Starting as archer without smithing

[Psi]

Make them appear in groups and then give them plasma rifles

I don't think that plasma rifles were in use until late in the second age.

[Antoine]

I always thought that shadow spiders should come in packs - otherwise you can occassionally see them with a large light radius.

Make them appear in groups and then give them plasma rifles

A.

[Psi]

I always thought that shadow spiders should come in packs - otherwise you can occassionally see them with a large light radius.

My non-archers are always tripping over bows in the early levels. I'd suggest playing a non-archer and then switching once you've tricked the RNG into generating a bow.

[Arjen]

So instead of having a chance of a shortbow at -50 -100, we are getting a heavily armed spider you can't see with 6 crosbows? Nice

[locus]

I feel a little crazy when you guys talk about Shadow Spiders like they're some horrible death monster. You can fight 'em if you have decent armor and will, otherwise you can avoid 'em, and if you've got enough light they're pussycats.

[BlueFish]

With eight legs... why not have them shoot 4 arrows at one time?

Hand crossbows would allow for 6 at a time, assuming you observe the realistic need to use the two hind legs to stand up straight while shooting. This would also be thematic with the spider queen Lolth, who's Drow followers use hand crossbows.

[HallucinationMushroom]

With eight legs... why not have them shoot 4 arrows at one time?

[taptap]

We could probably give shadow spiders the ability to shoot arrows too, I'm not sure they're strong enough yet. This would at least give a stopgap to the player if they hadn't found a bow by 600'

Shoot webs! With added slow and stun I would propose

[debo]

We could probably give shadow spiders the ability to shoot arrows too, I'm not sure they're strong enough yet. This would at least give a stopgap to the player if they hadn't found a bow by 600'

[locus]

Increase the chance of orc archers dropping shortbows upon death?

This seems like the most flavorful option, although even managing to kill an orc archer without a bow might be tricky.

[Thraalbee]

I don't see this as a problem. First, I always get smithing when going archer since flaming arrows are so useful through-out the game, but burn through a stack of arrows quickly. Second, you need only a little stealth or evasion to survive to the first bow and arrows unless you are unlucky. I used Versatllity in the beginning, but no more. It's a big waste and only useful for a short period.

[mrrstark]

Increase the chance of orc archers dropping shortbows upon death?

Give orc scouts a shortbow with a tiny (like 5) amount of arrows?

I dunno if I like my own suggestion though... so dangerous...

[HallucinationMushroom]

Increase the chance of orc archers dropping shortbows upon death?

[taptap]

Take 2 strength and a longbow. Shortbows are strong once you get the perception abilities and high archery, but they are a pain at start and you need flaming arrows far too often. I never play archers without weaponsmith though.

Alternatively you can try stealth (you can avoid everything until you collected bow and ammunition).

Imo, versatility is overrated (you don't need it in late game and it is more expensive than you thought when you bought it for free as your first ability) + it encourages you to engage at close range where you aren't strong. (I am currently experimenting with a 3 3 3 5 Finarfin, going with concentration at start and a small investment in melee/evasion.) Early on versatility gives you 3 or 4 points, you can afford to buy these points directly, it is cheaper in the long run.

[debo]

I've always felt the opposite actually -- I feel like versatility makes it too easy to start a dedicated archer, when they're already mega-powerful in the lategame.

Sure you might starve for arrows the first few hundred feet, but the odds of finding a bow by 400'ish are high and you can pretty easily survive with nerfed melee that deep.

I do often have a hard time finding a bow in the early game, though. I rely on throwing weapons (if found) when that happens to deal with flighty orcs.