long, short, xbows and slings

Remove all ads!

Is it only me who thinks it's not particularly fair that probably the best three missile weapons in the game all come from the short bow class? If I was to rate the fired missile weapon classes from best to worst, it would be: short bow, sling, crossbow, longbow.

Here's my reasoning - short bows have to be first. They have a base rate of fire of 2, and there are powerful ones sprinkled throughout the entire game. You can start off almost as soon as you leave Irenicus' dungeon and get Tuigan, which has a base rate of fire of 3 - very useful. Then you can get the Tansheron bow at Trademeet with it you can hit 99% of everything in the game. Finally, later on you get Gesen, which can be used either with or without arrows. With arrows, it's the most damaging bow in the game. However, sometimes you will not use arrows in case you are fighting something that needs a +3 or +4 weapon to hit. So Gesen fits every situation.

Next I'd go for slings. The Sling of Seeking is probably the best in the game for this. A high strength score, and you can be hitting things for 12-15 a pop - possibly more with specialty bullets. Plus, there's Everard that will hit things that Seeking won't. Almost as good as short bows, but you need to carry two different weapons to handle every given situation, plus the base rate of fire of all slings is 1 instead of 2. Bonus points in that all character classes and kits (except ones that bar all missile weapons like Cavelier and Kensai) can use them. (Out of curiousity, why is a sling a one-handed weapon? I understand that you only need one hand to throw a sling stone, but wouldn't you need a second hand free to load it? Why can you use a shield with a sling?)

Crossbows are next. If it wasn't for Turalash in ToB, I'd have put longbows here. At least there is one crossbow that can hit everything. You don't get until ToB, and crossbows are somewhat handicapped by only having a base rate of fire of one, but it's something.

Longbows are dead last. And it ticks me off. First of all, picking longbows as your weapon of choice if you're an archer is the knee-jerk reaction when you start a game for the first time through. The first time you played BG2, if you played an archer or had an archer in the party, you would naturally chose longbows as your main weapon. My first complaint is that there is not a single long bow in either SoA or ToB that hit everything. If you're an archer, you're stuck when it comes to golems, liches, and anything else that requires better than +2 to hit in SoA, and +3 to hit in ToB (+2 and +3 being the best arrows available in the games, respectively). Plus, it's the little things. Like the first time you have your archer pick up a composite longbow, and discover you need an 18 in strength to use it. Alright I'll stop complaining now, but how can goblins use them? Are you telling me all goblins naturally have a minimum of 18 in strength?!?!

So, what are everyone else's opinions, how would you rate the different fired missile weapons? I'd love someone to come up with an arguement as to why crossbows or longbows are better than slings or short bows, but I think you'll be hard pressed.

 

I'm one of those n00bs with the knee-jerk reaction of picking long bows for my archer. So far (Chapter 4) I think she is pretty powerful, so I have nothing to complain.

But, truth be told, I don't really know anything about ranged weapons (I tend to prefer melee, since there are more cool melee weapons). For instance, I don't even know the difference between these weapons, other than that some bows are big and others are small. I just looked it up in the manual and the only difference appears to be range. Screw range, so I guess it's down to what bow type has the best bows.

Guess you're right then, if range is the only difference, the short bows are definetly better (damn). I think this really sucks, because when I think long bow vs short bow, the longbow would win by definition (at least, that's how I think it should be). A longbow could shoot much harder, maybe slower, but it should sure as hell do a lot more damage. AND be able to hit more; the harder you should, the more armor/protection you pierce.

About crossbows: I think Taralash is a longbow, but since it won't hit everything, I guess it doesn't really matter. Which crossbow can hit everything if it isn't taralash? Anyway, I've never used crossbows, so I don't really know if they're better or worse than longbows.

Slings could be very good I think. Especially because they can do good damage and you can wear a shield while using them. I don't think an archer can get grandmastery though. Anyhow, I dislike slings for everything that isn't a fysically weak mage.

But could someone maybe point out the differences between long- and short bows (and crossbows and slings)? I mean what their basic rate of fire is and what will do more damage.

 

I just wanted to say that I could have sworn that there are +4 and +5 arrows in TOB, however, as it's been a while since I've played, I can't be sure. Secondly, having increased range can be extrordinarily usefull, especially if it means that your entire party isn't crisped by that red dragon's firebreath, just the archer, or just the frontliners. Also, refresh my memory, but in BG II, can you exceed the bows range by increments, like in PnP? If so, this would make the higher range even better.

 

Aldeth, IMO your ranking is bang-on.

Yep, longbows are definitely disappointing. I always choose s-bows over l-bows.

One advantage of slings is that, IIRC, they benefit from single weapon and sword/shield styles.

Even x-bows are better than l-bows due to the light x-bow of speed (extra attack).

Overall, I prefer s-bows over slings or x-bows due to the abundance and variety of arrows compared to bullets and bolts.

 

I agree that longbows are the weakest missile weapon and your ranking seem about right (not too sure about xbows third - but hey, i'm no expert).

Don't forget that there is that oh-so-lovely Item Upgrade mod that allows the creation of a +4 longbow called Teleomortis that requires no ammo - so I usually take longbows bearing in mind that I can get that.

[ August 15, 2003, 01:49: Message edited by: Malovae ]

 

Aldeth, I agree with your bow rating.
Since I prefer to sort out things the hard way, I am in no way an expert in these matters but here is my tentative solution to your question: most NPCs can be equipped with shortbows (and will actually use them). Next come NPCs who will use slings (like, say clerics). Crossbows and longbows can be used by a very limited number of NPCs, and my bet is that most gamers prefer those guys to stand in the thick of things. So, IMO, it is an in-game decision. Sure it is not nice if you just picked an archer, but then again not all melee weapons are equally represented neither.

 

I'll have to disagree with your order.

Short bows, yes are the best in terms of options.

But There's also some nice crossbows, especially Firetooth +5 (which is the crossbow equivalent of Gesen) which is a great thing to have for powerful wielders of two handed weapons while someone with high dexterity uses Gesen.

As for long bows there's the Mana Bow +4 which can be useful in mage battles. Also, Taralash is a long bow not a crossbow.

I would put them in this order:

Short bows
Crossbows
Long bows
Slings

I put slings at the bottom because the selection of magic bullets leaves something to be desired, at least for me.

 

Off Topic, but where IS the Mana Bow?! That's one item I have never found while playing BG2.

 

It's in the Forest of Tethir.

 

I too choosed long bow when I started my first BG2 with an archer(5 slots in long bow, 1 slot for melee weapon). But after Cromwell joined Gesen shortbow for me and I still could not find a better long bow than it, I went #@%$#^@$^ and start another new game with only 2 slot in long bow, 3 slots in short bow and 1 slot in melee weapon.

 

Hmmm...my ranking is a little different.

1st place goes to Crossbows. There are several Xbows that I like throughout the game, like the Firetooth +5

2nd place goes to Slings. There are several good slings throughout the game, including the +5 sling that Cespanar upgrades for you. Also, I don't know why the sling is a one handed weapon, but I take full advantage of it.

3rd place goes to the Short Bow. I have nothing against bows, I just like ther cross bowed cousins better.

4th place goes to Long Bows. Since only the fighter classes can use it, I chose the short bow over the long bow.

 

My ranking is a little different as well:

Short Bows - gotta love 'em! Tuigan Bow rocks. They are truly a thief's best friend. Equip with some decent arrows (arrows of biting, detonation, etc) and the occasional haste/improved haste and there isn't a spellcaster around who is safe.

Slings - there are a couple of good slings out there. Sling of Everard (IIRC doesn't require ammo) and Sling of Seeking (adds damage bonuses from strength) are my favs. I've toyed with the Sling of Avoreen but haven't tried it out yet.

Long Bows - my personal fav is the Mana Bow and that is for the 25% MR. Tansheron's Bow is good for not needing arrows everytime. Others... eh

Crossbows - no matter who I give those to, I have the worst luck with them. I finally gave up.

 

Short Bow: Gesen
Sling: Seeking
Long Bow: Heartseeker, though I liked Elven Court too
Crossbow: Firetooth

(by the way Spelladonna - Tasheron's is a shortbow...)

 

OOPS! Thanks for clarifying.

 

If I ever get a chance to play again, I'm going to take an archer and give him grand mastery in the short bow. Aldeth is right -- the long bows in the game leave a lot to be desired, and I hate either having to make my Archer have 18+ strength or use a bosting item on him -- IMHO, and Archer needs high DEX, and the melee fighters are the ones who need the STR items. For most of the game, I'm going to have this Archer use Tuigan -- IIRC, he gets an extra attack for his kit, so that would be 4 attacks per round. You just can't beat that, expecially if you've got good arrows.
Oh, yeah, those long thin arrows you can get -- arrows or piercing, I believe, they have a +4 to hit, right? So unless you're shooting at something only damaged by blunts, you should be able to hit anything with those arrows, right?
Someone mentioned that an Archer can't get grand mastery with slings. I'm pretty sure they can get grand mastery with ANY ranged weapon, including darts and slings (not axes or daggers, though, which is too bad, really.)

 

Ooops! Yes, Tarlash is the longbow - Firetooth is the crossbow. Still can't put crossbows higher than third though. Base rate of fire of 1 attack per round, and while Firetooth is very good, it's unavailable until ToB.

I'm not sure if arrows of piercing count as +4 weapons. I don't think they hit liches for example. I know they are +4 to hit, but I do not know if they are +4 weapons (if that makes any sense). They also don't hit golems, but that's because they are piercing weapons.

 

Only quasi-true. You can visit Watcher's Keep any time during the SoA part of the game and shop with the knights. You have to accept the WK quest to do it, but you don't have to DO the quest until you're ready. It's often my first stop when I first leave Athkatla. Just FYI.

 

Yes, Rabbit, what you say is true. Sadly, you can't go there unless you have installed TOB! But I get your point.

 

Yeah - I thought he was referring to the ToB section of the game. Goon.