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Old 02-16-2003, 12:00 AM   #1
dark soul
The Magister
 

Join Date: November 28, 2002
Location: USA
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well im goin to make this character that goin to use range weapons....i never use range weapons much...so can anyone tell me the difference between short and long bows.....and light and heavy crossbows....and one more question about range weapons....whats the difference between crossbows and bows?
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Old 02-16-2003, 12:17 AM   #2
Imrahil
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Join Date: November 4, 2001
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Short answer: just stick with Crossbows

Long answer: Longbows are supposed to provide you with a better range & better accuracy than Shortbows, but they really don't (at least in game play). Composite Long Bows do give you a +1 damage I think, but they still suck in general. Plus, there are much better (magical) Shortbows in the game than Longbows. So, if you decide on Bows rather than Crossbows, you're probably better off with Shortbows, and in particular the Tuigan Bow.

Heavy Crossbows are supposed to add more damage than Light Crossbows, but at a slower rate of fire, but I don't think that's implemented (maybe a slower weapon speed, but they both fire at 1:round, so no big deal). The Heavy Crossbow of Searing(HCoS) & the Light Crossbow of Speed (LCoS) are both excellent weapons, though, so pick either up.

As far as ammo, Bows do have Arrows of Dispelling & Arrows of Detonation going for them, but Crossbows have Bolts of Lightning, which are pretty good as well. BoL are much more common than the other two, though. Standard issue ammo for Crossbows does more damage (though at a slower rate of fire) than Bows, but the LCoS can make up for that & the HCoS can do damage through Stoneksins, so they generally make up for the normal weaknesses of Crossbows.

- Imrahil

[ 02-16-2003, 01:36 AM: Message edited by: Imrahil ]
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Old 02-16-2003, 06:48 AM   #3
Rataxes
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For SoA only? Definitely some sort of bow, preferably a Short Bow. Crossbows might do slightly more damage per hit, but bows hit a lot faster, resulting in much more damage over time. I'd take Shortbows because the by far best bows in the game - Tuigan and Gesen Bow - are both shortbows.

Crossbows do have a better selection of ammo, most notably Kua-Toa bolts which Stun and do almost twice as much damage as normal bolts, but also Bolts of Biting and Bolts of Lightning. As has already been mentioned though, Bows get Arrows of Dispelling which are awesome quite simply.
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Old 02-16-2003, 06:55 AM   #4
Gangrell
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I prefer the long bow over any other type of ranged weapon. As long as you have arrows of biting or arrows of piercing, then you're good. Also, combine yourself with boots of speed maybe, and gloves of archery just to give yourself more of an advantage.

P.S.- Short bows S-U-C-K. You ever used Gesen's bow? It fires so slow, I'd be dead before gettin my first shot off [img]tongue.gif[/img]
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Old 02-16-2003, 07:14 AM   #5
Rataxes
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Quote:
Originally posted by Gangrell:
I prefer the long bow over any other type of ranged weapon. As long as you have arrows of biting or arrows of piercing, then you're good. Also, combine yourself with boots of speed maybe, and gloves of archery just to give yourself more of an advantage.

P.S.- Short bows S-U-C-K. You ever used Gesen's bow? It fires so slow, I'd be dead before gettin my first shot off [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Nothing wrong with Gesen's rate of fire, and if you have a problem with the speed that the arrows travel at, just use normal ammo with it. The special Lightning and Piercing damage will still be added and the arrows will travel at normal speed.

It's also the only +4 Enchanted Bow or X-bow in the game.
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Old 02-17-2003, 01:08 PM   #6
Gangrell
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Just saying, for such a powerful bow, you'd figure they'd give it a decent rate of fire.
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Old 02-17-2003, 01:18 PM   #7
Alson
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As Butterfingers can attest, Kensais with Throwing Daggers (and, to a lesser extent, Throwing Axes) are truly the best range attackers in the game. Be sure to get Fire Tooth +3.
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Old 02-17-2003, 02:38 PM   #8
Xero279
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If you plan to use bows, use short bows. i dont know if it has been fixed yet, but long bows are bugged. does anyone know is any patches fixed it yet??
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Old 02-17-2003, 03:37 PM   #9
Butterfingers
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Well, from my own tests, all bows are bugged. Short and long. Except for the ones that fire phantom arrows. I do not think it is the bow being bugged so much as it could be the arrows, I still have not figured out exactly what is going on, but, there is something most peculiar about bows in general as I have stated in another thread.

As for using missle weapons on Kensais, DON'T! Once my Halfling hit about level 13 or so, maybe 14 or 15, the game became sickningly easy. To easy. It got boring. Kai shot and Fire Tooth ended fights with little or no effort on my part. When you add strength bonuses, etc, it gets crazy. All at no danger to the Kensai, which is important considering how lightly armored he (or she) is. Combine high rate of fire, and the fact my super low speed factor would allow me to plug most mages before they even got their protection up, there was simply no challenge left in the game.

Crossbows are king for damage. Armed with the Giant Hair Crossbow or the Heavy Crossbow of Searing, any Archer or Fighter with a few stars in crossbows can make short work of most anything.

And don't forget darts. They are quite nasty, some of them, and, can be quite useful for many fights if used properly. Seeing a Blade in Offensive spin hurling Darts of Stunning or Wounding is actually quite entertaining really, something that everybody should try just once.
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Old 02-17-2003, 04:05 PM   #10
Mahlennacht
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If you're going w/ shortbows, please at least give Tansheron's Bow a try, if nothing else because you can get it fairly early in the game, much earlier than Gesen's bow, it can damage certain golems, and it needs no ammo.

I also had good results with Hangard's Axe, if you're a tank. Or Azuredge too 'cos it dusts undead. They're boomerang-type weapons, don'tcha know WOOHOO

LOVE those weapons which don't require ammo
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