Archer Template

Archer Template

The base skills you list are pretty good, but I note that you have Focus yet nothing is using mana, except perhaps archery special moves.  It is my understanding that metal armor has a side effect nowadays that offers stamina regen.  It's sort of the balance to leather and mage armor allowing quick mana regen via Meditation.

If you are comfortable with 50 to 70 INT in your stats, keep the Focus, and eventually plan on getting it to 120.  Replace Healing (and possibly Anatomy) with Chivalry and/or Mysticism.  Chivalry was designed for fighter types, and doesn't require spell channeling weapons to cast.  Mysticism is halfway between being a magic user skill and a fighter skill.  It's Enchant spell buffs a weapon with your choice of 5 bonus damage effects such as lightning or fireball.  Obviously it does not require spell channeling to use, but the rest of Mysticism spells do.  Sort of.  Once your Mysticism skill reaches 80, then for the duration of Enchant, your weapon is granted spell channeling, and you can cast spells from any spellbook with weapon in hand.  The duration of Enchant is 150 seconds.  Note that Mysticism is buffed by Focus or Imbuing (whichever is higher) , in the same way Magery is buffed by Eval Int.

If you willing to devote even more skill points to INT, then consider adding Spellweaving.  It's spells do not require spell channeling weapons nor reagents, nor gold.  For balance, the mana cost of Spellweaving spells is quite high.

Note that you can still get more mana via Meditation even if you choose Chivalry or Mysticism.  Your armor choice becomes limited to meddable pieces, so you cannot also have the stamina regen from metal armor (unless each piece is classified as "mage armor"). An archer can do just fine with leather armor though, because he tends to get hit a lot less often than maleers, and his stamina generally doesn't take the same beating.

So basically you have a choice.  You can remain a pure fighter type with very little mana usage.  Other useful non-mana abilities useful to your character would be a bardic skill such as Discord (any bardic skill also requires Musicianship, as you probably remember.)   The Poisoning skill is useful to an archer via a special move (Serpent's Arrow) available on one bow type.  Like other special moves, it costs mana to use, however.  For PvP, my impression is "don't bother" with poison, as good PvPers tend to carry a good supply of greater cure potions.  Effective archers can also be craftsmen.  I have an archer who is also a fletcher and has Arms Lore (for even better crafted bows).  On another shard, I have an archer who is a cook and alchemist.  (I named her, "Concoction". )  These sort of craftsman/fighter templates are less flexible while adventuring, but still effective in casual situations.

Or add Chivalry to buff your damage output considerable, but using low to moderate amounts of mana.  Mysticism with or without Chivalry would have a higher mana cost, but offers a lot of flexibility and two cast pets (only one can be used at a time, though).  It is nice to be able to shoot while your Rising Colossus keeps the bosses attention for a good while.  (Although a number of high end bosses can dispel cast pets almost immediately.)  Spellweaving also offers pets.  They aren't as powerful as those of Mysticism, but you can have several out at a time.

Source: https://forum.uo.com/discussion/5980/archer-build-questions

Posted by: alfredudraw.blogspot.com