Longbow in Conqueror’s Blade: Guide and Build (New Version)

Hello my zoulous and welcome to this new video! Today we are going to talk about the longbow class in Conqueror's Blade.

And we start right away with your hero’s statistics!

At first glance—and as we’ve been saying for a long time—the longbow is supposed to be played full agility, but after tests carried out for each type of longbow shot against different armor types, I’m going to nuance that a bit.

So first of all, here is the summary table of the results of the tests carried out on different armor types.
We have 3 cases:
Full agility
A mix with 40 strength and 32 agility
Full strength
Of course, the detailed tests will be available in the description.

To help understand the table, I added colors: light green is the best result, dark green the second-best result, and pink the worst result.

First of all, we can see that each attribute build has its advantages, and that the mixed build always has either the best or the second-best result.

Personally, I prefer having my mid-charge shots be as effective as possible rather than full-charge shots. So I highlighted in orange the parts that interested me the most. And when looking at them, we can see that full agility is rather poor on these points, so for now we are going to set it aside.

If we compare the mixed build with the full strength build, we see relatively similar values, with a slight advantage for the mixed setup.

Based on these stats, it is therefore more interesting to go for a mixed build, which will ensure optimal damage on mid-charge longbow shots. Be careful: these stats only concern combat against heroes. You must therefore take into account the other part, which is just as important—or even more important: units.

Indeed, the longbow’s main job is to take out key units, so you need to require as few shots as possible to bring down your target. And that will depend on your gear. If you have optimized gear—meaning full purple schematics with a Shenxing bow that has good piercing stats—then the mixed build is probably a good choice.

However, if you lack damage to kill exotic-type units, then full agility may be more interesting in order to increase damage against low-armor units, at the expense of heroes or units with higher armor.

*hsuard* Yeah okay, why didn’t you test damage on light armor?

Quite simply because the penetration is piercing, so strength is less important against this type of armor since it is light. We will therefore always deal more damage with full agility anyway.

Let’s now move on to gear.

Here you need to keep in mind that an archer is weak against enemy damage anyway. So in terms of stats, we are not going to aim for maximum survivability, but rather for maximum damage.

With that in mind, I first recommend the Rogue gear set, which is fairly accessible either through crafting or via the auction house.
You also have seasonal gear via donations, which provides very good starting stats and is relatively easy to obtain.

As for the final gear set, the Captain set, it is absolutely necessary if you want to be as effective as possible when playing longbow. However, it is not necessarily easy to obtain since you will need purple schematics, but over the course of a season it is entirely possible to complete the full set if you play enough.

We’ve talked about armor, now let’s move on to the bow.

At the blacksmith, you have a choice between 5 different bows. You can start with the Volley Bow to get a feel for how the longbow works, but very quickly I recommend switching to the Double Recurve Bow. Try to optimize the two piercing stats as much as possible and, if possible, agility, strength, and both critical stats.

Next, you have the Shenxing Bow. It uses a purple schematic when crafted, which makes optimization more difficult. I therefore recommend focusing first on the Double Recurve Bow to get stats close to the maximum, and then, if you want to continue as a longbow player, you should start crafting Shenxing bows, since they obviously have better maximum rolls.

Let’s talk about the longbow charge mechanic. The longbow has 3 possible charge states, each with different effects.

First state: no charge.
Here, the arrow has little power, reduced penetration, and will curve very quickly. This charge state is generally not used.

Second state: mid charge.
This state is the standard use of the longbow. It should be used against units or heroes with light or medium armor. It is a good compromise between damage dealt and the time required to shoot an arrow. Visually, this state is reached when the circle around the reticle turns yellow.

Third state: full charge.
Here, the charge time is quite long but provides a significant armor penetration bonus, making it suitable for shooting targets with higher armor, notably heavy armor or heavily armored units. That said, I’ll remind you that as a longbow, your main targets are:

First: high-impact exotic units: Siphonaros, Zykalian Militia, Falconetti, Cannons, Shenji.
Second: ranged units and lower-impact exotics: Chu Ko Nu, Gallos, Imperial Archers, Healers, Bagpipers, and generally all ranged units.
Third: light-armored heroes as well as melee units with low armor and no shields: Phalanx, Wuwei, Halberdiers, Hussars, Companions, etc.
And finally, everything else, which should be attacked as a last resort.

Let’s change topics and move on to skills. We’re going to go through them to understand their specific features!

1st skill: Flaming Arrow
The interesting point of this skill is that it dismounts the targeted player and applies a burn effect. The damage is quite low, and even when reaching full charge to trigger the three-projectile shot, it’s not very interesting in my opinion.

2nd skill: Rain of Arrows
As the name suggests, Rain of Arrows allows you to fire multiple arrows at once. The damage per arrow is not high, but if the target gets hit by all of them, the damage can be significant. You could compare it to a shotgun blast. This skill is generally played together with the Explosive Arrow to hit either the back or the head of a downed enemy hero.
An additional effect: Rain of Arrows applies a micro-stun to the target.

3rd skill: Bodkin Arrow
The Bodkin Arrow reduces the enemy’s armor for a few seconds and applies a stun, making it very interesting for setting up a combo on a hero, for example. It is logically played in combination with the highest-damage skills (Lightning Bolt, for example). Note that the different charge states affect, among other things, the stun duration.

4th skill: Seasoned Archer
As an archer, to deal maximum damage you normally need to fully draw your bow. Well, this skill allows you to deal maximum damage without having to fully draw it, enabling an instant burst that can quickly finish off your opponent. This skill is particularly interesting when used in combo with Lightning Bolt.

Important note: if you have purple gear, the duration of Seasoned Archer increases and allows you to fire several instant arrows, contrary to what the skill description says.

For example, you can:
- Charge a regular shot
- Seasoned Archer
- Regular shot
- Lightning Bolt
- Regular shot

Thanks to this, you’ll get a strong burst.

5th skill: Exit in Style
As the name suggests, Exit in Style is an escape skill that allows for quick repositioning.
If reactivated, this skill allows you to perform a second jump. Note that the jump direction depends on your camera, so you can move in the desired direction.
In addition, this skill frees you from a stun, making it effective for getting out of tricky situations.
Personally, I’m not a big fan of this skill and find the other escape skill, ‘Fleet’, to be more interesting.

Which brings us to the 6th skill: Fleet
Fleet is also an escape skill. It allows you to reposition, with the difference that you can activate it forward or backward by pressing ‘Z’ for forward and ‘S’ for backward.
It also frees you from a stun and a knockdown state.
Additionally, after using Fleet, you gain a buff for a few seconds that allows you to run faster.
Finally, when activated, Fleet makes you immune for 1 second to all damage and all crowd control effects, even ultimates. With proper timing, it is therefore possible to dodge an assassin’s ultimate, a poleaxe ultimate, or even a maul ultimate.

We are now done with the standard skills; let’s move on to elite skills.

1st elite skill: Explosive Arrow
The main benefit of Explosive Arrow is its ability to control both heroes and units within a given area. It is therefore an ultimate that is more support-oriented, whether for allies or your units, although it can also be very useful on its own, for example against a pack of archers.
As mentioned earlier, it combos very well with Rain of Arrows.

2nd elite skill: Lightning Bolt
The utility of Lightning Bolt is simple: it can deal massive damage, making it a great ultimate for taking out lightly or medium-armored heroes, as well as very important units. Another benefit is its ability to pierce between 5 and 12 units, allowing it to damage up to 12 targets.
Be careful: for each target hit, the arrow loses power and therefore deals less damage. This ability is useful, for example, against a hero healing behind their units or to clear an important unit line.
Another utility of Lightning Bolt is its ability to dismount targets, which is always useful to slightly increase the longbow’s survivability.

*Rixmome* That’s cool, you showed us the skills, but we can read… don’t you have some build advice instead?

Yes, of course. Personally, I use a ranged build focused on killing key units as well as some heroes with a bit of armor. I therefore use:

Bodkin Arrow to control a target and reduce its resistances.
Seasoned Archer, which I generally combo with Lightning Bolt, my other skills, or even my auto-attacks.
Fleet to benefit from repositioning and also from the one second of invulnerability it provides during the animation.
And finally, Lightning Bolt to kill exotics and certain heroes.

A second build that I personally don’t use but that can be effective is the mid-range archer build: Explosive Arrow for control followed by Rain of Arrows to execute an enemy hero.
You can pair these two skills with either Fleet or Exit in Style for retreat, and then an arrow of your choice.

We’re done with hero customization! Now let’s move on to your role in the match.

As an archer, more than any other class, you need to have a global view of the situation, because I remind you: absolutely everything can kill you.

To explain this, we’ll break the match down into different phases.

Phase 1 – Before the push
In this phase, as a defending archer, your job is to slow down the attacking team as much as possible and focus any useful enemy units.

This is the phase where the longbow has the most value, because it’s when enemy players are setting up.
Be extremely vigilant: press Tab frequently to detect potential exotic deployments and intervene even if it costs you a cooldown, because taking out an exotic before a fight is extremely valuable for your team.
To help detect interesting targets, don’t hesitate to spam the middle mouse button to identify which units are in front of you.

You also have other possible roles if you are attacking in siege. You can destroy enemy artillery by simply shooting it. Depending on the type of artillery, this can be tedious but is often worthwhile for siege tower progression or troop safety.

Another option: if enemies bring Falconetti or cannons onto the walls, you can take them out by shooting from the tower. Pay attention to the tower’s health—if you see you won’t have time, mount your horse and leave.

Another interesting thing to do if enemies try to place artillery is to cancel its placement using Bodkin Arrow, Lightning Bolt, or Explosive Arrow. Let them build as much as possible, then cancel it right before placement to mess with their psychology.

Another option: as an archer, you can also shoot the artillery user to force them to move or even kill them if they are not paying attention to their health.

Phase 2 – During the push

Support your allies with your units, but above all, take the high ground—walls, palisades, carts, rooftops, anything. Height allows you to observe the battlefield and, most importantly, spot exotic units to take them out as quickly as possible.
A very important thing to keep in mind: the archer gains bonus damage when positioned above their target, but loses damage when positioned below their target.

Phase 3 – End of the push

One of the two sides has probably won, but you must not relax, because this is precisely the moment when new exotic units can appear. Forget repositioning with your hero (of course, secure your units first) and go hunt potential exotics.
It can sometimes be interesting to stay hidden on the walls and simply wait for an exotic unit to pass beneath you, thinking the area is safe—then strike. If you manage to take out an exotic this way, you deal a critical blow to the enemy’s morale and make the next push much easier for your allies.
Overall, these three phases will repeat. You’ll need to account for your allies’ positioning to support them during phase 2, but you must also play smart and keep an eye on pings and the map.

Alright, that’s already a lot of information, but let’s add a few more tips for archers.

Tip 1: Kill enemy players’ mounts.
Once a hero is on foot, they lose mobility and waste time if they need to fetch new units from a distant supply. If they are isolated and you still have your mount, you can deal damage without them being able to catch you. On top of that, you deal psychological damage that can disrupt your opponent.

Tip 2: Always keep a horse with you.
This tip isn’t exclusive to archers, but it’s even more important for them. Being on your horse prevents you from being hit by the assassin ultimate, the poleaxe ultimate, and the maul ultimate.
Additionally, unlike melee classes, you can shoot while mounted, which is extremely powerful—especially if your opponent no longer has a horse.

Tip 3: Shoot the head or the back.
You probably already know this, but archers should always aim for the head or the back to deal maximum damage. To hit the head, you often need to aim slightly above the body mass and account for arrow drop to hit enemies further back.

Okay, all this information is interesting, but which units should a longbow player use?

I would say that the longbow should use units that require little micromanagement, since its main role is anti-exotic.
Personally, I recommend anchor units (Halberdiers / Halberd Sergeants / Camels / Modao / Forte). You can also use melee infantry with skills, such as Fauchefers, Queen’s Knights, Wuwei, or Viper Pikemen. Avoid cavalry—even though you can take one in your composition.
I generally discourage using exotic units or X-V units. You can play ranged units, but personally, that’s not my style.

You should know that you will often have to control your units from afar, which will inevitably limit the units you can effectively play.

Let’s move on to some potentially useful information against shielded units. As you may have noticed, blocking is a major enemy of the longbow, as it completely absorbs arrow damage. Forget about breaking the block—it’s too tedious and, above all, a waste of time.
What you can do against shield units is first aim at the upper body, preferably the head, for the first shot. After taking this hit, some shield units tend to raise their shield to protect their head. Don’t hesitate to then aim at the lower body to continue dealing damage.

Another important point: play with unit sounds enabled. Important units have distinctive sounds that allow you to know they are present nearby and roughly where they are located.
This is already the end of this article. I hope you enjoyed it. Don’t forget the thumbs up if you liked it, and if you want to follow the channel, subscribe! I remind you that you can use the code ZYX515 to gain access to some in-game advantages for new players, or ZYL515 for players who haven’t launched the game for 1 month