Gearing a Completionist: Bows

[Sebastrd]

I could use some help figuring out just which junk is worth hanging on to for a character that will eventually hit triple completionist. My goal is to recycle as much gear as possible to minimize bank/mule space. In this thread, I'm focusing on bows. Assuming the following:

• AA
• Preference on damage per individual shot (DR sucks)
• Improved Crit will be taken.
• Any greensteel/Cannith/Challenge weapon is craftable
• Utility/niche bows are welcome

What is the best bow at each level, from 1-30?

1. ?
2. Cloven Jaw Longbow
3. ?
4. +1 Shock Longbow of Lacerating, Lumric's Longbow, Greatbow of the Scrag
5. ?
6. Silver Longbow (Old), Serpentbranch, Ghostbane Longbow
7. ?
8. Silver Longbow (New), +1 Shock II Composite Longbow of Ghostbane II, +1 Longbow of Smiting, +2 Shocking Burst Longbow of Lacerating
9. ?
10. Thornlord
11. ?
12. Tortured Livewood Bow (Old), +2 Paralyzing Composite Longbow, +1 Banishing Shortbow of Pure Good, +2 Composite Longbow of Disruption, +5 Riptide Longbow of Lacerating
13. ?
14. Bow of Sinew, +5 Shocking Burst Longbow of Pure Good (RR), +2 Banishing Composite Longbow of Pure Good, +3 Composite Longbow of Smiting, +2 Holy Longbow of Disruption (RR)
15. ?
16. +2 Paralyzing Shortbow of Pure Good, Bow of the Silver Flame, +2 Flaming Burst Composite Shortbow of Smiting
17. ?
18. ?
19. ?
20. ?
21. +5 Shrieking Darkwood Shortbow of Pure Good
22. ?
23. Pinion
24. ?
25. ?
26. ?
27. ?
28. ?
29. ?
30. ?

I'll edit this post as the discussion develops, and I'll enter some placeholders based on gear I've already acquired.

Which weapons clearly outshine all other options at their level?
At which levels are utility weapons such as smiters, disruptors, paralyzers viable or necessary?

Thanks in advance to any participants

[Loromir]

I could use some help figuring out just which junk is worth hanging on to for a character that will eventually hit triple completionist. My goal is to recycle as much gear as possible to minimize bank/mule space. In this thread, I'm focusing on bows. Assuming the following:

• AA
• Preference on damage per individual shot (DR sucks)
• Improved Crit will be taken.
• Any greensteel/Cannith/Challenge weapon is craftable
• Utility/niche bows are welcome

What is the best bow at each level, from 1-30?

1. ?
2. Cloven Jaw Longbow
3. ?
4. +1 Shock Longbow of Lacerating, Lumric's Longbow, Greatbow of the Scrag
5. ?
6. Silver Longbow (Old), Serpentbranch, Ghostbane Longbow
7. ?
8. Silver Longbow (New), +1 Shock II Composite Longbow of Ghostbane II, +1 Longbow of Smiting, +2 Shocking Burst Longbow of Lacerating
9. ?
10. Thornlord
11. ?
12. Tortured Livewood Bow (Old), +2 Paralyzing Composite Longbow, +1 Banishing Shortbow of Pure Good, +2 Composite Longbow of Disruption, +5 Riptide Longbow of Lacerating
13. ?
14. Bow of Sinew, +5 Shocking Burst Longbow of Pure Good (RR), +2 Banishing Composite Longbow of Pure Good, +3 Composite Longbow of Smiting, +2 Holy Longbow of Disruption (RR)
15. ?
16. +2 Paralyzing Shortbow of Pure Good, Bow of the Silver Flame, +2 Flaming Burst Composite Shortbow of Smiting
17. ?
18. ?
19. ?
20. ?
21. +5 Shrieking Darkwood Shortbow of Pure Good
22. ?
23. Pinion
24. ?
25. ?
26. ?
27. ?
28. ?
29. ?
30. ?

I'll edit this post as the discussion develops, and I'll enter some placeholders based on gear I've already acquired.

Which weapons clearly outshine all other options at their level?
At which levels are utility weapons such as smiters, disruptors, paralyzers viable or necessary?

Thanks in advance to any participants

Big list of bows there. For me, before I get to Silver Longbow, I just ignore ranged and go with twf Scimitars or some two hander. Once I can use Silver Longbow, I use that almost exclusively until I get to Bow of Sinew. After that I will keep Bow of Sinew, until lvl 20 (In some cases even longer) then add in Epic Elemental Longbow. I also keep Bow of the Silver Flame for undead. At 23, it is almost exclusively Pinion. In reality, Arcane Archer eliminates the need for a big variety of Bows in my pack.

So basically, about 5 bows from 1-28 should do.

[Sebastrd]

Big list of bows there. For me, before I get to Silver Longbow, I just ignore ranged and go with twf Scimitars or some two hander. Once I can use Silver Longbow, I use that almost exclusively until I get to Bow of Sinew. After that I will keep Bow of Sinew, until lvl 20 (In some cases even longer) then add in Epic Elemental Longbow. I also keep Bow of the Silver Flame for undead. At 23, it is almost exclusively Pinion. In reality, Arcane Archer eliminates the need for a big variety of Bows in my pack.

So basically, about 5 bows from 1-28 should do.

Is it worth building an Alchemical Longbow for 20-22? What would you put on it (I assume triple earth)?

I kind of assumed a progression of Silver Longbow-> Bow of Sinew-> Pinion. But there have to be breakpoints in there where a utility bow like a smiter or disruptor is worth a spot, right? Is a Silver Longbow/Bow of Sinew better than a Lit II/Min II greensteel? If they ever nerf AA, is a paralyzer worth holding on to?

I'm really partial to the acid arrow bows, because I like the flavor. Are there any that do comparable DPS to the usual suspects?

[Rhaphael]

For me that list is a lot shorter:

1-5: melee weapons, usually twf
6-7: Giant's Roar
8-15: Silver Longbow
16-19: Silver Longbow / Bow of the Silver Flame
20-22: Epic Longbow of Earth
23+: Pinion

[Pala-forged]

Greatsword of lacerating, 1-8
8-23, silver longbow
12-23, lit II. (situational)
23+ Pinion.

Which shows how much I care about weapons. And gear.
**** heroics.

[cru121]

No love for Greatbow of the Scrag? 2[1d8]+2, Red slot, Blunted Ammunition, ML4.
(Just wondering, perhaps blunted is not useful these days with AA imbues.)

[Eth]

1-5: Whatever (don't need to range anyway)
6-13: Silver Longbow
14-22: Unwavering Ardency
23+: Pinion

Those 3 are all you need + maybe some utility (Bow of the silver flame, GS Ooze Bow for the lulz)

Bow of Sinew works I guess if you don't have Unwavering Ardency.

[Sokól]

1-5: Whatever (don't need to range anyway)
6-13: Silver Longbow
14-22: Unwavering Ardency
23+: Pinion

Those 3 are all you need + maybe some utility (Bow of the silver flame, GS Ooze Bow for the lulz)

Bow of Sinew works I guess if you don't have Unwavering Ardency.

I agree with Eth but I use sometimes the Bow of the Silverflame with Unwavering Ardency and a pod shot before manyshot on the Truthfull 1 for example.

[Kalevor]

just 2 bows:
-bow of sinew. lvl14+
-pinion. lvl23+

before those levels there is no need for a bow, melee is way better.

[sephiroth1084]

Is it worth building an Alchemical Longbow for 20-22? What would you put on it (I assume triple earth)?

I kind of assumed a progression of Silver Longbow-> Bow of Sinew-> Pinion. But there have to be breakpoints in there where a utility bow like a smiter or disruptor is worth a spot, right? Is a Silver Longbow/Bow of Sinew better than a Lit II/Min II greensteel? If they ever nerf AA, is a paralyzer worth holding on to?

I'm really partial to the acid arrow bows, because I like the flavor. Are there any that do comparable DPS to the usual suspects?

It depends on your base damage. By my figuring (with Barrage), the Silver Longbow is better than both Lit II (when you drop Lightning Strike from the equation) and Bow of Sinew (if you can slot a +6 Seeker item).

Against undead bosses, I'd use the Bow of the Silver Flame for the Weaken Undead ability, especially if you're in a group with a fair number of martial DPS (melees or archers). In quests with a lot of constructs, particularly ones with a lot of HP, I'd use a smiter, and I'd use a disruptor vs. undead from as early as you can acquire one onward. It's hard to argue with occasionally insta-killing the undead while also dealing an additional 4d6 along the way, and the expanded crit range on the Silver Longbow, Sinew and Unwavering Ardency don't matter much against these foes. Added to that list are elementals, for which I use a <decent prefix> bow of Greater Elemental Bane. I had had a good one with Icy Burst as well, but that had its ML jacked up too high to still be worth using.

If you can stand running the Abbot, Unwavering Ardency is going to be your best bet from 16-23 probably.

I discount the Lightning Strike when doing my Lit II figures, because for most of your character's life, monsters aren't going to have enough HP for this to mean more than a crit does, it comes up less frequently, and often triggers on stuff that's already almost dead, essentially wasting the proc. It's worth keeping in mind what the Lit II looks like in a true comparison, so you know whether you want to swap to that for big HP meatbags like raid bosses, but during normal questing, it's just not worth using until maybe Amrath where Orthons can have 2,000+ HP I believe.

Personally, I'd say...whatever you want from 1-5, Silver Longbow from 6-12 (depending on your base damage--Lit II otherwise), or until level 14 (unless you plan on wearing a Seeker 6 item--Bow of Sinew), or 16 (if you have Unwavering Ardency), or 22, then Pinion.

[Sebastrd]

It depends on your base damage. By my figuring (with Barrage), the Silver Longbow is better than both Lit II (when you drop Lightning Strike from the equation) and Bow of Sinew (if you can slot a +6 Seeker item).

Against undead bosses, I'd use the Bow of the Silver Flame for the Weaken Undead ability, especially if you're in a group with a fair number of martial DPS (melees or archers). In quests with a lot of constructs, particularly ones with a lot of HP, I'd use a smiter, and I'd use a disruptor vs. undead from as early as you can acquire one onward. It's hard to argue with occasionally insta-killing the undead while also dealing an additional 4d6 along the way, and the expanded crit range on the Silver Longbow, Sinew and Unwavering Ardency don't matter much against these foes. Added to that list are elementals, for which I use a <decent prefix> bow of Greater Elemental Bane. I had had a good one with Icy Burst as well, but that had its ML jacked up too high to still be worth using.

If you can stand running the Abbot, Unwavering Ardency is going to be your best bet from 16-23 probably.

I discount the Lightning Strike when doing my Lit II figures, because for most of your character's life, monsters aren't going to have enough HP for this to mean more than a crit does, it comes up less frequently, and often triggers on stuff that's already almost dead, essentially wasting the proc. It's worth keeping in mind what the Lit II looks like in a true comparison, so you know whether you want to swap to that for big HP meatbags like raid bosses, but during normal questing, it's just not worth using until maybe Amrath where Orthons can have 2,000+ HP I believe.

Personally, I'd say...whatever you want from 1-5, Silver Longbow from 6-12 (depending on your base damage--Lit II otherwise), or until level 14 (unless you plan on wearing a Seeker 6 item--Bow of Sinew), or 16 (if you have Unwavering Ardency), or 22, then Pinion.

Thanks. That's the kind of analysis I'm looking for.

[Loromir]

Is it worth building an Alchemical Longbow for 20-22? What would you put on it (I assume triple earth)?

I kind of assumed a progression of Silver Longbow-> Bow of Sinew-> Pinion. But there have to be breakpoints in there where a utility bow like a smiter or disruptor is worth a spot, right? Is a Silver Longbow/Bow of Sinew better than a Lit II/Min II greensteel? If they ever nerf AA, is a paralyzer worth holding on to?

I'm really partial to the acid arrow bows, because I like the flavor. Are there any that do comparable DPS to the usual suspects?

Frankly, I think the Bow of Sinew is as good as any bow until Pinion becomes available. AA imbues really makes it un-necessary to carry much else. The exception to this rule is you need a good bow for Undead.

GS LITII is nice, but not better then Bow of Sinew IMO.

I wouldn't bother with the Alchemical bow myself.