The Archer is the roster's dedicated ranged physical damage class, and the only one besides the Ranger that can fire a bow on auto-attack. The official archetype phrase is High-Mobility Marksman Tinkerer, and the tinkerer half is not decoration: an Archer's traps are crafted items made through Tinkering, and several of its signature shots need arrowheads made through Fletching. It fights entirely without magic.
Field | Detail |
|---|---|
Archetype | High-Mobility Marksman Tinkerer |
Roles | Ranged DPS |
Playable races | |
Armor and weapons | Bow as the primary weapon. Physical ranged damage with no magic. Earlier class documentation, written before the 2026 rework, describes Archers as wearing leather armor, wielding all ranged weapons and most melee weaponry. |
Rework status | Detailed rework published and shipped to the closed beta servers in update 0.25.0.0 on June 7 2026 |
Identity and role
An Archer is defined by loadout and positioning rather than by a rotation. The stated direction for the class is more physical skill and technique, more loadout-driven play, and more planning and positioning, with less magic, fewer elemental abilities and less passive or automatic damage. The tools reflect that. Specialty arrowheads cover explosive tips, entangling nets and concealing smoke. Traps such as caltrops, nets and bombs are meant to feel crafted and mechanical rather than foraged the way a Ranger's field skills are. A quick volley while repositioning, a backward leap and a temporary concealment that empowers the first shot round out the kit.
High Ground is a trait rather than an ability: damage dealt with a bow is increased when you are above your target. It is granted from the start at present, and the team has said this may change in a future revision to the Traits system.
Playable races
The Archer is open to Deep Elf, Goblin, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Ogre and Wood Elf.
That list covers the full designed race roster. The High Elf is designed but is not among the races playable at Early Access launch on October 1 2026, so the practical choice at launch is the remainder of the list.
Traps and Tinkering
Trap abilities are learned through Tinkering rather than bought as scrolls. Schematics are sold by the spell merchant, and right-clicking the crafted trap teaches the matching ability. The schematics are Archer-only and do not require significant investment into the Tinkering skill. Using a trap ability requires a trap in your inventory as a reagent, but it has only a 5% chance of being consumed. Caltrops is the exception and is still learned from an ability scroll.
Trap | Effect |
|---|---|
Caltrops | Area snare plus Physical Damage over time. Still learned from an ability scroll rather than a Tinkering schematic. |
Oil Trap | Fire Damage, detonated with Flare. It is no longer consumed by being stepped on. |
Immobilizing Trap | Immobilises the first target that triggers it, with a reduced chance of breaking on damage. |
Alarm Trap | New. Notifies you of targets entering the area. No damage and no threat, which makes it a scouting tool. |
Poison Gas Trap | New. Poison Damage in a tight area when stepped on. |
Smoke Bomb Arrow, Flare and Net Shot each need specialty arrows crafted with Fletching. Those arrows can be kept in the quiver and used without being equipped in the ammo slot, so they do not compete with your normal ammunition. See Items and Equipment for how the quiver, ammo and belt slots work.
Stances
Deadeye used to be a stance. After the rework there are two stances, and they are the main loadout decision an Archer makes before a fight.
Stance | Effect | When it is used |
|---|---|---|
Skirmisher | Slight Movement Speed increase, reduced Strafing Barrage cooldown, reduced cast time on all abilities. | The first stance you get while levelling, and the solo pick. |
Marksman | Increases Piercing Shot and Splintering Shot damage and grants ranged attacks and abilities a chance to Critical Hit. | Obtained later. Better when you can hold a position. |
Shots and attacks
Ability | Effect |
|---|---|
Piercing Shot | The renamed Aimed Shot. Damage is increased in Marksman stance. |
Splintering Shot | The renamed Multishot, with improved damage. |
Net Shot | The renamed Pinning Shot. The minimum range is gone and the wall requirement has been removed for good. |
Point Blank | New. Instant, no minimum range, lower damage. New Archers start with it. |
Barbed Arrow | New. Weapon Ratio Damage plus Bleed Damage every few seconds, stacking up to three times. Shares a cooldown with Quick Shot and Point Blank. |
Quick Shot | Deals increased damage while you are concealed by Sniper's Blind. |
Smoke Bomb Arrow | New. Blinds the target and nearby targets. Requires a bow and a Smoke Bomb Arrow. |
Strafing Barrage | Deals Weapon Ratio Damage four times. Usable while moving, though you must still face the target. |
Flare | One of only two things in the game that negates Stealth, and the detonator for the Oil Trap. |
Mobility and concealment
Ability | Effect |
|---|---|
Sniper's Blind | Conceals you, described as virtually undetectable. Quick Shot deals increased damage while concealed. |
Relocate | A short combination of Sprint and Stealth. |
Disengagement | Pre-existing and unchanged by the rework. |
Cooldowns
Cooldown | Effect |
|---|---|
Flurry of Arrows | Resets Barbed Arrow, Point Blank and Quick Shot, increases Ranged Attack Speed as a Tertiary haste, and resets that trio a second time when it ends. |
Anticipate | Grants a 100% chance to dodge incoming melee attacks. It is now dodge-based where it used to be parry-based. |
Deadeye | A late-game cooldown that increases all Ranged Damage. No longer a stance. |
What the rework changed
Class details below come from the ability rework that rolled onto the closed beta servers through 2026. The developers state plainly that there is a high probability some aspects will change before they reach the beta servers, so treat specific ability behaviour as a snapshot of the beta build rather than a settled launch state.
One claim on the class page did not survive contact with the combat system. The page describes an Archer as able to fire at a reduced speed while moving. The rework states plainly that this did not entirely pan out with the way the combat system works, and it was replaced by the Strafing Barrage line, which is usable while moving but must still face the target. Treat firing while moving as a specific ability rather than a general property of the class.
Distracting Shot, Purging Arrow, Scatter Shot and Illuminating Shot were removed.
Playing an Archer in a group
An Archer contributes damage from range, applies Bleed, which is one of the game's cross-class mechanics shared with the Rogue and with Beastmaster pets, and carries the only non-pet answer to enemy Stealth. In practice the class also brings a pulling toolkit through traps and shot range, which matters in a game built around camping and pulling in shared zones rather than running instanced content. See Combat for the targeting and auto-attack basics, and Grouping for how experience and loot are shared.
Because bow auto-attack is limited to Archers and Rangers, anyone else who wants to shoot a bow or throw a dagger has to use the Shoot or Throw ability instead. That is one of the clearest mechanical reasons to bring an Archer. See Classes for how the class sits against the rest of the roster.