Fulfill your lifelong dreams of jump-kicking an enemy in the face before vaulting back and shooting it with an arrow by playing the Archer class in Dragon's Dogma 2. Not only is this Vocation recommended as one of the best starting classes by Game Director Hideaki Itsuno, but Archer remains a solid choice for your player character — at least until you unlock some of the more advanced options exclusive to your Arisen player character. Here's a look at the best way to build your Archer for optimize their role.
Archer Build
While not the best damage-focused class at overall DPS, Archer puts up solid numbers with a unique ranged toolkit that can set up deadly combos with other classes. If you don't like magic or melee, then Archer is a great option, and its gameplay stands out as a bit unique compared to many other classes. Players with a strong trigger finger who are adept at aiming for weak points can find a lot to love. The basic Archer attack Loose auto-aims at nearby enemies regardless of range, so you don't need to worry about aiming. But if you use Steady Shot to aim your bow carefully, you'll do more damage, especially when targeting an enemy's weak points. This is arguably the most effective way to target fast and/or flying enemies that may otherwise be hard to reach. Steady Shot also doesn't cost any Stamina, so you should use this often and pair it with other arrow-based skills (which will consume a bit of Stamina).
Front Kick and Leaping Punt can launch you backward away from enemies, allowing you to combo with Parting Shot to fire an arrow mid-air, and you should use these often to avoid taking damage since Archer is one of the squishier Vocations. Torrent Shot and the upgraded version Tempest Shot is your best option for burst damage, firing a series of arrows almost like a turret. On the flip side, Dire Arrow and Deathly Arrow is a powerful single shot that knocks down or pins smaller targets to deal a lot of damage.
Blighting Shot and later Nocuous Shot are excellent since they inflict the blight poison effect directly to the target, gradually sapping HP. We prefer that to Exploding and Erupting Shot (which are also great) mainly because anything that explodes will also damage nearby allies. Other arrows might tar or drench nearby enemies, but those similarly can damage allies. While they do set up your magic users for great combos, they're somewhat difficult to control consistently.
For Augments, the Archer's Ambuscade boosts damage dealt to enemies who aren't in active combat yet and Lethality increases damage to the target's vitals. These stack to give you a hefty boost when sniping enemies to begin a battle. Dip into Thief to get Subtlety to reduce the likelihood of being targeted by foes and Gratification to restore health when you get kills. Verve from Thief will also offer a straight-up boost to strength and, therefore, damage. The Magick Archer's Voracity also restores a bit of Stamina when you get a kill, which is arguably more useful than Gratification.
Best Team Comp
You can adventure with up to three Pawns in Dragon's Dogma 2. You should consider your allies carefully since they'll help balance your overall party composition and cover your Archer's weaknesses. Since you're a squishy damage dealer, having a Fighter tank to taunt enemies is a must, and a Mage healer is also very helpful. If you want to experiment with your Archer's combo abilities, namely Tarring Shot and Torrent Shot, consider a Sorcerer who can use magic to enhance the potential effects.
Best Archer Armor
Below, you'll find some of the best armor pieces for your Archer, whether you or one of your Pawns. We've included three for each primary slot (for the early-, mid-, and late-game) along with info about where to get them.
- Plumed Cap (Head) - Bought from Bjorn’s Armory in Vernworth for 3900 gold
- Aerie's Watch (Head) - Bought from Celeste's Smithy in Checkpoint Rest Town for 8900 gold
- Galewind Helm (Head) - Bought from various smithies and armories for 34800 gold
- Brigand's Vest (Body) - Bought from the Borderwatch Outpost for 735 gold
- Lamellar Armor (Body) - Bought from Bjorn’s Armory in Vernworth for 12400 gold
- Majestic Armor (Body) - Bought from Bodas's Armor in Bakbattahl for 35000 gold
- Combat Breeches (Legs) - Bought from Bjorn’s Armory in Vernworth for 3200 gold
- Sprinter's Boots (Legs) - Bought from Bjorn’s Armory in Vernworth for 7900 gold
- Eagle-Eye Cuisses (Legs) - Bought from Bay Wayside Shrine for 56700 gold
Best Archer Weapons
As you continue on your adventures, you can discover or buy better bows for your Archer. We've included seven of our favorites listed in the order that you are likely to discover or purchase them. Especially if you go out of your way to track down the free Myfyr, then feel free to skip the Bespoke Bow. If you're looking to save some gold, the Savage Fang isn't all that much stronger than the Myfyr either, and it has significantly less Knockdown. Predator and Dinistrydd are comparable in overall stats. The former has lower overall strength but higher Knockdown. The Revenant Wail, however, outclasses them both.
- Hunter's Bow - Bought from Roderick's Smithy in Vernworth for 4240 gold
- Bespoke Bow - Bought from Roderick's Smithy in Vernworth for 10500 gold
- Myfyr - Found in the Forgotten Tunnel 1F in a tunnel left from the main entrance leading to a dead end.
- Savage Fang - Bought from Roderick's Smithy in Vernworth for 17800 gold
- Predator - Purchase from Awaran's Arms in Bakbattahl for 33500 gold
- Dinistrydd - Purchase from Grisha's Armory in Sacred Arbor for 38900 gold
- Revenant Wail - Purchase from the Volcanic Island Armory for 55000 gold
