Dragon Saga Archer Level 1 – 40 Guide
Welcome to Cyndres’ guide for those archers who are just beginning their Dragon Saga lives! Unlike the other classes, the archer class comes with an array of skills to launch, kill, and debuff their opponents while dealing plenty of damage. But to somebody first starting out, what gear should one get? What skills are the best to utilize? What role does an archer play in the great scheme of Dragon Saga? All this and more will be explained further into the guide!
Table of Contents:
- The Basics
- Archer Class
- Skill Analysis
- Combat
- Equipment
- Skill Analysis
- Job Change! Hunter or Marksman?
- Hunter
- Basic Overview
- Pros and Cons
- Marksman
- Basic Overview
- Pros and Cons
- Hunter
- Skill Analysis
- Hunter
- Marksman
- Combat
- Hunter
- Marksman
- Equipment
- Hunter
- Marksman
- Next Job! Lavalon!!
- What’s next to come?
1. The Basics:
So you want to be an archer! The Archer possesses a variety of moves and skill sets that allow a player to defeat enemies from afar. First things first, you’re going to have to get around some how and there’s a better way than walking. It’s called the dash jump. To dash jump, double tap in a direction and then hit the jump key, the c key, immediately after tapping. Your normal attack button will be the x button which will be used frequently while playing. Also, your z key will allow you to travel through portals and use your special attack, which will always be Antiair Shot. You can always change your keys by hitting the Esc Key and going to Key/Pad Setup.
As you start your character, you will play through lv1-20 as an archer, and remain an archer until you job change. Job change, which will be explained later on, is when you will be able to branch off to two different classes. But until then, you will have to play as an archer. For the first 20 levels of gameplay, you will need to complete Hero Quests, and party up with others to swiftly complete Mission Maps. When partying, a good team member to party with for early levels would be one from the thief class, since the thief class can launch significant amounts of monsters into the air, allowing you, the archer, to use Antiair Shot and kill them off.
Skill Analysis:
Moonwalk (0/1): Moonwalk will push your character backwards a certain distance that depends all on your overall Movement Speed. (Can be used by pressing Z and X keys consecutively.)
Now, moonwalk isn’t a good skill for early levels, as you won’t need it at all. You should safe up points for later on, and when you decide to use moonwalk for PvPing, the skill can be useful in maneuvering around and confusing your opponent.
Moonwalk Shot (0/1): Fire an arrow while casting moonwalk to attack up to 5 enemies stuck together.
This skill doesn’t really have any practical use; you can just x attack a monster instead of having to waste skill points and MP on a skill to look fancy and x attack while you are moonwalking.
Rising Arrow (2/5) or (3/5): Attack and launch 2-6 enemies (dependent on skill level) into the air.
This skill is a main launcher in the early levels. Make sure to get it to at least lv2 or lv3, so that you can launch multiple enemies into the air when you’re facing a monster of enemies. Skill lv4 does not launch the monster any higher than lv1 – lv3.
AntiAir Shot (2/5) or (3/5): Fire aerial shots at 2-6 enemies (dependent on skill level) in the air, 1 MP per shot. (Can be used by pressing the Z key.)
AAS is a must get skill! It will be used whenever a monster is launched into the air, and that happens quite often. Get around skill level 2 or 3 so you can attack more then a couple enemies at once while they’re launched. This skill is also dependent on how good of a computer you have, the more FPS you have, the faster you’ll be able to shoot.
Double Strike (0/5): Fire a quick double shot to the front while fire range is slightly shorter than a normal attack.
Double strike isn’t very useful at all, as you can just as easily x attack a monster or boss instead of spending MP to fire two quick shots off. Though it is up to preference to use it or not, the only reason to get it is to keep it only in the early levels (lv1-lv20) to deal more damage to Mission Map bosses.
Shootdown (3/3): Fire 3-5 arrows (dependent on skill level) from the air attacking enemies standing or fallen, launching them into the air slightly. (Can be used by pressing down + x key.)
Shootdown is an extremely useful skill to killing bosses, and upon getting it to level 3, you shoot 5 arrows, three times! Total of 15 hits on a boss if all the hits land! This skill is also useful for launching mobs of monsters since at lv3, the skill can launch to a decent height to where you as the archer can AAS the monsters.
Mutlishot (0/5): Fire 3 arrows horizontally to the ground and in a wide angle. Damage is more concentrated when there is fewer enemies and you are closer to the enemy.
Multishot isn’t a skill that is really needed, but it is just like double strike, one of those skills you can use just as a damage booster for your lv1-lv20 experience and then skill reset it off by the time you hit lv19/lv20.
Re-Launch (0/1) or (1/5): Attack up to 2-6 fallen enemies (dependent on skill level) to launch them into the air.
This is a skill based on preference; would you like another skill to relaunch fallen enemies? You could just as easily ground attack (over a fallen enemy, down + x) an enemy on the ground, unless you want the skill later on for PvP purposes.
Bow Mastery (0/5): Increase attack power +10 – +90 (dependent on skill level) while using bows.
A useless skill! You really don’t need this, you shouldn’t worry about damage until your later levels, and even then, you wouldn’t be using Bow Mastery to increase your attack. You would be using the blacksmith to enchant your weapon.
Archer’s Quickness (1/1): Skill that gives all characters in range (in party or not) a 10% movement speed buff.
This is a useful skill, as you can stack even more movement speed and move around quicker, dodge out of the way in PvP quicker, and possibly be able to substitute dashing for just running to save MP. Who doesn’t want to be a little bit faster anyways?
Rapid Step (5/5): Increases movement speed by +10 – +50 (dependent on skill level).
Just as archer’s quickness, this is another, even more useful skill since it is passive unlike Archer’s Quickness. Having extra movement speed is never a bad thing!
Combat:
As a first job archer, you won’t have a wide array of skills to work with until you job Advance. The main tactic a low level archer would use to kill an enemy would be to launch a foe with either Rising Arrow or Shootdown (Lv3) and then proceed to using their Antiair Shot (AAS). Shootdown is also a great skill to use against bosses, since it will hit 15 times at Lv3. For the first twenties levels while you are an archer, this is enough to get by, but if you feel you need more damage output at a boss, you can get Mutlishot or Double Strike. These skills aren’t useful later on in the game though, so you’d best reset them off once you Job Advance.
Equipment:
Your equipment consists of either random Non-Set gear, or Set Gear. Sets as an archer (lv1-lv20) shouldn’t be the main focus as you are leveling. Although sets in the early levels provides a good source of defense, you’re better off just leveling quickly through lv1-lv20, since the game will get more fun as soon as you hit lv20 and job change. To get a set piece, you must have the required amount of Gada Coins on hand; each mission map takes a certain amount of coins before you can try for a set piece. Be aware that, the items you get from the Gada slot are strictly for your class and can be obtained from any Mission Map except for F5 and also be aware that set pieces will bind to your character once equipped. Also know that, as a first job archer, you will only be able to acquire your class sets, and won’t be able to get second, third, or fourth job sets until you Job Change.
-Note: The Jewel NPC is the black panther that stands around by most of the mission maps. He trades jewels that you find for set pieces.
Robin Set (Lv10)
Location:
6 Pieces: Evade Rate +2.0
Helm, Chest, Bottom – Canyon of Oblivion
3. Job Change! Hunter or Marksman?
As you level up and complete quests, you will be notified at lv19 about job changing! Now, this is your biggest choice you will make in the game: Which class should you play? In my experience, both classes are fun with their ups and downs. It comes down to preferences. Make sure you’ve been doing your Hero Quests, you’ll unlock more once you reach lv19/lv20.
Hunter:
“Longbow-wielding Hunters are “children-of-nature” in tune with its many creatures and powers. They specialize in summoning attacks and control tactics which slow down and trap opponents. Hunters are resourceful ranged warriors proficient in using disruptive skills and crowd control tactics to trap enemies before going in for the kill.”
Overview: Hunters have more launch skills than a Marksman and have skills that buff up important stats. They also have debuffing skills that can be used all together to have a painful DOT (damage over time). They can also kill entire mobs with a combination of Rocket Launcher and Wolf Rush to launch and then AAS to finish the monsters off. Hunters are also able to trap foes in a net which is useful mainly in later F7 Mission Maps and PvP.
The Pros and Cons
Pros:
· Able to combo well · Possesses several good launch skills· Has buff skills for specifically Aim and Evade · Decent cooldowns on skills· Decent set bonuses on gear
Cons:· Requires more skill points than Marksmen · Poor boss killer
Marksman:“Part of an elite Special Ops force, speedy and disciplined Marksmen easily top the chart for highest attack-rate in Dragon Saga. Having survived the harsh training required for entry into the force, they have become masters of military tactics and elevate the common crossbow into a weapon of mass destruction.”
Overview: Marksmen enjoy a variety of skills that involve guns, grenades, and tanks! Their cooldowns hinder gameplay as in between cooldowns the player is useless and left to x attacking or AAS’ing small groups of monsters. But the skills used by Marksmen are extremely powerful compared to other skills, and can out damage other classes with all of their skills combined together in the later levels. In the level range 20-40, Marksmen have an extremely helpful Gatling Rush skill that clears out entire mobs if used correctly.
The Pros and Cons
Pros: · Boss killer
· High damage out put· Clears entire mobs when skills aren’t in cooldown · Less skill point usage than hunters· Decent set bonuses
Cons: · Long cooldowns· Not enough good launches · No buff skills
4. Skill Analysis
Hunter:You’ve finally reached the Hunter class! You’re ready to launch monsters and cause some more damage. Hunters have a decent supply of launching skills, just as soon as you can level up to attain them. You will first have to deal with x attacking and Arrow Shower to kill monsters, until you get your first good launch skill, Rocket Launcher. Hunters won’t be able to get their second good launch skill till they hit lv39, since the skill requires 5/5 to launch efficiently.
Advanced Bow Mastery (0/5): Amplifies Patk by 4% – 20% (dependent on skill level) when using a bow weapon.
Advanced bow master is one of those useless skills, since the % increase of attack comes off of your base attack, which is hardly anything. It’s better to save points then get this skill.
Bleed (1/5): Throw a book to inflict DOT (damage over time), 120HP – 200HP (dependent on skill level) damage per second.
Bleed isn’t a good move, unless you plan on expending points on it as well as other skills to build up debuffs and DOTs. The skill is only really applicable in PvP when an opponent is stunned or locked.
Acid Arrow (2/5): Fire an acid arrow to deal 10HP – 30HP (dependent on skill level) damage per second and reduces Pdef by 10%-30% (dependent on skill level). At lv3, fallen enemies are also attacked.
It is required to get 2/5 to get to netbind, and since the skill isn’t all that great to max it out (unless you plan to max it for DOT debuffs).
Sharpshooting (0/5): Fire penetrating arrow and knock enemies down to the ground.
This skill has no practical use, it doesn’t launch, it doesn’t hit multiple times like wolf rush or arrow shower, it’s just a dull skill and a waste of points.
Netbind (5/5): Cast a spider web to immobilize 3 enemy targets for 2-6 seconds (dependent on skill level).
Netbind is a good skill to stop opponents in PvP and help lock. It is also useful in later Mission maps known as F7, where you can stop enemies before they destroy your core. Netbind needs to be 5/5 so that you have a longer duration.
Disruption Web (0/5): Adds a DOT (damage over time) to your netbind, 18HP – 24HP per second (dependent on skill level).
Not really needed, it’s a waste of points; having an extra 24 points of damage for wasting 50 skill points isn’t wroth it. If you really want a DOT, you should put your points into Bleed.
Arrow Shower (2/5): Cast an arrow shower hitting 3-7 enemies (dependent on skill level) 8 times in a row.This skill is needed to be 2/5 to satisfy the prerequisites of Rocket Launcher.
You don’t need the skill at 5/5, waste of points just to hit a few more targets. You’re better off sticking the skill at 2/5.
Rocket Launcher (1/5) or (3/5): Fire a rocket to launch 6-10 enemies (dependent on skill level) that are standing or fallen into the air.
Rocket launcher is useful for launching opponents, and is a preference for keeping it at 1/5 or 3/5. If the skill is put at 3/5, the monsters will be launched to a higher height, making it easier to AAS them but having the skill at 3/5 is not necessary, since the monsters do launch some at the skill level 1/5.
Wolf Rush (5/5): Summon an ice wolf to attack up to 3-7 enemies (dependent on skill level) that are standing or fallen into the air, striking them all 5 times.
Wolf rush must be at 5/5 for it to even launch the monsters properly, at any other skill level, the monsters simply just fall over onto the ground with almost no launch.
Bird Watching (5/5): Adds 4-20 STR, 4-20 AGI, and 150-250 Patk (dependent on skill level) to the player.
Bird watching will boost both your aim and evade, and having it be at 5/5 helps maximize the stats given out. Aim is the most important stat in the game, and bird watching helps add aim. Without aim, you wouldn’t be hitting anything, PvE or PvP!
Hallucination (0/5) or (5/5): Increases caster’s Evade Rate by 50% – 250%(dependent on skill level).
This is to your preference. Dragon Saga has an evade cap where, no matter what, you will hit another player 30% of the time. Therefore, hallucination isn’t really needed, since the hunter class branch can stack significant amounts of evade later on in the game. You would only get hallucination if your trying to reach high amounts of evade early on in the game or unless you don’t purely stack evade, and rely on this skill to bump your evade up.
Mesmerize (0/5): Adds a 100% – 180% damage reflection (dependent on skill level) with a 12% – 20% probability (dependent on skill level) to Hallucination.
This skill is not really needed; hallucination doesn’t last very long and your evade would be a lot higher while using hallucination to the point where you would be avoiding attacks which defeats the over all purpose of mesmerize if you can’t get hit.
Marksman:
You have finally job changed into the class that utilizes guns, tanks, and grenades! Although the class lacks launching skills, it is still enjoyable and fun to play while still being able to dish out a lot of damage. You will be the main boss killer of the group and to compensate for that, you will have long cooldowns. Even with longer cooldowns, a Marksman can get around them and utilize other skills.
H.E. Grenade (5/5): Throw 1-3 grenades (depended on skill level) attacking up to 2-7 enemies (dependent on skill level) standing or fallen. Can also be used while jumping in the air.
H.E. Grenade is a good skill to help dish out more damage, and putting it at 5/5 you can get up to 3 grenades to use! They can also be thrown, which is also helpful occasionally in PvP.
Composite (0/5): Increases the damage output of H.E. Grenades.
You don’t really need this skill; it doesn’t increase the damage of the grenades by a lot, so keep your points saved and keep this skill at 0/5. You’re better off using these points in H.E. Grenade.
Crux Shot (1/5): Amplify Patk by 12% – 20% (dependent on skill level) for next 1-5 attacks (dependent on skill level).
This skill must be a 1/5 so you can fulfill the skill chain to get down to Gatling Rush. Crux shot is a hassle to keep using over and over and is a waste of skill points to infest in a small damage increase.
Random Shot (1/5): Normal x attack is turned into firing 2 arrows simultaneously with 50 additional Patk. 3MP – 7MP (dependent on skill level) is consumed per shot.
This skill is useless; you will be stuck in place every time you x attack, making you vulnerable to attacks and you can’t stack Atk Spd to shoot faster at all. You’re better of x attacking to be on the safe side. You could probably out damage this skill with normal x attack anyways.
Two Action Shot (1/5): Penetrative arrows that shoot at a target then spread out up to 2-6 arrows (dependent on skill level), attacking other monsters behind the first target shot at. Each shot consumes 8MP – 12MP (dependent on skill level).
This is a terrible skill. You would only get it to 1/5 to get to the other skill, Gatling Rush. It is similar to random shot, where your normal x attack makes you stuck in place and vulnerable to attack. The only practical use of this skill is in the early F6 missions. If you really want to use this skill, use it for lv20-40, then reset your skills once you job change at 40 and get rid of it. You’re better off launching and AAS’ing than using two action shot.
Gatling Rush (5/5): Attack 8-12 enemies (dependent on skill level) standing or fallen. If there are more then 12 enemies, targets will be reselected for each attack.
This is one of the best skills a marksman has. It has a deadly vertical range, hit hits many times in one use, and it can clear entire mobs of monsters in one use. It’s best to max this skill out as soon as possible, who wouldn’t want to attack more monsters!
Homing Missile (1/5): Fire a missile to a target in mid-air, and relaunching the target slightly into the air. Attacks 2-10 enemies (dependent on skill level).
This is an okay skill, and should be left at 1/5. The only time you’d be really using it would be in PvP or for fun in PvE. Usually in PvE though, you wouldn’t be using Homing Missile, but instead use AAS. In PvP though, Homing Missile will help juggle an opponent for a longer amount of time in the air.
RPG-7 (3/5): Fire a rocket that launches 3-7 enemies (dependent on skill level) standing or fallen.
This skill must be at least 3/5! You won’t be able to launch enemies at lv1 or lv2, but you will be able to at lv3. This skill is also the only good marksman class skill to be able to relaunch fallen enemies.
Accelerator Tuning (0/5): Increases damage of homing missile.
You won’t be using homing missile a lot throughout your game play, this skill just adds a small amount of damage to your attack and really isn’t needed. You only need homing missile to help juggle opponents in PvP.
Autoshot System (5/5): Summon a tank that attacks enemies with 150% – 350% Patk (dependent on skill level). Attacks any enemies in its area of effect.
This is a high damage output attack; you will surely be killing bosses quickly with this attack, and the tank will also hit multiple targets if they are bunched together. A must for any Marksman!
Aerial Flurry (0/5): Fire arrows downward while in midair. Shoot 1-5 arrows (dependent on skill level).
This skill can get in the way of using Shootdown (down + x) and isn’t that great. Up to preference for this skill, you may want to has 1/5 or 2/5 incase you want to be able to stay up in the air longer or attack only from the air. Recommended though to be 0/5.
“Dragon Saga’s battle system is composed of regular attacks and skill based attacks. You must mix regular and skill attacks to cast chain damages to enemies via combo. Skills have various effects and they are reinforced by regular attacks in between casting. It is up to you to discover combo techniques by combining them.”
-Combat Info from the Journal
-Disclaimer: Combat in Dragon Saga is not overly complicated. One should play however they want to enjoy this game. Below I will comment on how I would play a Hunter or a Marksman, to give some suggestions of what you can do to play. This is strictly PvE since I really don’t think anyone would be seriously PvP’ing until around Lv40+
Hunter:
You’ll need Arrow Shower to deal more damage then normal x attacking and to grab the Rocket Launcher and Wolf Rush skills. You can use both Rocket Launcher and Wolf Rush one after the other to get some launching going. Rocket Launcher will not immediately register damage as soon as you use it, it will though once the rocket comes falling down into the enemies. You can use this frame of time to use a Wolf Rush to get in additional damage before rocket launcher comes down and launches the enemies. Bleed and Acid Arrow can be used on a boss while your main skills, Rocket Launcher, Wolf Rush, and Arrow Shower, are on cooldown. It provides an extra boost to damage and doesn’t take too long to cast.
Marksman:
For Marksmen, one of their most useful skills is the Gatling Rush. Gatling Rush has a long cooldown, and must be used on large mobs of monsters instead of being wasted on single or double mobs of monsters. In between these cooldowns, Marksmen can utilize their H.E. Grenades, a good source of burst damage on several bunched together monsters. H.E. Grenades can also be used while jumping in mid-air in case you shootdown and want to H.E. Grenade while falling. You also have a skill called RPG-7 which can be used to relaunch fallen enemies back into the air to continue AAS’ing them. The Autoshot System is your single highest cooldown skill as a Marksman, and thus should be used more during Boss Battles, since the boss battle takes place in a small area where the Autoshot System, which is unable to move, can constantly attack. This skill will be one of your highest damage dealing moves you can posses, every hit it can cause up to 460% of your normal Patk.
6. Equipment
-Note: The Jewel NPC is the black panther that stands around by most of the mission maps. He trades jewels that you find for set pieces.
Hunter:
Once you start getting into your higher levels as an archer, now job changed into a hunter, sets are becoming more important than Non Set gear and prove more beneficial to collect since the sets give more stats. Some sets give bad set bonuses, and in the case for a hunter, their good set bonuses consist of Agi and Evade. It would be a waste of time to go farm an entire chaos set for the low aim bonus, terrible MP recovery stat, and low Agi, so instead of doing that one should focus on getting a mix of sets. 2 or 4 pieces of regular sets while you are leveling would be the best, since you don’t need attack range.
Indigo Set (Lv20)
Location:
Chaotic Indigo Set (Lv20)
Location:
Pacius Set (Lv27)
Location:
Chaotic Pacius Set (Lv27)
Location:
Illusion Armor Set (Lv34)
Location:
Chaotic Illusion Armor Set (Lv34)
Location:
Anukus Set (Lv35)
Location:
Marksman:
Now that you are hitting the higher levels, sets are becoming more important. They provide several more stats and are more worth collecting. Although the chaos sets seem to have the better stats compared to the regular sets, it would be better to stick with regular sets and not waste time farming in a chaos map for sets that you will just replace as you level. You should stick with either 2 pieces from each set or just go full set. Attack Range isn’t anything special to worry about and try to get.
Mobius Set (Lv20)
Location:
Location:
Paulguard Set (Lv27)
Location:
Helm, Chest, Bottom – Skypie Sanctuary
Chaotic Paulguard Set (Lv27)
Location:
None
Baroque Set (Lv34)
Location:
Chaotic Baroque Set (Lv34)
Location:
Anukus Set (Lv35)
Location:
7. Next Job! Lavalon!!
You have finally made it to lv40 and you’re ready to Job Advance again. Let’s hope you’ve been doing your Hero Quests, you need to have completed most of the Hero Quests from lv20-40 to unlock the Hero Quest for Job Advancing once you hit lv40. The quest requires you to slay one of the first dragons you face in the game, Lavalon. Lavalon deals a ton of damage to you so make sure to take pots and to be cautious while facing him. His fire breath will be the end of you if you’re not paying attention. Also make sure, before you enter the Lavalon dungeon, the party leader has changed item pick up to Free for all, because at the end of the dungeon the leader is the one that has to pick up the key dropped by the mini boss. If the leader does not get the key, you will be stuck, unable to go through the last door and you will either have to have everyone relog and regroup, or wait for mini boss to respawn with the key, which can take a very long time, 10 minutes or so. Once in Lavalon’s boss room, you will have to kill monsters to collect magic bullets which are used to load a cannon. By breaking the cannon after it is loaded, it will shoot at Lavalon, and he will fall to the ground, being rendered vulnerable and open to attacks. After you kill Lavalon, you will be able to turn the quest in and Job Advance to either Pathfinder or Specialist!
What’s next to come?
Now that you are a Pathfinder or a Marksman, you have moved on into the big leagues! You can now level up with a new mission map once you hit 42, and also get some of your main damaging skills in your third job. Your sets will now also give you four stats, instead of three and a new mode of PvP is opened to you: Battlesquare! You will also be able to enter new dungeons, such as Verdurous forest and the Aram dungeon. There is much more to do now that you’ve reached lv40! Continue leveling and enjoy the new options available to you, and make sure to find a good guild to stick around with!
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