Curse

schroedingercat · May 20, 2006, 02:29 AM // 02:29

has anyone else been having fun with this? just got it. i was testing on things 4 levels lower, but i was having fun anyway.

i use:
the plain ol "more damage and faster arrows" prep w/e it is called.
maurauders shot
needling shot

usually that goes maurauders, then a regular shot, or perhaps 2, then spam needling as fast as i humanly can. i need a vamp shortbow!

Lasher Dragon · May 20, 2006, 02:34 AM // 02:34

Yes, I've been absolutely pwning casters using Practiced Stance + Choking Gas + Needling Shot. Throw Penetrating Shot and Distracting Shot into the mix and it's just nasty.

Reikai · May 20, 2006, 02:34 AM // 02:34

you'd do better with a vampiric recurvebow.

and that prep is Read the Wind.

schroedingercat · May 20, 2006, 02:40 AM // 02:40

right now i am using 2 collectors ascalon bows. i am pretty sure they arent longbows, but i cant remember wtf they are. it was so long ago that i got them.

they do seem different from each other, but they look the exact same. so i just use the fastest, flattest arc one for needling spam.

i didnt even think of choking gas, that is genius!

Reikai · May 20, 2006, 02:49 AM // 02:49

because needling shot ignores rate of fire and shoots 1 shot every 1.XX seconds, the rate of fire on your bows doesn't matter.

The biggest thing you should be worrying about if you want to "machinegun" is the arrow arc. Try to make it as low as possible, so then your needling shot will recharge faster (even if it IS only 0.001 seconds faster, its theoretically, more DPS.)

Favorable Winds
Read the Wind
Recurvebow class weapon

would be the ideal setup, add a vampiric or zealous string and your set.

schroedingercat · May 20, 2006, 12:37 PM // 12:37

ahh.. looks like i did have the "recurve" flavor of the ascalon bow from the collector in mineral springs.

i wish the damn things looked different.

XvArchonvX · May 20, 2006, 06:54 PM // 18:54

[QUOTE=Reikai]because needling shot ignores rate of fire and shoots 1 shot every 1.XX seconds, the rate of fire on your bows doesn't matter.
QUOTE]

While I have yet to try out this skill, I am very skeptical of this statement. I say this because Barrage is a skill with a 1 second cast time, but it is still affected by the type of bow used. There have been many very detailed studies of this as well of the effects of skills like Tiger's Fury being used in conjunction and the type of bow used always had an effect on refire rate. This was because even though the actual time taken to shoot the arrow was made to be 1 second, the redraw action of grabbing a new arrow was the rate limiting step between one shot and another. I'll have to buy this skill and test it out to see if for some bizarre reason it acts differently, but somehow I doubt it will.

If this is the case, then a flatbow or shortbow would be the best choice if the desired effect is a constant high rate of fire. If damage is intention, tiger's fury with a hornbow would give the highest rate of fire.

Son of Urza · May 20, 2006, 07:00 PM // 19:00

Barrage doesn't have a cast time, it has a RECHARGE time of 1 second. All "normal" skill attacks have no cast time description whatsoever; however, Needling Shot and Quick shot do. This is because they shoot faster than normal- they will fire off an arrow in 1 second instead of the 2.0/4/7 for the bow refire rate. Mixing a bow with a high attack speed, Tiger's Fury, and Quick Shot or Needling Shot results in an rediculously high hit rate, which can be nasty with a vampiric bowstring.

PieXags · May 20, 2006, 07:06 PM // 19:06

I've really enjoyed the little time I've had to use this skill, fw + kindle + brutal weapon spamming needling shot works well enough for me. A vamp bow string and dual shot make this just plain fun. I switch kindle out with read the wind every so often...doesn't really matter to me, I just like the numbers.

At first I thought I wouldn't have the energy for brutal weapon when I needed it, but I haven't had problems thus far. It's pretty neat.

SnipiousMax · May 21, 2006, 12:07 AM // 00:07

Best use I've found for Needling shot is as a supplement to other damage skills. It is an excellent finisher against self-healing bosses or mobs with a monk. It is one of my favorite skill additions.

I second Reiki's recurve comment... I'm gonna have to sacrifice my range and start using my recurve more.

schroedingercat · May 21, 2006, 12:43 AM // 00:43

[QUOTE=XvArchonvX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reikai

because needling shot ignores rate of fire and shoots 1 shot every 1.XX seconds, the rate of fire on your bows doesn't matter.
QUOTE]

While I have yet to try out this skill, I am very skeptical of this statement. I say this because Barrage is a skill with a 1 second cast time, but it is still affected by the type of bow used. There have been many very detailed studies of this as well of the effects of skills like Tiger's Fury being used in conjunction and the type of bow used always had an effect on refire rate. This was because even though the actual time taken to shoot the arrow was made to be 1 second, the redraw action of grabbing a new arrow was the rate limiting step between one shot and another. I'll have to buy this skill and test it out to see if for some bizarre reason it acts differently, but somehow I doubt it will.

actually you fire so fast you dont even draw your arm all the way back.

that is without any attack haste up. i believe it is similar to the elite "quick shot" except that it recharges instantaneously instead of 1 second and is restricted in how much damage it can do. if you have ever seen someone use a recurve bow with frenzy up, it is faster than that rate of fire. or so it seems. fast enough that i can kill myself before a monk can heal me if my target has retribution anyway... lol

Fay Vert · May 22, 2006, 12:54 AM // 00:54

I like to use Poison arrow with preps to take down to 50% and then spam the heck with needling. Put expert up to 13 along with Marks 14 and you have permanently spammable dammage. Works well for PvP and PvE. Elswyth's Recursive gives you extra damage and lovely healing as you finish off the target.