How viable is the Archer all the way till the end?

amgarrak1

I'm at Severed Hand currently and my Archer has 38% of all kills so far on core rules, which is crazy good. However, more and more enemies are immune to normal arrows, and there is a limited amount of magic arrows, and no merchant even sells +1.

I've also read that there are enemies, who are immune to +3 or even +4 weapons, so how the hell would an Archer be able to reliably hit those beasts?

So far only a fraction of enemies are immune to my normal arrows, so it's not a huge deal. But it's going to get worse, right?

Thorium

Yes, magical arrows are a limited resource in this game. At least two merchants sell them later in the game, so they will become more accessible eventually. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to save them for situations where they are really needed (especially +2 arrows and better).

I have had an archer in two playthroughs. With some management, there were enough magical arrows to use in most situations.

Danacm

In the early and midgame archer is a powerhouse. In the end, the melee fighters become much stronger and archer becomes a support.

Zaxares

My Archer in my IWD playthrough accounted for nearly 50% of my party's total damage by the end of Heart of Winter, so I'll just leave it at that. But yes, the general scarcity of magical arrows can mean that they're very hamstrung in certain fights unless you're willing to dip into your stash.

Aerich

An archer is very viable. It may not kill every boss, but the damage output against fodder is tremendous. There is a lot of fodder even at higher levels, so unenchanted arrows + archer bonus are fine, and significantly better than a non-archer anyway. If you aren't playing HoF, you buy out the merchant stocks, and you are diligent about only using your magical arrows on mobs that require them to be hit, you should be fine. You may need to prioritize other enemies with your archer in certain easy battles when clearing maps, but that's what other characters are for.

Unsanity

I have a group parked right before going into the Severed Hand, it has an Archer. If I encounter monsters that are immune to normal arrows, then I go in melee. He might be an Archer by kit, but he is still a Ranger. Rangers are good melee fighters.

All my characters right now have magical melee weapons, so fighting those monsters isn't a problem. It may take a little longer, but at least I make it through., especially since I have plenty of heals for those long battles.

My %'s?
Paladin - 20% kill, 18% exp
Fighter/Cleric - 20% kill, 20% exp
Cleric/Ranger - 13% kill, 19% exp
Archer - 33% kill, 32% exp (goes after trash mobs, range, and spell casters)
Cleric/Mage - 4% kill, 2% exp
Fighter/Thief - 7% kill, 5% exp

So even dropping the bow for the sword and the Archer is still #1 in kills and exp gained for the party. Sometimes you have to mix it up a bit. YES SAVE those magic arrows. I have a bunch saved so far. The only ones I used were the fire ones to kill the trolls when they drop with 1 hit point.

End game %!
Paladin - L11- 18% kills 19% exp - Total Kills: 353 for 437,533 exp - Best Monster Killed: Lich
Fighter/Cleric - L10/10- 20% kills 20% exp - Total Kills: 366 for 505,422 exp - Best Monster Killed: Kraken Society Mage
Cleric/Ranger - L10/9- 20% kills 14% exp - Total Kills: 272 for 499,668 exp - Best Monster Killed: Malavon
Archer - L11 - 27% kill 29% exp - Total Kills: 548 for 672,985 exp - Best Monster Killed: Kelly
Cleric/Mage - L10/11 - 4% kills 7% exp - Total Kills 129 for 105,997 exp - Best Monster Killed: Greater Mummy
Fighter/Thief - L10/12 - 8% kills 8% exp - Total Kills: 161 for 197,860exp - Best Monster Killed: Fire Giant

Yup, Archer still killing it all the way through the game. I think I even heard someone scream "You bastard!" "You killed Kelly!"