Curse

jdm_ap1 · Dec 25, 2008, 04:36 AM // 04:36

so i was at droknars forge *end place game place* where i just finished the last mission...thinkin which bow to make

flatbow
longbow
hornbow
short bow

etc...

here's where im getting the info from

what do u guys use?

range wise....flat + long = same....

arc is different

so overall, flatbow is better?

source

http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bow

silavor · Dec 25, 2008, 05:10 AM // 05:10

No one bow is better than all the rest, it depends on your play style and what skills you are bringing along.

Although in PvE things tend to die too quickly to need a hornbow, and a longbow is often used to pull enemy mobs rather than to fight with.

jackinthe · Dec 25, 2008, 05:15 AM // 05:15

<3 recurve bows.

Sindo · Dec 25, 2008, 05:25 AM // 05:25

Recurve - interrupts
Long/Flat - pulling
Horn - damage
Short - nothing?

KoleAurow 23 · Dec 25, 2008, 06:13 AM // 06:13

PvP wise? RECURVE, that is if you plan on interupting anything...

If you use a longbow in PvP, you will NOT touch a player that knows your using it if they know how to kite

Or use a shortbow if you are trying to spread conditions...Those are your basic PvP bows.

PvE wise? Since not many enemies will kite you, A longbow is the safest way to go, you can pull mobs and do your whole barrage thing and what not...

Again though, if you ARE looking to INTERUPT in PvE even, use a recurve.

Joe Fierce · Dec 25, 2008, 06:33 AM // 06:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by KoleAurow 23

PvP wise? RECURVE, that is if you plan on interupting anything...

If you use a longbow in PvP, you will NOT touch a player that knows your using it if they know how to kite

Or use a shortbow if you are trying to spread conditions...Those are your basic PvP bows.

PvE wise? Since not many enemies will kite you, A longbow is the safest way to go, you can pull mobs and do your whole barrage thing and what not...

Again though, if you ARE looking to INTERUPT in PvE even, use a recurve.

agreed, except i'd like to not encourage the use of barrage. lmao.

Rhamia Darigaz · Dec 25, 2008, 07:33 AM // 07:33

recurve - good for interrupts
short - good for hitting fast to spread poison or whatever
flat - good for killing archers/putting dmg on the lord
long - same as flat except slower refire rate and lower arc... archers don't move so no reason to use this over flat
horn - lol rspike, idk

Improvavel · Dec 25, 2008, 12:19 PM // 12:19

Recurve bows also have the shortest recharge after flatbows and shortbows. Overall they are the best.

Use longbow if u are a chicken ranger, I prefer to throw dirt if anyone gets close enough.

Faure · Dec 25, 2008, 12:39 PM // 12:39

I prefer flatbows with RtW, recurve for everything else.

jdm_ap1 · Dec 25, 2008, 05:31 PM // 17:31

whats RTW?

thanks

brave bern · Dec 25, 2008, 07:37 PM // 19:37

RtW= Read the Wind

Celeborn10 · Dec 25, 2008, 09:44 PM // 21:44

To use a Flatbow you need either stationary npc's or Read the Wind. Here's the specs for them. From the wiki.

Weapon Refire Rate Range1 Flight Time2 Arc Size Special Feature
Longbow 2.4 seconds 1.6 0.59 seconds Medium None
Flatbow 2.0 seconds 1.6 0.88 seconds Large None
Hornbow 2.7 seconds 1.4 0.59 seconds Medium +10% Armor penetration
Recurve Bow 2.4 seconds 1.4 0.40 seconds Small None
Shortbow 2.0 seconds 1.05 0.59 seconds Medium None

Flatbow is good if you are using Read the Wind but then you lose out on Apply Poison for PvP. Favorable Winds can also be used but your team might not like it.

Aldric · Dec 26, 2008, 02:42 AM // 02:42

Flatbow for Puling (or killing NPC's) and Recurve for everything else generally

WhiteAsIce · Dec 26, 2008, 10:01 AM // 10:01

Most info is in this thread. I picked up most of the ideas from there to build my bow collection. I have:

Vamp 15^50 Flatbow +30H
- PvE Barraging with Favorable Winds
- PvP Turret with RtW build
- PvP spiking NPCs when using an Apply Poison build
Vamp 15^50 Recurve +30H
- PvE Barraging when Favorable Winds is destroyed before recharge ends
Zealous 15^50 Shortbow +30H
- To recover energy if running low
Poisonous 15^50 Recurve +30H
- PvP Apply Poison build
Crippling +5E Recurve +30H
- PvP Cripshot spam
Silencing 15^50 Recurve +30H
- Any BHA build

Of course, I could get a lot more bows than this. This just barely scratches the surface. I personally run with a Barbed +5E Spear +30H and a +10AL (Piercing) Shield +30H when not wielding a bow.

notallama · Dec 26, 2008, 04:56 PM // 16:56

i'd get a recurve. you'll probably use it the most.

the other bows are good for specific things, but the recurve is a general purpose bow. (you can interrupt and hit moving targets without read the wind)

flatbows are awesome if you're using read the wind. they're generally crap if you're not. even with favourable winds, they're not very good.
(read the wind doesn't really double the speed. it changes it to recurve bow arc (with the range of the bow you are using), and /then/ doubles it. so it's practically an instant hit on any bow.)
if you know your target won't move, they can also be good.

horn bows are good for spiking. you probably won't use this much. it's not your main bow, you just switch to it occasionally.

long bows are good for pulling, or getting some distant sucker with poison. good to have one, but it won't be your main bow. also, leave pulling to the warrior in most cases.
they're better than flat bows for pulling, because there's the chance you'll actually hit your target, so you can pull with an attack skill and not have it go to waste.

a short bow can give you more dps in a glass/conjure/brutal weapon build. other than that, you probably won't use it.

Marverick · Dec 26, 2008, 06:33 PM // 18:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhiteAsIce

Most info is in this thread. I picked up most of the ideas from there to build my bow collection. I have:

Vamp 15^50 Flatbow +30H
- PvE Barraging with Favorable Winds
- PvP Turret with RtW build
- PvP spiking NPCs when using an Apply Poison build
Vamp 15^50 Recurve +30H
- PvE Barraging when Favorable Winds is destroyed before recharge ends
Zealous 15^50 Shortbow +30H
- To recover energy if running low
Poisonous 15^50 Recurve +30H
- PvP Apply Poison build
Crippling +5E Recurve +30H
- PvP Cripshot spam
Silencing 15^50 Recurve +30H
- Any BHA build

Of course, I could get a lot more bows than this. This just barely scratches the surface. I personally run with a Barbed +5E Spear +30H and a +10AL (Piercing) Shield +30H when not wielding a bow.

+5 energy bow should only be an emergency set. Sit on a 15^50 bow until you run out of energy, then swap to a +5 energy one. Otherwise the +5 energy does nothing except give you 15% less damage.

spun ducky · Dec 26, 2008, 10:58 PM // 22:58

I use a flatbow almost constantly for pve since the refire rate is high and the distance. It can miss but if you have played pve long enough its very easy to predict the AI when they are going to stop moving to cast etc after the initial aggro. I use shortbows mainly in farming that is about it. I use recurve just about exclusively in pvp although sometimes i keep a flatbow to harass people on the edge if they are not playing aggressive.

MegaVolti · Dec 27, 2008, 02:18 AM // 02:18

Shortbow:
Fastest attack with good arrow flight time. Short range isn't an issue in PvE. Is my favorite.

Hornbow:
Only for spikes and for attacks with an activation time (like [[Power Shot]). Slow attack speed makes it useless in other situations.
However, the Mursaat Hornbow in white is (imho) the by far most awesome bow in the game. That bow skin alone is reason enough to use a hornbow all the time

Awesome looks compensate for some loss in efficiency.

Longbow:
In PvE only for pulling, not good to fight.

Flatbow:
Same as Longbow. Damage is as good as Shortbow but I think small range is better then long flight time (but it's more a personal preference).

Recurve Bow:
Interrupts. Generally a good bow, has decent range and medium attack speed. My 2nd choice as default bow for PvE.

Chthon · Dec 27, 2008, 08:41 PM // 20:41

First, let's start by throwing out the crap bows:

Hornbow is a crap bow. The very slow attack speed makes this bow just unsalvageably bad.

Shortbow is a crap bow. Its only advantage over a flatbow is arc, but arc is largely irrelevant at shortbow range. If you want to use a shortbow, might as well bring a flatbow and stand at close range -- that will give you all the benefits of a shortbow, plus the option to move out to a greater range.

Second, let's compare the non-crap options:

A longbow is like Mario. No particular strengths or weaknesses.

A flatbow is longbow that trades away arc in exchange for attack speed. If you're willing to spend a skillslot to recover the lost arc, you have the best bow in the game -- every possible advantage, and no downside. Otherwise, it's not worth using because of the high miss rate.

A recurve bow is a longbow that trades a bit of range away in exchange for better arc. There's nothing you can do to recover the lost range, so it's simply a question of whether you think that trade-off is worth it. Many people do.
Also, it should be noted that, if you're willing to spend a skillslot to reduce arc, recurve is always worse than longbow and flatbow. So recurve is only for those who don't want to spend a skillslot to "fix" their bow's weakness.

MegaVolti · Dec 28, 2008, 01:14 AM // 01:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chthon

Shortbow is a crap bow. Its only advantage over a flatbow is arc, but arc is largely irrelevant at shortbow range. If you want to use a shortbow, might as well bring a flatbow and stand at close range -- that will give you all the benefits of a shortbow, plus the option to move out to a greater range.

I don't agree.
Even at shortbow range, the flatbow arc is considerably larger then the shortbow one. The flatbow will miss much more on shortbow range then the shortbow. I tried to play with a flatbow but it's just so much easiert with the shortbow ...
Close range may be an issue in PvP but in PvE it simply doesn't matter. Standing close is not a bad thing so there is absolutely no reason to try to get a long range bow (except for pulling). So the shortbow has no downside at all.