Curse

Merlin_0525 · Jul 27, 2006, 08:58 PM // 20:58

I just started a PvE ranger character, and I was wondering, what kind of bow does everyone here use?

I'm currently using a flatbow and a composite bow...might change to shortbow...

Also, what kind of pet does everyone have? (Hearty, Dire, Elder)

Oh, and anyone have any tips? O.o

Rite · Jul 27, 2006, 09:28 PM // 21:28

Personally, I would recommend a flatbow and/or a longbow. flatbows are good for speed, longbows can hit ppl from long distances, useful for damaging enemies before they reach you with cripple, or, more importantly in PvE, the fact that you can hit the npcs from atop a cliff for massive damage, and with a longbow, you can still hit them often even when they try to move away from you and the cliff. Personally, I use a longbow or an ivory bow but this has more to do with the fact that I never seem to be able to find a good max dmg flatbow. As for the ivory bow... I'm not sure why I use it, I just do! =P

As for pets, I don't use one so I can't help you. I prefer to spend all my attribute points on expertise, marksmanship and wilderness survival. Later on, you might choose to do likewise.

SnipiousMax · Jul 27, 2006, 09:40 PM // 21:40

I use flatbows most of the time (Vampiric and Zealous), but I also use a Horn bow on occasion (Quickshot, and barrage), a composite for interrupting, and shortbows for farming. The only bow I've not used for much of anything is my longbow.

As for Pets, I prefer the Dire evolution, but I don't tend to use it much, unless except for a boondoggle with a Beastmaster build.

Age · Jul 27, 2006, 09:54 PM // 21:54

I use a longbow and a few others although I would like to get Drago's flatbow I do like long bows.I like Drago's b/c of the skin as it loooks more real looking than say some of the zodiacs.I don't do BM all that much but I like snowwolfs.

Amy Awien · Jul 27, 2006, 10:09 PM // 22:09

All kinds of bows, flat, recurve, short, long etc ....

I frequently use a flatbow with vampiric string, a recurve (composite) and sometimes short and longbows. When Barraging I used a hornbow frequently.

Max damage (flat)bows are available from collectors, in Tyria and I got one of mine in Cantha from, mhh, ah, Ohtah

My pet is a Dire Wolf and I have a nice build to back him up

Dyon Adell · Jul 28, 2006, 01:55 AM // 01:55

Well, my favourite is the longbow as well, because I really enjoy having an advantage of range over my opponents.

Not all rangers use pets, but if you want one, I would suggest a Hearty pet. Most Barragers need a hearty pet for effective tanking.

Maria The Princess · Jul 28, 2006, 04:34 AM // 04:34

i like longbow and recurve bow, and my pet is dire

SnipiousMax · Jul 28, 2006, 05:01 AM // 05:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyon Adell

... because I really enjoy having an advantage of range over my opponents.

Not all rangers use pets, but if you want one, I would suggest a Hearty pet. Most Barragers need a hearty pet for effective tanking.

Flatbow's Range = Longbow's Range.

Hearty pets do not have much of an advantage over a dire pet when it comes to playing barrage.

Dyon Adell · Jul 28, 2006, 05:32 AM // 05:32

Yeah but I dislike the arc of flatbows. Besides, 'longbow' sounds better than 'flatbow' anyday. Legolas uses a longbow. So does all the famous archers in fantasy realms. =p

As for the pet, if I did not read wrongly, Hearty pets have the most Health. You want them to draw enemies to them and withstand damage so you could Barrage the entire group of mobs.

Merlin_0525 · Jul 28, 2006, 06:44 AM // 06:44

some stats:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pet Evolutions

* Hearty: -15% damage, +60 health
* Playful: -5% damage, +30 health
* Elder: -0 damage, +0 health
* Aggressive: +5% damage, -30 health
* Dire: +15% damage, -60 health

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bow Statistics

Weapon |||| Refire Rate | Range | Flight Time ||| Arc Size | Special Feature
Longbow ||| 2.4 seconds | 1.6x ||| 0.59 seconds | Normal ||| None
Flatbow |||| 2.0 seconds | 1.6x ||| 0.88 seconds | Large |||| None
Hornbow ||| 2.7 seconds | 1.4x ||| 0.59 seconds | Normal ||| 10% Armor penetration
Recurve Bow 2.4 seconds | 1.4x ||| 0.40 seconds | Small |||| None
Shortbow || 2.0 seconds | 1.05x || 0.59 seconds | Normal ||| None

Amy Awien · Jul 28, 2006, 10:55 AM // 10:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyon Adell

Yeah but I dislike the arc of flatbows. Besides, 'longbow' sounds better than 'flatbow' anyday. Legolas uses a longbow. So does all the famous archers in fantasy realms. =p

Yeah, I agree, longbows are the archetypical bows.
When I see an arrow leaving my flatbow I am surprised when it actually hits something, so slow and easy to dodge... Thankfully we have Read the Wind and Favorable Winds.

Quote:

As for the pet, if I did not read wrongly, Hearty pets have the most Health. You want them to draw enemies to them and withstand damage so you could Barrage the entire group of mobs.

Yeas, Hearty pets have more health, but I want my Wolf to deal out lots and lots of ouchpoints. Besides, Dire Wolf sounds a lot better then Hearty Wolf.

Solvi · Jul 29, 2006, 04:44 AM // 04:44

I use longbow to draw, composite to interupt and shortbow for when they do finally get close to me...for some reason the monsters i have been fighting lately havent been like the shocking strings to well so i have been using them a lot...but i also have fire, ebon and icy strings as well as a posionous one...I really want to get ahold of a zelous one but would prefer to find it rather than buy it....i am still iffy about the vampric but i thinks thats just because i dont know how to effectivly use it yet...As far as a pet goes I dont use one often but when i do i have my white tiger "Angel". Of course i only pick that for asthetic reasons cause i really dont think there is much differnce in the effectiveness of the type of pet...the only argument i can think of is that bears are slightly slower but not much of a differnce to sway someone away....also i forgot to mention "Angel" is Hearty...but agian i think the differnce in the hearty and dire is negligable.

Mikizz · Jul 29, 2006, 01:23 PM // 13:23

The advantage of using long range bows is that sometimes you get out of battles without a scratch. For example I had one of my weirdest experiences as a ranger this morning. I completed the Hell's Precipice -mission with a group that had 4 warriors, a necro, me (r/me) and two npc-monks. I used a zealous long bow (no health or defense upgrades) during the whole mission and I suffered one Mind Burn damage from the Sparks of Titans and that's it! Not a single hit from those Titans

I just kept my distance and fired away...

I have to add that Winter and Greater Conflagration is a deadly combination against those titans. I capped GC during the mission and after that we had no difficulties in fighting those beasts.

Wolydarg · Jul 29, 2006, 01:24 PM // 13:24

I pick random bows in my inventory whenever I go out just to take space out of my inventory, since a lot of them are ascalon collector bows I sometimes can't tell the skins and bring an Ascalon Horn instead of Drago's Flat...

Which brings me to a point I thought you should know, PvE is incredibly easy and any bow will do as long as you just stay in the mid to backline shooting stuff....

Sha Noran · Jul 29, 2006, 05:18 PM // 17:18

Dire is the ideal evolution for a serious Beastmaster interested in using his or her pet to deal damge, rather than just die for free corpses. >.>

The ideal bow type in my opinion is the Longbow, as it's the most versatile, but it's really ideal to have a few different bows, then switch between them as the situation merits.