Not doing much damage with my bow? Am i doing something wrong?

[Zapp Brannigan]

Im a Gnome Ranger
level 8
have proficiency with bow
Dexterity is 20
Bow is the longbow +1 (I switched from a different class well into act 2 so i probably missed a bow or 2)

But consistently im only doing like 8 to 14 damage
My friends a monk and hes doing insane damage all the time.

Am i missing something or is it the fact that i just dont have very much gear the helps with bow damage? Like i said i did switch classes so I really wasn't focused on using bows so i didnt grab any specific loot till the 2nd half of act 2.

[fwhite0782]

That damage is correct. 1d8 + 5(dex) + 1 from enchantment. That is 7-14 dmg per shot.

[Kafik]

Are you using the special arrows as often as possible? Otherwise maybe try dual hand crossbows.

[RhodosGuard]

You probably have no buffs or items active that add damage to your weapon rolls.
The simplest thing would be Hunters Mark for 1d6 more Piercing with the Bow, you could multiclass into rogue for Sneak Attack, if you got the Helliron Alloy in Grimforge you can get gloves that add 1d4 fire.

I suspect you are just missing damage dice from additional sources.
Mostly gear, but as I said, as a ranger you should have access to at least some spells to utilize.

[fwhite0782]

The gloves of archery from the goblin camp gives a flat +2 damage.
The Caustic Ring from the dwarf underdark trader gives a flat +2 acid damage.
The Spell Hunters mark can add 1d6 of damage.

[DeMasked]

Sharpshooter feat has a toggle able passive ability that lowers attack roll by -5 in exchange for +10 damage. Less accuracy for more damage and when you add special arrows that can add up for a lot.

Monk can do a lot of damage depending on gear and if using the Tavern Brawler feat while having high strength. Multiclassing into Rogue subclass Thief gives an additional bonus action for another attack for monk which can be crazy.



Oh and also be aware that some stats on melee weapons can apply to when you are using the bow and vice versa.

edit: Solasta (similar game but more indie) I had a ranger that did a ton of damage due to feats using the Unfinished Business mod. Felt kinda bad due to having an early power spike but the other characters eventually caught up in power.

[Kaisha]

Ranger sucks for single target damage. Simple as that. You really have 4 viable 'archer' builds.

1) College of Swords Bard/crit build. Stupid OP, to the point where you can solo honor mode without problem.

2) Gloomstalker. Again a crit-centric build, better early game but falls off to bard late.

3) Fighter with ranged spec build. Decent overall.

4) Ranger build. Weakest of the bunch, but comes online at lvl 11 (yeah that late) with volley. Volley is stupid OP being a spammable aoe that doesn't target allies.

Since all the bosses encounters are pretty much just some form of 'kill boss instantly', the ranger build never sees any real use.

[Mussels]

Originally posted by DeMasked:

Sharpshooter feat has a toggle able passive ability that lowers attack roll by -5 in exchange for +10 damage. Less accuracy for more damage and when you add special arrows that can add up for a lot.

Monk can do a lot of damage depending on gear and if using the Tavern Brawler feat while having high strength. Multiclassing into Rogue subclass Thief gives an additional bonus action for another attack for monk which can be crazy.



Oh and also be aware that some stats on melee weapons can apply to when you are using the bow and vice versa.

edit: Solasta (similar game but more indie) I had a ranger that did a ton of damage due to feats using the Unfinished Business mod. Felt kinda bad due to having an early power spike but the other characters eventually caught up in power.

This.

You need sharpshooter, then it's down to whatever else you use to add damage (spells, items, etc)

[The_Dipl0mat]

Originally posted by Kfuk:

Are you using the special arrows as often as possible? Otherwise maybe try dual hand crossbows.

Special arrows are heavily underrated, I only started using them heavily in my most recent playthrough and they def change the battlefield

[gryzze]

You can dip the bow in poisons. There's one that does 1-10 extra damage. Use arrows of many targets that will bounce to other enemies. There are also some special bows that add extra damage.

[kbiz]

it really depends on your equipment. Characters alone don't do sh!t. You should have the Titanstring Bow. And Bloodthirst on your melee Fighter.