Pandora Saga Sniper Guide

Pandora Saga Sniper Guide by Kyskythyn

Stats (note that the effects are only those really relevant to a sniper):
– Sta – Increases LP and LP recovery speed. Nice for added survivability.
– Str – Increases Attack. This stat, along with your weapon and other item modifiers, determines your damage. Make sure to get some if you want to do more damage.
– Agi – Increases Dodge and Attack speed. Add some if you are going for an Agi archer build, otherwise leave at the base value.
– Dex – Increases Accuracy and Critical hit chance. In order to reliably hit anything, you should get at least 30, though 40 or 50 are more reliable.
– Spi – Increases MP and MP recovery. Add some if you are going for a Spi archer build, otherwise leave at the base value. Though more MP sounds beneficial, the return is not good enough to warrant putting too much into this stat.
– Int – Increases Magic Dmg and decreases cooldown and MP cost. Like Spi, the benefits from this stat are not good enough to warrant putting too much into it.

Races and passive skills:
– Human: Humans are not the best choice for a sniper, as none of their passives are as beneficial as those of other races.
– Enkidu: Enkidus make good Str archers due to their Strong Arm passive skill which increases damage for 2H weapons by 10% (remember that bows and crossbows count as 2H weapons). Stone Skin can also be useful to add some extra defense, making your sniper less squishy.
– Elves: Elves are the most popular archer class, as their Eagle Eye passive skill increases the range of bows and crossbows.
– Dwarfs: Though none of the dwarfs’ passives are specifically suited for a sniper, they do start out with the highest base Str and a good amount of Dex.
– Myrines: Myrines make the best Agi archer due to their Sharpness passive which gives your character a 5% chance of dodging all attacks. Myrines also start out with the highest base Agi of all races. Another passive, Acute Senses, increases your critical hit chance by 5%, which can add to the offensive capability of any sniper.
– Lapins: Lapins don’t make the best archers, but their magical resistance passive can increase your survivability from those pesky mages. Another passive, Inner Light, increases your MP recovery by 15%. Their good starting Spi makes them good Spi archers. Fear the bunnays.

Skills (and skill requirement):
Class Skills
– Invigorate – Self movement buff, not really useful late game unless you need that speed immediately because you have 5 juggs and a couple locks tailing you.
– Hide – Nice for ducking for cover as a bunch of enemies pass you by. Also useful for losing aggro in pve and making other players lose you as their target in pvp.
– Hawkeye – This little remembered passive skill increases your accuracy.
– Accelerate – SPD PLS, SPD, SPD MEH, SPD….and so on. This buffs your target’s movement speed. You will learn to use this skill quickly or you will be raged at.
– Rapid Fire – This crossbow-only skill increases your attack speed for a medium duration (30 sec?).
– Sniper’s Nest – This skill renders you immobile while you have it active and increases your attack, accuracy and range. Continuously drains your MP while active. Hit the skill again to turn it off. This is good for long battles where you don’t need to move such as hitting a gate in a siege or killing a boss. I personally do not use it much in pvp as being immobile can really hurt you. I only really use it for the extra accuracy needed to hit Agi’s.
– Kindling Arrow – This skill creates a field of fire around the targeted location, which damages and burns any opponent in that area for a duration. Though the actual damage from this skill is not all that great (~70 per tick), the main attraction from this skill is the burning affect. Burning interrupts attacks and casting, allowing you to prevent mobs from attacking a party member in the field as much or interrupting the casts of enemy mages.

Melee Skills
– Slash (4 prof) – Attack with increases accuracy. Can only be used (for a sniper) with a dagger or claws. Only really used if you can’t hit that Agi with 1 lp left. Note that this is not a guaranteed hit , but greatly increases your acc.
– Slice (8 prof) – Slices twice with your dagger. If you’re that desperate to use your dagger, go play a sin.
– Concentration (26 prof) – Increases the accuracy of your next attack by 100. Useful for landing a big hit on those pesky Agi’s. As with slash, remember this is not a guaranteed hit.

Defensive Skills
– Blocking (8 prof) – Yeah… go play a tank.

Finesse Skills
– Backstep (3 prof) – Your character leaps backwards, allowing you to avoid any frontal attacks. Though not all that commonly used, this Is nice for getting out of an aoe, avoiding a jugg’s axe from hitting your face, or various other purposes.

Ranged Skills
– Flaming Arrow (8 prof) – Launches a fiery arrow at your foe, with a small chance of burning them. Damage is increased by your finesse proficiency and is generally much higher than your normal auto-attack. There is a small amount of fire damage added to the attack as well. An all-around good damage skill.
– Cobra Arrow (12 prof) – Launches a venomous arrow at your foe, with a chance of poisoning them. The damage from this skills is generally about the same as your auto-attack.
– Arrow Rain (26 prof) – Fires a rain of arrows around your target, damaging all opponents in the area. Damage is about the same as your auto-attack. Bow only.
– Multi Shot (41 ranged prof, 21 trapping prof) – A crossbow only skill that launces 5 arrows in a spread away from you. Nice for hitting an opponent directly in front of you with all 5 attacks.
– Charge Shot (50 ranged prof, 21 dispatch prof) – This bow only skill fires a high power arrow which knocks back your opponent. Nice for keeping enemies away from you or interrupting.
– Silence Arrow (54 ranged prof) – Though relatively low power, this skill silences your opponent, blocking them from using a skills for a short duration. Mages beware.
– Arrow Storm (61 ranged prof) – This skill replaces arrow rain and launches a barrage which hits twice (3 times if your ranged prof is above 72(?)). Very nice for hitting a lot of enemies at once. Bow only.
– Pinning Arrow (71 ranged prof) – This skill has the chance stops your enemies in their tracks until they are hit again. The effect is guaranteed if the enemy is hit in the back (?). Nice for catching up to those fleeing enemies.

Alchemy Skills
– Poison Making (8 prof) – Creates a toxin out of a container and a deathly nightshade.
– Toxify (12 prof) – Consumes a toxin to give your weapon a poison aura for a duration. Adds a small amount of damage and gives a chance to poison the opponent.
– Serum (26 prof) – Creates an antidote.
– Potion Crafting (41 prof) – Creates a mysterious potion.
– Befuddle (50 prof) – Reduces your target’s casting speed by 50% (?). Consumes one toxin.

Dispatch Skills
– Backstab (8 prof) – Deals increased damage (guaranteed crit) when the enemy is hit in the back. Daggers and knuckles only. Treat like slash.
– Dagger Throw (12 prof) – Throws your dagger at the enemy. Only really used when you are out of arrows and the opponent is getting away. (Protip: don’t run out of arrows.)
– Rush (26 prof) – Sacrifices some of your defense to allow you to hit twice for a duration when attacking with knuckles or a dagger.

Trapping Skills
– Disarm (8 prof) – Gets rid of any traps in an area around you, friendly or foe. Useful for disarming a minefield or picking up your own traps.
– Tangled Legs (16 prof) – Plants a trap which renders any enemy who walks over it immobile. Consumes a trap. Nice for farming or at strategic locations in pvp. Chance is based on dex and prof.
– Plant Mine (26 prof) – Plants a trap which explodes when an enemy walks over it. Consumes a trap. Nice for planting at strategic locations in pvp like stairs and chokepoints. Damage based on dex (?) and prof.

Evasion Skills
– Dash (8 prof) – Greatly increases your movement speed for 2 seconds. Great for catching up to a fleeing foe or for running away.
– Quick Step (16 prof) – Buffs your own dodge for a duration. At max prof, I buff myself for +28 dodge.
– Tangled Fingers (21 prof) – Debuffs your target’s acc. Nice if a mob or player is hitting you too often. Also nice to spam on physical DD’s in pvp.
– Reinforce (26 prof) – This passive skill increases your knock down, stun, and freeze resists by 15%. Monks be warned.
– Avoidance (41 prof) – This skill increases your dodge by 100 until you are attacked (not hit) by two physical attacks. Very nice for avoiding a d-strike or other big hit. Also, though it costs a fair amount of mana, it is nice to have this active when you are running around in pvp as it has a rather long duration (provided you don’t get attacked)
– Intuition (50 prof) – This passive gives you a small chance to avoid any enemy magic, be it damage, debuffs, or even heals. Very entertaining to dodge a point-blank psychic blades and shoot the mage like nothing happened.
– Bolster (66 prof) – By far the most entertaining skill in your arsenal. Gives your friendly target dash for two seconds, allowing them to catch an opponent, pulling them out of trouble to safety, or sending them flying into a wall. Works on horse riders.

Darkness Skills
– Infect (8 prof) – Gives your target poison status and a small amount of damage.
– Gloom (16 prof) – The primary skill of a Spi archer. This skill gives your weapon a dark aura for a duration, which adds damage based on your Spi and your darkness prof, but also reflects some of that damage back on you.
– Blood Drain (21 prof) – Steals some of your target’s LP and adds it to your own. Nice, but won’t do that much damage unless you have high Int.
– Mind Venom (26 prof) – Gives your target the corrosion status (small DoT and target cannot recover LP or MP) and a small amount of damage.

Riding Skills
– Summon Vehicle (20 prof): Summons your faithful steed. Remember that you can’t use any skills while on horseback.

Builds:
These are just a general guideline for the basic sniper builds. They are by no means the only builds available, nor are necessarily the best builds. Feel free to make your character however you please.

The Str Sniper – “Magebane”
– Preferred Races: Enkidu (Strong Arm), Dwarf, Elf (Eagle Eye), Myrine(Acute Senses)
– Stats:
99 Str – preferably increased to 110 with gear
40 or 50 Dex – For increased accuracy
50 or 40 Sta – For increased LP and survivability
– Skills:
90 Ranged
21 Trapping
21 Dispatch
Rest, your preference

This build will do the most damage of all the builds by far. The Sta will help make you less squishy. Fire arrow and charge shot will wreck your opponents, while arrow storm will hit groups of enemies.

The Agi Archer – “Acrobat”
– Preferred Races: Myrine(Sharpness), Elf (Eagle Eye)
– Stats:
99 Agi- increased to 100 or 110 with gear
30 or 40 Dex
60 or 50 Str
– Skills:
90 Ranged
50 Evasion

This build relies on dodge (about 200 dodge at 100 agi) to avoid physical attacks. Add more Sta if you still feel too squishy. You can also max out evasion, though this means you will not have access to some of the higher lvl ranged skills. Though you will not do as much damage as the str archer, your survivability for physical attacks is higher and your attack speed (+40% with 100 agi) helps to make up for some of the lost damage.

The Spi Archer – “Aura Master”
– Preferred Races: Lapin (Magic Resistance), Elf (Eagle Eye or Harmony with Nature)
– Stats:
99 Spi – Gloom’s damage is based on spi (see a sorc guide for details), increase to 100 or 110
40 Dex
50 Sta – Nice to have some LP as you will be doing damage to yourself
– Skills:
61 Ranged – For arrow storm
50 Alchemy – For toxify
30 Darkness – For gloom

This build is entirely based off of the skill Gloom (see skills section). Though by far the least common build, a spi archer can still prove deadly, dishing out fair amounts of dark damage to his enemies.