Essential Archer Guide:
I.Basics
900 HP
1 Armor
23 Atk + 5
Arrow Atk 27 +3
Rapid Shot Atk 45 +5
Good Speed
Auto-Attack Not that great
Good Damage
Shitty to Excellent Grind
II.Spells
Spell Level One: Burning Arrows
Good level one especially for the opening damage it does out of the gate, with this spell you cannot lose a cap except maybe to DM. 27+3, Four Arrows, Two Shots apiece. Without being aimed they are generally short range. This level 1 scales tremendously well. Good harass, good damage, good chase damage on slower units, able to be manualed, good burst damage as well. Also his early farm mechanism. Use liberally and rape face with it. IF you are quick enough to use, you can aim them at an enemy hero. They also rape face on Bombers and Drones, which is always a bonus.
Spell Level Two: Archers Companions
Casting your level two will make this unit to fight alongside your Hero Archer:
Archers Companion stats:
310 HP
19 +3 Atk
0 Armor
45 Minerals for range upgrade
45 Minerals for speed upgrade
Max of five
Has many different uses. Feeding, Attack, Defending, Scouting, Securing. Early game, they can EXP while you heal, so you do not miss out on feeding. Anti Bat and Assassin because they can burrow and secure caps at night, so if they attempt to steal they cannot. You do not generally want to make them early game because they tend to feed HUGE and do not have the upgrades to make them deadly. With that latter being said, Mid-Late game these things become lethal. While you are out killing and harassing heroes these things can feed on lings or rines, in more than one lane while you do your thing on the field. At around 13+ Ups these things will start to DPS the oppositions temple very quickly and apply constant base pressure, Archer effectively creates a two pronged siege on the oppositions temple or Cap point. Another thing they do extremely well is wear down super-transforms (I'm looking at you Chaos Mutation and Super Charged) EXTREMELY fast. Start using this liberally Mid and Late game, you can effectively command your mini army from the safety of your temple. Any stuns will make them neutral and feed, avoid this. Micro your army because 50 mana per archer will burn through your reserves extremely fast with sloppy management and feed. Very good L2, scales extremely well, just not right out the gate.
Spell Level Three: Rapid Shot
Great spell, but its not a spell you just throw out. Creates seven guardians in rapid succession that do 45+5, doing heavy damage from a long distance. In my opinion, this is a good opener and finisher. This spell devastates all in mana heroes, for example mana rine or LM. Great vs DM as well. At eleven upgrades you are doing 100 a shot, from a relatively safe distance.
This is devastating in the lane, problem is aiming when spawn is around so thats why timing and precision is important with this spell. It's also a good chasing spell or a spell to defend you if you are being chased. Punish those who over-extend themselves with this spell as well, for say like mutant or SpecOps. You can also burrow and finish low HP heroes at night with this, using L2 as scouts. A misfire around spawn will give an enemy an advantage to go in on you, unless you have your companions guarding you. Good range, Good damage, just proper use of it is key or its a wasted effort.
Spell Level Four: Rain of Arrows
Absolutely devastating ultimate, second to nuke in terms of visual effect and damage. THIRTY-TWO mutalisks converge on the archer, in three waves, and when all three waves converge at the archer they shoot anything around him three times. This will clear the area of ANY opposition very quickly. Here are some quick numbers: 32 Mutas, 27 Base attack per muta, +3 atk per upgrade, 3shots per mutalisk.
Scenario A: Ten Upgrades: 32(27+30) = 1824
1a. 1824 x 3Shots = 5472 All Hits Connecting
Scenario B: Fifteen Upgrades: 32(27+45) = 2304
1b. 2304 x 3Shots = 6912 All Hits connecting
Scenario C: Twenty Upgrades: 32(27+60) = 2784
1c: 2784 x 3Shots = 8352 All Hits Connecting
*At 15 Upgrades the enemy temple can only withstand around 8.07 Direct attacks from this ultimate before falling. At 20 it is 6 until it crumbles.
Are you seeing the numbers I am seeing? You are? Good. Only at 10 Upgrades you are in One-shot range in terms of PvP. Yes the damage from this ultimate is insane, problem is connecting it on your own. As it is EXTREMELY laggy and EXTREMELY visible. The wind-up on this thing is insane, however the wind-up has its uses. You can however manual the first wave that comes to still do HEAVY damage to a low HP hero. It takes practice. Any super transformations die at fifteen flyer upgrades if they try to attack you. Having a stunner on your team is such a boon because his ultimate is so devastating. Even more some if this is aimed at the oppositions temple, it will take off BARS of health on the oppositions temple in just 10 seconds. This ultimate is buffed indirectly due to the hyper-healing nature of the temple in M9. Once casted they are forced to vacate the vicinity or be One-shotted by this devastating ultimate and you may score a chain kill because if they re-spawn and L4 is still going they may be targeted again! This is guaranteed to punch a hole into the defenses of the enemies base no problem. With your ultimate and Companions + Allies pounding the temple it won't take long for the base to crumble under pressure.
III.Overview
I really hate direct PvP Heroes, but archer is the exception as he has utility outside of PvP. Archer is a great capper, and really strong contender late-game and exerts lane control and map control. His farm fluctuates from absolute trash to Superior. He also craves map control, he needs minerals for his split upgrades and his desire for map-control reflects this. I will put this on the table right now, mana archer blows ass. Never go straight up mana archer unless your companions cannot be hard countered because archer needs HP or he dies. He craves 3 HP, because without decent HP and the ups he needs we will suffer greatly. Use your L1 thats your bread and butter, and keep L2 's around for anyone attempting to cap your bases or trying to rape the back row sims. L3 anyone caught out of position and punish them for it. Judge when the time is right and apply base pressure when you have around L4, 3HP, and Decent mana pool. An opening base assault should contain five Archers and L4 in a perfect assault, so you are guaranteed an opening. Archer should never sim, period. If someone tells you to sim as archer, tell them DoLLe said they are noober, or say "I think Teal is noober RM".
IV. Matchups
Vs Assault:
He hates your guts bigtime. You hard counter him big time. His damage is cut in half by your size, your arrows rape his best spell the bomber, with decent arrow ups bomber cant chain stun you and feeds. This is a slam dunk, if you are making companions vs him just watch for grenades trying to lower your companion count. Avoid any L1's he may throw at you. Don't let him lane control you with splash and L1's, be aggressive and force him out the lane with L1. Punish him for bad positioning with L3. He has no answer to your l4. His berserker bomb will do decent damage early but its negligible late. In older versions if he tries to nuke you, companion and make bases. Rape him and move on. Good Match-up for you.
Vs Medic:
You hard counter her to shit via L4 and Pumped companions. You just need a stunner to help you connect your L4 on her team mates. Archer can land L4 on her solo. Archer is one of the biggest counters to a full-heal setup, catch her alone for best results. You have no fear of disable because the wind-up on this is so big that even if you are disabled if will dial through and rape. Catch her alone for best results. She has no answer to your companions. However do NOT waste L4's because any downtime in rape/pressure will result in her becoming more powerful and her allies becoming even more pumped. Things can quickly spiral out of control with sloppy play vs a medic. Precision and coordination is key. Match-up in your favor.
Vs Assassin:
This guy is buffed big time vs you. However you have some tricks of your own. Without camps he slaps you at night, however you can farm at night via companions. Just make sure when you are playing safe you switch positions at night because a good sin will punish you for being predictable and staying stationary. If you see him near your companions move them or else he will feed off them via L2 and you do not want to feed this guy. In the day, clown him aggressively. If it comes down to a base race you win, however if can start the base race WAAAAYYYY earlier than you can, take note of that. Do not let him get close mid-late game, because he will end you with decap. Do not let him take your capture points, burrow your companions at night near the outpost pad to frustrate him. He can dodge your L4 without effort. The best strategy is to aim for the temple in a showdown vs him. Watch for him trying to feed off stray companions for a boost in EXP, the range of his stun is extremely deceptive. However once you have pumped companions hes hard press'd to suppress you during the daytime. I'd say even, don't fuck up.
Vs Warrior:
Avoid pound for pound fights with him because overall he beats you. Your only answer to him is L4 and high-ups to scare him away. With decent mana and HP pool he can tank everything outside of L4. He will clear or feed on your companions, and when he has L4 you are not safe in the capture points or outside. His stun is good and His L3+Auto-attack->L2 combo will most likely dirt nap you with decent ups. If hes over extended himself or caught out of position punish accordingly with L3 if you can. If you make it to late-game vs him pressure his base via companions to keep the heat off you. If you are caught out of position L4 if you can, he will be forces to run, otherwise call it a life. Just realize if hes good, he will be hunting AGGRESSIVELY for you when hes fully pumped, and you cannot hide if he knows where you are. Not a favorable match-up.
Vs Volt:
In your favor, but he can punish you easy. If hes going all in Mana be careful but most likely he can't farm with you due to his fragility. If hes gotten 3HP he knows what hes doing, hes thinking longterm, and waiting for you to fuck up. He also farms better than you at start. Avoid being chained by L2's to death if you didn't get HP vs him, manual him and your arrows if you can. If you have gotten HP yourself then its a matter of time before he cannot lane with you, pressure him with L2's and when you heal leave the L2's to farm and harass him, just don't let him feed off the companions via sloppy play or L3. Avoid any L3's he throws out because it will most likely mean lights out for you. Watch for any stray L1's because he will try to link into a combo involving L3 or worse L3 and L4. Late-Mid and Lategame is where he starts falling to Your DPS, Companions, and L4. His L4 cannot tank decently upgraded companions or L4. Keep the pressure on him and he will crumble because he has no direct DPS and no direct answer to companions sieging his base. Warning: DO NOT let him inside your base as he is a great temple sieger, also be careful when sieging his main via Archer himself as he is an Aggressive defender. Patience and openings are key here, but you win. Favorable match-up
Vs. Light Mage:
Extremely annoying if he knows what he is doing. You cannot lane with him. His L1 protects him from nearly everything. He feeds on companions, reavers do devastating damage to you. His L3 is does HEAVY damage to you, and if you get caught inside the wall you will die. He will also stop any attempt from you involving companions sieging his temple. Your L3 is decent but hes got to be asleep at the wheel for that to connect. You do have one answer though, sniping him with L4 with the first wave of twelve Arrows, the duration lasts longer than his L1 and 12 Arrows with decent ups will one shot him. Be very aware of your surroundings as you are vulnerable when doing this. Otherwise this is not a great match-up for you at all. Get L4 and get your sniping skills up. Not So great and Highly annoying.
Vs Mutant:
In M9 you can finally compete with him PvP somewhat, however he can still beat you pound four pound. You have to zone him out and be aware at night, because lurkers will do heavy damage to you. Never make companions vs him as he will feed on them. Be aggressive in the lane pre-lurkers. L1 any attempts he does to L2 you. When the game goes along Rapid shot and zone any Hyper Claw or Lurker attempt he does. If hes chasing you during the day, zone him and L3, this will scare him away. This will cause heavy damage to him or kill him. You need HP vs him or you will lose promptly. Expect aggressive hyper claws and Lurker bombs at night. At this point you want to L3 any noob hyper claw attempt he tries on you, it will most likely result in his death with decent ups. If hes still going claw build watch for Chaos mutation because he will try to 3-4 shot you with it, this is devastating if he fakes you into using L3 and he casts the mutation, and to be honest it hurts like fuck. If he starts using the mutation to try to kill you, L4 and kite and watch his transform die. One thing to watch for too is that if hes getting pumped he will lurker you inside your cap point and chain into a mutation to finish you, do not let this happen. In his favor, but you can win, however Endgame, you lose.
Vs Summoner:
Fuck this is gay, he hard counters you. Chain L1 any attempts of the goblins trying to finish you. Watch for swarm and surround the SnS combo. You can use your own companions to mitigate his farm and frustrate him. Do not let this guy get near your temple as there is NOTHING in your arsenal to stop him from doing HEAVY damage to it under swarm. Eliminate his allies and make reavers asap, and mitigate his farm via companions. If your companions are decently upped they can stymie the efforts of his lings for awhile. Rape his abyssal demons and feed. Not a favorable match-up.
Vs Dark Mage:
Annoying, but once you are pumped nothing she can do to stop you. Watch for mael, and harass her with your arrows. Pay close attention to where the mael is. Punish orbs out of position. Use your L2 to burrow and scout the lane. Do not let her feed on companions and spread them out. Use burrow to dodge the mael if you suspect it or see it coming. If she maels and curses manual your mutas to damage her. Zone out any curse attempts on you outside of mael. Zone out her L3 as well as its buffed in M9. If she gets a combo off on you, you die. She has no direct answer to companions and once you have L4 just manual her to death, however early and mid game, shes got you hard pressed. Avoid L4 because if she has decent ups it will kill you, or trap you for team mates to clean you up. Mutas will not clean up the broodlings fast enough for you to escape. Be prepared to feed with Companions at night to avoid being eliminated off the strength of mael. At all costs do not let her inside your base because if of do, you will lose. Hard match-up but you come out on top at the end.
Vs Mech:
I'm sure everyone has been waiting for this one. You two go pound for pound. You win indefinitely during the cap race. Mech cannot lane with you, period, it will result in him being bursted down indefinitely, and bike mode vs you is a joke. Avoid making companions until late game as he WILL feed on them, period. Get HP because he will Zone you and Double L3 you which will cause critical damage or death with decent upgrades. Your main problem is avoiding that goddamned L4, if you L4 and he L4's you both will most likely die, unless he has another transform then you lose a life. Zone him out with your own L3, and when he as L4 watch for the obvious sign of him wanting to L4 you in bike mode. Forgot the mention he has the potential to feed better than you, when you have decent ups spring the companions and start the feeding frenzy and keep them safe. His best form is vult mode, which, for you is good because you burst it down so fast. Rapid Shot Mech and Tank modes, and if hes vult is out of position L3 that fucker too. Realize that if he totally whiffs his L4 and you have a good position its most likely going to cost him a life. Do not forget his Own l4 traps him. One thing to note is that you can apply way more base pressure than he can with companions and L4 and eventually feed better than him. Overall, pretty even, slightly in your favor.
Vs SpecOps:
On paper you spank him, but not the case entirely. Do not go critical HP around this guy or else irradiate will finish the job and it will be a humiliating death. Avoid Low-HP fights to the death with SpecOps he thrives on these, because he has good auto-attacks, he has Matrix, Irradiate, Sniper, and mine traps. A 250 energy drone along with sniper dodge can reverse the outcome of a fight fast. Feed on his drones when the opportunity arises, Yum. Hes hard pressed to lane with you, pound for pound. You burst him down way quicker than he can you. Don't let him deny you EXP with mine splash, force him to earn his EXP by attacking head on. Avoid mine traps at night as they will cause heavy damage, or finish you on the run back to base. L3 him when hes out of position, its very effective against him, he has no answer to it outside of Sniper Rifle. Pressure him and get past the tricks he employs. Do not make companions vs him, he will feed with mines and irradiate. Tricks aside, his trump card against you is Mine Drone which will keep you zoned indefinitely until you can tank it, again watch for Mine Drone and Irradiate set-ups because these will punish you for sure, sloppy play will ensure he will score a kill on you. Do not let him have map control against you and cage you in because he will Mine stack chokes and if you try to tank/blow it up you could die in one hit. Most likely you will be forced to feed companions to the mines to get out. What you really want to do is pin him to his own base, and apply the pressure right in his face because he has no direct answer to DPS pressure as well as no direct way to kill you. Once you are at his temple, L4 him and force his hand. I'd say in your favor, but it's irritating due to mine drones, irradiate setups, and his godly zoning capabilities. Big time patience game, because his game centers on set-ups that peck at you until he can finish you for bad positioning.
IV. Builds
Bread and butter
2 Money + 3 Mana + 3HP + Summon Companions + 1 or 2 mana + Rapid Shot + Rain of Arrows + Freestyle
-Pretty fast and straight foward as far as archer goes, enables you to survive and lane. Warrior won't stomp you outright,
Mutant won't OHKO you. SpecOps cannot harass you outright. Invest into Six projectile attacks, as it two shots broods then
start on your flyer upgrades. When I get ROF i generally get 1 or 2 more HP then mana it up.
Mana Archer
2 Money + 3 mana + Companions + Rapid Shot + Rain of Arrows + 3 Mana + 3 HP + Freestyle
-Very bad survivability however, if nobody on the other team hard counters companions it is viable, an Example would be
Assault, Dark Mage, Assassin. Though ROF three levels earlier can be worth it.
Money Archer
4 Money + 3 mana + 3HP + Companions + Rapid Shot + Rof + 4 mana + Freestyle
-Pump yourself up earlier game for easier laning and aggressive maneuvers however it slows down your overall build, I used
to use this build in public games because I was not guaranteed all caps due to the suspect nature of my team mates skills
Simmer Archer
N/A
-Does not exsist, whoever tells you to sim as archer say "I think Red is noober, remake :C"
Assassin next
Post has been edited 4 time(s), last time on Jun 24 2010, 9:23 pm by DoLLe.
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