ManyShot

[Jaysensen]

For those of you who are new to this old arguement...

• In Beta, (from what I hear), Range Attacks fired at the same rate as melee attacks, and it was overpowering (although ranged increment penalties were never implemented). REMEMBER, this isnt PnP. DDO has a modified 3.5 combat system, so PnP arguements while may be valid, dont necessarily translate into a balance videogame.
• At BAB 16 factoring in Manyshot 4, a bow will still fire at 54% of a melee. Just in raw attack speed.
• Turbine has never stated how rate of fire scales. Based on their statements, they imply that there is no smooth curve set % increase in attack speed based on BAB. Turbine has never said what the levels are for increasing attack speed, or what % the increases are. We only know by player testing.
• Quest design has a lot to do with the relative value of archery vs melee.
• Mob AI has a lot to do with the relative value of archery vs melee.

Any drastic to the ranged combat system would really need to be extensively tested.

[Spookydodger]

The only thing that Rangers could possibly do well is apply debuffs in combat.

Destruction, cursing, exhaustion, weakening, maladroit (do they even make a maladroit bow?), wounding, etcetera.

These can be applied in relative safety without having to run around to smack all the mobs with it. Tab, fire, tab, fire, tab, fire. (If only the targetting system actually kept up and fired at what you had tabbed to)

The occasional smacking due to slaying arrows and bolts can be useful, too. These arrows are few and far between. However, use them on missions other than normal (normal is run VERY rarely), and you're likely to run through these exceedingly rare expendables to little effect.

In raw damage output ranged attack can't hope to compete. Even with ranged alacrity. Some have suggested that the Ranger et al put down the bow and pick up their weapons in all but the most ranged-specific situations. The amount of investment to even get a decent archer precludes being good at both ranged and melee. The only thing that keeps an arching ranger decent as a secondary fighter is their fighter-level base-attack bonus.

Meanwhile, NPC archers are some of the most feared mobs in the game without ever pulling out a sword (which they should really do when closed on!)

Perhaps this could be fixed by a line of enhancement. The ranger enhancement lines have almost nothing to do with offensive power, aside from those pertaining to their favored enemies. At 15th level this would be 4 types of mobs in the game.

Rangers and other archer types were only made decent by their ROF in pnp. Then along came prestige classes that upped the ante and made true archers not only feasible, but fun and contenders for full-fighter roles.

To be honest I only made a ranger to see if the complaining I heard from them was accurate. I would say, as I near 10th level, that it very much can be. I can only hope for the future

[drkelfdourden]

Ok If they would just stick with the Rules there would be so many things limiting the use of Manyshot that it wouldn't be Overpowered. You have to be within thirty feet you have to take a penalty to attack, you have to make a full attack option etc etc. So I don't see how it would be over powered. Second if I have shot on the Run and Manyshot I should still be able to fire two arrows at once into a target with a penatly to attack as I run away I just won't get my full attack option of firing more than once in that round. And last thing is Melee Combatants take a lot of the same penalties ranged combatants take in certain situations. The only time they get their full attacks per round is if they are standing still and are using their full attack option as well. And anytime they are moving in and out of combat they only get one attack that round and are subject to Attacks of Opportunity. So I still think that no matter which way you look at it, they are screwing up Manyshot.

I Do Agree with whomever said that Rangers do have a huge benefit by getting both lines of combat for free. That is the one thing I like about the game, but in a way I'd rather see them specialize it like it is in PnP. This will force people to make a Character and not simply roll up a ranger.

[Naso24]

A couple of minor fixes would make rangers happy.

Make manyshot last longer at higher levels.

or

Make manyshot last longer with enhancements.

or

Make the manyshot timer shorter (60 or 90 secs)

or

Make the manyshot 2-arrow and 3-arrow separate timers.

or

Increase the rate of fire at higher levels for all ranged attacks (not just ranger).