Zad Archery Jobs Tier List
Sniper is the real second class. Locked silhouettes are not secret S-tier until they have names.
This list ranks the five archer jobs as they appear on the bow tab in Zad Archery 1.0. Only two kits are fully visible in live UI: Archer and Sniper. The other three are silhouettes with gem prices. We rank what you can actually play, then tell you how to budget for the rest. Mechanic detail lives on the jobs guide; this page is the short ranking.
S — Sniper (once unlocked)
Sniper is the only job whose documented perk changes how the lane works: you attack while moving. Guardians and dense horned packs punish planted Archer. The purple orb skill visible in combat screenshots is splash on a body you can kite around. For push to the King, Sniper is S. For farm waves after patch 1.0.2, Sniper is still A because movement lets you scoop clumps without eating hits.
Unlock cost is green gems and is the cheapest second portrait in every save we can cite. Buy it. Do not wait for a locked silhouette.
A — Archer
Archer is not a starter you throw away. Explosive Arrow is an area detonator with a short cooldown, and Arrow Fall is tied to this kit. You keep Archer skills after Sniper. Ranking Archer A means: MAX the cheap Explosive Arrow ranks, do not skip this kit, and do not respec fantasies. There is no documented wipe.
Hour-one Archer without Sniper is B for Guardian checks and A for clearing early waves. The rank jumps the moment the second portrait lights up, because the kit stacks.
B — Locked jobs three to five
The bow tab shows three remaining silhouettes. Unlock buttons have appeared at 100 gems and 500 gems on different screenshots. Samharia’s store page confirms five jobs exist. It does not name them. This wiki will not label them Ranger, Falcon, or Hunter to fill a table.
Rank: B as a budget target, not as a kit. If a button is cheap relative to your gem pile and Sniper is already online, buy it. If the button costs your entire engine, farm with the planner first. A named kit with a bad unlock time is still a C decision.
When official names land in patch notes, this section becomes three rows. Until then, “locked” is the rank.
C — Sitting on Archer to “save gems”
Not a job, a behavior. Players who refuse Sniper to bank 500 gems for a silhouette take Guardian fights without a kite tool. That is a C play. Gem chance on the skill tree rebuilds a stack faster than a corpse run.
Context modifiers
- Farm waves: Archer AoE plus gem-chance tree nodes. Sniper still helps.
- Guardian / King: Sniper required in spirit even if you technically still have Archer selected; you need the movement perk.
- Post-gathering: Later jobs may scale with mining and alchemy. A silhouette that looks weak before Mining unlocks is not automatically C.
- Achievements: Defeat the King needed Steam online after 1.0.2. Job choice does not bypass that.
Pair this list with the skills tier list and builds. New players should still start on Getting Started, not here.
Hour-one files that try to rank five named fantasy classes are reading a different game. The bow tab shows two portraits and three locks. Play the portraits. Farm gems with the planner if a lock is expensive. Come back to this list after 1.0.3 if Samharia actually names the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common Zad Archery questions.
Is Sniper really better than Archer?
Sniper stacks on Archer. You keep Explosive Arrow. The movement perk is what makes later fights S-tier, not a damage spreadsheet.
Where is the Falcon or Hunter rank?
Those names are not confirmed in official 1.0 copy. Locked portraits stay unranked by fantasy name.
Should I skip Sniper if I want a later job?
No. Sniper is cheap and stacks. Bank gems after it is online, not before.