[GUIDE] STR Hybrid Fire Bowman

[darkmaster21]

Why was this guide made?

This guide was made to show that bow is not just a Pure STR or INT weapon but instead it is also a Hybrid STR weapon.

Why do I say this?

Because bow isn't better in Physical Attack nor Magical Attack it doesn't make sense to make a Pure STR bowman when the physical is weaker than Blade AND Glavie. Now you are probably saying that you need Pure STR to make your criticals higher just because theres one attack with bow that increases your critical. Being a Hybrid STR, I get just a little weaker criticals than Pure STR but the attacks that don't score a critical hit are very weak with Pure STR and this is because bow has a weaker magical attack (as I already said which would make it a non-INT weapon *also INT's are nuker, why have long ranged nukes when your bow is long ranged*) compared to Spear and Sword so it already is weaker weapon and adding on top of that is Pure STR has practically no magical balance (increases magical attack), so that makes your magical attacks even more weak. My hybrid STR bowman however has much more magical balance so not only are my criticals still almost just as powerful as a Pure STR's but my other attacks (that don't score a critical) are very powerful to.

Ok, So you convinced me to be a Hybrid STR Bowman, but how do you make one?

It's very simple, all you have to do is add 2 Stat Points to STR and 1 Stat Point to INT every time you level your character.

Alright so now I know how to make my Hybrid STR Bowman but what Bow skills do I get?

Pacheon Series - Level to 80

Anti-Devil Series

MAX, No questions asked, it is an amazing starting skill, has an Critical increase which makes it very powerful.

Arrow Combo Series

MAX, Relays 2 all the way up to 4 arrows very quickly.

Hawk Training Series

Get White and Blue Hawks ONLY, The White and Blue Hawk increases your Attack Rating helping you do more damage. The Black Hawk is very weak unless you max it out, waist of SP to me.

Autumn Wind Arrow Series

Optional, used to kill multiple monsters at once, the last book is very powerful but 1st and 2nd are some what good on damage.

Break Heaven Arrow Series

MAX, increases shot distance, essential for bowman since bowman are ranged (obviously). Great for doing jobs (Hunter, Merchant, and Theif) also Unique killing.

Berserker Arrow

MAX, very powerful skill that has AOE (Area of Effect) the 1st and 2nd books increase Attack Rating just like the Hawk's so you can deal even more damage.

Strong Spirit Series

Optional, in my opinion it is worth it, its one of the most powerful attacks in Silkroad. The downfall is the casting time, which is fairly long for an attack but the damage is so worth it.

Mind Concentration

MAX, bow's passive skill increases attack rating which (again) increase Attack Rating to help you deal out more damage.

Ok, now I know what weapon skills to get but what about Force skills?

Cold Series - Level to 60

Cold Force: Get only if you want the imbue. I would skip this.

Frost Guard:Max only to level 60. Increases your physical defense. But it is not an extremely important buff so just goto 60 with it.

Frost Wall: Optional, good for blocking physical attacks (mainly monsters) but makes it so you can't move. Me personally, would not get it because in PVP no one uses just physical attacks and no imbue.

Cold Armor: Max. Increases physical defense permanently.

Lightening Series - Level to 80

Piercing Force Series: Max to 80. Increases your magical attack which is very nice .

Wind Walk: Max all books of this series. This is essential for bowman as the need to be extremely mobile.

Lion Shout: I would recommend skipping this as its more of an INT attack, but its optional. Can be used to attract monsters.

Concentration Series: Max. Increases your parry ratio so you take less damage.

Heaven Force: Max. This passive increases parry ratio (look at skill above this skill).

Fire Mastery - Level to 80

Fire Force: Max this imbue (if you use ice don't get this unless you want duel imbue) its the most powerful on Silkroad.

Fire Shield Series: I would say optional as its not a necessity but if you want to be more immune to ice get it.

Flame Body: Max this out, the more damage the better.

Fire Protection: Max out this because it increases your magical defense which is very good for pvp.

Fire Wall: Optional, similar to Ice Wall but instead of it blocking physical attacks it blocks magical attacks. Its good for blocking the hits of nukers but also makes it so you can't move. I have the same opinion as Crystal Wall with Fire Wall.

Flame Devil: Max this passive, increases physical damage also.

Why choose Fire for you imbue...

Fire is the most powerful imbue than any other imbue which helps you do more damage (the more damage the better). You can get Ice but I would use it as a secondary imbue with Fire first.

*NOTES*

-As you can tell I did not list the nukes. This is because your an STR hybrid and nukes are an INT hybrid or Pure INT skill so do not get them.

Additions to this guide...

8/19/2007 - Added Force skills by request; changed mastery level of Ice and added Pacheon title; changed Autumn Wind and Wall skills; changed the reason why this this guide was made.

Questions/Comments?

Just post on this topic and I will try to reply to them as soon as possible.

-DarkMaster

[darkmaster21]

No comments? or anything?

[MrFudge]

its the same as pure str bow just add different stats

[caseyd4]

Oh dear lord that was actually poor to read even as a STR Hyb bowman.

[HertogJan]

Now you are probably saying that you need Pure STR to make your criticals higher just because theres one attack with bow that increases your critical. Being a Hybrid STR, I get just a little weaker criticals than Pure STR but the attacks that don't score a critical hit are very weak with Pure STR

I stopped reading after this, if you go and check the damage contest you will see that hybrid bows crit just as hard if they dont crit harder then str bowers.
Saying that a pure str bower is weak, where the feck did you got that info from?

I just wonder if you ever made a hybrid bower yourself, and not to pee on yoo hat. But you cant make a good detailled guide if you havent leveled it up to atleast 5x and pvped craploads.

A pure int bow is awesome for grinding, but uber sucky in pvp. So you can level it up to 5x without pvping and rock in pve, write a guide and then go pvp and suddenly see that youre build sucks.

[Puma60]

Hmm....i liked it

[Glavie's Girl]

Please see this very long thread debating this topic over pages and pages. Your guide was very nicely laid out, looks like you put time into it.

http://www.silkroadforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=24752&highlight=


This one is about an str bow questions, even though pure you can pull additonal information from it


http://www.silkroadforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=49645&highlight=

Enjoy your read. =)

[caseyd4]

Thanks G G I was going to write up a HYB Str guide just in Reply to this, Its not very helpful in Imbues and Forces which are arguably the hardest part in getting a Char right, Il do one when I have finished My combo testing and talked to Glavie a bit more.. Also have to do a Hunter one man il be busy .. now if I could only log on to silkroad to finish my damn tests

[darkmaster21]

Thanks for all the comments everyone

[Glavie's Girl]

Thanks for all the comments everyone

You are most welcome. ^_^

[EllisD]

How far have you leveled up your STR Hybrid bower?

I ask this because i see a few comments that are quite "bandwagon-ish". Every skill under the bow tree has a time and place. Learning when to use your skills is one of the most important aspects of any build and saying a skill is "useless" to me is ludacris.

Not laying out what force skills really hurts this guide as it is one of the areas that most people have questions about.

Good format, but needs a lot more information seeing as its quite a controversial build.

[glavie]

Um well its a decent guide, but it looks just like every pure str bow guide I have seen. There is nothing related to being hybrid, I am not sure what would change by being str hybrid, but ............

Oh and there is a new black hawk coming so it might not be useless after all.

[4-n-zics]

There is nothing related to being hybrid

Really???

Ok, So you convinced me to be a Hybrid STR Bowman, but how do you make one?

It's very simple, all you have to do is add 2 Stat Points to STR and 1 Stat Point to INT every time you level your character.

[caseyd4]

LOL ^^.

[darkmaster21]

I ask this because i see a few comments that are quite "bandwagon-ish".

What exactly do you mean by "bandwagon-ish"? That I'm just using what everyone else has?

Every skill under the bow tree has a time and place. Learning when to use your skills is one of the most important aspects of any build and saying a skill is "useless" to me is ludacris.

Ok, I will try to add Force if it really is that necessary.

Good format, but needs a lot more information seeing as its quite a controversial build.

Thank you for your comments

[darkmaster21]

Um well its a decent guide, but it looks just like every pure str bow guide I have seen. There is nothing related to being hybrid, I am not sure what would change by being str hybrid, but ............

Oh and there is a new black hawk coming so it might not be useless after all.

I take it you didn't read the guide, you just looked at the skill's I assume?

[glavie]

There is nothing related to being hybrid

Really???

Ok, So you convinced me to be a Hybrid STR Bowman, but how do you make one?

It's very simple, all you have to do is add 2 Stat Points to STR and 1 Stat Point to INT every time you level your character.

I mean that the skill suggestions are identical to any other pure str build. And chosen for the same reasons. Sorry for not being clear.

And BTW there is more than more than 1 way to make a hybrid, perhaps that should be discussed/considered.

Also there are pros and cons to every build, what are they for this build vs pure str. Yeah you touched on it briefly, but I think you could go into more depth.

[darkmaster21]

There is nothing related to being hybrid

Really???

Ok, So you convinced me to be a Hybrid STR Bowman, but how do you make one?

It's very simple, all you have to do is add 2 Stat Points to STR and 1 Stat Point to INT every time you level your character.

I mean that the skill suggestions are identical to any other pure str build. And chosen for the same reasons. Sorry for not being clear.

And BTW there is more than more than 1 way to make a hybrid, perhaps that should be discussed/considered.

Also there are pros and cons to every build, what are they for this build vs pure str. Yeah you touched on it briefly, but I think you could go into more depth.

Could you point out how the skills of a Hybrid STR bowman would differ from a Pure STR's skills please?

[glavie]

By stating what weapon skills to get, and not what force skills, you are implying that weapon skills are different for this build. So when I see that they are exactly the same I am disappointed.

[darkmaster21]

By stating what weapon skills to get, and not what force skills, you are implying that weapon skills are different for this build. So when I see that they are exactly the same I am disappointed.

Well, I just added Force skills so take a look.

[Vandall]

By stating what weapon skills to get, and not what force skills, you are implying that weapon skills are different for this build. So when I see that they are exactly the same I am disappointed.

Well, I just added Force skills so take a look.

one insey weensy teeny weeny problem with ur edit (im assuming u lvl pacheon to 80)....80*4= 320
i suggest u put one as 60 or something

[darkmaster21]

By stating what weapon skills to get, and not what force skills, you are implying that weapon skills are different for this build. So when I see that they are exactly the same I am disappointed.

Well, I just added Force skills so take a look.

one insey weensy teeny weeny problem with ur edit (im assuming u lvl pacheon to 80)....80*4= 320
i suggest u put one as 60 or something

Ok thank you for that comment I will make changes.

[Vandall]

np man. solid guide, i prefer force instead of ice but thats just me.

[darkmaster21]

np man. solid guide, i prefer force instead of ice but thats just me.

Ya but I really don't think that Force heal is not worth the SP compared to Ice's buff and passive but thats what I think lol

[MrFudge]

i dont understand why you couldnt have gotten a pure str bow guide and siwtched it so you put stats diff and explained this was a hybird str guide, i mean its not that hard and thats basically all it is.

[glavie]

Ok looks a lot better, I would add the frost nova series as an optional skill.

I think you could talk about the wall series and autumn wind in more positive light. What I mean is you can get your opinion across about the skills without
being as negative.
Some people really like the walls. They have their place.

BTW I think your guide is shaping up very nicely.


EDIT* Maybe Fudge is right, maybe you could explain somehow that a hybrid str will play very similar to a pure str.

[darkmaster21]

i dont understand why you couldnt have gotten a pure str bow guide and siwtched it so you put stats diff and explained this was a hybird str guide, i mean its not that hard and thats basically all it is.

I think I could have but what would have been the fun of that? And also why didn't the people that made a guide that was already made for example a Pure INT nuker, why didn't they just copy and paste everything from the first guide and say oh ok here is my guide have fun making your character!

[darkmaster21]

Ok looks a lot better, I would add the frost nova series as an optional skill.

I think you could talk about the wall series and autumn wind in more positive light. What I mean is you can get your opinion across about the skills without
being as negative.
Some people really like the walls. They have their place.

Well...ya I mean I don't know how to talk positive about Autumn wind and wall series because they just are not very good skills. Because when you attack more than one monster with Autumn Wind it makes the damage exremely low and when you kill one monster with that skill its pointless because it doesn't have a bonus such as Critical increase like in Anti Devil series. And the wall series isn't very good also because you can't move when you use it so it takes your mobility to 0 which is bad for a bowman because bowman need very good mobility. Also the walls die off so fast (in about one hit in my experience) its not worth waisting you SP over all of it for one second of protection from magical and physical attacks. Also Cold wall only blocks physical attacks which in PVP who uses only physical with no imbue?

BTW I think your guide is shaping up very nicely.

Thanks for your comments.

[EllisD]

Ok looks a lot better, I would add the frost nova series as an optional skill.

I think you could talk about the wall series and autumn wind in more positive light. What I mean is you can get your opinion across about the skills without
being as negative.
Some people really like the walls. They have their place.

BTW I think your guide is shaping up very nicely.


EDIT* Maybe Fudge is right, maybe you could explain somehow that a hybrid str will play very similar to a pure str.

+1

Walls prevent you from being knocked down, which can be a huge plus if your fighting a blader because more than likely you will be able to tank their damage.

Autumn wind definetly has its place...just like every other skill in this game. Again, its just a matter of knowing when to use it. Getting a mob to 1\4 health and moving on to the next with autumn wind, and having its pierce finish off the first is an example. Saves time.

This is what i meant by "bandwagon-ish". Quite often i see people saying things like "autumn wind sux, forget about it" "Pure str only, if your not pure, you suck" "omg fire is the best imbue, waaay better damage, if you dont get it you will be weak". Most the time, the people just take what they have heard and believe it as absolute truth and preach to everyone even though they never took the time to experiment and try things for themselves, thus never creating an educated opinion on something...only a "grapevine" opinion. Which is why i asked how far you got your STR Hybrid bower so we can get an idea of the kind of experience you have with the build.

EDIT: Just for comparison, this is how i made my build. Im about 97% phys and 60% mag balance right now.

This is essentially the build i currently have. Projected plan when im done farming is:

Bow 80
Light 80
Force 79
Fire 61

I would also recommend Pure STR or a Heavy STR Hybrid though with the new skills coming for bowers, you might be able to get away with more INT, but a STR build is definetly recommended.

Bow 80 - as a str build, your weapon mastery will add a lot of damage for you.

Light 80 - This is my main imbue. The damage difference between this and fire is not that great and the added splash effect will help during grinding. Grasswalk and Phantom are essential for agility...to gain range on your opponents to charge your attack, and to quickly get out of sticky situations. The parry ratio buff and the passive increase will help take less damage. 16% mag damage increase buff adds damage but if you are pure str, this will make less of a difference than if you are a hybrid or int based. Still, 16% increase is nice.

Force 79 - Im not sure if you get any new skills that will be worthwhile at 80, but with force this high, you will be able to res anyone on the server. Healing mainly takes a back seat because of our non-existent pot delay, so people can heal themselves. Harmony Therapy is nice for when you are in a heavily agro area. It keeps mobs out of your circle so you can kill them at the pace you desire. The passive also increases MP, which as a str based build, you will somewhat lack.

Fire 61 - You will gain a decent physical damage increase (13%), fire shield to help be status immune (at this lvl, you only need a combined 30% resistance on your jewelry), and you gain magical defence which you lack as a str character. 61 will get you Hard fire protection lvl 3, which takes a considerable jump from lvl 2 (something like 41 increase to 70 increase)

Being a healer isnt for the person who wants to be the most "pwnage" on the server though we can compete very well. Reason for this is with force being one of your main masteries, you "miss out" so to speak on the high level buffs you will get from an offensive tree. That is a choice you have to make though.

Speed, Damage, Magic defence, and being a team player is why i chose what i did. I didnt go into weapon skills because that really wasnt the point of my reply, but its an alternative build that works well IMO.

[darkmaster21]

This is what i meant by "bandwagon-ish". Quite often i see people saying things like "autumn wind sux, forget about it" "Pure str only, if your not pure, you suck" "omg fire is the best imbue, waaay better damage, if you dont get it you will be weak". Most the time, the people just take what they have heard and believe it as absolute truth and preach to everyone even though they never took the time to experiment and try things for themselves, thus never creating an educated opinion on something...only a "grapevine" opinion. Which is why i asked how far you got your STR Hybrid bower so we can get an idea of the kind of experience you have with the build.

Ok, I know what you mean now but theres a difference of what you "heard" as what you said and the truth...you know what I'm saying, like I did "hear" that fire is best but in my opinion and experience it really is, Ice is good to some extent of it can freeze and frostbite but you can easily become immune to ice in PVP then it comes down to who does the most damage to win and obviously the person with fire would win because you ice wouldn't do anything to him but help your magical attack so thats why I recommend fire, I mean you can use Ice on PVE but is it REALLY worth ALL that SP just to kill some monsters?. Also about the Autumn Wind Series as I have stated twice above, its just not worth it when you attack more than 1 monster and when you attack just one monster it doesn't have any bonus to it but just a normal skill that boosts your attack on it. So its not worth waisting 10K SP for something that wont help you at all. So I'm not going with the crowd here I'm just stating the truth with my experiences not what I've "picked up" through hearing and reading.

Thanks for your comments everyone