Bow Guide

[LordKalkin]

OK, so I am a level 5 Elven Ranger, right now I have a +2 Longbow, and a +1 Longbow of Whatever (does sound damage). I have seen some shortbows.

Are shortbows worth the time, or just use longbows? I would think the answer is longbows, because of range.

Is there any post of a list of good bows? I mean I read stuff about Silver Bows/Lightning bow, upgrades to tier II lit, etc. But that is way off.

I will look at the definitive quest rewards to see what bows appear there.

I was wondering what else is out there, and what I should be looking for.
I figure I will not be buying bows, unless I see a paralysis bow cheap or something..

[Mr_Tank]

The silver bow is min level 6 so... that is all you need till you can craft greensteel. There is no range difference betweent a short and a longbow. They only have different base damage (d6 to a d8) and a few classes only get shortbow proficiency.

edit: The silver bow is the way to go b/c it has a higher base damage (d10) and it has an improved crit profile 19-20 X3. When you get improved crit ranged this will stack making it a d10 17-20 X3.

[GentlemanAndAScholar]

OK, so I am a level 5 Elven Ranger

I'm the bearer of bad news, fellow. All your ranged ranger activities must be suspended until Turbine fixes ranged combat.

[LOOON375]

For your level you probably should look for something that adds elemental damage. Flaming, frost, etc. Once you add a level or two you should be high enough to use bows that do Holy damage. If you are good aligned and of the previous damage types that I mentioned look for a bow that does Holy damage and 'pure good' damage. That will add up to 2-12 + 1-6 respectively.

Once you get a little higher in level, the best bow in game for lower levels is the Silver Bow. You can farm for it in the "Church of the Cult" quest in house Phiarlan.

Basic damage wise, long bows are much better in general than short bows. Distance doesn't really matter. I have used plenty of both and can hit the same targets with both types regardless of distance.

[Mr_Tank]

He can pew pew, he should just understand that the wiz with masters touch and a great axe will do the same damage as he is.

[Lornman]

Stat damaging bows are out there and quite nice, so are the paralyzers. In a couple more levels (it's a level 9 quest) you'll be able to run The Church and the Cult, and once you get the Silver Longbow you'll be using that for a while as your mainstay arrow chucker - note that the name of the bow does not mean it has the metal/alchemical properties of silver, it is simply a holy bow with increased damage and crit range. At lower levels the Nicked Longbow that can be gotten from the Sharn Syndicate quests end reward is nice to have. At higher levels the Unwavering Ardency from the Ascension Chamber quest/raid (Necro IV) is pretty tasty. Check out ddowiki.com and you'll find out about some other nice to have bows and were to find them.

[stille_nacht]

how does Holy Burst Icy Burst of Pure Good compare to silver bow?

Short bows are like longbows but with 1 less damage. So basically Add a mental +1 to longbows when comparing them, there are plenty of dirt cheap shortbows that are actually pretty terrific.

Two weapon fighting is probably your best bet at damage though, ranged is sort of low damage outside of manyshot

[Glenalth]

Assuming Improved Crit: Ranged, there is a breaking point where the Silver Longbow becomes better than any randomly generated bow in the game (including ones with added rituals) depending on the character's strength, damage bonuses, and seeker items vs non-fortified targets.

Unwavering Ardency is junk for most situations. It is very pretty looking though.

[Doxmaster]

Actually, ice burst wont factor into the equation often, so its basically 'holy burst, pure good, #'.

That said, a holy burst puregood bow is decent, especially if it has a high + to it, but Silver will still be a strongcompetitor. Larger crit range, better base damage.

[LordKalkin]

yeah, I found the itemwiki, and started looking at longbows.

Aside from what was mentioned, I saw

Petrifying LongBow (L12, attack on stormreach quests)
Tortured Livewood Bow (L12, Gianthold Tor, Acid damage)

[Mr_Tank]

Assuming Improved Crit: Ranged, there is a breaking point where the Silver Longbow becomes better than any randomly generated bow in the game (including ones with added rituals) depending on the character's strength, damage bonuses, and seeker items vs non-fortified targets.

Unwavering Ardency is junk for most situations. It is very pretty looking though.

The man has spoken heed his words.

[Doop]

Bought a +5 Metalline Shortbow of Pure Good on AH for 230K. Worth it?

[Dragavon]

Bought a +5 Metalline Shortbow of Pure Good on AH for 230K. Worth it?

Depends how much 230k is for you. If it was your entire savings then it was a waste, if 230k is pocketmoney for you then ok.

I would rather have a Silver bow and House D silver/cold iron arrows. All the way until I make a GS bow

[Doop]

Depends how much 230k is for you. If it was your entire savings then it was a waste, if 230k is pocketmoney for you then ok.

I would rather have a Silver bow and House D silver/cold iron arrows. All the way until I make a GS bow

Good point. Have about 500K now even after buying the bow so it's all good.

[PestWulf]

I play a not-ranger ranged character, and I've pretty much been using Silver Bow since lvl 6. Got it for about 15k on auction, but I'd have been willing to pay much more.

As a Kensai Arcane Archer with a decent starting strength the bow has been devastating. Early on I had to make use of shield/scimitar for close quarters combat (this is all soloing or duoing with a friend who is also a kensai archer).

I did well with this up until I got multishot and improved precise shot. Shortly after I added the windhowler bracers and have made liberal use of the fighter Haste line. Currently at level 15, without using self buffs, I hit for around 25 on an average damage a shot and crit for as little as 90ish and as high as 110ish.

I am currently, patiently, awaiting those freaking undead to give me my seeker gem that they have been holding for me which is rightfully mine!. so this is without a seeker augmentation at the moment, you can knock that up another 18 damage on crits if you've got the bloodstone.

another huge burst of damage came for me when I obtained the windhowler bracers. It is kind of amazing to realize exactly how many 20's you actually roll in combat. The extra 50 or so burst damage from this has been nothing short of amazing and I highly recommend them as one who does the majority of their fighting at range.

I don't really have spectacular gear, as this character (15) is currently my highest. My gear has all came from buying on the AH with money earned from selling Drowshood mushrooms, and now that i'm past level 10 and money is flowing in freely, I'll be augmenting it a bit more.

I only ever use 2 bows, one is the silver bow and the other is a paralyzer I picked up at level 10. However, I have considered getting an improved destruction bow for some super high ac mobs..but honestly, with the bonus to-hit the game gives you by default I've seen anywhere from +35 to hit and upwards of +40ish to hit and haven't had a whole lot of misses.

When I hit some crit immune mobs, I may need to go back and try picking up some "specialty" bows. But I'm very pleased with the Silver Bow and don't think I'll be willing to change out until I can epic a thornlord. I don't think I'll be able to get a greensteel enchanted as a solo/duo ist. I'm not sure, but I think the Shroud requires more than 2 people for a puzzle (never mind the difficulty of surviving on a non-survival optimized build).

Just my two-cents in case you care

[hityawithastick]

Unwavering Ardency is junk for most situations. It is very pretty looking though.

I suggest using it on your wizard.

[Glenalth]

Bought a +5 Metalline Shortbow of Pure Good on AH for 230K. Worth it?

You're giving up quite a bit of damage on a combat style that is already low on damage by not using a better bow. Metalline is made obsolete by just loading the appropriate arrows.

[krackythehoodedone]

Ok here's the absolute must's for me.

Level 6. Silver Longbow. For bosses pretty much will outdo anything until you get your grubby little paws on greensteel.

Level 10. Parylzer..awesome super weapon until the nasty cheating monsters get growed up saves

Level..17+ Greensteel..Make a lightning 11 first


Various specialist bows for one off encounters. IE smiter/banisher/stat damager/disruptor and fiery burst for cold types etc.

Where the bow damage is not so relevant. A disruptor for instance you can pick up some great shortbow bargains so don't discount them completely

[GentlemanAndAScholar]

You're giving up quite a bit of damage on a combat style that is already low on damage by not using a better bow. Metalline is made obsolete by just loading the appropriate arrows.

Be careful. Apparently saying that bow combat is low damage is frowned upon around here.

[Glenalth]

Ok here's the absolute must's for me.

Level 6. Silver Longbow. For bosses pretty much will outdo anything until you get your grubby little paws on greensteel.

Level 10. Parylzer..awesome super weapon until the nasty cheating monsters get growed up saves

Level..17+ Greensteel..Make a lightning 11 first


Various specialist bows for one off encounters. IE smiter/banisher/stat damager/disruptor and fiery burst for cold types etc.

Where the bow damage is not so relevant. A disruptor for instance you can pick up some great shortbow bargains so don't discount them completely

That's a pretty normal selection for bows.

Remember that when that Silver Longbow fails to be awesome is vs fortified/critical immune mobs. It's not a bad idea to pick up some good greater banes to fill out those enemy types (undead, elemental, construct, etc..). The Lightning II will surpass most of them once you build it, but work out the math for your character, you might be surprised which bows work best for certain situations.

As for your initial bows, don't worry too much about if it's a short or longbow unless you are a kensai or fighter splash with a particular bow specialty. It's averages out to just over 1pt of damage for a ranger. Once you start getting your ideal gear together, then start worrying about it.