MapleStory

[emccky]

I am really considering starting a side project as a thief, just for kicks. I really like thiefs and I think it'd give me a good fun break from leveling my mage. I think i'm on my 5th level in 5 days right now O.O

[Afrobean]

Also note: they changed the surprise thing on the right or something.

[Squeek]

1) I told you all about the Ludi thing like...what... 3? 4 days ago?

2) The background image has been Ludi since that patch when we got 3rd jobs.

~Squeek

[Chromer]

All I see is a giant black square. O_o

[Tokzic]

Today I found a 60% Dagger Scroll.

Five seconds later, I found a 60% Dagger Scroll.

In other news, 47 tomorrow.

[Afrobean]

All I see is a giant black square. O_o

Try firefox.

And Squeek, I know (hence the LOL). I just felt like pointing out that they have ludi stuff hidden on the site. Also, I didn't mean the fact that the toy soldier was there, but the fact that it was positioned differently than I remembered seeing it before (the ludi, pet and guild things are smaller than they used to be).

[B0NK]

omg level 98...beast

[Omeganitros]

What the hell is a Level 98 doing in that area?

[evilbutterfly]

Killing MM and showing off, of course. Silly Omega!

[ckj846]

And while I'm at it, I'd just like to say that I hate it when people who are not a certain class and really don't know about that class advise people of that class to do important and irreverseable things. I'm fairly sure we all remember how well Squeek advised us about bowmen back before he ever had one for himself. So, don't listen to banditcom, he's not a fire mage and has never been one. I've been there, I know what I'm talking about.

Ok....

Can anyone tell my if there is any strong benefit of one or the other?

xbows = Cheaper (cuz of less demand), slower and stronger, they rival the power of sins later on.
bows = Insanely expensive in later levels, but faster and weaker. They won't get as big numbers but they'll get more of them faster.

Mostly, it's down to personal preference. Get a bow AND a xbow now and try using both to see which you like. Low level xbows say they're the same speed as bows, but the way the animation lags your firing causes them to be slower regardless. Personally, I hate using xbows and will go as a hunter. I also want a hunter for arrow bomb, which is more useful because of the stun. Xbowmen get a much stronger mob attack, though.

Hypocrisy???
Guys... Being an archer isn't the most exciting class to be, until level 5x that is. Afro, leveling from 10-20 is very difficult if you use a bow, partly because your dex is crap at that time, and also you outdamage a bow with almost any melee weapon at this time. You should have raised your str to 35 by level 12 or so that you can take advantage of this. Leave your dex at 25 for advancement, and the rest into str (go to 35 if you are planning on being a hunter, 30 for xbowman). EB, xbows are cheaper, but they look ugly, iron arrow doesn't stun, and xbows have the horrible lag after each shot. I personally do not like xbows because they are a lot more boring to me. It is a lot harder to jump shoot with them because of the lag, thus meaning no jumping around and having fun with haste. Most xbowman I know stand there and just hold down the attack key until they die of boredom... My hunter, jump shoots, runs around, etc. For any archer, level 30-50 are the hardest levels mainly due to the fact that your damage just flat out sucks. It gets a little easier by level 37 because mastery is maxed (well, at 19) and you have a new bow that you should scroll with 100% if you are short on money. I would make the switch to the level 4x bow around level 45 mainly due to the fact that the 3x bow and xbow both have fast attacking speed. If you scrolled it well, keep it for a while... If not, just ditch it and get a good level 4x bow. By far, the hardest thing for me was level 45-49. By this time, almost every single class does way more damage than most archers (unless you are funded and have a godly level 4x bow, a wg, etc...). The exp needed to level goes up at ridiculous rates levels 45-49. I was lucky to get 10% in an hour and a half... It was that bad. Well, I can't really talk about the 5x's as much or the 6x's mainly because I'm not there yet really. All I know now is that 5x's are much easier than 45-49. I believe that the 5x's are where bowman really start to shine. Now, I'll post some good places to train...
10-20: Slime tree/Mushroom garden (melee weapon)
20-25: Green mushrooms, horny mushrooms (AVOID PIG BEACH! HORRIBLE PLACE FOR ARCHERS...)
25-30: PQ or try your luck at zombie mushies. Zombie mushies are hard at this level because you really aren't that strong and your damage is unpredictable. Zombie mushies are also very very crowded...
30-35: Depeding on your damage, go either zombie mushies or wild boars. Horny mushies are still good if you prefer quantity over quality. Wild boars drain your money, but are overall the best exp at this level.
35-40: Your damage should start to get more stable, and you should be able to kill things much faster and easier. Fire boars or copper drakes, depeding on your damage. It might seem like a jump, but 2-4 hits on a copper is pretty good exp for this level. You should be starting to hit for 700-1k by now, so the burnt land is an option.
40-45: Dangerous Valley, Burnt Land, Star Pixies, Nependaths. Avoid kitties mainly because it is crap exp. The only reason you should ever go there as an archer is if you need a lot of money. Also, now is the time where you get a little richer. Start saving up for an oly...
45-49: Now here is where you will run into trouble. I would recomend lunar pixies because of the great exp, and the chance that it will drop a kimset for you. By now, you should be 2 hitting or 3 hitting them, so see if it is worth your time here. I stayed in ossy for all of these levels, and I am still currently in ossy because of the great exp and the great spawn of the monsters.
50-54: I train on Lusters right now. When I'm bored, I also go to Jr. Yetis if it isn't crowded or hectors. Hectors are good exp if you have a fighter with you because rage helps out a lot. With rage, I 2-3 hit kill the hectors.

Again, I hope this helps out you guys a little bit... If you want me to post some builds for 1st or 2nd job, I would be glad to... Good luck I guess...
O_o

[B0NK]

if you want me to post some builds for 1st or 2nd job, I would be glad to... Good luck I guess...
O_o

would love you for it...

[evilbutterfly]

Hypocrisy???

Low level xbows say they're the same speed as bows, but the way the animation lags your firing causes them to be slower regardless. Personally, I hate using xbows and will go as a hunter.

This obviously shows that I have had an archer and know what I'm talking about somewhat. He's only level 20, so most of my suggestions were "decide for yourself" but I do have some experience as a bowman. Plus, your bow vs xbow suggestions are practically the same as mine. I want a hunter for the stun of arrow bomb and I hate xbows for their lagging when you shoot. See? I know what I'm talking about somewhat, at least. Of course I wouldn't know training areas for beyond 20, which is why I didn't give them. :P

PS: If you're horning/teething/whatevering your archer up to 30, don't bother with the high str thing, I say. I've kept my str pretty low with my archer and I love shooting things. Yeah, the damage is horribly unstable, but when you hit your absolute max with critical shot it's pretty cool. >=D

[B0NK]

not true, still unstable :'( and im at max.

[ckj846]

Sorry about that EB... I didn't know you had an archer. Well... I guess I have to post some builds...
1st job:
Arrow blow and Double shot Build:
1 Blessing of Amazon
2 Blessing of Amazon, 1 in Eye of Amazon
3 Eye
3 Eye
1 Eye, 2 Critical shot
Max critical shot...
10 in arrow blow
20 in ds
ADVANCE!!!!!
All of the first job builds are basically the same thing... The only thing different is the extra 9-10 points you have at the end, which you could use to put into the other attacking skill, accuracy, or focus... There are many debates about focus, and I personally do not like the skill. It is another waste of mp and another key on my keyboard that is starting to get filled up. I've seen many people max it by the end of 2nd job, but I think it is a waste. Just my opinion. If you go FA'less, you might want to consider just maxing focus just because you replace fa (final attack) with arrow blow in the 4x's.
2nd Job Builds...
FA:
1 Arrow Bomb
19 Mastery
5 Booster
3 Soul
Max FA
14 Arrow Bomb
Max PKB
Max Arrow bomb
add in extra points at the end to soul arrow and booster...
This it the standard build that I see most archers use. The idea behind Final Attack is that if fires another arrow after a skill is used (arrow bomb, ds, arrow blow). This seems like a good skill at first glance because it does more damage than a critical, but it also causes many archers to die. I don't know about you guys, but I like control over my character. FA is passive, so you never know when it is going to activate. It might activate at the wrong time, ending up killing you are having you waste countless hp pots. For example, if you are bombing a mob and fa activates, the rest of the mob will come after you while you are shooting the fa. Also, jump shooting at yetis is nearly impossible and is pointless because if fa activates, you are stuck on the ground for another extra second, getting hit by the ground pound, and thus wasting your time jump shooting. Also, fa is a waste of 30 (!!!!) SP because it doesn't work with 3rd job skills, and mortal blow is a lot better. Mortal blow is also passive, but it doesn't fire extra arrows and actually allows you to sometimes avoid the minimum attacking range. If you are going to make it to 3rd job, I highly suggest putting those 30 points into a different skill. If you decide to get fa, get it as soon as possible so you can get the most out of it and level faster than most during the hard 4x's...
FA less build (my own build)
1 bomb
19 mastery
5 booster
3 soul
maxed arrow blow (20) I messed up my archer here because in first job, I added accuracy instead of arrow blow...>.<
Max PKB
add some into booster so that it isn't as annoying to use
Max Arrow Bomb
Add in extra points into whatever you want

I hope that sorta helps, it isn't that comprehensive, but it is just a general idea of the 2 main builds in the game. I personally love arrow blow because it saves my ass in tons of places... Most archers disagree with my build, but arrow blow has helped a lot, and it saves mp too if you are training on weaker monsters. KB is extremely important to archers. Although you have pkb, it still doesn't help if the monster keeps on running up to you again. With Arrow blow, you can keep the monsters away from you so that you can snipe them off with ds or stun them with bomb. I've been kinda biased here because I don't know much about xbowman builds, but I think it is about the same thing. Hope that helps BONK, Afro, EB, Squeek, and any others who have archers out there...
O_o

[Squeek]

1) Arrow Blow sucks and is weak. I prefer stable damage and the chance for double critical over a knockback I won't ever need.

2) Final Attack sucks. It will get you killed.

3) Instead of doing what Cam suggested, there's this way as well, which was my archer's build.

3 Blessing
8 Eye
20 Double Shot
20 Critical
9 Focus

1 Iron Arrow / Arrow Bomb
19 Mastery
6 Booster
4 Soul Arrow
30 Iron Arrow / Arrow Bomb
20 PKB
20 Booster
20 SA
11 Focus

However, I'm not even going to go past level 50. I only want my archer for Ludi PQs. Therefore, I'm just going to get Booster to 6, SA to 4, then max out Iron Arrow. That'll be done at level 50 and the end of my archer. I'll just die at level 50 over and over again so I can keep PQing.

~Squeek