(Exalted) Reasons to go archery over melee

[nolispe]

As the title.
A: Does archery have any real advantages over melee?
and B: Can anyone think of stunts for archery apart from shoot stuff and it falls on you or shoot you and nail you to something?

[Talkkno]

Righteous Devil Style

[Sophismata]

As the title.
A: Does archery have any real advantages over melee?

It defeats most flurry-breakers.

[TheCountAlucard]

B: Can anyone think of stunts for archery apart from shoot stuff and it falls on you or shoot you and nail you to something?

How about bouncing your arrows off of scenery and whatnot? Shooting at the gaps in an enemy's armor can be stunt-worthy, if you describe it well enough.

You could always do the Robin Hood bit in which you shoot an arrow at another arrow in flight that would otherwise miss, deflecting it back toward the target.

There's the other Robin Hood standby: once you've hit with an arrow, make your next shot in such a way that it hits the exact same spot as your previous shot, splitting the old arrow in the process.

[Tackyhillbillu]

Righteous Devil Style

Seconded.

Also, do you mean just with Bows? Because, honestly, if you can't think of Stunts to do with Plasma Tongue Repeaters, I have some movies to recommend to you.

[Talon Sky]

As the title.
A: Does archery have any real advantages over melee?
and B: Can anyone think of stunts for archery apart from shoot stuff and it falls on you or shoot you and nail you to something?

Many Shot, Improved Crit, and a high sneak attack within 30 ft.

Then, if by chance the monster doesn't splat against the wall, slip into the shadows Drizzt-style with a good skill in hide and maybe some Shadowed armor. Gotta love it :D

[Seatbelt]

Ranged sunders and disarms also come to mind.

[TheCountAlucard]

Many Shot, Improved Crit, and a high sneak attack within 30 ft.

Then, if by chance the monster doesn't splat against the wall, slip into the shadows Drizzt-style with a good skill in hide and maybe some Shadowed armor. Gotta love it :D

Wrong system, dude.

[Talon Sky]

Wrong system, dude.

It's past 1 AM here and I rolled a 1 on my spot check.

Apologies ^_^

[senrath]

Another advantage over melee is that you can engage targets long before they can retaliate, under the right circumstances.

Also, being able to hit two targets that are on two completely different ends of an engagement without moving can be useful.

[Ganurath]

A: As already stated, archery can overcome flurry breakers. The different types of ammunication all you to adapt your attack type for opponents: For example, anyone who isn't wearing armor when they come at you can taste frog crotch. In the case of Solars and Abyssals, you can use Monkey Leap Technique and its Mirror to make consistent use of superior range to evade melee opponents.

B: Describe visualizing the shot, observe elements of the surroundings that could impact your aim like a strong wind or the sun's glare, segue from whatever defensive stunt you may have made the previous round to maintain a fluid mental image of the combat, etc.

[Arcanoi]

Despite the fact that there are reasons to go Archery over Melee, it's common consensus that for the most part, Melee is better than Archery. Unless you go full out damage-optimization, grabbing the +6L 4-Dot Powerbow from Oadenols and the +3 Acc, +3 Dam Hearthstone, you will never really be doing comparable damage. Range is indeed largely arbitrary in a system where you can stunt a hundred-foot leap at basic character creation, but as aforementioned, it defeats some flurry-breakers, which is helpful, makes you immune to many counter-attacks, and is much better at whole-sale mortal slaughtering. Plus, if you stunt it well, it's stylish. And style is Awesome. And Awesome should be what you're going for.

[Talkkno]

Despite the fact that there are reasons to go Archery over Melee, it's common consensus that for the most part, Melee is better than Archery. Unless you go full out damage-optimization, grabbing the +6L 4-Dot Powerbow from Oadenols and the +3 Acc, +3 Dam Hearthstone, you will never really be doing comparable damage. Range is indeed largely arbitrary in a system where you can stunt a hundred-foot leap at basic character creation, but as aforementioned, it defeats some flurry-breakers, which is helpful, makes you immune to many counter-attacks, and is much better at whole-sale mortal slaughtering. Plus, if you stunt it well, it's stylish. And style is Awesome. And Awesome should be what you're going for.

Not if your an Alchemical with a Essence Pulse Cannon......

[Gametime]

You could always do the Robin Hood bit in which you shoot an arrow at another arrow in flight that would otherwise miss, deflecting it back toward the target.

...All right, I know real world physics is something that gets kicked the curb and has its head smashed against the pavement in Exalted, but this sentence broke my brain.

[Friv]

Despite the fact that there are reasons to go Archery over Melee, it's common consensus that for the most part, Melee is better than Archery. Unless you go full out damage-optimization, grabbing the +6L 4-Dot Powerbow from Oadenols and the +3 Acc, +3 Dam Hearthstone, you will never really be doing comparable damage. Range is indeed largely arbitrary in a system where you can stunt a hundred-foot leap at basic character creation, but as aforementioned, it defeats some flurry-breakers, which is helpful, makes you immune to many counter-attacks, and is much better at whole-sale mortal slaughtering. Plus, if you stunt it well, it's stylish. And style is Awesome. And Awesome should be what you're going for.

It's worth noting that archery is pretty damned devastating against Creatures of Darkness. Using Essence Arrow in combination with target arrows means that your attacks ignore nonarmor soak and halve armor soak and deal aggravated damage at low cost, from several miles away.

It depends on the situations you get involved in. In a straight fight at close distances, Melee always wins. In a distance fight, a fight where enemies see each other before they engage, or a fight in which the archer has superior movement, the archer wins.

And yeah - movement is the other big one. With melee, better movement just means you decide what tick you're attacked during. With archery, it means the meleeist never actually gets to close to attack you, making his entire build useless.

EDIT: Also, as to the "range is arbitrary" comment - not with a powerbow, it ain't. A hundred-foot leap is all well and good, but a powerbow lets you shoot someone from two thousand feet away before Charms.

[Indon]

Archery is ranged!

Very ranged. Hundreds of yards at the range low-end, and infinite line of sight as things start to get more absurd. Combo with other perception-improving charms and you might be looking at shooting people across Creation and other crazy stuff like that.

[senrath]

For instance, combine There Is No Wind at Essence 3+ with Keen Sight Technique. If you can see it, you can hit it, and you can see a lot of things.

[Sophismata]

Stand atop the world, at the very tip of the Elemental Pole of Earth, and observe all Creation.

Then, pick your target.

[TheCountAlucard]

...All right, I know real world physics is something that gets kicked the curb and has its head smashed against the pavement in Exalted, but this sentence broke my brain.

Sounds a little convoluted, I know... (it's about four minutes, fifty-five seconds in)