Build presentation
The build I present to you is a PVE one, working well to farm in locations like Kingdom of Elements or in astral party and it's also good enough for raids and PvP events like skermishes and AoD (despite I got Greatness, I only use this build for everything I do!), even if it isn't surely the best one.
I've choosen this build in particular because it grants me a big amount of DPS on single target without forgetting some dots and cc to deal with enemies much stronger than me.
I've always liked this class. I've playing it since the very beginning of my adventure on Allods,
even when it was transformed in a pretty useless one, with low survival chances and with a DPS worse than warriors and mages.
First of all, some suggestion about equipment: some time ago I read Oracle's article about "the science of statistics"; I agree in fairly dividing between Proficiency and Brutality, speaking about Offensive ones.
About Defensive, at the beginning of 5.0 I chose Vitality but I quickly realized that it wasn't so useful to me, in particular because I skipped the armor improvement rubies.
So I switched to Bloodlust and I must admit that with few exceptions like bleeding dot damages and poison ones (but we can dispel them), now I can greatly heal myself with the only amount of my DPS.
About the Weapons? I always choose the crossbow, even if it's necessary to manage well your energy pool. It's faster but more energy consuming. If you don't want these kind of problems, then you must prefer the bow: less energy costs but slower than crossbow.
TALENTS GRID
1st Row:
Viscious Blow 1 - you won't use it in this build!
Steady Shot 3 - vanguard of Intuitive shot. You need it to . So it's useful.
Enchant a Tranquil Arrow 1 - it's enough, because when you're dot expires, you simply shot the arrow again.
2nd Row:
Double Shot 3 - it's one of your best friends with Intuitive Shot.
Enchant an Incendiary Arrow 3 - this is a fire "stacks dot". Tip! Learn to be skillful refreshing it, because dealing damage over time you will grant your enemies a nice mess!
3rd Row:
Ranging Fire 3 - its debuff, called "Under the Aim", should be always on your target. If it's not present (expired or used) place it again. You need it, really.
Caltrops 3 - Unlike others scouts taking it only rank 2, I bet a lot on them for many reasons: they're AoE and with the right rubies can add a dot effect. I find it very invaluable with packs of mobs, because your friends with Aoe Damage (like Mages) can rage on them all or you can use them to take distance from your target(s) if you're in trouble.
4th Row:
Sambo Roll 1 - you will use it only when you're really on the spot (it's a melee skill). It causes a 2s knock-down effect on your enemy. It's useful in combo with Somersault to gain time to take distances again.
Enchant a Precise Arrow 1 - Unfortunately most of your enemies have a good Willpower level and this will transform the use of this shot in a frustrasting row of curses most of the times, but sometimes it can gift you with a couple of seconds to run away from your "problems".
Recoil 3 - vanguard of Somersault. A good recoil means to be still alive and the time for a new skill rotation; a bad recoil means dancing in the middle of a pack of mobs (unfortunately they won't be happy at all about your unexpected arrive) or to fall off a cliff or taking a jump into the astral beyond allods borders.
5th Row:
Enchant a Tesla Arrow 3 - Despite 6.0 patch put a 10s cooldown on this skill, its damage amount still a bomb, in particular when you shot it in the middle of a pack of mobs/character, causing a very satisfying AoE show.
Using 2 rubies you can boost the dot amount of damage and reduce the cooldown.
6th Row:
Rain of Arrows 3 - it's not so easy to use, because it's necessary to place the big frame on the ground (like Caltrops one) and sometimes it's a pain. By the way, if you succeed in the mission, there will be 3 waves of arrows literally raining from the sky, with a very cool effect and a good AoE damage. Unfortunately it's not my favourite skill and it's better use it after Caltrops, to block your enemies.
Intensive Training 3 - it's a really useful buff, fundamental for you and for your party friends (with the famous "Unity" ruby that makes people take you around as a nice gadget for the tank!). Intensive Training regenerates faster energy/mana (but for mana it's better Warden's one).
7th Row:
Intuitive Shot 3 - (that come after Steady Shot, your basic hit)
Somersault 3 - (that come after Recoil). You'll recoil like there's no tomorrow.