Camelot Unchained Class Breakdown - Archers

The Archer is a physical ranged DPS class concept for Camelot Unchained. It specialises in dealing piercing damage from distance, and has good mobility. Here is all the information we have been able to gather so far, based on the Class Reveal Livestreams and public updates on the official website.

To watch this and other Camelot Unchained Class Reveal videos, check out our YouTube playlist here.

BLACKGUARD – ARTHURIAN

• Playstyle: stand back and keep distance; will need more protection from group in close quarters
• Uses the most powerful bows in the game
• Not as many unique abilities, they are a less diverse and a more focused class in terms of playstyle, but very good at what they do

WINTER'S SHADOW – VIKING

• Playstyle: shorter range than other Archers, but more effective at close and mid range. Best kiting class with melee and mid range attacks
• Good for moving around in snow
• Carries a shield can be used to block and hit people with
• Using a shield will be an active switch ability, not automatic / passive
• Good at weapon switching, useful for closing distances and retreating
• Very good at skirmishes and solo play

FOREST STALKER - TUATHA DE DANANN

• Playstyle: Best crowd control abilities of all Archers
• Can use trees / the forest as a source of ammo
• Can call on the trees for help (literally)

ARCHER GENERAL INFORMATION

• The Archer is the only ranged DPS class confirmed for Beta 1 (along with healers and heavy fighters)
• There will be 2 types of ammo: Basic arrows (that will be either limitless or can carry a huge amount) and Advanced arrows (made by crafters) which will be more powerful inventory items with a limited capability to carry.
• Ammo may have some kind of magic element (crowd control, effects such as vines on the arrows for TDD, etc) but it is primarily physical damage. Archers will not just be Mages with bows.
• Advanced arrows will have different particle effects to help the enemy differentiate them.
• Archers will be able to carry advanced arrow components in their inventories and assemble these themselves (not during a fight, and not as powerful as dedicated crafters can make).
• There may be a possibility of being able to salvage/recover arrows from the dead, although not with unlimited use, as arrows would have durability.
• Firing an arrow is a multi-step process: pull arrow, load arrow, aim and fire. The system is modular. You can just walk around with a bow; you can draw the arrow and load it onto your bow without firing. You can set a button for each of these steps separately, or you can set an ability that does the entire process in one go. Firing an arrow can be either 1 button click (clickers!) or 3 – 4 abilities.
• Archers can run at full speed while having their bow out. However, if they draw/load the arrow they will slow down. They can't kite at full speed firing arrows.
• Because of the A.I.R. system, arrows will interact with the elements. For example: mage creates fireball, archer shoots arrow through it = fire arrows!
• Arrows are very fast moving projectiles better for targeting, whereas Mage spells are slower but have some tracking abilities.
• Archers will not have stealth. Like other classes, they can use camouflage instead, by using their surroundings and specific camouflage gear. It will be useful at the start of the fight, for the element of surprise, but you can’t go back into camouflage after the fight started to escape.
• Camouflage and stealth are server side, your game client will not be able to see them before they have been detected. This means the UI can't be hacked to show a radar.
• Players cannot move at full speed in camouflage. It is for moving around the same type of terrain slowly. You can't instacast and disappear.
• Distrupts and interrupts are percentage based, so players can still use their abilities if the disruption attack is low.
• Archers can use melee weapons, although they will never be as good with them as a heavy fighter for example. It's always good to have a back-up weapon for when that melee train is on you and you can't create distance.
• Shots can targets specific body parts (Arrow to the knee!). The PhysX system will prevent you shooting someone in the foot if they are only peeking their head over the wall or if you are above them and can't see their feet.
• Range in Camelot Unchained is much farther than in other games. So much so that if you are shooting at maximum range, accuracy will be affected and time to hit will be longer.
• Archers are better against light armoured classes than mages. Mages are better against heavy armour. Mages are less mobile (stop and cast), archers more mobile (fire and move, albeit slower). Mages prefer the fight to stay in one area, while Archers like moving the field of battle. Archers are better at picking people off at long range.
• Each Archer is more effective in their own landscapes. Eg: TDD better in a forest, Viking better in snow.
• Melee can close distance on Archers by avoiding / dodging / using terrain (hide behind rocks, trees, etc) arrows. Range can stop melee closing distance with range attacks and fighting in a more open area. Also, shooting them in the legs!
• Arrows can't travel through objects such as trees, rocks, people (!), etc

 

This is kinda interesting/concerning.

Traditionally ranged dps spells and physical projectiles have tracked moving targets, if I'm reading the last point correctly you can avoid arrows? Is this an active dodge/hit/miss chance or simply by stepping to the side? If it's the latter then it sounds like a nightmare to land a blow, let alone hit a targeted body part.

The whole draw/load/aim/fire being on 4 separate abilities initially seemed a bit convoluted to me but I like the concept. I'm assuming the draw/load can be combined into one, if I'm loading a certain type of ammo surely the draw can be incorporated. Likewise if the aim (assuming certain body part) is selected then the fire can be incorporated also. Maybe its designed to be a heavily mechanical class although I'm kinda put off by the lack of mobility.

I'll keep an eye on this one for now but it seems a bit like a turret class.

 

They are trying to make all the classes require more skill to play, which is a good thing really. Some games we've played it's been difficult at times to differentiate between a skilled player and an average player with a good macro that they copied from a website.

You can dodge both magic spells (eg Mages) and arrows by simply moving out of the way. Similarly, a tank class can step in the way to stop the attack from hitting someone else. However Mage spells move considerably slower than Archers arrows. I don't think at close to mid range this will be an issue, but you'll have to be pretty skilled to be accurate at great range.

As for the cast / firing system, this is modular, which means you can configure it exactly how you like. You can have 1 ability that does everything for you (draw arrow, load arrow, aim, fire), or you can have 1 ability that does any of these steps you choose. The situational use for this is up to the player to discover, but with actions reducing movement speed to some degree this is a good option to have, and again I think it will separate the better players from the average players.

Movement speed in the game generally will be very different, and more realistic. Players will move differently according to the terrain, for example slower uphill, and faster downhill. This will have an obvious impact on battle positioning. While Archers in Camelot Unchained can't expect to sprint at full speed while casting instant shots as in other games, they are far more mobile than other range classes. Both Mages and Healers will have to completely stop moving to cast magic.

So yes, this wont be a cookie cutter game and there will be a learning curve, but hopefully the payoff will be a much more involved and higher skill capped game

 

It's an interesting concept.

Another one I like is the Blackguards boon that preparation time affects the damage caused by the shots.... which kinda synergises with the bane that increases preparation time based on the equipment load. So I can wear heavy armor/heavier equipment to increase my shot damage? Or alternatively wear lighter armor to fire faster but deal less damage.

I wonder if they'll allow me to target it first person.

 

You can dodge both magic spells (eg Mages) and arrows by simply moving out of the way. Similarly, a tank class can step in the way to stop the attack from hitting someone else. However Mage spells move considerably slower than Archers arrows.

Actually, they did say that mage spells will have some sort of tracking, especially considering that they will have to stop and cast and casts will be longer than Archers who will probably have a lot of instant shots (maybe, not sure). And I think that because Archers will be insta cast, aiming shouldn't be too difficult, unless you are at maximum range and it takes time for the arrow to travel...

 

Actually, they did say that mage spells will have some sort of tracking

Yes, but not 100% tracking as in other games. Mages will have the ability to boost the tracking strength of a spell (at what cost we don't yet know), but it will still be largely possible to avoid damage through movement / line of sight / standing behind some other poor sod and letting him take the hit!

 

Can I dodge your heals Redh?

 

Can I dodge your heals Redh?

You won't need to

 

You won't need to

No heals for you, mister! You have angered the tyrant!

 

The way it sounds is that it will be way too easy to avoid arrows, since it takes time before archers can even get the shot off, giving you time to LOS, and then you can still avoid the arrow while it's already in flight.
What could awesome is if you have several archers shooting at the same time, and there could be some actual rain of arrows.

 

No heals for you, mister! You have angered the tyrant!

By the sounds of it I'll be on the other side of the map firing arrows into the air and hoping I hit something.

 

The way it sounds is that it will be way too easy to avoid arrows, since it takes time before archers can even get the shot off, giving you time to LOS, and then you can still avoid the arrow while it's already in flight.
What could awesome is if you have several archers shooting at the same time, and there could be some actual rain of arrows.

It looks like the vikings will be actively involved as skirmishers, the TDD will be casting AoE fluff around and the Arthurians have a arrow speed increase to compensate.

What I'm interested in is if there is hit scanning or how the LOS collision works, to me it sounds like it's taking heavily from FPS mechanics which I doubt will mesh well in a MMORPG environment.

Still planning on rolling an Archer mind you.

 

I am unsure about my pick, based on this class.
Viking's short range doesn't really appeal to my group based fighting needs.
I wouldn't want my ranged to be getting to close, then again he has the most defensive capabilities so it doesnt have to be to bad.
I think that Tuatha and Arthurian are pretty similar, only difference being that Tuatha focus on CC and Arthurian on sniping.
If I had to pick I would go Arthurian again ATM, considering the Heavy fighter from Arthurian already provide the CC.

Still have to see all this in actual game, but that's a 2-0-0 for the Arthurians for my vote.
Could it be I'm gonna be forced to support Redh choice? Blasphemy! Death to the tyrant!

 

TRaditionally I play ranged DPS - I can play a healer if this suits the Guild better - but !! - my online hours are going to be limited at weekends - let me know

 

TRaditionally I play ranged DPS - I can play a healer if this suits the Guild better - but !! - my online hours are going to be limited at weekends - let me know

Camelot Unchained still wont be released for over a year - we have plenty of time to decide

 

I think the Viking archers will be more dominant during battles than the other factions. Especially when fighting on their home ground in the ice and snow. Mind you, I'm not speaking of stealthy kills or ganking as such.

I mean that in a stand-up fight (which will mostly be short to mid range) the Viking archer will be more suited to both supporting our melee (due to having heavier damage at close range) and being supported by our line of battle better than the other factions. This is the main reason i chose Vikings over the other two factions.

I feel that the Viking Warband will be better able to carry the fight to the enemy at his Home Keeps, survive any ambushes/defenses we find and crush the enemy at their strongholds. The ability to operate in hostile areas while maintaining group support roles and high DPS melee builds will be easier for the Vikings, i believe. The other 2 factions have their strong points but i think in large open world battles (on the enemies home ground especially) the Viking faction has better tools for Dominating the Theater of War.

I'm not saying we have an 'advantage' of some type. I am saying that the Viking faction is better suited to operating deep in enemy territory with less support than the other two; especially when you consider that we will bring our home environment (ice and snow) with us when we take enemy lands and make them Viking. The other two factions have some nice toys too but this game is about winning large scale battles out in the open world where stealth and ambush and such has no place.

I plan to use crushing damage in particular since armor does not mitigate this type of damage. So, when we run into those Arthurians with all the heavy armor it will be like they are naked and when we fight the TDD they will run away and we will control the battle...

 

excellent post Redh - so are you ok for me to train as an archer

 

excellent post Redh - so are you ok for me to train as an archer

Absolutely - you've got to play a class you'll enjoy. Archers look fun, especially the Viking ones!