer(s) so quickly. I appreciate it.
However, they hit a "sweet" spot between level 6-13 where they just don't hold up.
Ahh, see that's sounding pretty familiar. Perhaps that was really keeping me down as well.
None taken, just keep in mind that having her in your party with crazy utility / dps doesn't mean you have to bang her when you go back to town
Yeah... It also means I have to, like, hear her voice and her opinions...
As i said. Not my cup of tea. She's the only party member i have ever almost told to "Get out!". But lets not get into that here. Not the place.
It is very good with the right team synergy. Artificer Archer with Cass/Solas/Cole for example does miracles. It shines after level 10 or so, early on might be a bit weak, since you will mostly rely on combos with long shot and cc with the sleeping arrow, and you will have Dorian instead of Cole. Culling>Dexterity and you are good to go.
[...] , and you will have Dorian instead of Cole.
A break down of how to build an archer, and when some problems occur.
I don't think any class is overpowered.
I am a rogue archer, and I don't think I am very powerfull. I do ok, but no overpowering.
But maybe it has something to do with the way you combine you armor, abilities and amulets etc. I think all types can be 'overpowered'. It would be strange is Bioware made a certain class better than the other ones. Many players (read customers) wouldn't be happy about not being able to beat the game as their preferred class.
The only class I can think of as very powerfull are warriors (tanks). But then again, not overpowered.
At level 18 I had a fight against the Highland Ravager (level 23 fire dragon). Cassandra was the only one still alive after 40 minutes of battle. The rest of my team including my self were all dead within five minutes. Cassandra just kept on smashing the poor dragon.
But she was not overpowered. She just had all the good stuff in armor, weapons abilities and amulets etc. It would have taken her at least 20 minutes more to kill the dragon.
Do forgive me for asking this question, as it likely makes me seem like a complete and utter scrub, but does archery seem a bit underpowered to anyone else?
I understand that Warriors are supposed to be the major damage dealers, but i feel like my archers are gently wafting flower petals at my enemies, rather than skewering them with arrows.
Anyone have any advice?
I, to thank you for the advice as I am torn between Rogue and Warriors and always have two characters going at once. One of each. Not because I find it hard, your strategies have given me a little insight into how to play the game the way it is BUT it doesn't help the fact that I will have trouble getting over the fact that the Third DA game stll wont allow me to have both my bow and my daggers equipped in battle. The D-pad could work fine for switching between the two. UP and DOWN switch between characters and right or left could choose weapon while changing whats in the battle menu as well (Or perhaps the fact that having two weapons an two separate ability trees is the balance to this because I cant go change all my quick hotkeys in the battle menu mid battle id have to evenly disperse abilities.
I love how they placed R1 in there as an ability input although they could of put it in their just for the secondary battle menu you pull up with L2 that way R1 could of been attack instead of R2trigger. Hitting or holding a button down to attack when it doesn't matter how fast or hard your inputs are is pointless so it would of been cool to see some cool things implemented like timing attacks enough times to gain more experience or build up to a critical hit or enter attacks with lighting speed AND precision with daggers plus adding some cool new animations. I forget how different the animations for daggers attacks are between the games but I like the reverse grip style or switching back and forth during the attacks.
BOW MECHANICS are a bit unimpressive: While im talking about the little things im pet peeved about I might as well mention that a lack of free aim for Bows feels a little shorthanded and definetaly dumbs down bow wielding to repeated button pressing, I like the new jumping move you get but I'd like to target specific parts of larger enemies in boss battles or more difficult fights (I like to play on Hard and would play nightmare but seems like enemies just have more health and do more damage which makes it more tedious than challenging)
-STEALTH MECHANICS IN FANTASY RPGs is still archaic. Especially when you can pick subclasses/abilities called ASSASSIN.
-Kingdoms of Amalur is The only RPG ive played that feature stealth based on LINE of SIGHT and NOISE that you make while also allowing you to crouch down and SNEAK around complete with stealth kills on human based enemies if you're wielding daggers (lets you equip two weapons at once but doesn't restrict you to your class and you can put on heavy armor as a mage or sprint and dive just as fast as a rogue weild a greatsword whenever etc.)
CLASS RESTRICTIONS That SUCK
I like class restrictions but not ones that seem ridiculous like not allowing a warrior wear light armor. Having armor that is restricted to MAGES only or HUMAN trained mages only. When it comes to a mage wearing Heavy armor or a rogue doing the same or anything obvious like rogues or mages weildng a sword and shield or greatsword then yeah. Its pointless to pick a class if you can weild that weapon after leveling up a couple times until you're class is no longer a factor, loosing its definition as you become an All wielding, light to heavy armor wearing warrior weapons expert with multiple magical disciplnes. (Although I believe mages need overhauled so they can move whilst spell casting and equip more lethal melee types of staffs or atleast allow all classes to weild a basic longsword type weapon with penalties added to it as well as their own abilities.
The Warrior should be the only class that can wear Heavy armor, weild a Greatsword, and weild a sword and shield. They cant weild daggers either nor do magic or swing staffs around. But they should be able to wear light armor. This is trivial compared to how I feel about rogue restrictions tho...
Rogues shouldn't be restricted to daggers and archery as they are strong melee fighters I should have two melee ability trees as a rogue like warriors have Sword and Shield and Two Handed. Rogues should have Duel Daggers and Swordplay/Swordsmanship allowing them to wield a "one handed" but with two hands and still restricted from using a shield. Also, they would still be restricted from maces, and basically any brutish type weapon like one handed axes, hammers, etc. They should be able to wield anything in the category of "one handed" sword even with special swords that require a little more finesse and Abilities that, instead of Mighty Blows, and Scythe/Charging Bull power moves, they would focus more on parrys and counters, striking at the perfect moment to maximize critical hits. While a Rogue may not deliver as much damage from the get go with a sword, they would be able to penetrate defences and even disarm enemies that are badly injured or with low health then delivering a killing blow.
-I wouldn't Mind if I could only equip a longsword with a two handed grip (no shield) by itself or the combination of Daggers and a Bow.
That would be the perfect meshing of the wide gap between two melee heavy classes while adding a fighting style (A sword gripped wth two hands) that is absent from Dragon Age. Plus putting away the notion that rogues don't know how to fight with a regular sword. Plus it would still keep both classes very different as a Rogue may move faster with daggers or a bow (or should even though in DAI you move so damn slow) and dive further as opposed to the slight dip in speed and distance of the dive roll when using a appropriate weapon with both hands. An added ability tree for rogues using a sword would keep it from being an overpowered rogue-warrior, with a little creativity some abilities that focus on speed and swift swordplay that are just as useful but don't do as much damage as th warrior with his more brutality and overall strength based abilities.
I don't feel like I'm doing a great deal of damage as Archer early game. Getting poison from the sabotage tree increases my dps like 20? points a shot? I have no idea how to open the specializations but I'll give it try next game. I do long shot unupgraded, explosive arrow and poison. Later on I get full draw.
Early game Full Draw is a lot better than poison. Poison don't start to shine before you get some Tier 2 weapons, at which you start doing 80-100 poison ticks. That noted, poison is an additional damage -- don't focus on it. As outlined before, get it at 8 or 9, not a level earlier.
On my recent archer playthrough(I always play on Nightmare, by the way.) I noticed this
Level 1-6: I felt powerful.
Level 7-9: I felt weak.
Level 10-13: I felt powerful. Full Draw hits for 3.3k with a crit (20% crit), long shot crits for 1,3k, poison hits for 100. Easy time.
Level 13 - ??: I melt the game. No worries there.
The reason is simple: At level 4 I got a blue bow. At level 8, I had the same bow. Thus I didn't do any more damage at level 8, than I did at level 4. At 9, however, I got the purple bow from the puzzle at Storm Coast. At 10, I got a blue bow with 107 dps. At 13+ I got a Tier 3 bow and Artificer specialization.
It's not the archer that feels weak - it's your weapon! You are the best class to take out single prioritized enemies, and you can snipe a target before even engaging fight. I cleared level 8 rifts at 4, and level 12 rifts at 7-8.
Archers are pretty weak (albeit safe) earlygame but scale extremely well (too well in fact). So you may feel UP earlygame but lategame you'll be very very OP with the right gear. However lategame is a faceroll with pretty much any spec and the earlygame is the only part that is at least a little bit challenging, so I don't know how much it's worth.
Not quite. It depends what you define as "early game". 1-6 is early game, and it's a faceroll as an archer. DW rogues and 2h warrior struggle more at this point.
Heck, 1-11(At which I get Skyhold usually) was a complete faceroll as an archer. You can snipe in the distance, take out priority targets and you deal immense damage with Full Draw and Longshot.
As noted, however, there is a spot between the level 6-10 range that I got a problem with my damage. I hadn't felt this on any other class/build.
Also, late game is only faceroll thanks to crafted gear. If you want a challenge, I recommend never crafting. It's quite fun!
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