Which class uses heavy crossbow best?

[Hardnailz]

I want to use heavy crossbow wat do :c

[claudius]

Arcane archer is probably best ranged class. They need WF longbow or shortbow. But I wonder if they can take WF longbow just to qualify for the class and then otherwise take rapid reload and WF/IC etc crossbow?

The question is if the Arcane Archer bonus will apply to crossbows as implemented in the game?

Otherwise (not arcane archer build) I would recommend rogue to give: sneak dice, skills dumps and access. And then maybe Fighter (for feats and BAB) and a level of Shadowdancer to acess HiPS?? Just my guess as I'm not a NWN building guru but I am not clueless either. Cleric or druid with Zen archery feat (wisdom to AB) might not be bad in a crossbow build as well.

[mbradtke]

crossbow is best high dmg weapon for mages who want to Play safe, real archers use bows since These work better for dmg usually

[Krieg_Engineer]

A fighter with weapon specialization feats could gain a +6 bonus to damage with crossbows, while a rogue could do sneak attack damage at close ranges to enemies vulnerable to them. Spellcasters can use a variety of spells to boost weapon damage directly or indirectly. Rangers gain a damage bonus against their favored enemies. You have lots of options open to you so it depends on what kind of build you'd like to make. However, as others will tell you, that doesn't mean you will end up doing as much damage as an arcane archer potentially can.

[Irøn Står Bru]

The only advantage I can see to the Crossbow over Bow is the greater Critical Threat range - Possibly a weapon master (or are their abilities restricted to melee weapons? I've forgotton)could increase your effeciency with the crossbow.

[Grumplestiltskin]

Crossbows require an extra feat (Rapid Reload) to even really be considered for a serious source of damage. That's why they're mostly considered a mage weapon, as mages don't get many attacks per round anyways.

[Selphea]

Blackguard.

Sounds crazy but hang on.

Use Fiendish Servant to tank, cast Divine Might on yourself and plink away with Sneak Attacks.

Use Bard as the base class to get song buffs and debuffs and War Cry which will buff your Fiendish Servant too

Use Fighter as the 3rd class for Epic Spec and feats.

[claudius]

That sounds kind of fun. I wonder if you would wish you had taken a strength based melee though for STR to AB and damage both?

[Selphea]

That will be true no matter what class you choose. Some weapons are OP, other weapons are not. Kama Monk, Rapier, Kukri, Scimitar, Scythe will always have an advantage.

On the other hand Crossbow can't be Flame Weaponed, Keened, or qualify for Weapon Master, can't use Knockdown or Disarm, weak crit range/multi and ammo costs way too much. You can use some class features to stretch it but it will never go as far as other weapons.

[Lady Crimson (RIP)]

Fighter is pretty consistently good with weapons (you'll be a master at level 4 or 6)

However.. generally.. heayv crossbows are a bad idea unless you're playing with certain added mods in NWN2 where they give stuff like the feat 'Crossbow Sniper' (adding dex to damage) and boosted crossbows to be ridiculous in damage to make the lower number of attacks worth the time compared to other weapons that get more favor.

Still, I understand why you might want to try to be good at it since they are pretty cool, I've done a few runs as a dwarven fighter in 2nd edition who specialized in crossbows (even though she was probably better with axes).

Most people will probably tell you wizard or sorcerer though, since they can use the crossbow from a range with similar capabilities, and still use spells.

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Fighter is just good, at least 4 levels and then maybe rogue for being a bit of a sniper maybe (if you have support). Or assassin.
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