Archery
| Archery | ||
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Basic Archery: increases the damage done by range attacking creatures by 10%. | |
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Advanced Archery: increases the damage done by range attacking creatures by 25%. | |
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Expert Archery: increases the damage done by range attacking creatures by 50%. | |
Archery is a secondary skill that increases the damage of ranged attacks, which also includes ballista and cannon 
. As opposed to slightly misleading in-game skill description Archery increases the base damage of ranged attacks by 10%, 25% or 50% depending on the level of the skill. This does not mean that the total damage (final damage) is necessarily increased by the same percentage, as it might also be increased by other factors, such as high Attack skill - compare damage formula.
Bug: The archery skill reduces damage done by arrow towers (fixed in Horn of the Abyss ).
Heroes with Archery as a starting skill:
Calh the Demoniac
Gelu the Ranger 
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Ivor the Ranger 
Jabarkas the Barbarian-
Jenova the Ranger (Advanced Archery) -
Kyrre the Ranger 
Valeska the Knight
Wystan the Beastmaster
Anabel the Captain 
Tancred the Mercenary (Advanced Archery)-
Wynona the Mercenary
Heroes with Archery as a specialty and a starting skill:
Artifacts affecting the skill:
Bow of Elven Cherrywood (+5%)
Bowstring of the Unicorn's Mane (+10%)
Angel Feather Arrows (+15%)
Bow of the Sharpshooter (+30%)
These percentages are applied to the base skill bonus -- e.g. the Bowstring will boost Basic Archery by 10% of its 10% for the total of 11% damage increase.
Chance to get
Out of total 112 for Shadow of Death, and of (112 + Interference chance) for Horn of the Abyss .
Banned skills change the probability.
| Town | Class | Chance to learn |
|---|---|---|
 Castle |
Knight | 5 |
| Castle |
Cleric | 3 |
 Rampart |
Ranger | 8 (highest) 
|
| Rampart |
Druid | 5 |
 Tower |
Alchemist | 5 |
| Tower |
Wizard | 2 (lowest) |
 Inferno |
Demoniac | 6 |
| Inferno |
Heretic | 4 |
 Necropolis |
Death Knight | 5 |
| Necropolis |
Necromancer | 2 (lowest) |
 Dungeon |
Overlord | 6 |
| Dungeon |
Warlock | 2 (lowest) |
 Stronghold |
Barbarian | 7 |
| Stronghold |
Battle Mage | 4 |
 Fortress |
Beastmaster | 7 |
| Fortress |
Witch | 3 |
 Conflux |
Planeswalker | 8 (highest)
|
| Conflux |
Elementalist | 2 (lowest) |
 Cove |
Captain | 9 (highest)
|
| Cove |
Navigator | 6 |
 Factory |
Mercenary | 7 |
| Factory |
Artificer | 4 |
Comparison to Attack skill
This table shows how much extra Attack skill the unit of the attacking hero would need, in order to reach the same effect in damage increasing as with the Archery skill ( = how much is the Archery skill worth in terms of attack), assuming no other damage modifiers - regardless of shooting distance.
| Archery skill / Difference between Attack skill and Defense skill | -20 | -19 | -18 | -17 | -16 | -15 | -14 | -13 | -12 | -11 | -10 | -9 | -8 | -7 | -6 | -5 | -4 | -3 | -2 | -1 | 0+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2 | 2,1 | 2,2 | 2,3 | 2,4 | 2,5 | 2,6 | 2,7 | 2,8 | 2,9 | 3 | 3,1 | 3,2 | 3,3 | 3,4 | 3,5 | 3,6 | 3,3 | 2,9 | 2,4 | 2 |
| Advanced | 5 | 5,2 | 5,5 | 5,7 | 6 | 6,2 | 6,5 | 6,7 | 7 | 7,2 | 7,5 | 7,7 | 8 | 7,6 | 7,2 | 6,9 | 6,5 | 6,1 | 5,7 | 5,4 | 5 |
| Expert | 10 | 10,5 | 11 | 11,5 | 12 | 12,5 | 13 | 13,2 | 13 | 12,7 | 12,5 | 12,2 | 12 | 11,7 | 11,5 | 11,2 | 11 | 10,7 | 10,5 | 10,2 | 10 |
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The usefulness of the Archery secondary skills depends on how much you rely on ranged units. It is very useful for towns with multiple shooters (e.g. Castle, Tower, or Dungeon). However, for towns whose primary attacking force is not ranged (Inferno, Fortress), Archery can also help by increasing the potential of Magogs or Lizardmen. Archery gives +50% bonus damage, which is significantly more in comparison with expert Offense which only gives +30%. This can give a significant increase in damage dealt by ranged attacks. Tower with Titans and Magi (and Master Gremlins), or Stronghold with Cyclops and Orcs are good examples of towns that may benefit greatly from choosing Archery. However, as the skill only affects ranged attacks, it can be entirely useless if the hero has no creatures capable attacking at range. For example Fortress has only one low tier – although quite powerful – ranged creature (Lizardman and Lizard Warrior), which makes Archery a rather less useful skill for Fortress heroes. There are also three artifacts that can increase the effect of archery: Bow of Elven Cherrywood, Bowstring of the Unicorn's Mane and Angel Feather Arrows. Although the increase is quite small, it can sometimes be enough to turn the tide of a battle. Golden Bow, as well as Bow of the Sharpshooter (a combination or super artifact found only in the Shadow of Death expansion) do not directly affect Archery skill, but they work well together with it. |