Marksman

* Cannot use a bow
* Cannot deal melee damage with axes
* Sneaking while not grounded grants Slow Falling for 1 second

## Strategy

Marksman uses their block-breaking fireworks to blast away any enemies that dare approach them. With the firework explosion damaging everything within a radius, Marksman is a class that excels in area denial.

The Marksman’s fireworks prove useful both in and out of combat. With their capability to break blocks, they can be an excellent tool for clearing out stone in long strip mine tunnels. And while they may silk touch most blocks they break, they do not do so with leaves, meaning you can use them to collect apples.

Fireworks that are placed rather than shot will generate scaffolding blocks on their location. This is useful for quickly establishing a way to get the highground on enemies. Just be sure you don’t get caught on a scaffolding while an enemy approaches, or else they may break the base scaffolding block and the ground will fall out from under you.

Due to being restricted from using axes, the Marksman is unable to disable shields. For this reason, you should tend to avoid close combat that forces you to pull out your sword. Instead, utilize the range of your fireworks, which is about 28 blocks. While classes with bows will have much more range, you can still make the most out the range you do have.

When fireworks explode, they force players within the range of their explosion up 2 blocks. By chaining together hits on enemies already in air, you can cause them to hit the ground from 4 or more blocks up, dealing fall damage alongside the firework’s damage.

## **Tips**

* Fireworks can take a while to reload, and often timing your shots effectively is critical to your success. If forced into a melee encounter, try to have a rocket already loaded to shoot out unexpectedly during the fight.

* As fireworks must be loaded from your offhand, the Marksman will often be without a shield. Keep this in mind when fighting to avoid taking damage.

* Fireworks can be blocked if they are aimed directly at a shield. However, you can use your rockets’ splash damage to hit beyond an enemy’s shield by aiming your shots at their sides. Keep this in mind, and be sure to utilize your limited range to avoid direct melee combat.

* Fireworks don’t tend to destroy the blocks that they directly collide with. Instead, the blocks to the sides of them are most often destroyed, meaning it is often best to aim at a slight angle to maximize destruction.

* You can get much more out of your team’s strip mine tunnels by aiming a rocket down them. Be sure the tunnel is sufficiently long to make the most out of your firework.

* Due to your fireworks not Silk-Touching leaves, a well-placed firework in a large bunch of leaves can net your team a lot of apples fairly quickly. The dense rooftops of Dark Oak trees in roofed forests are great for this.

* The Marksman excels at taking out players in skybases. Using your scaffolding, you can fairly easily get in range of the base to hit it with your fireworks. Then it is a matter of shooting the ground out from under your enemies and, assuming they do not have some way to negate the fall damage, causing them to plummet to their death.

* The Warlock’s Cursed Pickaxe is enchanted with Fortune I and can be used to get extra materials out of ores. Since the Marksman’s fireworks Silk Touch blocks, you can collect diamond ore safely and have your Warlock mine it later without worrying about wasting diamonds.

* While situational, if you see a creeper whilst fighting an enemy, consider aiming a rocket at it in an attempt to ignite it, blowing up your opponent.

* If perched on scaffolding, consider placing a single block under you that is not affected by gravity to prevent yourself from falling if an enemy breaks your base scaffolding block.

## **Notable Matchups**

### **Cavalry**

While on their horse, Cavalry is invulnerable. However, when horses take damage, they rear their legs up for a moment. This means it is fairly easy to keep a Cavalry’s horse stun-locked with rockets as long as you keep up the pressure.

### **Knight**

If you are able to keep at distance from a Knight, which should not be hard given their debuffs, you can demolish them with rockets. If their shield is up, aim around their feet or their sides, rather than directly on them to ensure they take splash damage. However, if you do get into melee range with a Knight you are at a massive disadvantage as you can not use an axe and they can take a lot of hits. For this reason, you should stay out of a Knight’s melee range at all costs, opting to explode them with fireworks instead.

### **Paladin**

As Paladin is a melee class, they, like the Knight, have far less range than you. Similarly, you should look to avoid melee fights with a Paladin except if they are in the bottom half of their health, as at this point, every other attack they land will deal minimal damage. In this case you may have an advantage if you pay attention to their attack interval, moving in when you see them emit brownish particles indicating a low-damage attack next, and avoiding damage when you see yellow particles. Try to get them to a lower health threshold with rockets before they reach you in melee, and look for easy opportunities for retreat.

### **Rogue**

Given that a rocket’s explosion does damage in an area, approximate shots are more likely to hit than arrows. For this reason, it’s often worth shooting at the Rogues last position if they have only just cloaked. If you manage to hit them, they will uncloak, making it easier for you to follow-up with subsequent shots. Also, be sure not to stay in one spot too long so as to avoid being flanked.

### **Scout**

The Scout is likely the most mobile class as they are able to fly with their elytra, and levitate with their compass. For this reason, they are well-equipped to stay out of your range and pelt you with arrows. Try to force them to come to you, and avoid being hit by their arrows once they descend. Once they land, move in to hit them with your fireworks as they try to make their slow ascent.

### **Trickster**

The Trickster not only has more range than you with their bow, but are more maneuverable as well, since they can teleport. When fighting, utilize your range, but consider closing the distance as well. The Trickster is also unable to melee with an axe, and since their melee attacks do half damage, you should have the advantage in a fight. If you do this though, be sure to put your shield in your offhand before engaging to mitigate damage. If they use their Pearl to teleport, try to run towards the column of magenta particles indicating where they are going to teleport to, rather than where they currently are. Consider preemptively aiming your rockets in that direction in hopes of hitting them immediately upon teleporting.