What is the Best MISSILE or Bow\Crossbow?

[TheWiSeFooL]

Besides the legendery weapons...(SHORTBOW of GESEN)

What does every1 else favourites or most powerful?
Just so I know I am armed with the best that I have Because with all the BONUSes and such THACO and DAMAGE modifiers (not to mention all of the special poison, acid, fire, lightning etc bolts and arrows) it becomes increasingly difficult to pick the most ideal u have in your possession or when going to an equipment store? to get ur best value for gold...

Do u go for SPEED? or extra damage?
TUIGAN SHORT BOW +1 (3 shots per rnd)
ELVEN COURT BOW +3
FIRETOOTH +4
Is what I am currently using...I did once use the
GIANT HAIR CROSSBOW which I sold...

Any hints and tips?

THANKS

[Xen]

Here it goes...

It`s a known fact that Crossbows do more damage then Short/Long Bows.

So that`s way i love Firetooth(ToB Crossbow).

I also like all other Bows:
Teleomortis
Heatseeker
Elven Court
Tuigan Bow
.
.
.

[ 08-20-2003, 04:16 AM: Message edited by: Xen ]

[TaSSaDaR]

I like Tuigan machinegun (a cool expression, sadly not mine - someone here at IW said it [img]smile.gif[/img] All copyrights to him Fight piracy! [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) mixed with a certain Assassin ability... you know it [img]smile.gif[/img] A great thing to knock out lots of enemies [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Jim]

Are you playing as an archer?

Due to archers gaining bonuses to hit and damage, nothing beats raw APR. Tuigan may only have a rather pathetic +1 to damage, but the extra APR is extremely meaningful when you consider the magnitude of the Archer bonuses and weapon proficiency.

From your list, I would rule out the Elven Court Bow, since there is no bonus to damage or APR, and an Archer will have a bitchin THAC0 anyway. I would use Strongarm+2 at the early stages of the game (only bow that has +3 damage), and as your kit bonuses increase, consider switching to Tuigan. I've never been a crossbow fan, due to the inferior APR rate over bows, but they do pack a heavy punch. The ultimate Crossbow will obviously be Firetooth +5, but in the meantime, FIretooth +4 and the Giant Hair Crossbow +3 will both server you well. For maximum damage per round however, use Tuigan or Strongarm depending of your level.

If you are a fighter rather than an Archer, then your average damage per hit is (assuming grandmastery):

• Giant Hair Cross Bow = 14.5
• Firetooth +4/+5 = 15.5/16.5
• Tuigan+1 = 9.5
• Strongarm +2 = 11.5

So it is apparent that the Crossbows win the damage per hit award, but when taking into consideration the fact that bows grant an additional +1 APR base: (the following assume post level 13 and again, grandmastery)

• Giant Hair Cross Bow = 3.5*14.5 = 50.75
• Firetooth +4/+5 = 3.5*15.5=54.25/3.5*16.5=57.75
• Tuigan+1 = 5*9.5 = 47.5
• Strongarm +2 = 4.5*11.5 = 51.75

So, without the bonuses from the archer kit, in terms of damage per round, Strongarm beats Giant Hair and Tuigan, but Firetooth takes the crown.

[Link]

I think Taralash is quite a decent bow as well. I've used it a couple of games.

[Pyrenk]

Jim is spouting numbers again, save yourselves.

I love the Firetooth...crossbows look much better than bows, especially red ones.

[perlninja]

This brings up a related question on my part. My favourite (though not the best) bow is the +3 short bow that you can buy in Trademeet...it's name escapes me at the moment. Anyways, this bow does not require ammunition, it shoots a neverending supply of "phantom arrows". What I am wondering is if these arrows, being phantasmal, count as magical or otherwise strike an opponent guarded against non-magic missile attacks, or if the appeal is simply a Tarmauril-type virtual quiver?

[Pyrenk]

Tansheron's. I think that the phantom arrows are magical; Gesen and Firetooth create magical ammo, if I'm not mistaken.

However, if you have ToB, a better combination would be Tuigan and the Quiver of Plenty. Unlimited arrows, quick attack speed.

[ 08-20-2003, 03:14 PM: Message edited by: Pyrenk ]

[SixOfSpades]

What's all this about unlimited ammunition? You already HAVE unlimited ammo, just by picking up loot. Take it from me: My last party to finish ToB was myself (Archer), Korgan, Keldorn, Mazzy, Montaron, and the ToB NPC. All we did was use the ammo that we looted (and carried over from BG1), and didn't use any infinte-ammo items (well, Mazzy was using Gesen, but with real arrows), but by the end of the game, we could still have beaten all the enemies in the Final Battle just by dropping our unused ammo on them. Even with 6 Warriors pumping out 50 missiles (Korgan doesn't count, as he was using a Throwing Axe) every round, you'll still never run out of ammo.

[Pyrenk]

Well, yes, but unless you have the Weapon Stacking aspect of EoU installed, it's much more efficient to use one of the "of Plenty" items.