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If you’ve ever dreamed of melting enemies from the shadows with a bow inTainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, this Archer build delivers just that. This is more than your typical sneak and shoot build, and with the right stats, weapons, and gear, you’ll chain headshots, unleash magical arrows, and keep entire mobs frozen in place while staying mobile.
Below, we’ll walk you through how to unlock the Archer path, which stats and skills to prioritize, and the best bows, armor, and accessories to grab from early game to endgame.
Build Overview
Most archers lean into Dexterity, but this buildmixes in Strengthto wield heavy bows like the Giant Bow and Thunderous Great Bow. It’s a high-damage, flexible setup that balancesstealth, crits, and AoEwhile keeping you fast and mobile with stamina and draw-speed perks.
Instead of playing it safe with light armor and pure stealth, this archer build takes amore aggressive approachthat snipes key targets, freezing or bleeding groups, and keeps up pressure with nonstop shots. It plays more like aranged assassinthan a glass cannon.
How To Unlock The Archer
To unlock the Archer archetype, pay attention to your dialogue choicesduring the opening prison sequence. When the guard asks what you were doing before your capture, choose“I was hunting.”Then follow up with“I… use the fur to make clothes.”This unlocks the Archer starting path and grants youearly bonusesto these skills: +3 Archery, +3 Medium Armor, +3 Sneak, +3 Athletics, and +3 Evasion. You’ll also gain ahuge bonusto Handcrafting (+9) and unlock leather armor recipes, which sets you up with some useful gear from the start. It’s a great foundation for an early ranged build, and gives you room to branch out intoStrength or Spiritualitylater depending on your bow of choice.
1
Dexterity
Primary stat for ranged damage, attack speed, and reduced noise during movement.
2
Perception
Improves critical hit chance and damage, as well assneak attack strength.
3
Increasesstamina pool and regeneration.
4
Strength
Required to wield heavier bows like the Giant Bow. It also adds to overall stamina capacity.
5
Spirituality
Supports the use ofmagical bowsand abilities, such as the Rapid Shooter’s Mixture for increased draw speed.
6
Practicality
Lets youcraft more efficientlyand increases resource management.
This spread lets you equipevery major bow, Hex, Giant, Thunderous, and gear like theBaldcate Tunicand Camouflage Net. Dexterity and Perception stack formassive critsand weak spot damage, while Endurance keeps your stamina up during long fights. Strengthunlocks heavy bowsearlier than usual, and a few points in Spirituality let you sustainRapid Shooter’s Mixturefor rapid volleys. Practicality isessential for crafting arrowson the fly and getting the most out of your resources in each zone.
Bows
Strong Arm of the Bowmaster, Marksman, Strong Back, Rack them Up, Proper Draw Techniques, Lucky Shot, Deadly Aim
Crafting & Trading
Mercantile Skills, Reusable Resource, Crafty
Take aseat at a bonfire, go straight to Dexterity. Strong Arm of the Bow Master, Marksman, and Strong Backare must haves. They boost your raw bow damage, increase draw speed, and reduce stamina costs per shot. Marksman alsorefunds arrowson critical hits. Strong Back additionally gives youfaster follow-up shotsafter a kill, making it easier to clean up groups.
In the Perception tree, grab Silent Hunter toboost sneak damageand stack critical hit bonuses early. Perks tied to critical strike chance, bonus crit damage, and bleed effects work well withfast and precise playstyles, especially when paired with the Composite or Thunderous bows. Don’t skip Stamina on Kill from Endurance either, as this keeps your mobility andfiring rate highduring fights. Finally, a few points in Practicality give access to Reusable Resources, which lets youcraft arrows faster, and Increased Damage to Ailmented Targets for elemental arrows like Chill or Burn.
If you have the points, you canpick up Critical Aegisto give you extra defense when landing crits, and Swift and Fierce, whichboosts attack speedafter dodging.
Spells
Although we aren’ta magic build, some spellssynergize perfectlywith the Archer. Hailstorm, a cold, tier one spell,stacks Frostwith its bolts and canchill enemiesquickly. It’s great for softening up foes before a heavy arrow, and is one of the best spells to pick up early game. Byspamming its light version, you can keep enemies under control while staying safely at range.
Blood Transfusion adds sustainto your kit. The light cast applies Bleed, while the heavy versiondrains health from enemiesto heal you. It’s great for staying alive during long fights.Pair it with Frost effectsto soften up enemies, land clean shots, and heal off the damage without needing to swap to melee or use consumables.
A very powerful consumable to grab, though not essential, isRapid Shooter’s Mixture, a potion that grants+100 percent bow draw speedat the cost of five mana per second. This is a huge DPS boost, letting you fire arrows at machine-gun speed. To sustain it, we use Arcane Weaver’s Prisma, whichrestores two mana per second, and dip a few points into Spirituality toincrease our mana.
Gear
Gear plays a huge role in how effective your Archer build is, from lightweight armor thatboosts stamina and stealth, high-damage bows, and accessories that ramp up crit damage orreduce draw time. In this section, we’ll break down the best armor, weapons, and jewelry to help you stay deadly and effective.
Armor
Early on, you’ll want toprioritize medium armor piecesthat boost ranged damage and dexterity without sacrificing mobility.The Hunting Set, found in Act One (via open-world chests or looted enemies), offers a solid+10 percent ranged damage bonus. Complement this withArcher’s Quicken Glovesto improve bow draw speed. These pieces combine good protection (around three to four armor) with utility for our playstyle.
As you move deeper into the world, seek out theAssassin’s Armor Set. It’s beefier medium armor that doubles down onstealth and critical damage. You can find parts of this set, Helmet, Tunic, Gloves, Trousers, Boots, by defeating the assassinSilent Silia at the Abandoned Strongholdin Horns of the South. This set grants a massive+30 percent to Sneak Damageacross all pieces. It’s an ideal set for an archer who focuses on stealth and critical hits.
By mid to late-game, you’ll want gear that keeps scaling with your highDexterity and Perception. Legendary medium sets likeWaning Moon or Crow(found in Act One through reinforced chests or unique NPC drops) offer powerful conditional bonuses likeincreased mana regenor a boost to ranged critical chance. With improved survivability and utility, these sets let you dodge, crowd control, and deliver burst damage whilekeeping your build effectivefrom start to finish.
Weapons
Beyond early gamebows from questsand drops, thefirst key weaponworth grabbing is the Hex Bow, which can be found early in a tower (location may shift based on patch, so check multiple towers near the Horns of the South). Thisbow scales welland is easy to equip with just a couple of points in Dexterity and Spirituality. It’ll carry you through the early game thanks to itsconsistent damage outputand accessibility.
Next up is the Composite Bow, praised for itsspeed and single-targetoutput. It’s found in the main town, located in a tower you can reachearly in Act One. Fast draw speed and solid scaling make this a reliable pick for regular encounters. As you get stronger, upgrade to theThunderous Great Bow, which requires five Strength, four Dexterity, and four Spirituality. It can be found at the far end of theSunken Village, up a tower. This bow is made to delete priority targets withbig crits, especially when used with stealth or opening volleys.
Lastly, forAoE or crowd control, you’ll want the Giant Bow, which needsnine Strength and three Dexterityto equip. It’s located in a chest atop theHunter’s Camp tower. This bow is made to hit clustered enemies and works great alongsidefreeze or bleed effects. Pair these with the Tide Piercer, a magical hybrid bow dropped by a dungeon boss under theScrew Hideout.
It fires shockwaves at any range, helping you handle flying enemies or land safe hits behind cover.
Jewelry And Relics
For jewelry and relics, we wantdraw speed, crit damage, and sustain. First up is the Perilous Orb, a ring thathelps reduce bow draw, and you can find it in a ruined chest in Ruined Broch. Another great option is the Archer’s Ring. Itboosts ranged crit chanceand is found on a shipwreck off the coast ofAsylum Island.
If you miss that ring, theRing of Toughnessis another good choice, awarded automatically after leaving the Asylum. It’s helpful for managing encumbrance and stamina while your stats are still developing.
Another great ring, although difficult to find, is Marksman’s Treasure. It increases ranged critical chance by 25 percent.
On the amulet side, early on, Kol’s Finger Necklace provides useful bonuses formana and draw speed. Later in the game, this is upgraded to the Arcane Weaver’s Prisma, whichregenerates two mana per second, for the Rapid Shooter’s Mixture potion. This combination gives your buildconsistent uptime on rapid firewithout relying on consumables.
As for relics, the Starborn Egg gives aflat ten percent weapon damage boostacross the board. It’s found in ahidden chestinside the Ancient Cave and is one of themost straightforwarddamage increases you may get. Another strong option is the Blood-Tainted Shell, whichrestores ten HP after every kill. This relic drops from the boss deep inside theBlood Lake dungeonand helps you live through tougher fights without constantly relying on potions.
