Bows/Crossbows suck

[Dollmaker]

Yeah been trying to use mostly bows cause Dex build, and yeah... not happy.

Dmg is laughable and scaling is downright terrible (the main issue with the bows) i think only one bow gets a C scaling and its on Str, being the Golem Greatbow, like why? why is the scaling so awful on these things?

Even daggers do more dmg per hit, and speaking of dmg, the fact that it takes like a dozen shots to kill an enemy, you can only carry so many arrows on you, and having them do so little is just not fun, doesnt help either that basically every enemy strafes around making them hard to hit with an arrow.

Then theres the Ashes of War, why only allow Bow specific ones? why not allow stuff like Frost Stomp or Quickstep on them? or infuse them to deal elemental dmg and change their scaling.

Theres also how only a couple of Talisman work on them, for example the the Sting Talisman which is a dmg increase of 10%, terrible for an already weak weapon.

Consumables do more dmg and dont even weight unlike the Bows or Crossbows.

Another thing is that as far as im aware, there no Bell Offering for feathers, so youre forced to farm those to make the better (Still terrible) arrows.

I feel they have so much potential and having them being this terrible is just sad.

[Gnasty Gnorc]

Bows were never really intended to be a damage dealer. More-so just to pull enemies from range.

Personally, I think that's stupid and bows only should be a viable thing, but it's not and never will be.

[Dollmaker]

Originally posted by Bang Howdy:

Bows were never really intended to be a damage dealer. More-so just to pull enemies from range.

Personally, I think that's stupid and bows only should be a viable thing, but it's not and never will be.

Yeah it is, for pulling we already have stuff like Throwing Knifes, which i think do even more dmg, specially the Kukris

[Gnasty Gnorc]

Originally posted by Dollmaker:

Originally posted by Bang Howdy:

Bows were never really intended to be a damage dealer. More-so just to pull enemies from range.

Personally, I think that's stupid and bows only should be a viable thing, but it's not and never will be.

Yeah it is, for pulling we already have stuff like Throwing Knifes, which i think do even more dmg, specially the Kukris

I could be wrong, but fletched arrows have more range. Plus, you have the ability to aim for headshots with a bow or crossbow.

[Dollmaker]

Originally posted by Bang Howdy:

Originally posted by Dollmaker:

Yeah it is, for pulling we already have stuff like Throwing Knifes, which i think do even more dmg, specially the Kukris

I could be wrong, but fletched arrows have more range. Plus, you have the ability to aim for headshots with a bow or crossbow.

Yeah but even Headshots do little dmg, and like i mentioned earlier, once the enemy knows, they basically all strafe around, making considerably harder to land a hit.

[Yagger]

bows kinda sucked since after demons souls

[PFC Demigo [29th ID]]

You can still cheese some Optional Bosses killing them safely from range. That's if you want to.

[Xengre]

Bows are basically free safe damage from a distance. It is no wonder they don't nuke, otherwise they would be problematic.

Also keep in mind you might be shooting from too far with your bow/arrow type as they have a range stat and as range goes too far the damage drops off heavily. You can either use a better ranged bow and/or talisman that boosts range and better ranged arrows or get close.

Shortbows can fire faster for close range use, or you can use crossbows which are fast and safer but at the expense of raw damage. Maybe worth it with bleed or other status effects (? not sure I haven't tested any crossbow yet in ER). There are longbows or Greatbows if you want bigger hits or range. There is also a Balista bow that shoots, literally, Balista arrows.

[I-Chi]

My impression is that headshots using a longbow can (nearly) kill a common mob enemy, or at least wipe most of its HP. It can be difficult to get that headshot though. Stealth hits do more damage I believe. There's also the weapon arts Barrage and Mighty Shot, the latter of which I use a lot.

Yesterday I resorted to using a bow to finish off a super-irritating mage invader. Due to the narrow attack windows I could not afford to aim, so had to rely on target-locking and shooting.

[Low Quality Item]

Jar Cannon. Thats it.

Thats all youll need.

Stop spreading lies.

[Target]

I think the repeating crossbow has potential, but generally yeah.

[Dollmaker]

Originally posted by MrLackluster:

Jar Cannon. Thats it.

Thats all youll need.

Stop spreading lies.

Mate, The Jar Cannon and the Ballista are their own category, separate from both Bows and Crossbows, they even have their own ammo.

[ImHelping]

"I will use this bow, to shoot that raft on the rafters."
*first arrow hits. slowly crawling rat too much for the player targeting algorithm*
"Oh no, he's coming right for me!"
*arrows somehow sails over the head of a rat that made a sick jump down to your level of rafters slowly crawling towards you*

Anyways, then I stabbed them. but still, YEESH. meanwhile enemy archers are pulling multi trick shots that make you jealous, while flying.

[juicy]

if you aren't crafting status arrows you aren't playing a bow build right

[DeadlyFred]

They're really not that bad.

[Dollmaker]

Originally posted by ImHelping:

"I will use this bow, to shoot that raft on the rafters."
*first arrow hits. slowly crawling rat too much for the player targeting algorithm*
"Oh no, he's coming right for me!"
*arrows somehow sails over the head of a rat that made a sick jump down to your level of rafters slowly crawling towards you*

Anyways, then I stabbed them. but still, YEESH. meanwhile enemy archers are pulling multi trick shots that make you jealous, while flying.

Dont get me starters on the Woman Archers in that snow area...