Archer Demon vs Sage

PvE Cultivation Comparisons

As a PvE archer you can choose to use either a Bow or Fists/Claws. Recently, with the 5 APS hype, Fists and Claws have become much more popular amongst archers. If you were smart you would roll an Assassin. Assassins can deal 3x more damage and heal themselves while doing it. If your still too stubborn to switch, then the arguments presented here are more applicable to you.

The first major difference between Demon and Sage archers is their spark.

Sage	Demon
+500% Weapon Attack
Reduces damage by 25%	Reduces Interval by -0.10

Due to demon spark's increased attack rate Demons required 2 less interval pieces to achieve 5 APS. Depending on your server's economic situation, simply having a Demon archer can save up to 700 million coins as you may not need to purchase a scroll of tomb to achieve 5 APS.

Demon/Sage Skill Comparisons

Sage and demon skills for archers are very contested. Each skill may have its own use depending on whether its being used for PvE or PvP. Generally Demon archer skills are better for PvP than their sage counterparts. This is primarily because demon archer skills target the 2 defining traits of a bow-using archer:

• (1) Critical Damage
• (2) Attack Speed

The following table lists sage and demon skill differences considering their use in PvE and PvP.

Take Aim
	Sage	Demon
PvE	Not really used.	Not really used.
PvP	More damage fully charged. Not practical to be channeling for 3 seconds.	Less channeling time. Not practical to be channeling for 2.5 seconds.
Quickshot
	Sage	Demon
PvE	50% chance for 20 chi. Not very practical to use - doesn't increase overall damage output.	50% chance to increase attack rate (equivalent to -0.1 interval). Increases damage with a bow significantly.
PvP	Not practical to waste 1.6 seconds channeling and casting.	Increasing attack rate makes it easier to kill charmed opponites. Increases chi gathering rate by hitting more in less time. Very practical, staple move of demon archers.
Lightning Strike
	Sage	Demon
PvE	25% chance for 20 chi.	Never misses, but against monsters this is practically useless.
PvP	Extra chi gain when used (1/4 shots).	Never misses. Extremely useful against classes with high evasion (Archers, BM's, Sins) Guaranteed finishing shot.
Thunder Shock
	Sage	Demon
PvE	Longer metal reduction for people metal-maging.	No real benefit.
PvP	Longer metal debuff In mass PvP it doesn't make a difference, they either die too fast for the time to count, or get purified.	10% chance to Paralyze (Seal + Immobilize). Cannot rely on the skill to proc. When it proc's it makes a big difference in Mass PvP. Just a side benefit of using Thunder Shock
Thunderous Blast
	Sage	Demon
PvE	Decreases chanelling time by 0.5 seconds. Decreases cooldown by 1 second Typically wont use thunderous blast more than once	400 extra metal damage Typically wont use thunderous blast more than once.
PvP	Decreased channeling time lets archers cycle through metal attacks easier.	No real benefit except for 400 extra metal damage.
Stunning Arrow
	Sage	Demon
PvE	1 second longer stun. Have the ability to deal 1 more shot of damage.	Increased critical rate (10% increase). Have a greater chance to double the damage of each hit in the 3.5 seconds.
PvP	Longer stuns give more time to deal damage. In mass PvP it helps the team by holding an opponite in place for 1 second longer.	Increased critical rate means more damage can be dealt after stunning. In TW other classes will be better at stunning than archers (other classes have longer stuns) Archer stun is typically used as an emergency stop to other targets that target you. Combined with Quickshot, the interval + critical rate plays into an archers strength.
Deadly Shot
	Sage	Demon
PvE	Not practical to use	Not practical to use
PvP	Deals full damage when targets are closer than 5 meters. Not practical to channel for 3 seconds.	Reduced cooldown + 400 damage Not practical to channel for 3 seconds.
Blazing Arrow
	Sage	Demon
PvE	Permanent 10% extra fire damage based off of weapon damage.	20% extra fire damage based off of weapon damage for 20 seconds. No real long term benefit
PvP	Permanent 10% extra fire damage based off of weapon damage.	No real benefit except for normal blazing arrow damage.
Frost Arrow
	Sage	Demon
PvE	Attack is a water attack. Dont really need to use frost arrow end-game.	20% to cast without chi. Dont really need to use frost arrow end-game.
PvP	Attack is a water attack. Not really needed. Sage archers have a solid metal attack chain.	Not used.
Sharpened Tooth Arrow
	Sage	Demon
PvE	20% HP reduction	16% HP reduction Increases critical rate by 10%.
PvP	HP reduction helps against high HP targets.	HP reduction helps against high HP targets. Increased critical rate combined with quickshot and an opponite with lowered HP plays into an archers strengths.
Bow Mastery
	Sage	Demon
PvE	90% ranged attack increase	Increases critical rate by 1%
PvP	15% more damage per shot (over demon archers).	1% more likely to double damage of 1 single shot.
Winged Blessing
	Sage	Demon
PvE	2 meter attack range increase	Increases critical rate by 1% Increases accuracy by 10%
PvP	Distance isn't significant, all characters move 2 meters in half a second, if your ping is about 250, then the 2 meter advantage is 100% useless.	10% accuracy only useful against heavy evasion classes - archers, sins, blademasters. 1% more likely to double damage of 1 single shot.
Wings of Protection
	Sage	Demon
PvE	Dont have to rebuff yourself for 1 hour (or 15 minutes if you want the speed buff).	Increases evasion by an additional 10% Increases speed by an additional 5%
PvP	No difference.	10% more evasion which stacks with Blessing of the Condor. 0.2 meters per second speed boost
Barrage of Arrows
	Sage	Demon
PvE	33% less damage. Damage reduction bad if a cleric is BB'ing	-0.5 seconds between volleys. Mana is consumed faster.
PvP	Reduces damage taken. Damage reduction impractical in mass PvP, you will be sealed or stunned before worrying about damage.	Reduced interval lets you fire more shots before sealed/stunned.

Dispelling Common Myths in Sage/Demon Arguments

2 Meters makes a difference

• The slowest characters in game move at 4.8 meters a second. In half a second (0.5 seconds) a character will have moved 2 meters. If your ping to the server is around or greater than 500 miliseconds (ms), then a 2 meter advantage is useless. By the time you see your opponite, he is actually 2 meters closer than your maximum range.

15% more damage is huge!

• Not really. An archer doubles the damage of their attack if they critical.
• The real benefit of 15% more damage from Sage Bow Mastery is that its permanent and guaranteed. Furthermore it will stack with critical hits from sage archers. In the long term 15% more damage may be beneficial. For Short term (PvP) targets, higher critical rate is favorable. A doubled attack is far more valuable in the short term than an attack with 15% more damage to it.

More evasion will let me dodge more attacks.

• Not really. Magic never misses, and end game physical attack characters are running around with +50% accuracy rings. The only time extra evasion is helpful is when you use Blessing of the Condor (level 79 skill) which increases your evasion by 1000%. This is very useful against melee classes and other archers.

Sage Blazing Arrow will stack with Sage Bow Mastery

• Yes and No. Yes the damage will be added, but No it will not be multiplied by Sage Bow Mastery. Blazing arrow will add 10% more weapon damage in fire attack after all other damage is calculated (before attack levels.) See the Damage Page for more information.

Sage can Triple Spark More

• Yes this is true. But it doesn't really matter: If your gearing for PvE then you're likely going to have equipment that enables 5 attacks per second (APS). At this point demon and sage spark at equal rates. If your using a bow its likely for PvP, in which case your Chi is better spent on defensive skills like Winged Shell, Wings of Grace, and Elven Alacrity.