What's the deal with Bow?

[Blind]

I mean, it doesn't seem to do any damage with its basic shots... but since the basic shots and even charge shots are pretty fast the multitudes of 7~15 ish probably add up over time...

However, Thousand Dragon and Piercing Shot feel REALLY legit... almost like I should be using them exclusively, using basic+charge shot only as supplementary.

[Suzaku]

I'm no bow main, but your basic rotation should be mostly normal shots and spread shots, staying in close and spamming them as much as possible.

The piercing shots are the worst to use due to their extremely long animations, mitigating their dps and making you extremely vulnerable, however satisfying they may seem to use. There's probably specific monsters/situations where using it might be good, but spamming shots would likely be better.

[Blind]

ohya, I don't mean spam spam of the pierce shot... I mean, there'd be no reason to use it against shorties like Rajang.

Plus my numbers aren't to scale, I'm just using a Safi Bow to play around.

In the time of a pierceing shot I can get 2 full rotations in which is about 10x15 damage if I hit a crit zone... but a piercing shot might do 9x40 which is a hellava lot more

[Suzaku]

I also know bows are heavily reliant on skills. If you can get Normal Shots 2, Spread/Power Shots 2, and Bow Charge Plus, that should help make your normal rotations deal a lot more damage, as well as using the appropriate element skill and Critical Element as well.

[Blind]

yee, I probably am not going to build for a main bow dedicated set - I'm just playing around so my rotation should be similar to someone with no armour set at all.

I'm currently using the Sizzling Spice Summer Set... which does reduce stamina usage so I thought I'd try bow out.

[J-INFINITY]

To put it simply:
Each bow has different shot types that can make them weaker or stronger depending on the distance and position. When you are building a set around bow usage, you have to take into account which shot type you are most comfortable playing.

However, for effective usage of Bow, you need to charge each of your shots (this includes Dragon Piercer). You can hold the shoot button to charge or you can charge step. To shoot, you let go of the charge button. Each action consumes stamina.

Coatings are also a must. Power coatings are usually great for increasing your damage.

If you're willing, you can watch a bow tutorial from someone who is better at teaching weapons than I am.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBi-hw4edbc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQQqiTcTx74

[Blind]

I nkow they had different shot types in previous sames, but they all seem to shoot the same in this one

[Seamus]

Barring mods, dragon piercer and thousand dragons are mostly not worth using.

They're massively eclipsed by the basic dash dance combo.

You're better off ignoring arekkz advice on the matter and going to someone who does heavy work on how the ranged weapons in world actually function.

Phemeto is a good choice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHfwND6FMxs

[Andy_RK]

Bow is decent in this game, just have to practice how to dash-spread effectively, my all-purpose fatty bow deals like 6x64~78 dmg on lvl 4 charge (you can do higher with ele bows but im just lazy). If you're going for meme build with fatty bow, dragon pierce can deal about 230 dmg per tick (longer monster = more damage), your dps might be lower than doing dash-spread but it is fun

[Blind]

omg, I shot hi rank lunastra in the belly at mid-close range and it just bounced off... I actually hit for less than 1.

[River Victor]

Every time you dodge while holding charge or when you shoot, the charge of next shot in the combo goes up one level. If you have bow charge plus, you can go up to three charges. Whatever shots released, especially spread, will deal more damage. Stick to close to mid range to maximize dmg output.

Food skills like Black Belt is recommended. Dash Juice is also mandatory for high DPS bow users.

To have 100% activation chance for any food skills, you must use a voucher or a gourmet voucher.

Dash Juice can also be given by any friend you have. Have you friend give you some, then you save. Tell your friend not to save and quit the game and reload the game, he will lose nothing while you have all the Juice.

[Andy_RK]

Luna/teo/kusha have an aura shield that will deflect any ranged attack, when the shield is up, try hitting their tail/head instead

[Namie]

Bow... Being a bow main i can tell you that you require a lot of gems, a very specific armour, and a correct bow, if your dealing 7 damage you probably didnt even maxed out the elemental damage skill, the right way to play this weapon is almost melee to the monster dashing charged shots and power shots, they should deal around 30 damage and above per arrow (with a good set + close range coat / power coat u can deal even more than 80 per arrow), tenderizing weak spots is a MUST too, dragonpiercer and thousand are good but with a correct build u can do a nuke ton of damage without them and without losing mobility. Bows are pretty annoying regarding the skills needed, most other weapons will do much more in a single slash without proper equipment, if u take your time to make a specialized bow build probably ull deal the highest DPS than any other weapon.

[Suzaku]

Originally posted by Blind:

omg, I shot hi rank lunastra in the belly at mid-close range and it just bounced off... I actually hit for less than 1.

IIRC, Teostra and Lunastra basically put up a shield of fire around their torsos throughout the fight. It nearly negates ranged damage. Their face and wings should be your main targets.

[Blind]

Originally posted by Zoe:

Bow... Being a bow main i can tell you that you require a lot of gems, a very specific armour, and a correct bow, if your dealing 7 damage you probably didnt even maxed out the elemental damage skill, the right way to play this weapon is almost melee to the monster dashing charged shots and power shots, they should deal around 30 damage and above per arrow (with a good set + close range coat / power coat u can deal even more than 80 per arrow), tenderizing weak spots is a MUST too, dragonpiercer and thousand are good but with a correct build u can do a nuke ton of damage without them and without losing mobility. Bows are pretty annoying regarding the skills needed, most other weapons will do much more in a single slash without proper equipment, if u take your time to make a specialized bow build probably ull deal the highest DPS than any other weapon.

elemental? I just have the safi blast bow

[Suzaku]

That certainly explains a lot. Bows are very element-heavy. If you ignore that, you'll be the one to feel the pain, not the monster.