Are bows worth it?

[Valykry]

More specifically, are they worth sinking levels and such into, or will those skill points always essentially be wasted by the time you get to some good guns?

New to the game, so I'm still learning the beginning level stuff. I do imagine bows will always fall short in certain areas. I know they would never have the range/power of a sniper rifle nor the rapid fire of a machine gun, but if you "get gud", spend the points and craft the good stuff, are they still a viable option for endgame situations?

[ZANOSAN]

i think in A20.X bows and arrows have been really boosted and I have seen videos on youtube showing the the agility build in really hard mode as viable. but its not to say its easy. For myself, I like bows for early game to be able to do silent kills until my armor and firearms are good enough to replace the bows and arrows. There is also the grandpa forgetting elixer to reset your skills late game right?

[Valykry]

Didn't even know about the elixir. That takes some stress out of the decision making. No mistakes are permanent.

[aY227]

Bows for all day stuff
Crossbows for stealth kills (huuuuge alpha)
Explosive arrows + SMG for Blood Moon

Perfectly viable

(and all saved ammo can be used during BM)

[brightcat7]

Crossbow are the best in silent kills.

[Dies Fourth]

Ive played alot with crossbows and IMO its the best weapon in the vanilla game....... the compound xbow to be exact.

Xbows can have an 8x scope so precise headshots is 100%. From a crouched position and skilled up Ive walked right up on enemies sleeping { light armor, stealth build } and head shot just about all of Dishong tower.

either from right next to an enemy or from the distance i 1st saw them. After while you remember the spawn points and it gets easier. All that stealth is SLOW GOING, thats the down side indoors.

Outdoors the CC has unlimited range with zero bolt drop, if you can see it through an 8x scope you cam 1 shot it. If it doesnt die from 1 shot your so far away they have no idea where it came from and just stand there still so you can shoot them again.

I remember using them so much i know a lvl 6 modded out does over 155 ranged damage.

Even in Darkness Falls they are an awesome OP early to mid game weapon. Late game in the overhaul you cant use them but in vanilla you can use them from very early in game and they never leave your hotbar no matter how long your world goes.

Upgrade all the appropriate skill and ammo, ALWAYS utilize the 400% sneak damage and your golden. ALWAYS fire your 1st bolt from the sneaking position no matter what.

Oh yaeh , explosive xbow bolts do massive bad guy damage and only 2 block damage so in your base in a kill corridor they kill 4-5 bad guys and do virtually no damage to your base walls or traps.

[RasaNova]

Shot for shot, crossbows have the highest potential damage of any weapon in the game.

It's situational, though. To get those huge damage numbers you need to be hitting stealthed headshots with the x2 bow damage bonus. It's the last weapon you want if you have a zombie running at you, but it works wonders for stealth clearing a poi.

But then the best argument against them is that if you have an M60 or auto shotgun and a few stacks of ammo, you don't need stealth. So it really comes down to personal preference.

[BluePhoenix]

I haven't used the bow much recently but I do regularly use crossbow/compound crossbow. Even with only 1 kill point in it, It's a very strong stealth kill weapon mid-game.
In my current/latest playthrough, I'm using a Lv4 compound crossbow for stealth kills at day 45, only 1 skill point in archery, still almost always crouch-1-shot-kill and steel bolts super cheap to craft too (scrap+iron+clay). save my firearms for hoard night or harder POI's.

[onanonehand8]

Bows are great at a distance, but too slow in a closed setting. Stealth works great, until it doesn't, then it's a visit to your bedroll. Early game bows stink. Working up the agility tree to use a slow weapon makes no sense to me. But the game has an almost infinite variety of styles. Do what you like to do, bows don't work for me.

[mathaniel]

While these questions are very valid I personally think it hinges on the player and their preference mostly. My opinion. Instance. Sledge. Very lethal. I never liked them, have been killed many times trying to use them as defense. I love bows, Even the lvl 1 cave man bow. For me it is perfect if I lvl that one up to max, and If I want, shift to compound (hunted with a Polar II compound years ago), and/oor cross plain or iron (or whatever max crossbow is now. I usually don`t play anymore beyond a lvl 6 max mod plain bow unless I a good wooden that can stat higher. I just like the thunk, down they go and not like a stone but funny graphics. A guess here as irl I have vision in only one eye and can`t guestimate distance anymore so I`ll say an in game hundred yard shot, crouched for bonus xp, very low lvl stone bow, boom, a satisfying thunk, score, and sometimes a headshot kills depending on variables even early game headed for trader first mission. Not ofter, but has happened. You can always change by drinking some stump water elixer or whaatever it`s called hehe. So many complain, but I`m a simple man and derive so much pleasure from the simple things. No rush to find an end game. Clear a poi with a lvl 1 stone bow crouched early on? lvl 1 stone shovel, hit a few blue tarp covered gravel stacks, scrap to rocks, hit bird nests, arrows forever. I meander, and it`s like "oh look, a duck", and a bow doesn`t require me to always scramble for guns, shells/ ammo, all the ingredients of the above including craft stations/forges. Sorry for the ramble friend. End game? @Zanosan prolly says it right, as I start anew a lot. But in short I really like bows. They prolly don`t make a lot of sense for some of the YT videos of horde nights I`ve seen lol. Play a throwaway game for a bit and try them. At first arrows are a dime a dozen. remember the cobblestones scrap to rock and there are bird nests everywhere. Cheers

[aY227]

Originally posted by onanonehand8:

Bows are great at a distance, but too slow in a closed setting. Stealth works great, until it doesn't, then it's a visit to your bedroll. Early game bows stink. Working up the agility tree to use a slow weapon makes no sense to me. But the game has an almost infinite variety of styles. Do what you like to do, bows don't work for me.

Oh my, that's absolutely not true.
Utilize parkour and you are fine.

Early game bows are AMAZING.

Yes, they don;t work for you. Pure bow/xbow playstyle is a lot different than spray and pray.

[onanonehand8]

To ea

Originally posted by aY227:

Oh my, that's absolutely not true.
Utilize parkour and you are fine.

Early game bows are AMAZING.

Yes, they don;t work for you. Pure bow/xbow playstyle is a lot different than spray and pray.

I think I said "for me."
I am not an authority. Right after miner 49r, mother load, and pummel pete, I work the agility tree. I have level 4 parkour within 3-4 game days. I am much more effective with pummel pete than I am with archery. Bows suck, at least for me.

Mid game, nothing is more effective than gunslinger.

[aY227]

Originally posted by onanonehand8:

To ea
I think I said "for me."
I am not an authority. Right after miner 49r, mother load, and pummel pete, I work the agility tree. I have level 4 parkour within 3-4 game days. I am much more effective with pummel pete than I am with archery. Bows suck, at least for me.

Mid game, nothing is more effective than gunslinger.

What "to ea" means? (serious)

Ok, I also said that it doesn't work for you. Different playstyles, I really get it.

However... by pure efficiency early bows are amazing.

[Ramar]

Gunslinger is it for me. I usually stay with the thru mid level then after that work towards my M60. :)

[onanonehand8]

Originally posted by aY227:

Originally posted by onanonehand8:

To ea
I think I said "for me."
I am not an authority. Right after miner 49r, mother load, and pummel pete, I work the agility tree. I have level 4 parkour within 3-4 game days. I am much more effective with pummel pete than I am with archery. Bows suck, at least for me.

Mid game, nothing is more effective than gunslinger.

What "to ea" means? (serious)

Ok, I also said that it doesn't work for you. Different playstyles, I really get it.

However... by pure efficiency early bows are amazing.

Poor ediing for me. I started to say "to each their own."

[Dies Fourth]

Were not allowed to respond to " walls of text " anymore. It seriously cant be read without some punctuation and paragraphs. Thats not attacking its just common grammar.