Archery, Markmanship and Throwing Skill up Guide

==Introduction==
Many players' ranged skills are below cap due to two factors; one cost of ammo and risk of dying while skilling up. So what you wish to aim for is nailing most hits with less damage, miss and cost. Some linkshells require or are in need of players with high throwing skills to throw stuff at sky NM or Ixion. I made this guide so if your ranged skill is too weak, you would be getting 0.5 to 0.4 skill up every 2 to 3 hits. This will go down slowly once you get beyond skill 120, but you should get to skill 240 with cost of ammo not exceeding 15000 Gil. As for the cost of gear, you can always use them or resell them so you don't lose Gil.
==Getting Started==
* Keep in mind that the greater the difference between your equivalent skill lvl and the mob's level the harder it is to hit, and the longer it takes to skill-up. Don't head to Cape Teriggan with an Archery lvl of 20 and expect to do anything but waste lots of time and ammo for nothing. Check the relevant skill lvl and see what lvl it corresponds to for your current job. My SAM had an archery lvl 11 when I started, which meant lvl 4 mobs would be an Even Match, even though my SAM was lvl 85. Next, find an area where the mobs are around an Even Match to your equivalent skill level, and yet still has mobs that would be Tough - Very Tough for your skill level so you can keep skilling without changing areas. 
Here are things you want to have:
* +20~15 Ranged Accuracy, you can get that from the following link Ranged Accuracy according to job and level. If your budget allows for additional spending, you can get some Ranged Accuracy food.
* Support job level 37 any of RDM, WHM for Dispel, Stoneskin, Blink, Phalanx and Barstone or Barstonra and other support magic. It's cheaper than using Utsusemi. If you don't mind the cost ,you can use a level 75NIN/37RNG.
* Dancer is a viable support job. You build TP with ranged attacks so Curing Waltz is enough to keep you topped off while you keep shooting. Weave it in before you make a ranged attack.
* Level 1 Ammo for Archery and Marksmanship or level 50+ Boomerang for Throwing.
* If you've got another player power leveling you or another mage character, it would be best to sub job RNG for Archery or Marksmanship skill up. The weapon skills will increase the possibility of getting skill up. Another lovely factor is it gives you Wide Scan which makes finding your mob much easier.
* If you can afford and equip it get the lowest delay item possible! The difference between a 600 delay Shigeto Bow and 270 delay weapon Lamian Kaman is HUGE over the few hours it will take to lvl your skills. Lamian Kaman bow runs 30k on my server, and if you have money to burn the +1 runs 700k. Remember, saving 3 second PER SHOT adds up very, very quickly. 
* Note for Puppetmasters: If you are here trying to skill up your automaton ranged, you can use a similar tactic to the one found in the Puppetmaster Golden Salvage Guide. Simply deploy your auto, and the very next instant (before the worm has time to cast) use the Deactivate/Activate macro. Your auto will take no damage and all hate will be shed. Recommended you do not equip the Flashbulb for this as it can cause a delay in the firing process. Happy hunting! --Inouethebard 06:45, September 25, 2009 (UTC)
==Skill Up Regime==
The ideal mob to skill up any ranged attack is a worm; you can shoot them from afar, and all they can do to you is nuking, which can be absorbed by any of Blink, Utsusemi and Stoneskin. If you take a lot of damage you can always run out of casting range and rest without any worries of being chased. Another nice fact about worms is that they link passively; if you link one, once you kill your target the link will immediately cease attacking.
* Skill 0~60 Zone: North Gustaberg (S) Mob: Stone Eater
** During weeks where Martial Master is in effect, Maze Makers in the Maze of Shakhrami are a more viable option.
* Skill 0~85 Zone: Korroloka Tunnel Mob: Land Worm
* Skill 60~150 Zone: Quicksand Caves Mob: Sand Eater
** Beware of Quake
– Was able to cap marksmanship to 181 on COR shooting at a tough Sand Eater. Found it on map3 of Quicksand caves, in the unmarked tunnel to the exit. Had a RDM friend there to silence the worms and kill the wandering Sabotender. Scalor 11:09, April 19, 2010 (UTC) 
* Skill 130~180 Zone: Quicksand Caves Mob: Sand Digger
** Beware of Quake
* Skill 130~160 Zone: Eastern Altepa Desert Mob: Goblins
**Camp by Oasis near the Outpost is a viable option.
* Skill 160~217 Zone: Kuftal Tunnel Mob: Robber Crab
**Camp by entrance to Cape Teriggan. There is a Grounds Tome right in the middle of this camp area, which can help mitigate the fact that the crabs do hit hard from time to time. 
* Skill 180~240?? Zone: Cape Teriggan Mob: Goblins, Beach Bunnies, Sand Lizards, Robber Crabs, Raptors
** This area used to be the area to skill up for Maat fights and up until skill caps at level 75. I am listing this old knowledge because this area is rarely used but still makes a great camp for skilling up due to the where the outpost is. Watch for NM's near the beach in this zone.
* Skill 215~240?? Zone: Valley of Sorrows Mob: Perytons, Raptors
** This is another older known skill area to cap out at level 75. This area is rarely used for skilling up in but there is a safe camp on either end of the Valley plus a Field Manual for buffs and pages. 
* Skill 130~202 Zone: Wajaom Woodlands Mob: Lesser Colibri
** Beware of Feather Tickle
** Beware of Snatch Morsel
** Do NOT use food when skilling up on Colibri because they steal both food and buffs. 
** Do NOT use magic on Colibri because they reflect it back at you.
* Skill 180~240?? Zone: Uleguerand Range Mob: Mountain Worm
** Travel to these worms is very risky; you must climb up to the north of the zone then head west, then south. Fall down a ramp to get to the tunnel that connects F-8 and G-10. The entrance to the tunnel is on a sliding ramp so if you miss it you need to start over again. Uleguerand Range has a lot of high level aggressive mobs want to watch out for Tauri that are true sight which Demons link with and magic aggro.
** Be aware--there is a NM worm with the same name as normal worms, though you can easily tell the difference between them from their color; the NM is black and normal ones are yellow.
** These worm cast Stonega III and Quake.
** Be aware of bats nearby that are aggressive, but can easily be avoided.
** Naturally, the closer you get to skill 240 the longer it takes.
** As soon as you drop into the caves, you will land on top of mindgazers which are sound aggressive.
* Skill 180+ Zone: Aydeewa Subterrane Mob: Mold Eater
** Million times easier mob to get to, than Mountain Worm. Prolly has no aggro either. Scalor 08:45, April 30, 2010 (UTC)
:* There are low 70's Diremite that aggro and the worms tend to be close to each other and link. These can be tough without silence. Shumanfoo 06 Jul 2010.
* A far better alternative is to join in on a party that is skilling up in The Boyahda Tree. Steelshells are level 73-76 compared to Mountain Worms 66-70.
== Beyond 240 == 
Once you're at skill 240, you're on your own, but hey, you're a lot closer now to maxing out than before, best recommendation is to work on it while Besieged or doing a merit party, if you got any good tips or would like to add or correct some info please feel free, best of luck to you all!
* Skill 240~265+ Zone: Ru'Aun Gardens Mob: Sprinkler and Groundskeeper
** These are mobs needed for pages in sky for this zone, but they do give decent skill ups and parrying can also be skilled up at 260 parry for these at the same time even with capped evasion.
* A good spot for skilling is the lower Greater Colibri camp, for THFs a piece of cake. RNGs and CORs should pull the mob next to the zone. /NIN recommend
* Abyssea-Attowha on Entozoon, stand at extreme range and just go to town, stepping out of casting range between shots. Easy. Use a Regen Atma so you can heal any damage by simply standing out of range without risking aggroing an Ephemerals around--Deadmeataru 18:08, March 4, 2011 (UTC)
* Abyssea-Uleguerand on Ectozoon which are very close to Conflux #5. Equip a low delay weapon such as Loxley bow or Lamian Kaman (machine crossbow) and sleep arrows (bolts). Use /nin and Regen Atma such as Mounted Champion to deal with the odd resisted sleep. The worms do not link but will agro if one pops near to where you're standing. Lokithor 21:56, July 31, 2011 (UTC)
* Abyssea-La theine-plateau in a worm party near conflux #8 is good too. I made a lot of skill up there and im at skill 305 now. (Freviont, Bahamut 2013-04-10)
* Gustav Tunnel on Boulder Eater second map (J-7) are excellent skill ups from to cap easily. Started these at 308 Marksmanship, with a RDM partner. Later on I started at I solo'd these on COR99/DNC49 using Montagna food for increased skill up gain. You can Light Shot to interrupt spells, or just heal through them easily. Stay out of melee range. TOok one Elshena then one Montagna to go from 308 to 360. Lucifyria (talk) 01:42, May 28, 2013 (UTC)