Horn Bow and Sundering - Page 2 - Guild Wars Forums

Dave83 · Jan 10, 2006, 10:44 AM // 10:44

I will make a vidio and show you.

Caelus The Fallen · Jan 10, 2006, 11:53 AM // 11:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sereng Amaranth

10% = 10%
10% + 10% = 21%

100 dmg + 10% = 110 dmg
110 dmg + 10% = 121 dmg

Surely its the other way around, since its not +10% damage, its -10% armour:
90% of 100% armour -> 90% armour, then
90% of 90% armour -> 81% armour, ie
19% penetration.

Dave83 · Jan 10, 2006, 01:41 PM // 13:41

NVM i am getting mixed up and dont know where i got that from, cannot apologise enough. I feel stupid now

Fyre Brand · Jan 10, 2006, 10:28 PM // 22:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barinthus

Thanks, Lord. Yeah I knew that but figured since it's the same mob in same place, I thought it would be ok.

Fyre - good read and thanks! That's what I had in mind - sundering hornbow for high armor targets such as enchanteds and javas.

Curious - what kind of bow you have, the one with vampiric on? I'd imagine something like shortbow?

Yes. Here is how I have the bows currently set up.

I would like to add a horn bow of some type with a vamp string I think.

Barinthus · Jan 10, 2006, 11:54 PM // 23:54

Hey Dave - don't feel stupid! I'm sure you just got stuff mixed up. It happens to us. I certainly know it does to me!

Thanks Fyre for sharing.

I've been using Storm Bow all way from Piken Square to the Final Blow quest so I wanted to expand and experiment with other bows.

Last night I finally got to use my bows in the Final Blow quest and Ring of Fire mission. Longbow with markmanship grip for luring, zealous shortbow for melee combat, sundering hornbow for javas combined with Tiger's Fury (I actually used Read the Wind and that was a mistake since Barrage removes it, I'd imagine Tiger's Fury would be better). I also used a recurve bow for interuptting but I don't know if it makes that much difference between using a shortbow due to its higher refiring rate (2.7?!?!).

I loved using my zealous shortbow against clusters of enemies but not when I'm going up against a mob on its own. So I was thinking maybe making a vampiric shortbow for when I'm against isolated and soft targets.

Sereng Amaranth · Jan 11, 2006, 03:26 AM // 03:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caelus The Fallen

Surely its the other way around, since its not +10% damage, its -10% armour:
90% of 100% armour -> 90% armour, then
90% of 90% armour -> 81% armour, ie
19% penetration.

Ah, well yeah.

Also, I believe that sundering is the worst mod in the game. With a horn bow or similar, you get about 1-2 more dmg per arrow. With a perfect sundering mod you get about the same increase, but only 10% of the time. Its laughable. Even a 3/1 vamp string is better than a 10/10 sundering string. Maybe even a 2/1 vamp, lol.

Barinthus · Jan 12, 2006, 01:47 PM // 13:47

Fyre - have you been able to experiment with a hornbow and vampiric string yet? I was curious how that turned out.

Also I was thinking... like I mentioned earlier in this thread I saw a post somewhere where the poster recommended zealous hornbow due to the refiring rate and barrage recharging rate being the same. But refiring rate of a hornbow is pretty long - 2.7 and barrage's is one second. How long is 2.7 anyway? Certainly not in seconds.

(Off the track here - it's funny how in GW one second can seem so long especially when you're in a pitched battle!)

Fyre Brand · Jan 12, 2006, 09:52 PM // 21:52

When you attack with a skill like Quick Shot or Barrage you are not using the bows attack speed, but the skills recharge rate. That is why horn bows work better under fast skills conditions like QS. Some people have used the the prep/spirit method to increase the natural refire rate of a bow. Also Tiger's Fury is another way to increase your attack speed.

The bows refire rate basically is what the bow fires at when you don't use another attack skill. It can get a little complicated because I have used a skill before (like an interupt or poison arrow) and it looks like I have interupted the bows natural attack for my skill. So I actually lost out on an attack because my skill timing interupted my natural attack pattern. I'm not absolutely sure this isn't just a graphic display glitch. Personally I don't think it is and I think you can interupt your own attacks by poorly timing your skills. On the other hand if you are using a hornbow, who cares if you interupt that pattern with a skill like Barrage or Quick Shot.

I am not planning on buying a hornbow and testing this anytime soon. I normally don't purchase weapons, but only weapon upgrades. I have been considering where I could hunt for a cool skinned horn bow, but that will have to wait because I am leveling a Wa/Mo right now and my monk has to finish the last couple fire island missions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sereng Amaranth

Also, I believe that sundering is the worst mod in the game. With a horn bow or similar, you get about 1-2 more dmg per arrow. With a perfect sundering mod you get about the same increase, but only 10% of the time. Its laughable. Even a 3/1 vamp string is better than a 10/10 sundering string. Maybe even a 2/1 vamp, lol.

Well that is and isn't true. I think you've oversimplified the situation somewhat. I think a good vamp string is definitely better than a sundering string. A bad vamp string is one of the worst things you could put on a bow. The sundering string has no penalty but the vamp string gives you the constant -1 health pip. This is no real big deal in itself, but can get you in a lot of trouble when you are under hexes and conditions.

What other choices does a ranger have for strings outside those two? 1. Zealous 2. Elemental 3. Poisoners.
A zealous string isn't so bad, but I think it's a waste for a high level ranger. I rarely have energy problems with my builds (a spike build with judges insight being one of the few) and the zealous string doesn't help much outside of barrage or quickshot. It doesn't add any damage or energy denial (like a vamp does with health) so I would rather choose another string. Poisoners string can be a good string for a very specific build, but again with a decent level in Wilderness Survival almost all mops except bosses die before the poison duration ends, so there is no real need to extend that duration. Elemental strings are a good alternative. They are great for avoiding piercing type armour resistances and also a good combo to increase damage with the right build.

Why a sundering string as a normal string? Because there is no health degen involved for starters. You can keep the bow equipped and not have to constantly heal. Also it provides more damage than zealous, elemental (except when using a special build), and poisoners. I use one for the same reason one tries to acquire maximum inherent damage modded weapons. So you can squeek out a couple extra points of damage.

I don't think the sundering string is the best string. I think it's the best string for general purpose use and to have on your primary equipped bow. I almost always switch to the vamp short bow once the battle gets going.

Sereng Amaranth · Jan 13, 2006, 04:48 AM // 04:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fyre Brand

What other choices does a ranger have for strings outside those two? 1. Zealous 2. Elemental 3. Poisoners.

Well after you reminded me of the choices, yeah, sundering isn't all that bad. And I do have a 9/10 bow to switch to when I'm not using one of my 5/1's.

Barinthus · Jan 13, 2006, 06:41 AM // 06:41

I've really enjoyed reading u guys' postings.

Frye - I won't mind getting you an Ascalon hornbow at no charge. I'd experiment myself but I don't have a vampiric string.

Thanks for clearing up that part about refiring rate and using bow attack skills. I've suspected that bow attack skills are independent from refiring rate. This only serves to show that playing a ranger can be a very complicated affair!

Jan 10, 2006, 11:54 PM // 23:54	#25
Barinthus Krytan Explorer Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: California Guild: (TRUE) Profession: R/Me	Hey Dave - don't feel stupid! I'm sure you just got stuff mixed up. It happens to us. I certainly know it does to me! Thanks Fyre for sharing. I've been using Storm Bow all way from Piken Square to the Final Blow quest so I wanted to expand and experiment with other bows. Last night I finally got to use my bows in the Final Blow quest and Ring of Fire mission. Longbow with markmanship grip for luring, zealous shortbow for melee combat, sundering hornbow for javas combined with Tiger's Fury (I actually used Read the Wind and that was a mistake since Barrage removes it, I'd imagine Tiger's Fury would be better). I also used a recurve bow for interuptting but I don't know if it makes that much difference between using a shortbow due to its higher refiring rate (2.7?!?!). I loved using my zealous shortbow against clusters of enemies but not when I'm going up against a mob on its own. So I was thinking maybe making a vampiric shortbow for when I'm against isolated and soft targets. Last edited by Barinthus; Jan 10, 2006 at 11:58 PM // 23:58..

Jan 12, 2006, 01:47 PM // 13:47	#27
Barinthus Krytan Explorer Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: California Guild: (TRUE) Profession: R/Me	Fyre - have you been able to experiment with a hornbow and vampiric string yet? I was curious how that turned out. Also I was thinking... like I mentioned earlier in this thread I saw a post somewhere where the poster recommended zealous hornbow due to the refiring rate and barrage recharging rate being the same. But refiring rate of a hornbow is pretty long - 2.7 and barrage's is one second. How long is 2.7 anyway? Certainly not in seconds. (Off the track here - it's funny how in GW one second can seem so long especially when you're in a pitched battle!) Last edited by Barinthus; Jan 12, 2006 at 02:00 PM // 14:00..

Jan 10, 2006, 10:44 AM // 10:44	#21
Dave83 Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: England Guild: SeS Profession: Me/Mo	I will make a vidio and show you.

Jan 10, 2006, 01:41 PM // 13:41	#23
Dave83 Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: England Guild: SeS Profession: Me/Mo	NVM i am getting mixed up and dont know where i got that from, cannot apologise enough. I feel stupid now

Jan 13, 2006, 06:41 AM // 06:41	#30
Barinthus Krytan Explorer Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: California Guild: (TRUE) Profession: R/Me	I've really enjoyed reading u guys' postings. Frye - I won't mind getting you an Ascalon hornbow at no charge. I'd experiment myself but I don't have a vampiric string. Thanks for clearing up that part about refiring rate and using bow attack skills. I've suspected that bow attack skills are independent from refiring rate. This only serves to show that playing a ranger can be a very complicated affair!