Re: MapleStory
About crossbowmen, since Chris left it out:
In 1st job, same as bowmen. In 2nd job, same as bowmen except they get Iron Arrow. People like to diss Iron Arrow and say Arrow Bomb is better, but it really depends on the situation. Arrow Bomb curves and hits one enemy, then explodes and damages enemies around that enemy. Enemies don't tend to lump together a whole lot, so unless you spend time making mobs by smacking everything and running off to the side, you won't get as many enemies in an Arrow Bomb. Iron Arrow, however, hits EVERYTHING in a straight line. Mobs of enemies can be very spread out, ranging from close to you to off-screen, and you'll still hit them with Iron Arrow. It can also do useful things that no other archer skill can, namely shooting through walls (nothing can stop that damned Iron Arrow), which is great for drawing monsters for a kill.
But as somebody said, Iron Arrow can't hit short things. That's because it has quite possibly the worst vertical range ever. I play JMS, and if I had a bowman I could be Bombing Crows (a flying monster) and getting massive experience, but with my crossbowman I'm lucky if I hit 2 with one Iron Arrow, cuz if they're just a little bit too far up or down IA won't hit them (really the range of IA covers like 5-6 pixels, it's lame as hell). This isn't really a problem, though, since most things you fight are going to stay on the ground.
Also, it's widely accepted that crossbowmen are much stronger than bowmen in 3rd job. The crossbowman formulas and weapons are designed to be stronger yet slower, but certain 3rd job attacks that bowmen/xbowmen share (strafe and arrow rain/eruption) are ridiculously fast for xbowmen for some reason, resulting in only a few less shots per minute. That gives xbowmen a clear advantage already. On top of that, the attack that differs between the two (ice shot vs fire shot) gives crossbows a huge advantage. It works kinda like Arrow Bomb, it hits one enemy and then "explodes" and hits the enemies around it, but when it "explodes" it shoots out ice that freezes but does somewhat crappy damage. Basically, xbowmen get this skill just so they can alternate Ice Shot and Strafe and never get hurt. They shoot off an ice shot just often enough that the monsters never un-freeze, so they're free to wail on them with any attack and take them out with ease.
Also, a note on Bandits: They actually do ridiculously good damage in 2nd job once Savage Blow and Mastery are maxed, but it dies off once 3rd job comes and everybody else gets ridiculously good skills. In 4th job, though, I've heard they're amazingly fun to play as, because you have such a variety of very useful skills. Like Chris said before, they dance around the enemy and do massive damage while not ever taking a hit because their moves are so quick and evasive. They're pretty cool. =)
About crossbowmen, since Chris left it out:
In 1st job, same as bowmen. In 2nd job, same as bowmen except they get Iron Arrow. People like to diss Iron Arrow and say Arrow Bomb is better, but it really depends on the situation. Arrow Bomb curves and hits one enemy, then explodes and damages enemies around that enemy. Enemies don't tend to lump together a whole lot, so unless you spend time making mobs by smacking everything and running off to the side, you won't get as many enemies in an Arrow Bomb. Iron Arrow, however, hits EVERYTHING in a straight line. Mobs of enemies can be very spread out, ranging from close to you to off-screen, and you'll still hit them with Iron Arrow. It can also do useful things that no other archer skill can, namely shooting through walls (nothing can stop that damned Iron Arrow), which is great for drawing monsters for a kill.
But as somebody said, Iron Arrow can't hit short things. That's because it has quite possibly the worst vertical range ever. I play JMS, and if I had a bowman I could be Bombing Crows (a flying monster) and getting massive experience, but with my crossbowman I'm lucky if I hit 2 with one Iron Arrow, cuz if they're just a little bit too far up or down IA won't hit them (really the range of IA covers like 5-6 pixels, it's lame as hell). This isn't really a problem, though, since most things you fight are going to stay on the ground.
Also, it's widely accepted that crossbowmen are much stronger than bowmen in 3rd job. The crossbowman formulas and weapons are designed to be stronger yet slower, but certain 3rd job attacks that bowmen/xbowmen share (strafe and arrow rain/eruption) are ridiculously fast for xbowmen for some reason, resulting in only a few less shots per minute. That gives xbowmen a clear advantage already. On top of that, the attack that differs between the two (ice shot vs fire shot) gives crossbows a huge advantage. It works kinda like Arrow Bomb, it hits one enemy and then "explodes" and hits the enemies around it, but when it "explodes" it shoots out ice that freezes but does somewhat crappy damage. Basically, xbowmen get this skill just so they can alternate Ice Shot and Strafe and never get hurt. They shoot off an ice shot just often enough that the monsters never un-freeze, so they're free to wail on them with any attack and take them out with ease.
Also, a note on Bandits: They actually do ridiculously good damage in 2nd job once Savage Blow and Mastery are maxed, but it dies off once 3rd job comes and everybody else gets ridiculously good skills. In 4th job, though, I've heard they're amazingly fun to play as, because you have such a variety of very useful skills. Like Chris said before, they dance around the enemy and do massive damage while not ever taking a hit because their moves are so quick and evasive. They're pretty cool. =)
Hunting for tobis will do this to you.
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