Winds of Valen — Guides

🏹 Archery Guide

How to use Archery in Winds of Valen — bows, arrows, ranged power, leveling path, and what Defensive stance does for archers.

Archery was added in the March 2026 update as the first new combat skill beyond melee. It introduces bows, arrows, and a dedicated Ranged Power stat. Archery lets you attack enemies at range, which is especially effective for kiting — attacking while moving to stay out of melee reach.

🟢 Getting Started — What You Need

Before you fire a single arrow, you need three things:

1. A Bow — If you just start the game you should start with a Crude Bow. If you happen to loose it then head to the Archery Stall in Valen Gate and buy a bow that matches your Archery level. Beginners should start with the Crude Bow (no level requirement).

2. Arrows — Buy the arrow type your bow supports from the same stall. Arrows are consumed per shot — bring plenty.

3. Attack Stance — Equip your bow and make sure your stance is set to Attack to level the Archery skill.

💡 Your first buy at the Archery Stall if you lost the starting crude bow: a Crude Bow + a stack of the arrows it supports. This gets you started immediately with zero level requirement.

📈 Archery Leveling Path

Archery Level	Bow to Use	Where to Train	Tips
1–10	Crude Bow or Goblin Bow	Farmlands — Broken Village	Kite enemies — shoot and retreat. Buy arrows in bulk from Archery Stall.
10–20	Wood Bow or Birch Bow	Wheat Fields Graveyard	Use a Heavy Bow for heavy damage or Quick Bow for pierce. Stock up arrows.
20–30	Birch Bow / Goblin Bow	Goblin Village / Forest Alcove Bandits	Kiting becomes very effective here. Stay at max range.
30+	Willow Bow / Exotic Bow	West Mine Skeleton Knights / Mercenary Camp	Equip Ranged Power jewellery. Upgrade bow immediately at level milestone.

⚙️ Requirements to Use a Bow

Have a bow equipped (not just in inventory).
Have the correct arrow type in your ammo slot that the bow supports — the supported arrow types are listed in the bow's description.
Meet the required Archery level to equip the bow.

⚠️ You cannot attack without a valid arrow equipped. The game now shows better feedback when the wrong or no arrow is equipped.

🏹 Bow Types

Bow Type	Damage Type	Attack Speed	Range
Heavy Bow	Heavy damage	Slow	Long range
Quick Bow	Pierce damage	Fast	Short range

💡 The bow determines the damage type and damage factor. Arrows only set your accuracy — not the damage type.

🪶 How Arrows Work

Every shot consumes one arrow. If you run out, you cannot attack.
Arrows set your Pierce Accuracy — not the damage type itself.
Check a bow's description to see which arrow types it supports — not all arrows work with all bows.
Keep a stock of arrows in your inventory before going out to fight.

📈 Training Archery

Stance	What It Trains
Attack Stance + Bow	Archery skill (offensive)
Defensive Stance + Bow	Evasion skill (defensive)

💡 Defensive stance with a bow trains Evasion — not Block or Warding. This was added in the post-archery update patch.

💪 Ranged Power Stat

Archery introduced a new Ranged Power stat. This works similarly to Melee Power — it boosts your ranged damage output. You can find Ranged Power on:

Amulets — now carry both Melee Power and Ranged Power stats
Rings — now carry both Melee Power and Ranged Power stats
Evasion-type armour added with the Archery update

🎯 Kiting — The Key Archery Technique

Archery is effective for attacking while moving. You can click to attack an enemy and immediately move away — the arrow fires as you retreat. This lets you:

Fight enemies that would be dangerous up close
Stay out of melee range while dealing consistent damage
Train Archery safely on higher-level mobs by keeping distance

⚠️ Important Restrictions

You cannot attack bosses with archery from outside the boss arena — this was patched out after the Archery update.
Using a potion still stops your attack, same as melee.
Cancelling an attack early puts it on a 1-second cooldown instead of the full cooldown — cancelling after landing the hit results in the normal full cooldown.

💡 Archery Tips

Always check a bow's description for its supported arrow types before buying arrows in bulk.
Use a Quick Bow for fast, pierce-focused fights. Use a Heavy Bow for heavier hits at longer range.
Equip rings and amulets with Ranged Power to boost archery damage.
Switch to Defensive Stance with your bow equipped to passively train Evasion while fighting.
Stock up on arrows before leaving town — running out mid-fight leaves you unable to attack.