In Archero every attempt is unique. This is because you never know what skills you will choose from. There is a mystery around what each skill does and whether it is worth picking up. Well, fear not, for we have …
In Archero every attempt is unique. This is because you never know what skills you will choose from. There is a mystery around what each skill does and whether it is worth picking up. Well, fear not, for we have made a list of all the skills and ordered them from best to worst.
We reserve this section of our list for what we regard as must-haves. You should aim to have several skills if you want to make it to the level 50 mark.
Double Shot – Probably the best upgrade of the lot. This allows you to shoot two arrows, one after the other at your target acting as double damage. It is better than Front Arrow +1 because it’s more likely to land both arrows at a moving target.
Ricochet – This upgrade allows your arrow to hit multiple enemies, from one shot. If enemies are close together, then ricochet is at its most effective because it will bounce off each individual enemy. If you were to have a high rate of fire, then Ricochet is a game changer.
Front Arrow +1 – Shooting more arrows in a forward direction is a brilliant way to increase your damage. The only problem is that the arrows are side by side, meaning that the second arrow can often miss its mark. But a plus side is that the increased width of your shot allows you to shoot from behind cover.
Piercing Shot – The piercing shot upgrade allows for your arrows to travel through your enemies. Meaning that if you had a group of enemies chasing you, then you can fire and deal damage to them all like Ricochet. The downside is that if you do not align the enemies, then you won’t do any damage.
Wingman – This upgrade is a game changer, especially if you have found yourself a spirit (pet). A spirit is a ghostly entity that follows you around and deals damage to your enemies. But, if you get the Wingman upgrade then your spirit also acts as a shield, blocking all incoming damage.
Rage – This is one of those upgrades you want to grab and then forget you have. Rage deals more damage the weaker you get, which is a great boost in a tricky boss fight. However, I wouldn’t advise lowering your health on purpose to do more damage.
Attack Speed Up – A useful way to think about how much damage you are doing is to think about Damage per Second (DPS). Having a high rate of fire means you are dealing with a large amount of DPS, even if your base damage is low. Basically, the more arrows you fire the more damage you will do.
We reserve this section for upgrades that are better than the rest, but not as good as the ones mentioned above. Think of these skills as the ones to pick if none of the above is listed as an option.
Freeze – This skill is useful for enemies who like to move around a lot. Freeze reduces their movement speed temporarily and can even interrupt their attack animation. This skill does not help in terms of extra damage, but it can be a lifesaver.
Blaze – Setting fire to your enemies can only be a good thing right? This is the case in Archero, as your arrows deal burning damage for every single enemy they contact. It’s useful if you have little base damage to start with.
Invincibility Star – This can either be a useful life-saving skill or it can sit there and activate at the most pointless times. You do not get to control when this shield is on, and it only lasts for two seconds. It recharges every 10 seconds so remembering this could be enough to save you from serious trouble.
Diagonal Arrows – Shooting diagonal arrows can most of the time go unrewarded. This could be due to the layout of the room and the enemies. But, in those situations where enemies have spread apart, this skill can be a game changer.
Bouncy Walls – A skill like this only gets better with the more arrows you shoot. It allows any arrows that hit the wall to bounce back and deal extra damage to the room.
Side Arrows +1 – This can also be paired with bouncy walls or even diagonal arrows for maximum carnage. There are some rooms where having arrows soot sideways is a real time saver. But I wouldn’t worry too much if they aren’t doing any damage, just focus on not getting hit.
Fire and Frost Strike – I have lumped these two skills together because they are similar and effective. This skill summons a sword which attacks the enemy you are targeting.
Headshot – This is another skill that falls into the get and forget category. Headshot gives you a random chance to instantly kill any enemy. Sometimes you can go a room or two killing no one, other times it instantly kills two enemies in a row.
Attack Boost – I don’t think a lot of explaining needs to go on here. Grabbing this skill gives you overall increased damage. This skill is always useful, but one you can upgrade yourself in the main menu.
Crit Chance and Damage Up – Another skill that is self-explanatory. Every now and again, one of your shots deals around double damage. You can tell because this critical hit comes up in big red text. Choosing this skill increases your DPS and means you will crit more regularly.
HP Up – Increasing your total HP using this skill is useful for several reasons. The main one being you can take more damage before dying. But a more important one is it can allow you to do a trade with the devil for free. Not technically for free, as you will still have to pay with your health. But, free in terms of getting the health from one upgrade to then exchange it for another.
Shield Guard – Grabbing this skill will cause two shields to spin around your character at a constant speed. If timed correctly, these shields will block any projectiles coming towards you.
The skills in this section aren’t bad, but their impact is significantly less than the skills mentioned above. That’s not to say none of these skills will help you, they are just less desirable and effective than the two tiers above.
Bolt – Bolt allows a lightning chain to appear when enemies are close enough together. The bolt effect can damage multiple enemies however, this damage is not normally high. This skill is useful early in your lives, but in the later levels, it doesn’t have much of an effect.
Bloodthirst – This allows you to take a small amount of your enemies’ health and add it to your own. It only works when the enemy dies and you can upgrade how much health you take in the main menu.
Rear Arrow +1 – Some players like the ability to fire as many arrows as possible, however, shooting one behind you doesn’t seem too useful in most situations. If this arrow was bouncy, then maybe it would be more worthwhile.
Slow Projectile – Grabbing this skill forces whatever you shoot to slow to a snail’s pace. If you have Ricochet this could be a match made in heaven otherwise its similar to Freeze.
Poison – The Poison skill works just like Blaze, when your projectile contacts the enemy, they will take some damage. The enemy will take less damage from poison than Blaze, so if you are stuck between the two you know what to pick.
Water Walker and Brick Climber – I have only seen these two skills being offered by the devil, and they are both disappointing. In a map, they will block you off by brick walls or by puddles of water. Grabbing one of these skills allows you to travel over the water or bricks.
Fire, Ice, Poison and Lightning Circle – Each of these skills have the same effect, two orbs that rotate around you at a medium distance. The fire and ice circles are the better of the two, but I lumped them all together as they are all equally disappointing.
Ice, Fire, Poison and Lightning Swords – I like the fire sword as it covers a large area and deals decent damage. However, only grab one of these swords as a last resort because they are useless against strong enemies.
Spirit Section:
Below is a list of all the Spirit upgrades for your pet. I recommend upgrading yourself rather than your pet, these skills are listed in the order of usefulness:
Summon One-Eyed Bat – This skill allows you to spawn in your very own pet, the one-eyed bat. This bat will follow you around and deal damage for you, just remember he is now on your team.
Shadow Clone – Shadow Clone is a skill where every enemy you kill has a random chance to drop a clone that shoots for you. This clone is a stationary turret that targets random enemies. Useful in world 3 where multiple waves of enemies spawn in the same room.
Holy Touch – Holy Touch shoots two projectiles out of the corpse of your enemy. If these holes touch another enemy, then minimal damage is dealt.
Poison and Lightning Strike – Just as bad as each other in terms of minimal damage. Lightning at least chains to other enemies, whereas poison, is just for the enemies you directly hit.
Smart – Smart barely increases the amount of money you earn. In fact, they should rename this skill to “Stupid” as it changes nothing.
Death Bomb – A skill that gives off a small explosion on enemy death. Useful when enemies are bunched together in a big group, otherwise one to avoid.
Nova – Another skill that only happens on enemy death, it shoots out a small arrow in each direction which does minimal damage.
Strong Heart – Not a bad upgrade to choose if you are low on health, but does not do much. Doesn’t seem to increase the amount of health you gain by much.
