With my samurai...I'm planning to have him develop some ranged combat skill. What I'm thinking is...I'll rely on spells for ranged combat, but sometimes when I run of of mana etc. Having some sort of ranged weapon swap is always a good idea.

On my last party I used throwing ammo on my weapon swap and boy I was disappointed...the boom shuriken, throwing knives etc. did negligible damage at the end of game...and the sam doesn't get ranged criticals...

I'm thinking a bow/arrow switch is much better this time around...coz some arrows do pretty good dmg. I'm thinking about the a) siege albatese(sp?) or b)strong bow...

Does anyone know where I can reliabily find those two bows...and what do u guys think about my idea?

thanx

Near the end of the game I found that running into melee was a better plan than sitting at range. Also for most of the game my Samurai was using a cursed weapon so he could only use spells for ranged weapons. That said if you allow him to use a bow from the start of the game at range when he runs out of spells, you should be in good shape. The two bows you recommended are good choices but which one you choose depends on your character mix and what ammo you have available.

Yah, it's too bad they can't use multi-shooters! I generally like the Arbalest, you can get them from Ferro (IIRC). You can get the Enchanted Bow (2% Kill) by killing or P-Ping Burz. (about 20% chance to drop)

Just wanna know what u guys think about throwing weapons? I think they really don't compare with any kinda bow or crossbow ammo.

The only classes I see that would wanna use throwing instead of bow is ninja...and the monk (bcoz they can't use bow).

SO what is the word on the street guys, do u find throwing useless?

Well I think it is useful in a couple of ways. If you want a character who lacks magic power to be able to use the powders/bombs for an occasional "spell", then you need a good throwing skill or they will backfire. Also throwing is the only ranged combat option that lets you practice dual wielding, so it helps build that skill. So early on in the game, it can help build dual wield and to build up enough throwing skill to make the character a good power/bomb guy (to me this is perfect for a rogue). Later on I would then switch over to a sling (throwing/sling is the same skill) as there is alot of great sling type ammo around, and use that. Maybe not quite as good as a bow but not so much worse either, and some of the bombs/powders are better than any bow (death bombs are really sweet for example).

For a Samurai, it's pretty much a bad choice though as they have magic for ranged attacks and probably wouldn't throw bombs/powders. I'd go bow for a Sam; but as was pointed out, if you give the Sammy bloodlust early on then you have to micro manage to keep uncursing it and switching weapons.

Yah, i tried the Ninja throwing thing, it was kinda fun with the Boomer, but she did a lot more damage with the multi-shot xbows, even considering the thrown crits.
Monk with a 2-shot sling and good rocks kicks plenty butt, and using 2 handfulls of shuriken (or darts, daggers, etc.) built up the skill nicely.
For magic to be really effective later in the game, you gotta pump Int to get Powercast, which i did a couple times with a Samurai, but i've found that they do more damage with all combat if you raise their Str, Dex and Sen. I sell Bloodlust as soon as i get to Bushido, and they do better with bows than with magic. With a starting Int of 55, and the 5 from the fountain, they're fine for all the buffs they get, so i usually leave Int alone and go for the combat.

I think training bows on a Samurai makes good sense, and both strong bow and Seige arbelest are excellent choices. Ferro sells both once you are level 15 or 16. Use mystic arrows and lightning bolts, high chance for instant kills and paralyze with mystic arrows. Samurai can be good with magic but I found them easier too just be a pure fighter type. You will only have to use the cursed Bloodlust for a little while, it is nice at first though.,

GD