Guide on Bowmaster/Sharpshooter Skill Build

Welcome to the Guide on Bowmaster/Sharpshooter Skill Build!

This would be a general Hybrid skill build for all Magic Bowmasters. As this picture below shows what skills I would add in my opinion, I have used up all the Skill Points available. Nonetheless, I would explain all the arguable skills in the discussion.

Physical skills tend to have longer cooldown time, while Magic skills have shorter cooldown time.

Even though the Revolutionary Ballista (Magic Lv40 skill) is being added and Extension Arrow is being levelled high in this skill build, you can add the Pinpoint Shot (Physical Lv40 skill) and level Charged Shot high  if you intend to go the Physical build.

For pure Physical or Magic builds, the other type of skill tree will be ignored to focus on dealing a high pure damage.

Advantages of Hybrid(more to Magic) Build

• More spammability of skills to consistently generate high combos.
• In the upcoming 2nd job patch (Artillery), a new skill will amplify Physical attacks for a certain duration. This means your Arrow Shower will be strengthened a lot more.
• Having both Physical and Magic attacks gives you more options in attacking enemies. Some enemies may be insanely strong in Physical Defense, but weaker in Magic Defense, and vice versa.
• Able to have both small and huge AOE skills, as Physical has larger AOE while Magic has smaller AOE.

Disadvantages of Hybrid (more to Magic) Build

• Lower skill damage compared to pure builds. For pure builds, they are able to level their skill high, which in turn increases that particular skill damage output.
• As Bowmasters are an Agility class, Physical attack is higher than Magic attack if no equipment is being worn. Even when you are using Intelligence and Magic equipment, You need to enhance them to a certain degree before having your Magic attack exceed your Physical attack.
• Pinpoint shot is arguably the best Lv40 skill in terms of DPS. Getting Revolutionary Ballista improves more on your AOE capabilities.

Take note that the English names of the skills are taken reference from mmosite, hence the names may contradict what we have in Dragon Nest SEA. Here’s the link in which you can compare the name to the skill icons. I will update this once the information is being released in Open Beta. Link here MMOsite Archer Skill List

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the skill build I have in mind. Alternatively, if you want to create your own build, you can go to the Resources Tab of this blog for the simulator.

Archer

• Twin Shot – A fast-cast attack with only a 4.5 second cooldown. Definitely one of the best DPS skills available in both PvP and PvE. Just spam it as often as you can as a filler in between your skill combos. Max this or level it high.
• Piercing Shot – In this case, I have put this on pre-requisite level as this skill is not really used in my game. However, some other Bowmasters have levelled this high because of its range compared to Multi Shot.
• Revolving Hit – Bowmasters are never a melee attacker. Don’t learn this.
• Multi Shot – Contrary to Piercing Shot, this is a 7-arrow mid range attack that deals quite a fair bit of damage. The down side is only the long cooldown time. Level this high, or the Piercing Shot.
• Magic Arrow – Not a good DPS skill, but it is a good attack skill that forces enemies to be immovable for a slight moment. Quite a decent skill for PvP. Leave it on pre-requisite.
• Owl’s Insight – Gives you additional chance to score a critical in your attacks. It is usually used when you are using a high damage skill such as Guided Shot, Arrow Shower, Pinpoint Shot and Revolutionary Ballista. However, as you level higher and your equipment gets better, this may be rendered useless as your Critical Chance will be decently high due to the Agility Stats. Either add this at Lv1, or don’t add it.
• Eagle’s Rage – A party Critical buff that last for about 10 seconds. A skill that doesn’t requires any SP, so a definite must-have skill.
• Spin Kick – Default skill. Leave it.
• Low Spin Kick – Default skill. Leave it.
• Tumble – Your bread and butter to dodge any attack. Max it.
• Moon Sault Kick – Useless for Bowmasters.
• Pin Wheel – When you are being knocked down on the ground, you can attack the surrounding enemies with multiple kicks and regain your position. Some Bowmasters prefer not to add this as you can use the tumbling method to get away from the enemies, while some add this to be more assured.
• High Spin Kick – Useless for Bowmasters.
• Somersault Kick – Useless for Bowmasters.
• Urgency Trick – Gives you an additional chance to avoid attacks, or regain your position after being attack. Put this at minimum Lv1. Increase it if you have spare SPs.
• Aerial Evasion – Regains your position when you are being hit to the air. Put this at minimum Lv1, and increase it if you have spare SPs.
• Mental Mastery – Increases your MP limit. Useless as skill’s MP consumption is based on percentages. However, this is a pre-requisite for Mental Training. If you have spare SPs to add to Mental Training, put this at pre-requisite level.
• Physical Mastery – Increases your HP limit. HP is very important in Dragon Nest, however, Bowmasters usually have low HP and this increment from the skill may not be as great. Add this if you have spare SPs.
• Mental Training – Having trouble with insufficient MP? Add this for faster MP regeneration if you have spare SPs.

Bowmaster

• Charged Shot – A shot released after charging for a few seconds. This skill is usually not favoured  for Magic Bowmasters because the charging time may get you dead before releasing the arrow. A Heraldry Plate can be used to quicken the charging time. Add this high if you are a Physical Bowmaster. Level this as high as possible, depending on your SPs.
• Extension Arrow/Scope Arrow – A good DPS skill with a relatively low cooldown. However, you have to be precise in your aiming in order to succeed a full-force damage attack. For huge bosses, the aiming will not be important because you will definitely hit the boss unless… A good skill in PvP as the splitted arrows can disrupt enemies who are casting skills. Level this as high as possible, depending on your SPs.
• Bull’s Eye – Increases the damage of Range-type attacks when the enemy is being aimed with this skill. This is useful only when you have a team with several range classes. The damage amplified for the Bowmaster herself alone is not that significant. The SPs can be better spent at other skills. Level this high depending on your SPs, or simply don’t add this.
• Aerial Chain Shot – An attack activated when you are in the air. This is usually not used as a DPS skill, but a continuation after Triangle Shot. This gives you extra air time to avoid any ground-based attacks. Leave it at pre-requisite.
• Rapid Shot – Shoots several arrows around you. A decent skill that attacks nearby enemies. Put this at pre-requisite.
• Spirit Excellation – Increases your Agility stat for 1 minute. Add this high if you have enough SPs, if not just leave it at Lv1.
• Ankle Shot – Superb skill in both PvE and PvP. Able to bind enemies at their position once hit. The damage when all 3 arrows hit are considerably high as well. Add this as high as possible if you have enough SPs to increase the duration of bind.
• Siege Stance – Puts you stationary at a particular position to shoot several arrows in Critical. Only use this when you are sure that you won’t be hit easily by enemies. Leave it at pre-requisite.
• Swift Shot – Shooting several arrows in front. A decent attack. Leave it at pre-requisite.
• Sylph’s Aid – Increases the range of Bowmasters. What is the best advantage of Bowmasters compared to other range classes? It has to be range of course. However, this skill only affects certain skills such as Twin Shot and Piercing Shot. I wouldn’t add this in my opinion, but some Bowmasters add this for PvP usage.
• Stunning Shot – Stuns the enemies for a slight duration. This is probably mostly used in PvP. Leave it at Lv1 as the chance of stunning is 100%. This skill is not meant to be a DPS skill.
• Arrow Shower – Superb damage skill when all arrows hit. Take note that only falling arrows deal the full damage. If the arrows hit the enemies when ascending instead of descending, the damage will be reduced by a very huge amount. Max this.
• Guided Shot – Another superb skill for Bowmasters. Insanely high damage plus a decent low cooldown, and the arrows are GUIDED towards a target/group. The only downside of the skill is that the targeted enemy is hard to aim. For example, if the Cerberus boss spawns its little minions, your Guided Shot may not hit the boss but the minions instead. Max this.
• Fake Shot – A continuation attack of your Tumble. Leave it at pre-requisite.
• Triangle Shot – The best dodging skill available for Bowmasters. It increases the invulnerability time after you tumble, while sustaining you in the air to avoid any ground attacks. Coupling this with Aerial Chain Shot will give you an air time of about 3-4 seconds. Leave this at Lv1 as it is not a DPS skill, and neither will the cooldown be reduced.
• Longbow Mastery/Crossbow Mastery – Max either of this depending on which weapon you choose. Longbow features higher Critical, longer range and a higher Physical attack. Crossbow features higher Magic attack, and a shorter range. Usually all Bowmasters will pick Longbow due to its long range, critical, and its appearance.
• Pinpoint Shot/Revolutionary Ballista – Pick one of these depending on your preference. However, picking one of these doesn’t mean you cannot use a weapon with a stronger stats on the other attack type. To illustrate, it is not unwise if you pick Pinpoint Shot when you are using a bow with much stronger Magic attack. Your skill may not be as strong if you use a Physical Bow, but the damage improvement on your fast-cooldown Magic skills can increase your DPS as well.

That is all. A 2nd job skill build post will be posted when I am confident that it is a good one. Feel free to add in any comments or suggestions regarding the skill build.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.