U49 Bow Max DPS Build Complete Guide

[Carpone]

Complete write up is available in Google Docs because 12 pages is too much for the forum software. It includes race selection and attributes, feats, gear, filigree, enhancements, epic destiny information, and a thorough breakdown of sources for all the important stats.

Highlights:
100 DEX
098 INT for Know the Angles
364 Ranged Power (402 boosted) without mythic/reaper items
142 Doubleshot (190 boosted)
128 Fortification Bypass (158 for red/purple named)
213 To-Hit
220 Base weapon damage
021 Favored enemy damage (9 different types)
121 Sneak attack damage (136 boosted)
037 Critical damage
198 PRR without mythic/reaper items
100 MRR

[Carpone]

If you can do better, then post it. It literally says that at the start of the guide. I ran numbers for a couple of different builds, including WIS-based, FvS splashes, and monk splashes and the DEX pure ranger came out on top thanks to the 3 SA dice, +4 DEX and 20 RP from the capstone.

Bows gonna still be meh until maybe new tree

Yep. Bows aren't a meta super DPS build -- melee are still far superior for damage output. Bows against favored enemies are just the best damage option when ranged is desired/required. Against non-favored enemies, I think throwing dagger is still ahead though I haven't recalculated that since earlier Lams.

[Tsutti]

Bows against favored enemies are just the best damage option when ranged is desired/required. Against non-favored enemies, I think throwing dagger is still ahead though I haven't recalculated that since earlier Lams.

I take it this statement is assuming an 11/6/3 thrower instead of pure ranger? You say thrower > bow, and ranger > split vs favored enemies, why still run one or the other instead of combining them into pure ranger dagger thrower? With pure ranger and a twist you can get enough favored enemies that nearly everything you ever fight at cap will be a favored enemy, so pretty much the only time your dps would pull ahead in a relevant way on the split is against an undead or construct boss which is otherwise immune to sneak attack.

EDIT: want to clarify that I understand this thread is looking at bows specifically due to their update, but I'm asking about what you'd choose for an overall max dps ranged build

[Kmnh]

- Wallwatch armor and gloves
- Collective Sight

+ Legendary Tinkerer's Goggles
+ Legendary Tinkerer's Gloves
+ Whatever armor you want. Medium armor swap-in? Winter armor to go with the belt?

I'm sure that the insightful and quality Seeker/Deception is worth more than the 5 ranged power.

- Direwolf Belt + Cornerstone Champion maybe?

[donblas]

Complete write up is available in Google Docs because 12 pages is too much for the forum software. It includes race selection and attributes, feats, gear, filigree, enhancements, epic destiny information, and a thorough breakdown of sources for all the important stats.

Highlights:
100 DEX
098 INT for Know the Angles
364 Ranged Power (402 boosted) without mythic/reaper items
142 Doubleshot (190 boosted)
128 Fortification Bypass (158 for red/purple named)
213 To-Hit
220 Base weapon damage
021 Favored enemy damage (9 different types)
121 Sneak attack damage (136 boosted)
037 Critical damage
198 PRR without mythic/reaper items
100 MRR

Interesting. Well written Google document - I liked the helpful comments too. Looks like quite a lot of work and thought went into it.

Alas, for various reasons most of it is irrelevant to me, but I'm sure it is of help - even if only as a starting point for discussion - for others.

Still, it was well worth reading.

[Carpone]

- Wallwatch armor and gloves
- Collective Sight

+ Legendary Tinkerer's Goggles
+ Legendary Tinkerer's Gloves
+ Whatever armor you want. Medium armor swap-in? Winter armor to go with the belt?

I'm sure that the insightful and quality Seeker/Deception is worth more than the 5 ranged power.

+5 seeker is 8.125 dmg averaged across all hits (assume you're missing on a roll of 1-3). Losing 5 RP is -8.25 SA dmg less per hit, and -12.05 base+FE dmg less per hit.

[Arkat]

I really have no idea what this means!

jelly = jealousy

[IlmerSilverhilt]

Nice stats! Approx when does Ethereal Plance pull ahead of Arborea? I didnt try Ethereal yet.
Also since you swap for KtA, you can also swap to Deadly Raid fili for +20RP boosting if you like.

[Carpone]

Ethereal is 22-33 more dmg per hit (55-84 when fully boosting) than Arborea, depending if you need to apply SA vulnerability via Sniper Shot or not.

I included the Deadly Rain 5pc swap in the guide, which brings the burst RP to 422.

[johngalt317]

Hey great guide. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for an halfing archer that wants to stay 12 monk / 6 ranger / X split for abundant step?(since you mentioned you looked at other builds)

I realize I'd be losing 10K stars in this new patch, but that just means more ki for stepping :P I'm ok with giving up some DPS for this utility. I'm currently wis / harper based.

Should I stay wis? Should I go dex/int/2rogue? Currently 2 fighter since originally I dabbled in Kensai pre-falconry.

[Pandjed]

Interesting thoughts.

Warforged-variant needs an adjustment though, as you can only choose the Improved Power Attack enhancement, if you have the Power Attack feat (breaking the MRR cap seems intruiging, that's why I noticed).

[Walls]

Thanks so much for this, I used to main ranger, But haven't in YEARS !! So Im glad to be able to get back into it and freshen up my knowledge !

When leveling is it still best to just use AA > DW?

[Carpone]

Hey great guide. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for an halfing archer that wants to stay 12 monk / 6 ranger / X split for abundant step?

You can easily flex to WIS based using the same gearset. Not sure why you'd want both Falconry and Harper when you're WIS based though. I understand the draw of Abundant Step. Lack of movement speed is the number one drawback of this build compared to other ranged builds. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Misty Step ability added within the Horizon Walker tree. Dimension Door is key feature within the PnP version, but the implementation of DDoor within DDO doesn't meet the spirit of the PnP design.

Warforged-variant needs an adjustment though, as you can only choose the Improved Power Attack enhancement, if you have the Power Attack feat (breaking the MRR cap seems intruiging, that's why I noticed).

Thank you, it's been removed. I was eyeballing that since I didn't have time to roll all of the variants on Lam during the last preview. We used Warforged ranged during our R10 KT because of the MRR. It's still squishy compared to melee, and I'd drop the boots and belt for LGS 2pc Opposition in that situation.

Thanks so much for this, I used to main ranger, But haven't in YEARS !! So Im glad to be able to get back into it and freshen up my knowledge !

When leveling is it still best to just use AA > DW?

The build is intended to be the defacto informative resource for players exploring bows again in U49. I've come across many cringe worthy and misinformed bow builds while raiding and reading the forums, including "acid arrow" and bizarre fort bypass builds that focus on feels instead of DPS.

I'd go DWS for leveling, with enough AP in AA for the returning arrows.

[johngalt317]

[QUOTE=Carpone;6425501]You can easily flex to WIS based using the same gearset. Not sure why you'd want both Falconry and Harper when you're WIS based though. I understand the draw of Abundant Step. Lack of movement speed is the number one drawback of this build compared to other ranged builds. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Misty Step ability added within the Horizon Walker tree. Dimension Door is key feature within the PnP version, but the implementation of DDoor within DDO doesn't meet the spirit of the PnP design.

Sorry that should have said wis/falconry :P

Would you still focus on ranged power versus wis filligrees in that case?

[Carpone]

Would you still focus on ranged power versus wis filligrees in that case?

Ranged Power >>>>> stat filigree. It's straight up math.

I don't recommend WIS-based bows. The job of DPS is to do damage, and WIS based is suboptimal DPS compared to DEX based. If paralyzing arrows caused helplessness, there might be a case for it for RXP. But it doesn't. AA is one of the oldest trees and it has not aged well.

[xberto]

From the release notes:
"
Feat Bonus: 10%
The remaining 10% needed for Bows to reach 25% could have come from a number of sources, but we decided to keep it in place on one of the earliest sources available to most Bow users - the Rapid Shot feat.
This means that the following sources of Bow attack speed have been removed:

Shot on the Run no longer gives 10% attack speed with Longbows and Shortbows; its Ranged Power grant has been improved from +3 to +6. (Note that the Ranged Power is not Bow-specific).
"

Does this change the build?

[johngalt317]

Ranged Power >>>>> stat filigree. It's straight up math.

I don't recommend WIS-based bows. The job of DPS is to do damage, and WIS based is suboptimal DPS compared to DEX based. If paralyzing arrows caused helplessness, there might be a case for it for RXP. But it doesn't. AA is one of the oldest trees and it has not aged well.

The WIS is for battle stance/falconry attacks which do cause helplessness, and falconry is also for fort bypass and helpless dmg. Granted the single target CC is quite subpar compared to true CC'ers, but beggars can't be choosers since I don't always have CC in my parties.

Given I'm in DWS/Falconry I am still not sure whether I should be DEX or WIS based since I'm using WIS for my battle stance. Maybe I could do a WIS item swap like in your build, but I prob should calculate out sources of Dex/Wis to understand which would end up higher. For Wis I'd be running GM ocean stance for ki regen, whereas the air stance does nothing for an archer at the moment. I'm hoping they eventually add doubleshot to air stance :P

[Carpone]

Updated the guide to provide clarity around favored enemy choices. Thanks to those who reached out via DMs. Speaking of which, if you sent me a Discord friend invite to discuss, please resend. While on a conference call, I was distracted and ended up hitting "Ignore" instead of "Accept" to several requests. Oops.

Does this change the build?

No. The build is based on Lamannia U49 Preview 3. Nothing has changed between that and live.

The WIS is for battle stance/falconry attacks which do cause helplessness, and falconry is also for fort bypass and helpless dmg. Granted the single target CC is quite subpar compared to true CC'ers, but beggars can't be choosers since I don't always have CC in my parties.

You don't need 50% fort bypass with bows. I break it down in the guide, which has a standing 128% fort bypass with no effort with an additional 25% for red/purple named creatures. And how do you not have CC in your party? Every single melee DPS has Dire Charge.

For Wis I'd be running GM ocean stance for ki regen, whereas the air stance does nothing for an archer at the moment. I'm hoping they eventually add doubleshot to air stance :P

Build however you want, but you're gimping your damage not being in Fire stance for the crit multiplier.

[donblas]

For Wis I'd be running GM ocean stance for ki regen,

Was that to recharge 10,000 stars?

That's not a consideration for bow users anymore.

If not please ignore!

[Yamani]

which has a standing 128% fort bypass with no effort with an additional 25% for red/purple named creatures.

Shouldn't count destruction as part of standing fort bypass. It has a 3 sec internal CD for you, so if only you where running it would take 45 sec to get max stacks. Even in a group of 6 it would take 9 seconds, both of which are too long of a fight for a trash mob.