Archer

With a bow in hand and a quiver on his back, the archer strikes at the enemy from afar. In Eorzea, two schools of archery have risen to prominence: that of the longbow sentries of the Elezen military, and that of the shortbow hunters among the Miqo'te.
Archers constantly assess the battlefield in order to determine the most advantageous ground from which to loose their arrows, as well as the nature of the shaft, point, and fletching best suited to their foe. It is said that master archers are capable of showering their targets with a veritable deluge of death well before a counterattack can ever be mounted.

— FinalFantasyXIV.com Archer

Archer (ARC) is one of six starting DPS classes and the only starting Physical Ranged DPS. It upgrades to Bard at level 30.

General information

Guild

The Archers' Guild is in New Gridania. If you choose archer as your first class, you will start off in the city of Gridania. At level 30, archers must specialize into bard.

Equipment

The archer is a disciple of war and wears armor "of Aiming." They use bows as weapons. The following crafting classes can create items that are useful to the archer:

Carpenter — Bows.
Leatherworker — Aiming armor.
Goldsmith — Earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings.

Hunting Log

See archer hunting log.

Quests

Quest	Level	Quest Giver	Unlocks	Rewards
Way of the Archer	1	Athelyna	Archer	1 Weathered Shortbow 5 Braised Pipira
My First Bow	1	Luciane
A Matter of Perspective	5	Luciane		1 Maple Shortbow Options: 1 Custom-made Tunic 1 Leather Eyepatch 1 Fingerless Leather Gloves 1 Copper Gorget 5 Allagan Tin Piece
Training with Leih	10	Luciane		1 Plumed Maple Shortbow Options: 1 Leather Jacket 1 Bronze Sallet 1 Hempen Bracers 1 Hard Leather Caligae 2 Allagan Bronze Piece
Violators Will Be Shot	15	Luciane	Repelling Shot	1 Ash Shortbow Options: 1 Cotton Tabard 1 Hunting Hat 1 Fingerless Hard Leather Gloves 1 Hard Leather Crakows 3 Allagan Bronze Piece
To Catch a Poacher	20	Luciane		1 Elm Velocity Bow Options: 1 Goatskin Jacket 1 Iron Sallet 1 Goatskin Armguards 1 Goatskin Leg Guards 5 Allagan Bronze Piece
Homecoming	25	Luciane		1 Wrapped Elm Longbow Options: 1 Velveteen Shirt 1 Altered Velveteen Bandana 1 Fingerless Goatskin Gloves 1 Goatskin Crakows 2 Allagan Silver Piece
The One That Got Away	30	Luciane	Windbite Archer (New Game+) Archer Adventurer Plate	1 Ash Cavalry Bow Options: 1 Toadskin Jacket 1 Steel Sallet 1 Toadskin Armguards 1 Toadskin Leg Guards 3 Allagan Silver Piece

Actions

PvE actions

Action	Acquired		Level	Type	Casting	Recast	Range Radius	Description
Heavy Shot	ARC		1	Weaponskill	Instant	2.5s	25y 0y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 160. Additional Effect: 20% chance of granting Hawk's Eye Duration: 30s
Straight Shot	ARC		2	Weaponskill	Instant	2.5s	25y 0y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 200. Can only be executed when under the effect of Hawk's Eye
Raging Strikes	ARC		4	Ability	Instant	120s	0y 0y	Increases damage dealt by 15%. Duration: 20s
Venomous Bite	ARC		6	Weaponskill	Instant	2.5s	25y 0y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: Venom Potency: 15 Duration: 45s
Bloodletter	ARC		12	Ability	Instant	15s	25y 0y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 110. Maximum Charges: 2
Repelling Shot	ARC	1	15	Ability	Instant	30s	15y 0y	Jump 10 yalms away from current target. Cannot be executed while bound.
Quick Nock	ARC		18	Weaponskill	Instant	2.5s	12y 12y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 110 to all enemies in a cone before you. Additional Effect: 20% chance of granting Hawk's Eye Duration: 30s
Wide Volley	ARC		25	Weaponskill	Instant	2.5s	25y 5y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 140 to target and enemies near it. Barrage Potency: 220 Can only be executed while under the effect of Hawk's Eye.
Windbite	ARC	1	30	Weaponskill	Instant	2.5s	25y 0y	Deals wind damage with a potency of 60. Additional Effect: Wind damage over time Potency: 20 Duration: 45s
Barrage	ARC		38	Ability	Instant	120s	0y 0y	Grants Barrage, allowing the use of Straight Shot and Wide Volley. Upon execution, Straight Shot will strike the selected target three times, while Wide Volley's potency will be increased to 220. Duration: 10s

Limit Breaks

Action	Acquired	Level	Type	Casting	Recast	Range Radius	Description
Big Shot	Physical Ranged DPS	1	Limit Break Level 1	2s	Instant	25y 30y	Delivers an attack that deals 54% the damage of Braver to all targets in a straight line.
Desperado	Physical Ranged DPS	1	Limit Break Level 2	3s	Instant	25y 30y	Delivers an attack that deals 117% the damage of Braver to all targets in a straight line.
Sagittarius Arrow	ARC	1	Limit Break Level 3	4.5s	Instant	25y 30y	Delivers an attack that deals 189% the damage of Braver to all targets in a straight line.

Physical Ranged DPS actions

Action	Acquired	Level	Type	Casting	Recast	Range Radius	Description
Leg Graze	Physical Ranged DPS	6	Ability	Instant	30s	0y 0y	Inflicts target with Heavy +40%. Duration: 10s
Second Wind	Melee DPS Physical Ranged DPS	8	Ability	Instant	120s	0y 0y	Instantly restores own HP. Cure Potency: 800
Foot Graze	Physical Ranged DPS	10	Ability	Instant	30s	0y 0y	Binds target. Duration: 10s Cancels auto-attack upon execution. Target unbound if damage taken.
Peloton	Physical Ranged DPS	20	Ability	Instant	5s	0y 30y	Increases movement speed of self and nearby party members as long as they remain within distance. Duration: 30s Effect ends when enmity is generated. Cannot be used in battle.
Head Graze	Physical Ranged DPS	24	Ability	Instant	30s	25y 0y	Interrupts the use of a target's action.
Arm's Length	Melee DPS Physical Ranged DPS Tank	32	Ability	Instant	120s	0y 0y	Creates a barrier nullifying most knockback and draw-in effects. Duration: 6s Additional Effect: When you are struck by a physical attack, the striker will be afflicted with Slow +20% Duration: 15s

Traits

PvE traits

Trait	Acquired	Level	Effect
Heavier Shot	ARC	2	Adds to Heavy Shot a 20% chance to grant Hawk's Eye. Duration: 30s
Increased Action Damage	ARC	20	Increases base action damage by 10%.
Increased Action Damage II	ARC	40	Increases base action damage by 20%.

Jobs

The archer must specialize into BRD, a DPS job.

Core mechanics

The archer offers a decent single-target damage by upkeeping critical hit buffs.

Straight Shot - Delivers an attack with a potency of 200.
Venomous Bite - Delivers an attack with a potency of 100.
Quick Nock - Delivers an attack with a potency of 110 to all enemies in a cone before you.

Venomous Bite is an action that assists with damage-over-time, while Quick Nock is an option for AoE damage.

Achievements

This class is associated with the following achievements:

Name	Points	Task	Reward	Patch
Just Talkin' 'bout Shafts I	5	Achieve archer level 10.	-	2.0
Just Talkin' 'bout Shafts II	5	Achieve archer level 20.	-	2.0
Just Talkin' 'bout Shafts III	5	Achieve archer level 30.	-	2.0
Just Talkin' 'bout Shafts IV	5	Achieve archer level 40.	-	2.0
Just Talkin' 'bout Shafts V	5	Achieve archer level 50.	-	2.0
Just Talkin' 'bout Shafts VI	5	Achieve archer level 60.	-	3.0
Just Talkin' 'bout Shafts VII	5	Achieve archer level 70.	-	4.0
Just Talkin' 'bout Shafts VIII	5	Achieve archer level 80.	-	5.0
Just Talkin' 'bout Shafts IX	5	Achieve archer level 90.	-	6.0
Just Talkin' 'bout Shafts X	5	Achieve archer level 100.	-	7.0