~BowMaster Guide~

This would be my guide to how I believe an archer should level up most effectively. This is made by an unofficial BowMaster for Archers/ Hunters/ Rangers.

For quick reference hit the key's Ctrl+F and type the section you wanna go to (ex. hit the keys and in the box that depending on your browser either popped up or is at the bottom of your screen type in the said roman numeral such as you wanna jump to the credits type in xx and vola your at credits.)

~~~~~~~
Contents:
~~~~~~~
I.)Updates
II.) Stats
III.) Beginner Skill Points
IV.) First Job
V.) First job Skill Points
VI.) Second Job
VII.) Second Job Skill Points
VIII.) Third Job
IX.) Third Job Skill Build
X.)Fourth Job
XI.)Fourth Job Skill Build
XII.)Sonic's Personal build
XX.)Credits

~~~~~~~
Updates:
~~~~~~~
Jan. 7, 2008: Re-Started my Guide, so far only the skill and stat builds are ready.

Jan. 8, 2008: Started posting my guide on the guild website, made minor changes, Skill builds are for the most part done.

Feb. 18, 2008: Started on the 4th job portion of the guide. much is still left out.

Mar. 5, 2008: Added my personal skill build(currently only from 120~131 for lvling skill point allocation)

~~~~~~~
II.) Stats:
~~~~~~~
The starting stats for an archer are simple yet effective, much unlike the class itself.
For starters you have to roll relatively good stats.

Ex.
Luck:4-6
Dexterity: As high as possible
Strength: As high as possible
Intelligence:4-6

Ideally the preferred stats when you start would be 4 luck, 4 Intelligence, and any number for strength and dexterity.

Now for the job advancement stats, you need a minimum of 25 dexterity and for the sakes of keeping your sanity on Maple Island get 15 to Str. and pump the rest into Dex. Until your lvl.10 at which point you can get your job and easily lvl up early on.

The projection of your stats should follow if you went for perfection, by level 10. As a side note your str is from now on 5 more then your lvl meaning if your lvl 100 your Str ‘should’ be 105 (for various reasons you will probably cap your Str much lower such at 80-100 depending on the ‘last’ bow you want to use plus Str equips)

Ex.
Luck:4
Str:15
Int:4
Dex:47

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
III.) Beginner Skill Points:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section shall be short, easy… and for the mentally confused.

You only get 6 points for your beginner ‘Job’ and are easily distributed. Seeing as you only get 3 skills.

My recommended skill build for this meager ‘job’ is as follows.
3 points into Recovery and the last 3 into Nimble feet.

Reasons: Recovery helps saves hp pots and time if unfunded, Nimble feet is useful at the Kerning Party Quest, Three snails… is more just a waist of mp you will soon out damage the shells very easily.

~~~~~~~~~~~
IV.) First Job:
~~~~~~~~~~~

Ahhh so you finally made it to level 10 and got your job adv. Congratulations on becoming an archer. At this point if your reading this guide you will be forsaking the crossbow and following the path of the archer. This is where your hell begins prepare for it, for it is long and painstakingly annoying… yet fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
V.) First job Skill Points:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is where the class stops being easy and starts being technical. Get use to it. It gets worse. Now there are 4 common builds to this job I will only show 2 as this is my recommended way to do it and they can clash with your future job advancements if done wrongly. Here are the builds.

A.)Double Shot Focus Build: (The ‘Recommended/ Correct’ build)

Blessing of Amazon - Level 3
Eye of Amazon - Level 8 (Maxed)
Critical Shot - Level 20 (Maxed)
Arrow Blow - Level 1
Double Shot - Level 20 (Maxed)
Focus - Level 9

B.)Arrow Blow Focus Build: (My Recommended build)

Blessing of Amazon - Level 3
Eye of Amazon - Level 8 (Maxed)
Critical Shot - Level 20 (Maxed)
Arrow Blow - Level 20 (Maxed)
Double Shot - Level 0
Focus - Level 10

Reasons: Build ‘A’ is the standard build it’s good for overall damage but personally not the best with the lack of Knock Back power (do note your using the same attack till your lvl 70+). Build ‘B’ is my personal favorite for many reasons. 1.) you will always KB 100% of the time unless your fighting something far stronger then you. 2.) once maxed you will never see yourself hitting ‘1’s’ again 3.) In the KPQ you are one of the few classes that can KB the boss (Haven‘t tested for ludi boss yet) 4.)It‘s been proven the Arrow Blow fires faster then Double Shot which can counter the 1 to 2 shot ratio if your good with an archer.

Now the fun part… what levels you actually allocate your skill points.
Normally you get 3 sp per lvl up but at lvl 10 you only get 1 due to the job adv. So I’ll start from there.

Lvl.10: Arrow Blow (1)
Lvl.11: Blessing of Amazon (3)
Lvl.12~14:The Eye of Amazon (, Arrow blow (1)/Double Shot (1)
Lvl.15~21: Arrow Blow (Maxed)/Double Shot (Maxed), (if you went AB then Crit.[1])
Lvl.22~27: Critical (Maxed), (if you went AB then Focus[1])
Lvl.28~30: Focus 9/(Again if AB [10])

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VI.) Second Job:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congrats you made the second job. You have passed the first part of many hellish parts to come. Prepare for the major fun/ major hell to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VII.) Second Job Skill Points:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now that you’ve mastered First job you are ready for the Second faze.

The builds here vary a lot but essentially lead to 2 basic builds. Unfortunately for those who want variation to this, the FA build is so hated by me that I shant be putting the time to go into detail with it.

A.) Final Attack-less build (Highly recommended)

BowMastery~20 (Maxed)
Final Attack~0
Bow Booster~20 (Maxed)
Power Knock Back~20 (Maxed)
Soul Arrow~20 (Maxed)
Arrow Bomb~30 (Maxed)
Extra Points: Focus~20 (Maxed) or Blessing 16 (Maxed) + extra to whatever you wish

(Side note: the extra 12 points you have NEVER put into FA as FA is only good IF you max it.)

Now for the lvl points the fun part… what levels you actually allocate your skill points.

Lvl. 30: 1 Iron Arrow/Arrow Bomb (1)
Lvl. 31~36: 3 Mastery (18)
Lvl. 37: 1 Mastery (19), 2 Booster (2)
Lvl. 38: 3 Booster (5)
Lvl. 39: 1 Booster (6), 2 Soul Arrow (2)
Lvl. 40+ is where you can vary what you want the points to go so have fun with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VIII.) Third Job:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Impressive you’ve managed to hit Third job welcome to the few that make it so far. Now is where you begin to shine and conquer in your field of expertise. Unfortunately it also means the loss of areas you can grind at/ PQ. Prepare for early hell, but later bliss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IX.) Third Job Skill Build:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is where it gets slightly complex so bear with me. If you need a rule of thumb, your main attacking skills you must get early on are Strafe, Arrow rain and Puppet. I will also spend the time to make 3rd job slightly easier… or harder depending if choices are too much for you.

~Standard Ranger Build~

Level 70: 1 Strafe (1)
Level 71: 3 Strafe (4)
Level 72: 3 Mortal Blow (3)
Level 73: 2 Mortal Blow (5), 1 AR (1)
Level 74~78: 3 Strafe (19)
Level 79~80: 3 Puppet (6)
Level 81~83: 3 Strafe (28)
Level 84: 2 Strafe (30), 1 Inferno (1)
Level 85~93: 3 Arrow Rain (28)
Level 94: 2 Arrow Rain (30), 1 Hawk (1)
Level 95~103: 3 Hawk (28)
Level 104: 2 Hawk (30), 1 Puppet (7)
Level 105~108: 3 Puppet (19)
Level 109: 2 Inferno (3), 1 Puppet (20)
Level 110~118: 3 Inferno (30)
Level 119~120: 3 Thrust (6)

End Results:

Max Strafe
Max Arrow Rain
Max Puppet
Max Inferno
Max Hawk
5 Mortal Blow
6 Thrust

Explanation:

This is a Standard Ranger build, which is recommended, mainly due to the fact, that it maxes all important Third Job Skills for a Ranger and maxes the skills that will be most efficient in the upcoming of Fourth Job Skills. Unless one chooses to go without the skill Thrust, added points into the skill Mortal Blow is not a necessity.


~Mortal Blow Variation Build for Ranger~

This is the standard build except with max Mortal Blow

Level 110~115: 3 Inferno (21)
Level 116~120: 3 MB (20)

End Results:

Max Strafe
Max Arrow Rain
Max Puppet
Max Hawk
Max Mortal Blow
21 Inferno
0 Thrust

Explanation:

The advantage of this variation is that Mortal Blow is maxed which allows for maximum security when it comes to close contact with a monster and a higher instant kill rate. The disadvantage to this build is that the mob skill Inferno is not maxed, which may be more useful in specific situations than Mortal Blow. Also this variation build requires no points in Thrust.


~Arrow Rain Build~

Level 70: 1 Strafe (1)
Level 71: 3 MB (3)
Level 72: 2 MB (5) 1 AR (1)
Level 73~75: 3AR (10)
Level 76: 2 Strafe(3) 1 AR (11)
Level 77~78: 3 Strafe (9)
Level 79~78: 3 Puppet (6)
Level 81~86: 3 Strafe (27)
Level 87: 3 Strafe(30)
Level 88~93: 3 AR (28)
Level 94: 2 AR (30) 1 Hawk (1)
95~120: Third Job Skills (See End Results)

End Results:

Max Strafe
Max Rain
(6-20) Puppet [18 or more is recommended]
(1-30) Inferno [21 or more is recommended]
(16-30) Hawk [21 or more is recommended]
(5-20) Mortal Blow
(0-20) Thrust

Explanation:

This build is for those who wish to utilize the power of Arrow Rain early.

~Max Strafe First Ranger Build~

Level 70: 1 Strafe
Level 71~79: 3 Strafe (28)
Level 80: 2 Strafe, 1 Mortal Blow (1)
Level 81: 3 Mortal Blow (4)
Level 82: 1 Mortal Blow (5), 1 Arrow Rain (1), 1 Puppet (1)
Level 83: 3 Puppet (4)
Level 84: 2 Puppet (6) 1 Inferno (1)
Level 85~93: 3 Arrow Rain (28)
Level 94: 2 Arrow Rain (30), 1 Silver Hawk (1)
Level 95~120: Third Job Skills (See End Results)

End Results:

Max Strafe
Max Arrow Rain
(6-20) Puppet [18 or more is recommended]
(1-30) Inferno [21 or more is recommended]
(16-30) Hawk [21 or more is recommended]
(5-20) Mortal Blow
(0-20) Thrust

Explanation:

The advantage of this build is that it maxes Strafe early giving the bowmen an extra boost in power, with their new primary attacking skill. The disadvantage with this build is that there is not an efficient amount of support skills put in early in this build and will give the player a smaller variety of maps to train on effectively.


~Thrust Ranger Build~


Level 70: 1 Strafe (1)
Level 71: 3 Strafe (4)
Level 72: 3 Mortal Blow (3)
Level 73: 2 Mortal Blow (5), 1 AR (1)
Level 74~76: 3 Strafe (13)
Level 77: 3 Thrust (3)
Level 78: 2 Thrust (5), 1 Strafe (14) (Five Points in Thrust allows you to use any level 80 bow without a reduction or speed. It may also help discontinue the use of Bone Helm or Icarus Cape 2, if those equipments are relied upon)
Level 79~80: 3 Puppet (6)
Level 81~85: 3 Strafe (29)
Level 86: 2 Thrust (7), 1 Strafe (30)
Level 87: 3 Thrust (10)
Level 88~96: 3 AR (28)
Level 97: 2 AR (30), 1 Inferno (1)
Level 98~120: Third Job Skills (See End Results)

End Results:

Max Strafe
Max Rain
(6-20) Puppet [18 or more is recommended]
(1-20) Inferno [21 or more is recommended]
(16-30) Hawk [21 or more is recommended]
(5-20) Mortal Blow
10 Thrust


Explanation of Build:

A person that chooses this build enjoys the rewards of passive speed. The disadvantage of this build is that one skill will not be maxed, and the user will not have the option to put any extra points into Mortal Blow. Thrust is generally left at 10 because 20 speed is enough to get rid of most speed equips and after 10 only one point in speed is given.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
X.)Fourth Job:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am highly impressed that you made it this far, you should be very proud.

~Welcome to the .03% of All bowmen that ever get this far.~

now is where it is all your choice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
XI.)Fourth Job Skill Build:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The grand thing with 4th job and in general Bowmasters is that there is no actual way to start this or end such a build. some noted things are you will be a class with left over points after ALL skills are maxed in fact you will have 12 points left over, save them for there are still new skills coming out.

now as for a build I must truely start at your 4th and last job advancement ever. for when you advance you will start off with not 1 free skill point, but 3.

now as to how you will allocate them is really up to you but i think having a steady 100% knock back no matter the distance is some thing of a useful necessity. so i recommend you have 1 point into Dragons breath. also 5% may not seem like a massive thing but over time your minimum damage with that 5% does rise far faster then it would if left out so 1 point into your new mastery would (to me) be recommended.and lets face it hurricane just flat out looks awesome (and is proven to be stronger then max strafe, at lvl 1[of course sharp eyes plays into that formula]).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
XII.) Sonic's personal build
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[due to being hacked there will be changes here.]

As seeing as I'm having very nice results with my build here is my build(I'll add my skill to lvl placement later).

Beginner:
3: Recovery
3: Nimble Feet
1: Monster Rider
1: Legendary Spirit
1: Follow the Lead

Archer:
3: Blessing of Amazon
8: The Eye of Amazon
20: Critical Shot
20: Focus
20: Double Shot
20: Arrow Blow

Hunter:
20: Bow Mastery
20: Bow Booster
1: Power Knock-Back
20: Soul Arrow : Bow
30: Arrow Bomb

every thing past here is a work in progress
Ranger:
7: Thrust
5: Mortal Blow
9: Puppet
1: Ranger's Inferno
30: Arrow Rain
30: Silver Hawk
15: Strafe

Bow Master:
(currently still working on... duh, But as stated before everything will max out this is just my skills so far.)
0: Maple Warrior
0: Sharp Eyes
0: Dragon's Breath
0: Hurricane
0: Bow Expert
0: Phoenix
0: Hamstring
0: Concentrate
0: Hero's Will

~~~~~~~~
Level Stats:
~~~~~~~~

120: 1 Sharp Eyes, 1 Hurricane, 1 Bow Expert
121: 3 Sharp Eyes
122: 3 Sharp Eyes
123: 3 Sharp Eyes
124: 1 Bow Expert, 1 Phoenix, 1 (saved for Dragons Breath)
125: 3 Bow Expert
126: 3 Bow Expert
127: 2 Bow Expert, 1 Hurricane
128: 3 Hurricane
129: 3 Hurricane
130: 2 Hurricane, 1 (saved for Concentrate)
131: 1 Hurricane, 2 Bow Expert
132: n/a
133: n/a
134: n/a
135: n/a
136: n/a
137: n/a
138: n/a
139: n/a
140: n/a
141: n/a
142: n/a
143: n/a
144: n/a
145: n/a
146: n/a
147: n/a
148: n/a
149: n/a
150: n/a

reserving

reserveded

resaved

resavededed

almost

alllllmost

~~~~~~~
XX.)Credits:
~~~~~~~
SonicDoragon (Me) : For creating this guide to help my fellow archer guildies.

hiddenstreet.net : For helping me remember skill names and easier point allocation.

sleepywood.net : For the complicated math stuff that will show up later on.

Basilmarket.com : For some of the technical junk that I was to lazy to search up on sleepywood or other places.

And the disclaimer… All Maple story names are licensed trademarks of Wizet/ Nexon. If the suckers decide to sue me they shall get nothing more then the loathing of another disgruntled gamer… and lint lots and lots of lint.

wow very pro kori. I'm impressed. I'll take a 140 bm with max se plox. thanks

rofl ara your reply was classic XD cried laughing!

and lol fayt how bout we actually oh iono... TRAIN

omg...

-Thanks so much, my last archer was suckish

well kori def knows his archers. *makes a Markman* hmph

FaytNight wrote:well kori def knows his archers. *makes a Markman* hmph

i'd prally know more on that then you do naturally.

duh. *uses your guide for my archer* lol

lol least some one's got good advice thats followed here =3

Lol . I tried using ur guide kori o:
It was too compliccated Dx