Distance Skill

General Info

• The distance skill is mainly used by archers, who advance the fastest at it.
  
• Distance damage is affected by a player's fighting stance, weapon attack value, distance skill and their Dexterity which is found on most archer equipment, bows and crossbows in the form of properties and the Dexterity attribute.
• Bows and Crossbows can only be used with Arrows and Bolts which are consumed with each hit.
• Distance weapons have 0 defense value, Bows and Crossbows are two-handed and can't be used with a shield, while other less popular (thrown) distance weapons can.
• All distance weapons attack at 2 second intervals.
• Bolts generally have higher attack values than their arrow counterparts, but strong bows can more than make up for the difference through their Properties and Attributes. Whether you use a bow or crossbow depends what stage of the game you are at and which weapon is the best in that range.
• Unlike melee strikes, distance attacks CAN miss, however they cannot be reduced by defense (Def) like melee strikes can, but they can still be reduced by the target's armor (Arm) (yellow sparks animation).
  • All distance weapons share the same hit-chance formula, with the base cap being 75% for one-handed distance weapons and 95% for bows and crossbows, this can be further increased by hit-chance increase properties found on many bows and crossbows.
  • Hit-chance depends on distance skill and actual distance from the creature in tiles/sqm and is lowest when you are in melee range with it or at the very end of your range.
  • Check the formulas section below to see the formula for hit-chance.
• Just like with Melee Skill training, you need to blood-hit your opponent at least once every 30 turns (60 seconds) to advance in distance skill as you keep hitting, and at least once every 15 turns (30 seconds) to advance in blocking at max speed while getting hit twice per turn. However, unlike melee skill which advances 1 skill try with every melee hit when training, distance fighting advances 2 skill tries if you deal damage to your target, and only 1 skill try if your attack is blocked or misses.
  • Distance skill advances more quickly than Melee Skill in general. The best weapon to use to train distance skill is the conjurable Ethereal Spear, and the best method is the Training Dummy which ensures fastest skill advancement due to having no armor to block your attacks.
• Thrown Distance Weapons, such as Spears or Throwing Stars are spent as ammunition, but do not need another item to be used to attack, some of them are consumed when used (or have a chance to break), while Spears simply drop to the ground to be picked up again. Their advantage is being one-handed meaning they can be used with a shield, however they are rarely used anymore except by beginners.
• Higher level archers (after having completed the Order of the Holy Rose) use the Arcane Marksmanship spell when teamhunting to increase their Spellpower and enable the use of Heavy Arrows and Heavy Bolts.
• Upon completion of the Demonic Faction, archers are promoted into Master Archers and receive a 5% boost to damage done using distance weapons.

Damage and Hit-chance Formulas

Like it is stated in the chapter about the Melee Skill, distance and melee fighting use different formulas for damage calculation.
Your base distance damage is determined by your fighting stance, your weapon's attack value, your distance skill and your total Dexterity, with experience Level playing a part in the minimum damage formula.

Maximum Damage Formula:

 Attack Factors:
 offensive = 1.0
 balanced = 1.2
 defensive = 2.0

 Max = (20 + (attackSkill^2 / 1600 * attackValue / attackFactor)) + (dexterity * 1.20)

Minimum Damage Formula:

 Min = (playerLevel / 5) + (Max * 0.20) + (dexterity * 0.80)

Hit-chance Formula:

 0sqm distance: Hit-chance = 40 + 0.33 * distanceSkill
 1sqm distance: Hit-chance = 50 + 0.44 * distanceSkill
 2sqm distance: Hit-chance = 50 + 0.55 * distanceSkill
 3sqm distance: Hit-chance = 40 + 0.66 * distanceSkill
 4sqm distance: Hit-chance = 40 + 0.66 * distanceSkill
 5sqm distance: Hit-chance = 40 + 0.55 * distanceSkill
 6sqm distance: Hit-chance = 35 + 0.44 * distanceSkill

 Capped at 75% for one-handed distance weapons and 95% for bows and crossbows (before hit-chance bonuses on weapons).

Skill Training:

You get 2 skill tries for each blood hit/damaging hit on your target when using distance weapons, and only 1 if you miss or your attack is blocked by the target's armor.

You need to blood-hit your opponent at least once every 30 turns (60 seconds) to advance in distance skill as you keep hitting, and at least once every 15 turns (30 seconds) to advance in blocking at max speed while getting hit twice per turn.

The best weapon to use for training as an archer is the conjurable Ethereal Spear which does not drop on the ground.

Skill:	Monster:	Location:	Info:
8+	Summoned Monk	-	Low-mid skilled players can train using an Ethereal Spear on Monks summoned using the Summon Creature spell.
8+	Other players	-	You can safely use other players for training as long as they have the right amount of armor and health (i.e. as long as you can bleed them often enough, but not damage them so much that you kill them if you go AFK).
8+	Training Dummy	-	Players of any skill or level can train on dummies using an Ethereal Spear. This is the best option as the dummy has no armor to block your attacks, which allows for faster distance skill training.

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