In the first of a multi-part guide to Darkfall, one of our MMORPG.com correspodents goes through the basics of the combat skills in the recently released MMO.

Why bring a knife to a polearm fight? Why bring a polearm to a siege? Why shoot someone in the back with a mana missile when you have a bow and arrow? Indeed why (or why not)!? I am here to answer these questions and much more in my guide to all things sharp, shiny, and lethal.

Well let us jump into the thick of it with a few charts. Don’t you fret, little Agonians, I shall explain!

Read it all here.

Seems a bit redundant at best since DF is um, in beta? Being that it's in beta kind of makes it difficult to make a guide for when features are still changing, being tweaked or removed altogether.

Darkfall 101 - archery is not powerful if you understand the game.  Keep moving, 95% of the players can't hit a moving target with a bow.  Magic is similar.  Again, all it boils down to using good tactics against your opponent. 

OMG some practical information finally.

hmm, alittle bit to much math and numbers for my taste. Im no powergamer.

Except that, well done : )

 Finally.

With this article I can now begin to understend the Darkfall Online weapon skills.

Yay, some details, they really do not hold your hand in this game, only way to find out about stuff is to try it or research it.

Thank you kelly price.

Where do you get your numbers on weapon skills and weaponsmithing?

I play Darkfall, and I don't have weaponsmithing itself, but I do have bowyering, and those numbers are wrong for bowyers.  Racial bows are rank 80 weapons.  There are no rank 90 or 100 bows.  So making and usage are both off there.

And, from what I understand, the elemental enchantments automatically promote weapons to rank 70.  I'm told that the only weapons above that rank are the racial weapons at rank 80.  Are there rank 90 and 100 weapons?  Do you actually have some?  Or just the theory that they exist out there somewhere?

Have you actually done the numbers/research to confirm those usage numbers?  Has a dev confirmed them?  Or are you just guessing?

Originally posted by Ozmodan

Darkfall 101 - archery is not powerful if you understand the game.  Keep moving, 95% of the players can't hit a moving target with a bow.  Magic is similar.  Again, all it boils down to using good tactics against your opponent. 

Archery is extremely powerful once you get sharpshooter. Your opinion is way off, 95% of players can't hit a moving target with a bow? You probably don't even play the game. Maybe you are talking about newbies who have just started but those of us who have been playing for a significant amount of time know how to use the bow. Same thing for magic, it's about player skill. Magic only becomes stronger when you unlock the elemental AOE's and then in most cases archery will lose against magic.