Good Bows, possible spoilers

[Taran]

I have an archer,because rangers are the coolest, and all i have is a composite bow, i know there is a composite bow +1 but is there anything better?

[SixOfSpades]

Yes. There are Composites+1 and (I think) +2 floating around Amn, and some nice uniques as well: I can think of one +2, three +3s, and a +4 without straining too hard.

Due to BioWare's screwups, however, Longbows and Shortbows really get (ha, ha) the shaft. They do all right when it comes to THAC0--All bow types of a given enchantment will have that enchantment show up in their THAC0 bonus. But when it comes to damage, HOO BOY! Crossbows get extra damage due to their enchantment (A Crossbow+3 will get 3 extra damage per hit), but Short Bows and Long Bows do not. And as if that wasn't enough, Crossbows also tack on additional damage from their user's high Strength, when the only ranged weapons that should do that are Throwing Axes, Throwing Hammers, and Composite Long Bows.

[Gangrell]

Yep, here they are if you want spoilers.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
~~Short Bow of Gesen~~
The finest bow crafted by Gesen Khan, this weapon draws energy from another plane, firing spears of lightning instead of arrows... and therefore never requiring ammunition of any kind. It is said that Gesen prepared to retire from his craft after selling the invaluable weapon, only to have the bow wrested from his grasp by a thief who used it to end Gesen's own life. A side effect of the bow bestows protection from electricity upon the user.

STATISTICS:

THAC0: +4
Damage: 2 piercing, 1-8 electrical
Effects: Grants user 20% resistance to electrical damage
Weight: 2
Speed Factor: 4
Proficiency Type: Short Bow
Type: 2-handed
Requires: 3 Strength
Not Usable By:
Druid
Cleric
Mage

Location:
String of Gesen- Spellhold
Shaft of Gesen- Basement of Taner's Shop in the Bridge District

~~Taralash +4~~ (ToB)
Taralash was a hunter reknowned for his ability to track down even the fleetest of quarry by foot. Few animals ever escaped once he had them in the sights of his mighty longbow.

STATISTICS:

Equipped Abilities: Increase Movement Rate by 2

THACO: +4
Weight: 2
Speed Factor: 3
Proficiency Type: Longbow
Type: 2-handed
Requires: 6 Strength
Not Usable By:
Druid
Cleric
Mage
Thief

Location:
5th Level of Watcher's Keep

~~Mana Bow +4~~
Kestsa was given this longbow many years ago by the Cowled Wizards, as reward for his exemplary service in the Athkatla city guard. He was tireless in bringing to justice those who unlawfully used magic. The bow served him well in his cause, granting resistance to damage from arcane energy.

STATISTICS:

Equipped Abilities: +20% to resist magical damage
THACO: +4
Weight: 2
Speed Factor: 3
Proficiency Type: Longbow
Type: 2-handed
Requires: 6 Strength
Not Usable By:
Druid
Cleric
Mage
Thief

Location:
Forest of Tethir

~~Darkfire Bow +4~~ (ToB)
Through arcane sorcery, the contradictory elements of fire and ice have been combined within this magnificent short bow.

STATISTICS:

Equipped Abilities:
Once per day may cast Improved Haste
5% bonus to Fire and Cold resistance

THACO: +4
Weight: 1
Speed Factor: 2
Proficiency Type: Short Bow
Type: 2-handed
Requires: 3 Strength
Not Usable By:
Druid
Cleric
Mage

Location:
Not too sure

~~Heartseeker +3~~
Legends say that craftsman Pinn O'Reffen fashioned this bow from the heart of a Treant, though how he came to possess such material is unknown. He certainly did not anticipate the enchantment within, magic that makes the archer's aim almost infallible for a short period every day. Pinn claimed his skill was responsible, but it is more likely that some aspect of the soul of the Treant is still within the wood. This bow requires a strength of 18 to use.

STATISTICS:

Combat Abilities: Once per day can increase bow's aim to an additional +7 to hit for nine seconds
THACO: +4
Damage: +2
Weight: 7
Speed Factor: 4
Proficiency Type: Longbow
Type: 2-handed
Requires: 18 Strength
Not Usable By:
Druid
Cleric
Mage
Thief
Bard

Location:
Sold in special stock in the Adventurer's Mart, in dungeon in Windspear Hills

[Butterfingers]

To make matters even worse, using a bow that requires arrows is horribly bugged in the fact that Archer bonuses wont apply. Proven through some testing where my Archer rolled a one for damage. Something NO archer should do. Using Tasheron or Gasen fixes this, but, any other bow that takes arrows is bugged for damage.

Crossbows produce WICKED damage, they do get the strength bonus, and generally become bazookas.

[SomeGuy]

Originally posted by Taran: I have an archer,because rangers are the coolest, and all i have is a composite bow, i know there is a composite bow +1 but is there anything better?

Go you! RANGERS AND HAMSTERS EVERYWHERE...... REJOICE!! I honestly can't help you though. I haven't played BG2 in awhile.

[D*Ranged]

Any patches to rectify this problem in Baldurdash?

[SixOfSpades]

Not as far as I know, although it should be relatively simple to make one. Things like the additional "enchantment" damage and adding the STR bonus to damage are contained in the *.ITM files, so it's simply a matter of going through and making slight changes to all the enchanted Long Bows, Short Bows, Crossbows, and Throwing Daggers. (It may sound like a lot of work, but there really aren't that many of them.)

Butterfingers' post about Bows that require arrows, however, worries me. It has the feel of something that was hard-coded into the game, and therefore pretty much unfixable. I wonder if Kevin Dorner, weimer or jcompton have taken an interest in it?

[Butterfingers]

There was a big post I made about the Bow Bug, and, it was indeed confirmed by other people. Using arrows in a bow removes extra damage sources.

Strength bonuses were never meant for short bows or long bows. Just composites, unless it is a rare unique magical item.

Strength damage is added to darts, throwing daggers, and the like, making a Kensai a fearsome archer, as I have found out.

In short, bows in SoA suck toe. They are, for all intents and purposes, useless as wings on a hog. With the exception of Gasen and Tasheron, they are bugged beyond belief. Crossbows, like the Giant Hair Crossbow and the Heavy Crossbow of Searing, are kings for damage, and the Army Scythe is fantastic for small arms fire. the Giant Hair Xbow actually adds +5 damage... 2 for being a heavy xbow and +3 for the magical bonus. Add in Archer bonuses and the strength damage, we are talking about some seriously painful damage.

[Dundee Slaytern]

I would like to meet these 'other people', because as far as I can tell, I do not have the '1 damage' problem that you have. I thought we already confirmed that this was a Mac-Only bug?

I use Archers a lot, and funnily enough, I had the opposite problem, I always seem to deal more the usual amount of damage( it was eventually worked out where the damage came from).

Yes, Bows do not deal the most ranged damage, but neither are they bugged. They work perfectly fine in the PC-version of BG2.

Crossbows tacking on STR damage bonuses is not confirmed yet either.

[LennonCook]

Originally posted by SixOfSpades: Not as far as I know, although it should be relatively simple to make one. Things like the additional "enchantment" damage and adding the STR bonus to damage are contained in the *.ITM files, so it's simply a matter of going through and making slight changes to all the enchanted Long Bows, Short Bows, Crossbows, and Throwing Daggers. (It may sound like a lot of work, but there really aren't that many of them.)

Should be fairly easy using COPY_EXISTING_REGEXP ... *if* all of, for example, the Shortbows have the same characters in their filename that denotes them being Shortbows... otherwise, it *would* be alot of work.