Archery help please

[fisheye]

Hi all,

I can't seem to hit a brick wall at 10 ft with a bow... the arrows just seem to go every which way, landing at their feet, over their shoulder, etc. Can someone tell me how to shoot?

Specific questions:
1. Do you just point and click once or do you hold down to draw, aim and then release when the reticle is tightest?
2. Is there a "cool off" period between shots, or is it ok to just shoot as fast as I can?
3. Should I aim higher depending on the range, or just aim at the center of my target always?
4. What skill distribution should I allocate besides power draw and horse archery?

My very stupid bow tactic is this: I can't hit jack while moving, so I stay very still, point my horse at the enemy and try to hit the enemy as they come in. I shoot a lot of arrows (which mostly hit the ground all over their feet), then ride somewhere else and repeat until I am out of arrows.

This tactic seems horribly ineffective comparing with lancing where I can usually kill one enemy on each pass. What's a good tactic for you? Circle-and-shoot? Shoot while riding away?

Many thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Jerky]

1.hold down and release when the reticle is tighest
2.i think it's ok to shoot as fast as you can
3.aim higher if far away
4. don't know any other skills you should raise to hit better with a bow, but there are the weapon proficency which you should raise to get the reticle tighter.

i usually ride away slowly and shoot behind me where they can't hit me

 

[Jhaerik]

Well, I'm not much of a mounted archery myself, but as for basic bow use...

Hold the mouse button just long enough for the reticule to reach it's smallest point, then release.

Well, unless there is a reason to wait, don't. Do try not to waste arrows though, try for headshots. As for mounted troops if there are shielded the best way I know to hendle them is either to:

1. Kill their horse, and kill them before they can regain their footing.

2. Wait until they are otherwise occupied with other of your troops.

3. Wait untill they charge at you, raise their weapon to strike, then simply headshot them. (Warning can be painful if you time it wrong, though its a great way to get rid of that couched lance coming at your skull.)

Yes, you to need to aim higher to account for range. The best way I've found to get the range, is to shoot 1-2 (3 if needed) arrows in the enemies direction to get the range, and then use those same arrows as "range finders" of a sort. Also your archery skill when you first start is really bad, give it a bit of time, and you'll be annoyed is you actually "miss" someones head at 50 yards.

Personally I'm a foot archer, but you will need riding skill as well, seeing as manuverability is key on the battlefield.

Around 100-130 archery skill you can pretty much expect to find a large river pirite group, and have fun by calling your shots. Try the hit specific body parts ect.

 

[elMerda]

Specific questions:
1. Do you just point and click once or do you hold down to draw, aim and then release when the reticle is tightest?
2. Is there a "cool off" period between shots, or is it ok to just shoot as fast as I can?
3. Should I aim higher depending on the range, or just aim at the center of my target always?
4. What skill distribution should I allocate besides power draw and horse archery?

I'm a horse archer on M&B myself, glad to lend you a few tips

1. Do you just point and click once or do you hold down to draw, aim and then release when the reticle is tightest?
Best to aim, holding your fire untill you're very sure it's going to go. Don't bother wasting arrows - but don't let your riticulus get to big (inaccurate), it takes about 3 seconds, if I can keep track

2. If you are hit, or press the right-mouse button (to cancell your fire) there wil be a "cool off" period. If you don't wait long enough before firing again, you will have a very large reticulus and a very bad aim.

3. Should I aim higher depending on the range, or just aim at the center of my target always?
Myeap. There is also a "blind spot" for horse archers (may be for foot ones aswell, but I have yet to check) when charging towards an enemy in full gallop, pull your bow, reel to the RIGHT with your horse, and then shoot the hell outta them =D The archers blindspot is on the right, apparently - so facing to the left would be wrong, causing the reticuli to dissopear and your aim to be corrupted.

4. Athletics (agility) for sure. You never know when your horse might valliantly trip over and get crippled in battle Archers are practilly dead on foot, and must remain agile.

5. You can "cancel" your attack/fire/shoot by using the right-mouse button. See 2. for details on how it'll effect your accuracy for your next shot.

Also, at about 150 archery profiency, you should beable to hit the hell out of anyone in full gallop =D Horse-archery is a must.

 

[guspav]

yep all of the above are good suggestions but they forgot to mention: USE THE ZOOM FEATURE TO AIM (by pressing the shift key) since sometimes the reticule looks, when zoomed out, as if it was perfectly set and when you zoom in it isn't... practice makes perfect, dude
If you want to have an easier time you could start using crossbows for getting the hang of ranged combat.

 

[Jhaerik]

Oops, my bad, I did forget that hehe. Honestly though, as a lower level horse archery you would be better off without zoom wouldn't you? I tend to not use it exect for very long shots, tend to throw my aim off up close.

 

[Deus Ex]

my two denars..

Until your horse archery skill is high enough, there is an "accuracy penalty" for shooting from horseback. Dismount and take out a couple enemies, then remount and move. As someone mentioned, once your horse archery skills get up there (I think 150 was mentioned) then you can usually shoot as accurately from horseback as on foot.

Second, I ALWAYS use the zoom function to aim.

It is also interesting to note that when your archery skill starts to get pretty high, very often your skill value will "over-ride" a bad shot. That is you may not aim real well, or as well as you wanted, yet when you shoot you get a head shot or a good body shot because you have a high skill and the computer calculated that you made the shot... This can work to your advantage at higher skill levels as you can shoot more quickly - taking less time to aim carefully - and still make some good shots.

Just my thoughts, hope this helps.

DE

 

[Hansundfranz]

Yeah, I really hate this auto aiming feature.

IMHO Your skills should only affect fire speed ,power hit points) and velocity of the arrow (less lead needed on moving targets)

 

[Johnathan Andrews]

The suggestions above are all very good.

As far as actual tactics on the actual battlefield, I normally run up the nearest small hill or stay near the edge of the battle and have my troops hold position. I turn my horse so it is at a 90 degree angle to the oncoming troops. Make sure your left side is facing towards your enemies, or you will not be able to shoot them.

Remain in one spot, shooting arrows into the oncoming troops. If the enemy is comprised of just a few mounted units and a large body of infantry, remain in one spot until the cavalry is finished off. After some practice, you can normally pick 2 or 3 heavily armored units off before the cavalry reaches your troops.

If cavalry is chasing you around the map, stay in front of them (if you have a riding skill of 3 and a hunter or spirited courser, this should be quite easy). Ride in a counter-clockwise manner, shooting bolts to the left of the nearest mounted units. If you outdistance the pursuing cavalry, don't be afraid to rear your horse (ctr+r) and shoot a few arrows while you are not moving for greater accuracy.

When the infantry gets close to your tropps and the mounted units in your group are about to peel off, dash to your right (the way the horse should be facing), and begin to circle around the infantry, firing at the ones without sheilds. I normally carry a lance with me to knock off the shielded pests afterwards. If you get a decent distance between you and your enemy, it is sometimes useful to stop your horse from moving and launch arrows into the oncoming (and hopefully slow) infantry.

If the enemy is comprised of archers, I normally dismount from my horse and stay slightly behind my horse (who acts as a good arrow absorber), shooting arrows into the enemy.

AFTER THE BATTLE:

If you leveled up, invest most of your initial skill points in agility. As a horse archer, you need to have a decent riding skill (at least a skill of 3 to ride a courser or a hunter. DO NOT use a war horse or a charger if you are primarily a mounted archer). You also should increase your mounted archery skill to at least 3 or 4 when you can, since there is a penalty to both damage AND accuracy when shooting a bow from a horse. Increases in mounted archery skill will reduce this penalty greatly.

When your riding skill and mounted archery skill are at 3 (at least), increase power draw to 4 and purchase yourself a good bow. Invest a few points in atheletics in case your horse is shot from under you, and wear light armor (like padded leather and leather boots with any kind of helm you like) so you will be able to flee and reposition if the worst should happen (your horse dies or is a cripple).

 

[Harlequin_]

my advice, dont use the shift/zoom feature. if you look carefully this moves the crosshairs above where you where aiming before. the unzoomed crosshairs are actually compensated for drop up to a reasonable range, so you dont have to aim above your enemy. this lety you get off a lot more shots more quickly, so more people die. still, this dosent mean to not take your time with shots; if you arent going to hit it, dont shoot it.

another tip- if you are facing horse archers AND other troops, use the arrows on the cavalry, as they are a pain to catch.

 

[fisheye]

Many many thanks for the wonderful tips! You guys are so helpful!

I just went instantly from "can't hit a river pirate from 10ft" to "outshot an entire troop of 7 sea raiders at extreme range, killing 3 with headshots".

I never knew about the right side blind spot! Or that I could cancel my shot with the right mouse button. This game needs a manual..

Fantastic!

One more question: do you put points into weapon master and raise bow proficiency using weapon proficiency points, or do you just shoot a lot? It seems to me that after 150 the weapons points really don't do much at all (+1-3 per 10 points).

 

[Harlequin_]

my advice is to put a few points into weapon master if you have nothing better to put them into, but save most of your points for skills that you can only upgrade on the level up screen. after all, when you are level 50, you will be really ****ed off if you have ridiculously high weapon skills that you can get anyway, but no athletics.

usually, weapon master is a bad use of points-- much better to just kill things.

 

[Jhaerik]

Bah, who needs a manual, you have us.

 

[fisheye]

Thanks Harlequin... I just confirmed your advice:

Once I got the knack of shooting, I hunted down a few bands of bandits, then had the incredible good fortune of running across several large groups of practice dummies, I mean River Pirates.

Headshot... headshot... headshot... talk about shooting fish in a barrel.

And my archery skill jumped from 147 to 161.

 

[barbaros]

Once you get your horse archery skill to 6-7, real fun begins. You will be able to get headshots even when both you and your target are mounted and both of you in full gallop.