Curse

eggs0wn · Jul 21, 2008, 04:17 AM // 04:17

You can have more than one bow. Generally, Recurve is the all-purpose bow; except for pulling of course...

I personally have a 20/20 15^50 +30 recurve and longbow. Vampric is proven to be better but I just don't like degen.

Tyla · Jul 21, 2008, 04:18 AM // 04:18

Silencing Recurve Bow of Fortitude - 15^50.
Poisoning Recurve Bow of Fortitude - 15^50.

Poisoning is what I stick to and I switch to Silencing for BHA.

Vampiric Longbow of Fortitude - 15^50.

I use longbows because you can't get Storm Bows in a longbow type of bow or whatever. Used for pulling.

Recurve bows are simply all you need for interrupting. Freeing a prep spot also allows Splinter Volleying / Barraging while keeping the strongest bow for interruption.

High Moral · Jul 21, 2008, 04:45 AM // 04:45

I use Sunder, because the joy, when you hit a running Ele with a SLOTH shot and sundering kicks in an. BAM! it hurts.. goes down with an arrow in the neck.

High Moral · Jul 21, 2008, 05:31 AM // 05:31

hm, yes I was wondering the same thing.. Does people actually use hornbows? the fire rate is just ... BAAAD

Tyla · Jul 21, 2008, 05:42 AM // 05:42

Hornbows are good for spiking and Ranger Turret, but that's about it to be honest.

The 10% extra damage is helpful, and the attack speed is set on certain bow attacks.

Unless there's something I'm missing.

Magikarp · Jul 21, 2008, 06:17 AM // 06:17

oh yeah.. and you're wrong.flight time on a hornbow is unaffected thanks to the activation time and favorable winds, and more importantly: Hornbow=10% AP meaning more damage, which is what a turret wants.

Edit by Snipe: Removed reference to deleted post

gremlin · Jul 21, 2008, 06:59 AM // 06:59

I think too much importance is put on the fire rate of bows

Sure there is a difference but not a huge one and anyway who said rangers are about having a high fire rate anyway.

By the time most of us have worked out the target chosen the skill and fired the bow is ready for the next shot so who cares that the hornbow is 0.3 seconds slower than a longbow or recurve bow.
With its +10 armour penetration its ideal for some builds.

Ok we all use flatbows because of the 2 second recharge but then most of us are easily impressed with figures.
These facts and figures are all very well under ideal conditions which seldom occur in a fight.

When you fire the first arrow range is important after that everyone is running around in and out of short medium long and even out of range.

Then its all about hitting consistently so you tend to use a recurve or short bow, because you have enough to worry about without checking your preparations are still running to keep the arc down and the flight time fast.

Your interrupting and spreading conditions or whatever your ranger does and the type of bow and its foibles are less important than the skills used with it.

JDRyder · Jul 21, 2008, 07:25 AM // 07:25

i like recurve and short bows. Im most likely going to be standing near the target anyway so i dont really need to range you from from the others.

Shigernafy · Jul 21, 2008, 04:55 PM // 16:55

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Bow
Most people will swear by longbows and recurve bows. Due to their slower rate of fire, I find them only 'usable' for specific builds. A shortbow will generally give you the highest damage, assuming actual in game situations, and it is the bow that I swear by. Rangers have plenty of amazing stances you can take to minimize damage through the loss of range, but with the fastest rate of fire, and low arc, a shortbow is very reliable, and like I said, generally gives the highest damage.

Like a shortbow, a flatbow has the same rate of fire and potential damage, much more range, but you will want to have something like Read the Wind or Favourable Winds to help with the arc.

Every other bow, in my opinion, has its place only in specific builds.

And please, do not ever use a sundering bow string, they are bad. Im not making a generalization, Im not just being a jerk toward sundering users, it is bad. Unless you run a build that specifically requires a sundering mod, it is by far the worst mod you can get. I would rather have no mod than sundering.

Edit by Snipe: Removed reference to deleted post

Orange Milk · Jul 21, 2008, 07:28 PM // 19:28

Sundering is not bad, It works well in Barrage builds because you get the 25% to take effect more often, though it's been proven that a Vamp will out damage it.

If your in a Degen heavy area, there are many places where poison runs rampent, a littleless degen on yourself may be more optimal.

Each modifier has it's own place (except Heavy, that one's just a waste)

Basically OP, you have 4 weapon slots, use them all at all times. Find out what you are about to face in the next mission/quest/area and Spec accordingly.

Flatbows are fail, just as the OP states, in order for the flat bow to do any good you HAVE to fill a slot with RtW or FW. Kinda like taking a pet, eh.

I like to Interupt and spread degen, so I'm typically on a Recurve, though Elswyth's Longbow has always been one of my favorites.

If I feel like beign a "DPS" Ranger I go Shortbow, it's PvE who cares if I'm up in the fight, shits dead in a few seconds anyway.

I have like 40 bows, some of which i use, some of which I don't.

Edit by Snipe: Play nice!

High Moral · Jul 22, 2008, 02:16 AM // 02:16

what are the ideas about longbows_. I just bought a perfect stormbow to test it out, I was going for the Dragon Flatbow.. I mean, its nice to now have so EXTREMELY high acre size and still the long range. But 0.4sec longer fire?

But need to test it before i customize it.

gremlin · Jul 22, 2008, 06:12 AM // 06:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by High Moral

what are the ideas about longbows_. I just bought a perfect stormbow to test it out, I was going for the Dragon Flatbow.. I mean, its nice to now have so EXTREMELY high acre size and still the long range. But 0.4sec longer fire?

But need to test it before i customize it.

Dont know about pvp usage but for pve why not find an area you can solo and take your build out and test the various bows.

I do tend to like Vampiric short bows because when I was boss hunting some time back I got in a stalemate fight.

They couldn't kill me and I couldn't finish the boss, swapped to the vampiric and the extra points just turned the tables.
Have appreciated the extra points with every shot since that day, so its my favourite medium/short range bow.

So I carry
Zealous Flatbow
Fiery Longbow
Icy Recurve
Vampiric Shortbow

jackerduud · Jul 22, 2008, 09:16 AM // 09:16

I've got a Storm Bow of Fortitude, i'll slap a Zealous mod on it and use that as my barrage bow.

I've also got a Silencing Destroyer Bow of Fortitude, for all my BHA needs.

Since in PvE, my R/Me BHAPoison+Epidemic build, and the R/Rt Splinter Barrage are pretty much the 2 best builds for everything, those are all the bows i'll need. For Running i'll use the Spear/Shield set, and for Spirit Spamming and my low r2 Ursan i'm using a Rt Wand+Offhand.

Edit: In my case, Sundering is by far the best for Barrage, because it can fuel constant Barrage spam + YMLAD!.

Rangers Shall Rise · Jul 24, 2008, 04:13 PM // 16:13

Ok i was wondering what would be the best bow for a ranger/mesmer? I have a Storm Bow of shelter at the moment. Please tell me what type of bow i should have.

Hi I'm Kenny · Jul 24, 2008, 04:19 PM // 16:19

This question has risen a million times and hasn't really gotten anywhere. Every bow has a different situation that it's really good in. Like a flatbow might be very weak in pvp because people can dodge it and interrupts go slower, but for pve the fast firing rate is very desirable.
It's just what you're comfortable with, and depends on what build you are using at the time.

Lawrence Chang · Jul 24, 2008, 04:32 PM // 16:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Kenny

This question has risen a million times and hasn't really gotten anywhere. Every bow has a different situation that it's really good in. Like a flatbow might be very weak in pvp because people can dodge it and interrupts go slower, but for pve the fast firing rate is very desirable.
It's just what you're comfortable with, and depends on what build you are using at the time.

LoL? 2nd Account? Trying to bypass Ban time i see. Same join date : Jul 2008. I understand why he doesn't know this has been suggested before 100x, yet you know.

Anyways. Longbow/Flatbow for pulling. Hornbow/Recurve for Barrage/All around.

the savage nornbear · Jul 24, 2008, 04:43 PM // 16:43

[[read the wind]/[[favorable winds]=flatbow
general purpose=recurve
pulling=longbow/flatbow
never=shortbow/hornbow

Quaker · Jul 25, 2008, 01:48 AM // 01:48

Lol! So, if I read this thread correctly - all bow types are bad and should never be used, and no strings should be used with them.

SnipiousMax · Jul 25, 2008, 01:38 PM // 13:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quaker

Lol! So, if I read this thread correctly - all bow types are bad and should never be used, and no strings should be used with them.

I dunno, seems to me that everyone at least agrees that Recurve Bows are the best for general use.

Magikarp · Jul 25, 2008, 02:02 PM // 14:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quaker

Lol! So, if I read this thread correctly - all bow types are bad and should never be used, and no strings should be used with them.

lol nooo, but I might be able to at least break down the basics of important bow use.

Longbow- great at pull (the best really), and really lax for play in general pve (such as your barrages, etc). Not that great for pvp, but not the worst.

Recurves- your jack-of-all-trades bow. great range, amazing flight speed, low arc, you name it. its the king of interrupting, and probably the best bow for pvp.

Horns- the oddball. bad everything except for that 10% armor penetration, which is going to be great for turret rangers (geared for DPS instead of conditions or interrupts), and would seemingly be great for rspike... but in most cases.. you'll find you'd rather have that recurve :P

Shortbows- also a candidate for the turret builds thanks to it fast refire rate... but tbh.. again.. outclassed/ranged by the recurve. this bow will also put you uncomfortably close to the fight for a ranger.

Flats- another oddball, and while nearly useless for pvp, i've seen tons of people prefer these in pve over the longbow (except in pulling), thanks to its super high arc, which will get you actually over a lot of obstacles, that could usually pose a problem. imo, the longbow and recurve are still better, but the flat outclasses them in shooting up hills.

as far as strings go...

in pvp.. you want to keep the conditions on. you're not really there to deal a whole ton of damage, so take a poison string for sure (most pvp builds have apply poison, if you dont.. dont take it lol), and silencing for any daze skills etc.

for damage, its easy to see that vamp is the way to go, especially in pve. take silencing for those hilarious caster boss fight, and make it even more of a breeze

there ya go

(this is not a guide based off of anything other than my 3 years of playing, so don't take every word verbatim)