Bow or Crossbow ???

[Soft1111]

Hi, guys, please help me on this one. :confused:
I don't know what to do now, I am an archer with a crossbow, but, recently, I met a friend who uses bow when she reaches level Hawk Archer. I have asked her why does she uses bow instead of crossbow, and the reason was b/c bow is faster than crossbow, and the aim is better.
So, I have thought about it for a long time since then, whether I should use a crossbow, higher damage and critical, or a bow, faster and has better aim? Well, I usually go into kq to level up, only when there is no kq then I will go out to fight the monsters.
So, should I start using bow now, before it's too late, or it is ok for me to stick with my crossbow?

Thank you for your patience

[famer_29@hotmail.com]

hey if u like normal attk instead of spamming skills.... i suggest u stick to ur regular bow but if u like to spam skills(skill madness) u stick to crossbow cos crossbow slower not so perfect for normal attk

[Coite]

It's just what you want, imo.
Do you want speed and aim more than crits and damage, or vise-versa?

[Azrial]

this has already been discussed. Go through the archer forum. It depends on your build and personal preference sine it doesn't really make all that much difference.

[Kirbydrop]

I kinda wondered about this myself but thanks for clearing it up ^_^

[KY_Jelly]

hey if u like normal attk instead of spamming skills.... i suggest u stick to ur regular bow but if u like to spam skills(skill madness) u stick to crossbow cos crossbow slower not so perfect for normal attk

do the math. unless you are a very STR intensive build, crossbow still out DPSes the bow.

[graduss]

I am 20 lvl Hawk archer and i have steel Crossbow for 20 lvl but "Class Hawk archer or higher" is still red and I cant equip the crossbow.Why?

[LordMcnabb]

Have you done the Job mission. You have to do that to officially have the title Hawk Archer. Its not just the level but that one mission.

[Aristolle]

I believe it's a matter of personal pref.
Xbows are slower, but they're stronger than bows. Bows are faster than Xbows, like you've already said. But if your archer's stats are high enough, the critical hit/damage should depend on your character stat instead of the weapon. It'd also depend on if the weapon's enchanced or green.

[slayhn]

What you use should really be based on your stats. If you're a pure str. Bow is by far the way to go. If you're a spirit/str, I'd suggest using xbow until 40's, then switch to bow. If you're dex (god knows why), xbow. Pure spirit...I'd have to say bow because you'd want more chances to crit. Another factor is, what are you attacking? yellows/greens or reds? Do you like having to use a SP stone every 3 kills or resting?

I'm a str/spirit (25/25) build and I've been testing out xbow and bows and they kill about the same. However, I feel I crit a lot more with the bow and things die about 1-3 seconds faster.

[Rawreth]

I use both. I like Crossbows more though.

But yeah, I use both.

[shadowcreep4]

If you're dex (god knows why), xbow.

Hmm sry but i don't rly get this. If ur dex ur after aim and evasion, isn't it the bow that has a higher aim? I think u should go all the way with what u want instead of thinking u've got enough dex so ur picking xbow.

So errr im dex/spr and I'm rly doubting btwn bow for its aim or the xbow for it's crit >.< I think I'm gonna go for the bow thou, more speed sounds better than more atk to me.

[Sven-]

So errr im dex/spr and I'm rly doubting btwn bow for its aim or the xbow for it's crit >.< I think I'm gonna go for the bow thou, more speed sounds better than more atk to me.

actually, you gotta balance both lol
do the total DPS math and see what's higher, giving a better margin for the bow because of 'wasted DPS', that's the damage that exceeds the monster's HP and, since it's dmg is higher, you get more wasted DPS with xbow.
you also gotta factor the strenght damage separately, since it ignores defence, thus a regular bow makes better use of it.
in general, the more str you get, the more viable a regular bow gets.

I used to be a xbow supporter because of the technique I used on attacking that allowed me to reach bow aspd, and not more than this with a bow. But after some good training with xbows, when I put my hands on a bow at lvl30 I realized I could get to an insane speed by doing it, and people around me were like 'omfg, your playing style makes me dizzy' so yea, now I'm all in for regular bows :)

[slayhn]

Hmm sry but i don't rly get this. If ur dex ur after aim and evasion, isn't it the bow that has a higher aim? I think u should go all the way with what u want instead of thinking u've got enough dex so ur picking xbow.

So errr im dex/spr and I'm rly doubting btwn bow for its aim or the xbow for it's crit >.< I think I'm gonna go for the bow thou, more speed sounds better than more atk to me.


If you're a dex build, you have ton of aim. You lack damage but never miss. Never missing with a xbow is a good thing. That's why using a xbow if you're a pure dex build would be the way to go. What you lack from not having str/spirit, you'd make up by hardly missing with a high damage weapon. That's the big downer about high dmg slow weapons. A miss really hurts your overall damage. If you miss with a bow, not that big of a deal.

[jackrosen]

Hi, guys, please help me on this one. :confused:
I don't know what to do now, I am an archer with a crossbow, but, recently, I met a friend who uses bow when she reaches level Hawk Archer. I have asked her why does she uses bow instead of crossbow, and the reason was b/c bow is faster than crossbow, and the aim is better.
So, I have thought about it for a long time since then, whether I should use a crossbow, higher damage and critical, or a bow, faster and has better aim? Well, I usually go into kq to level up, only when there is no kq then I will go out to fight the monsters.
So, should I start using bow now, before it's too late, or it is ok for me to stick with my crossbow?

Thank you for your patience

go with the crossbow

[klemzorz]

Oi I hope I will help you reach your decision :]
Okay so I did Test out things and did the math when I Was at earlier level so perhaps its not the same at later lvls.
When I was at lvl 35 I tested the killing speed of Tomb Foxes with Build/Weap
combinations.

These are the things I tested and the results:
I did the average killing time of 10 tomb foxes and thats what I got
20 Spr 20 Str build with a Bow (perhaps not 25 spr but very close >.>) - 12.464 seconds
20 Spr 20 Str build with a Xbow - 13.287 seconds
Full Str build (40str) with a Bow - 11.107

now I do lack the testing of 20 spr 20 str with a bow but forgive me I was out of resources at that point.
In the tests with the Bow I used 1 DOT and I used ONCE the Aim + Power shots.
With the Xbow I used 1 DOT and used Twice Aim shot and once power.
Anyway the bow killed faster.
now there are a lot of variables..BUT just stick to what you like cuz its almost the same unless you have GODLY equips..really.

If there was one better build + weapon combo dont you think everyone would use it?
its all about your preference and which game style you like?

Now ONE thing is certain..I believe that if your going for an Xbow, and your not going to solo most of the time (I dont like solo, expensive unless you have REALLY good equips and perhaps not as fast as a good party) but youll party like most people, the most effective build is 25spr rest str, of that I am certain..for an Xbow. >.<

Just decide what you like and prefer more? If you wanna crit more (But not THAT much more) and do higher Damage with the crits go for the xbow..
If you prefer the old classis SMEXY bow with the FAST shooting and the Decent crit amount (tho still lower than xbow, and most likely less damage BUT with the bow you'll hit more times that can compensate for that) then go for the bow mate!
Play with your heart not with the numbers :]
GOOD LUCK! :D

[Aer_Mateo]

Hmmm...I was confused by this too and yes determaining what the build of your character would be would help, but I'd say its more on what monster you use it on...idk

What I mean is your hardly get misses on a yellow monster so use xbow since it has a better chance of crits but on an orange or red monster(grinding perhaps o.o) use a bow so you can actually hi t the dran thing...this takes in the account if you don't use scrolls of course.

I'm not really the best person to ask since I use both and I use them depending on what mood I'm in not what can I kill faster with what, just wanted to give 2 cents though

[Sven-]

so, I was doing some math the other day, and here are my results :P

I've calculated the modifier you should multiply your damage to find your DPS(Damage Per Second).
aspd only modifier for bows: 0.909
aspd only modifier for xbows: 0.714

modifier already factoring NPC crit rates:
bow: 0.945
xbow: 0.757

multiply everything by 60 if you want to find the damage you'll do over a minute.

now, luckly I'm by the smith just as I write this post, so I'll consider.. huh.. lvl30 weps and do the dmg calculations.

Close Bow average dmg: 75
Close Crossbow average dmg: 140

Bow DPS: 70.85
XBow DPS: 105.98

xbow winning so far, okay. I don't know how def would actually interfere with the total damage, but as far as the xbow outdamages bow by aproximately 30% DPS, let's consider your build.
let's say you went STR all the way to lvl30. you got 35str. considering the increase in DPS by the str, we have:

bow DPS increase: 31.815
xbow DPS increase: 26.495

total damage:

bow: 70.85*(def reduction) + 31.815
xbow: 105.98*(def reduction) + 26.495

considering a monster can reduce 30% of your damage:

bow: 49.595 + 31.815 = 81.41
xbow: 74.186 + 26.495 = 100.68

now let's say you went full SPR, you're level30 and have 35SPR, which gives you a crit rate of 25*(0.2)+10*(0.1) = 7%

the post is already too long, so I won't detail everything again. In the end we get:
bow: 1.008*70.85*0.7 = 49.991
xbow: 0.806*105.98*0.7 = 59.793

even though xbows damage seem to grow more, bows damage also increases, and since the bow multiplier is higher, I guess the devs would make something along the lines of the progression being constant in %.
the only problem is that monsters defense do(or at least I think they do) get higher as you change leveling locations

xbows also is more likely to have higher wasted DPS. face it like this: a monster has 10 HP left. a bow hits for 15, an xbow hits for 30, might not seem too much, but it builds up over prolonged periods of leveling.

oh snap, just realized I forgot to factor base str xD
their 'base damage'(the reduced by def one) difference wouldn't be so big then. as far as I can recall, my archer on lvl30 has about 100str(considering gear, idk), so maybe their damage could be more comparable.. err... maybe I'll re-do the calculations later considering base str, but I guess you all see where I'm getting with this ^^''

made by myself :x

[flyingeskimo]

Hi, guys, please help me on this one. :confused:
I don't know what to do now, I am an archer with a crossbow, but, recently, I met a friend who uses bow when she reaches level Hawk Archer. I have asked her why does she uses bow instead of crossbow, and the reason was b/c bow is faster than crossbow, and the aim is better.
So, I have thought about it for a long time since then, whether I should use a crossbow, higher damage and critical, or a bow, faster and has better aim? Well, I usually go into kq to level up, only when there is no kq then I will go out to fight the monsters.
So, should I start using bow now, before it's too late, or it is ok for me to stick with my crossbow?

Thank you for your patience

well if you want speed and average damage go for bow but if you want less speed but more damage go for crossbow personly i use both cuz now and again i like speed or more damage