Dilemna: Str or Hybrid Archer?

[JianMin]

Hi everyone,

I've searched the forum for advice on pure str and hybrid archers but I still can't make up my mind. I am lvl 35 with 127 str and 83 int with items and 84/50 balance. I somewhat screwed up being a pure str in the first 10 lvls so I have around 30 points into int that shouldnt be in there. I am wondering if I should stay on the str archer or go hybrid. I currently use fire for the buffs and imbue with standard archer skills.

My question is should I go hybrid or keep on pumping points into str? I realize that being a str archer will give me more hp and higher crit strikes but a more hybrid build will give me more overall dmg with imbue. I'm really stuck and don't know what to choose. I hear that Koreans love their hybrid archer builds and use it with ice for the slow effect. Any feedback would be appreciated. Don't worry, I already looked through the forum for info and I am not satisfied with what has been written.

JianMin

[klrp]

I'm not sure which is better for bow, hybrid or full str, but both can be good. At least your balances looks very good, you do good dmg with bow skills and because 50% mag balance your imbue gives better additional dmg for your attacks than full str. I would go hybrid, ~85/50 or ~90/45.

[4-n-zics]

Might want to read through this:

http://www.silkroadforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=7552

[Misaklo]

oh yes str archer all the way. unless yuo want a bit more magic dmg then like 11:4

[cuchulainn]

I haven't tested it personally, but I think archer's have the best potential for becoming hybrids. Bows have average mag and phys damage and since neither is too high or too low, I think a combination of both would be best as far as dealing damage goes for bow.

[JianMin]

I've already read that archer guide and imo, it sucks. It doesn't really explain to you WHY pure str archers are better and he only addresses an int heavy build hybrid or maybe even a pure int archer. The hybrid I am asking about is a 50/50 hybrid. Im guessing that as a 50/50 hybrid I would be doing alot of damage more regularely than any pure str archer out there because of the Mattack and having a balance of 70/70.

The only advantage a pure str archer would have on me is more HP and better crit strikes. My question about crits is as follows. How are crits EXACTLY calculated? Are they calculated souly by how much str you have? Or is Mattack added in there somehow. It's somewhat of a stupid question because if you notice when imbued and not imbued, the imbued crit strike does more damage (or so I think I have noticed that).

Another thing is that, EVERYONE says go pure str, go pure str! Most of these people are just following what their friends say or just in these forums. Unfortunately, not many people can give a good reason as to why I should go pure str instead of hybrid.

In the long run, my guildy believes that hybrid archers will do very well, esp form lvl 46 and beyond. I don't know how much damage I am supposed to be doing, per se. With antidevil bk2 lv1 and imbue at bk2 lv1, I do about 720 dmg reguarely. Sound too low? Sound high? I forgot to mention my masteries are at lv27, if anyone wanted to know. Any more advice would be much appreciated. I'm farming SP at the moment but I would like to know which way i should swing to.

JianMin

[ShizKnight]

I haven't tested it personally, but I think archer's have the best potential for becoming hybrids. Bows have average mag and phys damage and since neither is too high or too low, I think a combination of both would be best as far as dealing damage goes for bow.

IMO, the ability to bend on a bow is the worst, since it is the only skill tree that has crit adding abilities which are VERY useful.