[MaxFubar]

My lvl 18 archer is getting his @$$ handed to him by almost anything that's not completely sad and weak. Black wolves, White wolves, Red Spiders. I've been lvl'ing ranged skill and critical strike. Am I just not playing the character right? do I need better gear? All I have at the moment is a short bow. Any suggestions?

[EndlessDreams]

You should learn better tactics.
If you fail to shoot, (or will fail to shoot), are you using Counterattack?
You should try starting an attack with a Magnum shot instead of regular ranged shot.

If your total level is 18, maybe you shouldn't play with Black/White Wolves yet. Maybe they are too strong?

There are archer guides in Youtube that can help you out.
Or the guide section of this forums.
Like Beginners Ranged Guide

[Tarvos]

you should just try doing a lot of ciar beginner runs. That's the best way to start off, the monsters are easy, the golem would probably be easy, but if you don't want to fight it, just leave the dungeon and come back.

[rokaraged]

for level 18 your too weak to handle anything higher than gray wolves atm.

Archery early on is frustrating but its a rewarding step, just keep training you'll find yourself sniping people out of the arena sooner or later.

[MaxFubar]

I managed to get by on 5 black wolves, the giant spider quest still kicked my tail, but yeah, standard RPG stuff, kill mobs, lvl up, it'll pay off later.

[MaxFubar]

Also, need help on armor. I don't have anything that really boosts my armor rating. What's a good beginner armor for an archer. Other gear suggestions as well would be appreciated.

[Impeh]

Armor doesn't help much. Just don't get hit

[Esharp]

Armor does help with some things a bit later, (like ship rats) but you'd need heavy ones with upgrades. Stick with a beginner's clothing for a while until you save enough to buy and maintain one.

[MaxFubar]

10-4 on all the above. Thanks everyone.

[Phoenix~Lament]

Get a better bow than a shortbow. Namely, anything else, though Leather Longbows are the most popular.

Ehh.. try mixing archery with magic, because magic is essentially archery with a 100% accuracy rate which will provide a buffer incase you miss an arrow. Also, counter is your best friend when you're still getting used to Mabi's combat system, meaning you can start off with a magnum, miss (or hit) a quick ranged shot and then have enough time to put up counter, or if you hit your second shot, you'll have enough time to charge an icebolt before the enemy gets to you, leaving you with more options like following up into a zeroshot string or an ice counter string.

If you don't know ice counter or magic counter, look it up on Youtube, namely Sen's tutorials. Archery's worth it in the end; just look at any high level archer with high archery ranks. Good luck on the path of the Archer~ xD