For "favored soul" Is longsword better than longbow? Reading longbow has problems.

[Omnios]

Quick question? Planning on making a Favored Soul character, Either Human with longsword or Wood Elf with longbow. From google searching and reading articles online I have read a lot about how slow longbow is? Is there an actual difference for Favored Soul. So generally is there any reason I should stick to longsword. Might actually make two characters one with longsword and one with long sword. Is there any reason I should not use longbow?

[rabidfox]

Bow FvS always sounded fun; would probably be interesting if mixed with Elf arcane archer and/or horizon walker. There's a bunch of things that work well enough for fun and will clear content if you're willing to adjust difficulty levels as needed when soloing (or when joining a well balanced party). Mix in some heavy hitting spells between bow hits and boom, lots of dead stuff. Wouldn't perform quite as well as pure nuker FvS for leveling, but would likely be quite enjoyable to play for style.

[archest]

Epic: Blinding Speed
Usage: Passive
Prerequisite: Level 27
Description
You are permanently hasted. Gain:

32% Enhancement Bonus to Movement Speed.
15% Enhancement Bonus to Melee Attack Speed.
15% Enhancement Bonus to Ranged Attack Speed.
+1 Enhancement Bonus to Attack Rolls.
+1% Dodge bonus
+1 to Reflex Saving Throws.
See also: January 2017 feat information

I think helps for long bow attack speed.
currently have a Ranger Rogue Wizard who uses the Long Bow and yes its troublesome keeping up with mobs.
so I've setup a Longsword and board when things get tight at melee distance.
this adds an AC boost, shield bash and 1 (3)w strike and 1 (2)w strike to my melee quick keys.
button 3 and button 4 using center wheel click to switch to the Sword and board.
note: str isn't a dump stat. because of this.
works real well for heroic probably well for a multi-life character whos past life's add melee bonuses.
still a back of he pack distance DPS with sneak attack dice.

[Onyxia2019]

My wife and I are currently running FVS. She uses a Longbow and I a longsword and shield. Between LSA's and her bow we take dome most things before they get in melee range. If they do or it is just trash mobs I finish with the sword. As for DPS I have not seen were one is better than the other. It is a matter of wanting to get into melee or taking things out at range. She is also more of a caster build where I lean more towards the tankier side of things. She is AAsimar and I am Dragonborn.

As for solo I think the bow would level faster.

[unbongwah]

Is there any reason I should not use longbow?

Bows have a relatively low rate of fire compared to, say, dual crossbows and repeating crossbows. This combined with lag/latency issues which can cause missed shots makes being an archer more frustrating than it ought to be. FWIW the next update is supposed to improve these technical issues.

Also if you solo a lot, playing any ranged toon can be annoying because you have to constantly kite mobs; and targeting can get wonky when mobs are very close to your toon. Solo casters have lots of different spells they can cycle through based on circumstances; ranged toons really only have one tool.

With FvS specifically, the larger issue is one of class balance; namely Angel of Vengeance is so strong and Warsoul is so relatively weak that it's hard to justify (apart from role-playing flavor) playing a Silver Flame archer rather than a pew-pew caster. Especially when you need a lot of ranged feats to make archery pay off and FvS don't get any bonus feats. You also need to factor in AP costs, particularly if your plan is to combine, say, the Warsoul tree with the elven Arcane Archer tree.