How would you make the most OP archer build?

Personally I started with

  • keen-sighted: +20% accuracy
  • overwhelm tactics: adjacent +20% crit chance
  • barbarian culture: the only early ranged unit they have is T2, the fury, making it better than the T1 from ‘high’
  • fabled hunters: ranged +1 rank and start with extra ranged unit
  • runesmiths: cheaper unit enchantments
  • tome of enchantment
  • champion: for the 10% extra gold income

Also, do you think anything will change in this build with the Dragon Dawn DLC?

  • abraxasEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    For sure!

    I’m still trying to get rid of my training-wheels. When I want to win no matter how badly I play, spiders and early archer rush is really “the answer”.

    As for “every single enchantment”, that’s something I’ve moved away from. If your furies are costing you 20 mana per turn upkeep and they aren’t as impactful as a lategame unit, you’re going to get some diminishing returns. This is more true (I found the hard way) because at that absurd upkeep, they’re just as flimsy as ever when they get hit.

    More importantly, with just a handful of awesome enchants, they already have as much killing power as if you give them “just one more”. With a few exceptions, each enchant is a lower percent damage increase than the last (since it’s a fixed +4-2 for most of them) At some point, an extra stack of furies (or something to tank) are worth more than the extra upkeep of “yet another enchant”. What that balance is? I dunno. That’s why I like race transformations that do direct damage: no upkeep.

    which then leads me to take the Tome of Pandemonium and get that 30% extra damage from status effects

    Maybe? I was underwhelmed the one time I picked up Pandemonium… but I need to give it more tries.Tier 3 is a pivotol one for me, with several of the best books in the game. Flameburst Weapons (T3 Devastation) cause literal explosions on kills. Teleportation is the best general-purpose economy book in the game between saving you about 100mana in teleporters (not including the gate’s own bonus) and making you 50+ gold… and if it matters, saving you picking up teleportation upgrade at all.

    And yeah…others. Wightborn is a phenomenal Major for archers with its lifesteal and zero upkeep. Cycles is considered by a lot of people (on youtube at least) to be the best healing/support book in the game.

    I think you idea of Pandemonium makes a lot of sense, except that your Furies remain so bloody expensive… which is fine if they’re on spiders I guess, but less fine if they’re “just mounted archers” who won’t keep up with some T3’s

    I mean, don’t get me wrong. Archers are phenomenal in AOW4.