Archer

Stats

Base Cost

600

Base Damage

5

Fire Rate

1.6

Hidden Detection

Level 2+

Immune

None

Lead Detection

Level 3+ (Fire & Splash only)

Placement

Ground

Placement Limit

15

Range

16.5

Role

Defense

Selling Price

200

Unlock Cost

Gift of Sharpness

Damage Type

Pierce, Fire (Level 3+), Splash (Level 4+)

Description

The Archer, formerly known as the Holiday Archer, is a tower that attacks enemies with a bow. It could have been unlocked from the Gift of Sharpness, which costed, as part of the Christmas 2019 Event. The gift could have also been bought via a limited time gamepass for 250 Robux. It could later be bought through a different limited time gamepass, which was sold multiple times. The Archer shoots arrows that damage and pierce through enemies, making the Archer a multi-target tower. The firerate of the Archer is separated into two halves. The first half is the Archer loading the bow with an arrow. This can happen even if there are no enemies in the Archer's range. If it starts attacking with its bow loaded, its firerate will be effectively halved for that shot. The second half is the Archer aiming the bow, and then firing it. This can only happen if there are enemies in its range, unlike the first half. It also boasts a very high range, despite its very low cost. The arrows it fires will be shot in a straight line. However, if the arrow hits an enemy, it can bounce to another enemy if it is in an ~10 stud radius from the hit enemy. This allows the arrow to change its trajectory and extend how far it goes, making it far more effective at clearing out enemies. If there is no enemy in that range, the arrow will not change directions. The direction of the bounce depends on the enemies. If there are only enemies at the front, it will bounce to the front, if there are only enemies at the back, it will bounce to the back.

Statistics

To see all the previous statistics of this tower, see the history page.

Skins

To see all the upgrades of a skin, see the gallery page.

Strategy

Due to its cheap cost, Archers can be useful early on during the game. The Archer's arrow is quite accurate, as it will hit the intended target every single time. Due to the Archer's arrows bouncing from enemies, the exact placement of the tower is not nearly as important as for other projectile towers like the Harvester or Frost Blaster. It can however still help, as the bouncing benefits from compact path layouts. Such maps include Simplicity and Harbor, as the paths on there are relatively close to each other. Natural obstacles, such as hills, do not interfere with the Archer's arrow; it passes right through them. At Level 3+, the arrows fired by the Archer will gain the ability to set enemies on fire, if set to flame arrows. This can allow it to deal more DPS to each enemy hit. It also has the highest max hits, allowing it to hit more enemies than the other arrows in most cases. Do note that the burn damage cannot be applied to enemies with Burn Immunity, making the Archer weaker against them. The Archer's burn damage does not stack with other Archers or with towers that deal burn damage, like the Pyromancer. This may hinder some towers' performance, such as the Golden Pyromancer, in which the burning damage dealt is superior compared to that of the Archer. Because flame arrows do not stack with other Archers, it is recommended to only have one or a few Archers with flame arrows, with the rest using different arrows. At Level 5, it gains the shock arrows, which can stun enemies.

Update History

For previous cosmetic variations, see the gallery page.

Patch history

This tower could have been a reference to Robin Hood. This may also have been based on the exclusive Archer tower from Tower Battles. When Hardcore Testing BETA was initially released, the Archer was available for 1 Coins if you did not have it. When initially released, the Archer could pierce through infinite enemies so long as they were within its range. This was changed on the 4th of March 2020. Now, it can only pierce through a limited number of enemies. After the Overhaul Update, the Archer supposedly had "special arrows" between Level 4-5. This supposedly gave arrows the ability to inflict an effect on enemies (such as stuns and explosions). However, this was only available for special skins that were not yet made. It was then promptly removed in the next update. One of the special arrow effects would later return on the 7th of April 2023, with flame arrows that inflict burn damage, and another two more on the 15th of January 2025, with arrows that explode and stun enemies on impact. The Archer's Level 5 upgrade name, Shot of the Century, is named after an ability name given to The Umbra on the Tower Defense Simulator Wiki. This, in turn, is named after the phrase "shot heard round the world" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, used in the context of the first shots fired at the Battles of Lexington & Concord and of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.