After City State Entertainment (CSE) introduced the first of its ten class archetypes of Camelot Unchained last week, the Devout (Mage/Healer hybrid), this time we learn more about the three classes of the Archers, one of three Stealth archetypes of the RvR MMORPG.
The Archer is intended for players who want to fill the traditional role of a ranger-like class, rather than that of a magical archer as seen in many other MMORPGs. In Camelot Unchained, arrows do not automatically target – like guided missiles – but must be manually aimed considering the field of fire, angle of shot, movement of opponents, and so on.
The Archer is divided into the following three distinct classes:
Blackguard
The Blackguard (Arthurian) are an elite unit of King Arthur, named for their dark clothing. They possess the strongest and furthest shooting bows in the game and can deal devastating damage if they focus on a shot for a long time. The more armored a piece of equipment, the less damage arrows inflict on its wearer. Thus, the Blackguard are specifically trained to find and exploit the weak points in armor, allowing their arrows to penetrate even the thickest armor. Of all three classes, they resemble the classic Archer the most.
Shadow Stalker
The Shadow Stalker (Tuatha Dé Danann) are masters of camouflage. Therefore, they receive a bonus to the camouflage system in the forests controlled by their realm. As shooters of the forest, they have a close relationship with nature. This is rewarded by always receiving a free supply of new arrows in their native forests and being able to obtain deadly poisons to enhance them. They may not shoot their arrows as far or as hard as their two counterparts, but they do so much faster. Additionally, with the help of plants, they are also capable of ensnaring and damaging their opponents, making them excellent crowd controllers.
Winter’s Shadow
The Winter’s Shadow (Vikings) makes its home in the cold and snow-covered regions of the Vikings. This gives it a movement bonus on snowy terrain, both on foot and while skiing. Unlike the other two archers, it is less focused on long-range combat and more on medium and close-range combat. Although all three archers can use swords, axes, and other weapons as secondary weapons, the Winter’s Shadow also has fitting abilities, such as a shield strike that can keep its opponents at bay. Its speed in weapon swapping and loading new arrows allows it to continuously move while fighting and deal decent damage. This makes it the perfect skirmisher.
Well disguised, but far from invisible!
The trio of Archers is the first of several stealth archetypes that will exist in Camelot Unchained. The three already known stealth mechanics of the game work differently than those in many MMORPGs.
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- Arturians in Rüstung ohne…
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- …und mit zusätzlichem Camouflage.
Thus, the camouflage system is not true invisibility, but works more like camouflage in real life. With it, one can walk through forests or other areas in the game without being seen from a distance.
Another use of camouflage is that one can quietly find a spot to hide until the first target passes by. This could provide the three archers with the perfect opportunity for the opening strike. After that, however, camouflage loses its situational usefulness, as one becomes much easier to detect by their opponents after the first attack.
The camouflage system will be available to all classes, but only archers have magical abilities to further perfect the camouflage. This is an important distinction, as camouflage armor – without the magical bonuses of the archers – is essentially just an additional clothing option that can help in the right situation, but it is nothing close to stealth, invisibility, and other stealth types known from other MMORPGs.
