Archery
Archery is a secondary skill, that increases the damage of ranged attacks, which also included ballista.
Heroes with archery as a starting skill:
- Calh the Demoniac (basic)
- Ivor the Ranger (basic)
- Jabarkas the Barbarian (basic)
- Jenova the Ranger (advanced)
- Kyrre the Ranger (basic)
- Orrin the Knight (basic)
- Valeska the Knight (basic)
- Wystan the Beastmaster (basic)
Heroes with Archery specialty:
Artifacts affecting the skill:
Discussion
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 both Magi, and Stronghold with both 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 cabable of ranged attacks. For example Fortress only has only one low tier ranged creature (Lizardman and Lizard Warrior), which makes Archery a rather useless.
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.