Popular Bows? (Greens)
knives
I've decided to start a ranger (had one but she was only a trapper and I eventually deleted her) and now am focusing on actually using a bow. What are some of the more popular bows to use for some common builds out there? I want to have an assortment of different types and be able to switch in between them depending on my needs. I'm pretty much set in getting the factions green bow that looks like a pair of wings (forgot the name) with the 5/1 vamp just based on its looks. Other than that, I'm completely lost. So just wondering, what are some of the bows that you like to use (preferrably green) or mods on bows you like to have on?
Dutch Masterr
first let me explain the different types of bows...
long bow--best all-purpose bow with longest range and decent re-fire rate. can be used in any situation.
flatbow--same range as a longbow except it has a very high arch, making it innacurate and also has the fastes refire rate...used by PvE barrage rangers mostly.
recurve bow--refires at the speed of a longbow, but has less range. this bow has a very low arch, making it good for interupting and PvP.
hornbow--all hornbows have 10% armor penetration. they have the longest refire rate and have the range of a recurve bow. good in PvP or 1 on 1 used with an IAS skill and a preperation like read the wind.
shortbow--have extremley short range, have a very low arch and refire at the speed of a recurve bow. best used in PvP for up-close fighting.
the most common greens--drago's flatbow (sundering)
urgoz longbow
rotwing recurve bow
ironwing flatbow
chkkrs flatbow
forgotten longbow/recurve bow
most expensive golds--
mursaat hornbow
zodiac longbow
eternal bow (recurve bow)
storm bow (longbow)
grinning dragon recurve bow
shadow bow (hornbow--probably the least expensive of the rarer bows and can often be bought perfect for as low as 80k)
long bow--best all-purpose bow with longest range and decent re-fire rate. can be used in any situation.
flatbow--same range as a longbow except it has a very high arch, making it innacurate and also has the fastes refire rate...used by PvE barrage rangers mostly.
recurve bow--refires at the speed of a longbow, but has less range. this bow has a very low arch, making it good for interupting and PvP.
hornbow--all hornbows have 10% armor penetration. they have the longest refire rate and have the range of a recurve bow. good in PvP or 1 on 1 used with an IAS skill and a preperation like read the wind.
shortbow--have extremley short range, have a very low arch and refire at the speed of a recurve bow. best used in PvP for up-close fighting.
the most common greens--drago's flatbow (sundering)
urgoz longbow
rotwing recurve bow
ironwing flatbow
chkkrs flatbow
forgotten longbow/recurve bow
most expensive golds--
mursaat hornbow
zodiac longbow
eternal bow (recurve bow)
storm bow (longbow)
grinning dragon recurve bow
shadow bow (hornbow--probably the least expensive of the rarer bows and can often be bought perfect for as low as 80k)
knives
Thanks for your help, it was just the information I needed. 
SnipiousMax
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutch Masterr
long bow--best all-purpose bow with longest range and decent re-fire rate. can be used in any situation.
Quote: Originally Posted by Dutch Masterr flatbow--same range as a longbow except it has a very high arch, making it innacurate and also has the fastes refire rate...used by PvE barrage rangers mostly. Flatbows are used for alot more than Barrage Rangers, as they make a better all around bow than a longbow. The only requirement to make a flatbow usable in just about every situation and vastly superior to a longbow is Read the wind (or Favorable Winds if you are barraging).
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Dutch Masterr
hornbow--all hornbows have 10% armor penetration. they have the longest refire rate and have the range of a recurve bow. good in PvP or 1 on 1 used with an IAS skill and a preperation like read the wind.
Even with an IAS (and especially with a Prep) the 10% inante Armor Penetration does not make up for the refire rate. A Shortbow/Flatbow still out damage a hornbow. When you add a preperation into the mix, the margin widens.
The exceptions to the rule, are skills that have a set 'cast' time (like quickshot/needling shot) and Barrage + IAS.
KazeMitsui
well to answer your question of green bows..
i pretty much use only my green bows for pvp... i have a rotwing recurve bow for when i did use cripshot because of the +5 energy it gave me and i wasnt going for dmg but more of a condition spreader in gvg or something.. and i have a nundaks recurve bow which thaat i use for interrupting pretty much... but for my all purpose i use my zealous shortbow of fortitutde cause i like it and it gives me energy back which is always nice...
Lyphen
I like my Custo's Hornbow for Barrage (I love how it looks!
), but I always carry an Ironwing Flatbow (Factions endgame) and Saushali's Recurve.Razortongue's Recurve is good aswell, I'm just not sure which is better for Barrage, 5 Vampiric or 10% Penetration 20/20.
MisterB
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutch Masterr
first let me explain the different types of bows...
-snip- shortbow--have extremley short range, have a very low arch and refire at the speed of a recurve bow. best used in PvP for up-close fighting. Shortbows have the fastest refire rate, tied with flatbows, at 2.0 seconds. Recurves refire at 2.4 seconds. Also, to OP, Guildwiki is your friend: http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Ranger_...uick_reference
Marverick
Flatbows can often miss a moving target even with FW on. If you've ever been in a BP team in Tombs with a Flatbow you'll often miss the Grasps when they start charging at you.
Vamp Hornbows of Fortitude / Marksmanship are used mostly for Ranger Spike Teams with Dual Shot + Punishing Shot + Kindle Arrows and/or Conjure Flame. Also they work well with Quickshot and Needling Shot since those attacks already have a set activation time that doesn't matter with the type of bow. A 15^50 Shadow Bow is nowhere NEAR 80k... Req 9 15^50 is about 30k. Price has dropped alot since Nightfall came out and inscribable ones can be found.
SnipiousMax
^ the only times I've noticed that a flatbow misses while under FW or RTW are those shots that you would miss with on a longbow as well, when I'm out of range of the spirit, or someone let it die. Granted I don't use a flatbow when Barraging (Hornbow + Flail = better), but I regularly use a flatbow.
Without going off site.... http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10085440
Thom Bangalter
Flatbows are great for hitting non-moving npcs, like archers in GvG, or for soloing alliance shrines.
I use a recurve bow when playing most pvp rangers builds, but also have a longbow, recurve, and shortbow floating around in my inventory (not to mention shield sets for hasty retreats). @ Lyphen, vamp is always better.
Franco Power
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutch Masterr
first let me explain the different types of bows...
long bow--best all-purpose bow with longest range and decent re-fire rate. can be used in any situation. longbow is the worst bow ever 
lennymon
http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Bow
Originally Posted by Dutch Masterr
most people will argue that the recurve is the most versatile, long only for pulling, flat for barrage with FW spirit, short if you plan to be a primary general damage dealer/degen spreader/choking gasser, horned for spiking. That being said, I'm vain and stick with my zodiac ;P Quote: first let me explain the different types of bows...
long bow--best all-purpose bow with longest range and decent re-fire rate. can be used in any situation. flatbow--same range as a longbow except it has a very high arch, making it innacurate and also has the fastes refire rate...used by PvE barrage rangers mostly. recurve bow--refires at the speed of a longbow, but has less range. this bow has a very low arch, making it good for interupting and PvP. hornbow--all hornbows have 10% armor penetration. they have the longest refire rate and have the range of a recurve bow. good in PvP or 1 on 1 used with an IAS skill and a preperation like read the wind. shortbow--have extremley short range, have a very low arch and refire at the speed of a recurve bow. best used in PvP for up-close fighting. the most common greens--drago's flatbow (sundering) urgoz longbow rotwing recurve bow ironwing flatbow chkkrs flatbow forgotten longbow/recurve bow most expensive golds-- mursaat hornbow zodiac longbow eternal bow (recurve bow) storm bow (longbow) grinning dragon recurve bow shadow bow (hornbow--probably the least expensive of the rarer bows and can often be bought perfect for as low as 80k)
.defekt
What? Are you serious? Longbow is the best type of bow in the game. Please know SOMETHING about Rangers before posting here.
KazeMitsui
i dunno about you .defekt if thats sarcasm or not
but i being a ranger only primary have never used a longbow ever.. i kinda have to agree with legendary on that... no clue what youre talking about but thats my OPINION...
Thom Bangalter
I actually don't use a longbow that much...I mostly put it on because it's one of the few bows I have that's 15^50 and not vamp, so I like to not die of degen.
.defekt
Quote:
Originally Posted by KazeMitsui
i dunno about you .defekt if thats sarcasm or not
but i being a ranger only primary have never used a longbow ever.. i kinda have to agree with legendary on that... no clue what youre talking about but thats my OPINION... Then you're not a very good Ranger. Also my opinion.
SparhawkJC
I'm kind of indifferent to the whole longbow+flatbow class, since I stick mainly to recurves and hornbows. However I do have to admit that longbows have some of the nicest non-hornbow bow skins in the game.
lennymon
@ .defekt a longbow is ONLY the best bow for a lazy/vain/ignorant ranger (I'm vain, which are you, lazy or ignorant?)
.defekt
Lenny, you forgot to add /good.
 Longbow's are so multi-purpose it's not funny.
Jeff Highwind
I only use Longbows to Barrage, I don't like carrying a spirit for a Flatbow Barrage so I am lazy.
I much prefer Recurves over anything. Great range, great arrow speed, good refire and very accurate, It's great for nearly any build. I carry 2 recurves around (1 for barrage and one for cripshot/Interrupt) and the Forgotten Longbow as well.
Thom Bangalter
You PVE too much, imo.
Running a quickshot build? probably a shortbow. Ranger spiking? Hornbow is your best option. Playing a good build? Recurve.
lennymon
heehee, only reason I even run a longbow is because they never made a zodiac recurve. thank goodness for the bramble recurves and eternal bows though.
Kijik Oni Hanryuu
multi purpose? pfft... only thing they are good for is interrupting casters while they can't hurt you. but unless you are interrupting from long range longbow=suck, if you aren;t interrupting and want range, use a flatbow, it's refire rate is insane providing for marginally better DPS, if you aren't worried about being close or not then use a shortbow or recurve. Sooo, before spouting biggotry and ignorance. try and put a little thought into it. kthxbye
Jeff Highwind
Quote:
Originally Posted by lennymon
heehee, only reason I even run a longbow is because they never made a zodiac recurve. thank goodness for the bramble recurves and eternal bows though.
Word man, a Zodiac Recurve would make me farm forever to buy a perfect one.
SnipiousMax
Quote:
Originally Posted by .defekt
Longbow is the best type of bow in the game.
Why? It deals less damage than a short/flatbow. It is not as acurate as a recuve bow. When refire doesn't matter, a hornbow has an obvious advantage. If someone was running around with an a weapon that wasn't customized... you'd think they were a noob. So why would you cut 20% of your damage for no gain at all? Recurves/Horns/Shorts/Flats can all fill a purpose, but what does a longbow do any better than the others?
Jeff Highwind
Long range f*** you's for stationary units like the Serpents.
I think it's meant for pulling, but it fails there as well.
daky
I usually have one zealous, vamp and sundering of each type of bow. Most common being long and flat bow (which one I use depends on the terrain). More often then not I usually stick to zealous (regardless of bow type). I find zealous to be very useful with 13expertise you basically gain back all your energy off a 5 energy skill just by using it/hitting your target.
Unless of course you go the barrage....in which case if your lucky you may get a free skill used + some energy. Not that I recommend barrage.
Blackbear
I use a forgotten longbow, also have an ironwing longbow, stinger, and thornbeards shortbow (i think thats his name), usually just use the forgotten longbow cause im too lazy to carry around more than one bow and keep switchin in the middle of a fight, mainly play PvE so it doesnt really matter.
Reason i use the longbow is the range and i prefer the flighttime over the flatbows. The few times ive played PvP ive used either stinger or a recurve...
Lyphen
Quote:
Originally Posted by daky
I usually have one zealous, vamp and sundering of each type of bow. Most common being long and flat bow (which one I use depends on the terrain). More often then not I usually stick to zealous (regardless of bow type). I find zealous to be very useful with 13expertise you basically gain back all your energy off a 5 energy skill just by using it/hitting your target.
Unless of course you go the barrage....in which case if your lucky you may get a free skill used + some energy. Not that I recommend barrage. Heh, my full Barage Hero team got my Canthan Ranger through the Ring of Fire for the first time yesterday! When it comes to Barrage, I give my Zealous to Zenmai, since she has energy problems. You normaly regen the 2 pips of energy during a Barrage's downtime anyway (with 13 Exp). And I've started using the Vampiric! Razortongue Recurve and Vah's Hornbow - both look nice, but I don't like having to switch all the time.
FalconDance
My original ranger, Lili, used a variety of longbows (has a collection of them) throughout Prophecies and most of Factions, including a Celestial with an unconditional +5 energy. All with NO trouble whatsoever. Of course, she was almost always running an expert Sniper build. She also has a zealous half moon and a flatbow (vamp) for those special moments.
Sanura, however, has used a recurve nearly all of NF so far. She does have a 5/1 vamp longbow and a flatbow that she switches to at times, but the recurve is her all-purpose. Sure, when you're just starting out as a ranger, you refer to the charts, other people's opinions, etc. But in the end, you really have to decide what works with the set of skills you're using. Refer to all the advice as just that and then decide for yourself which bow is the "best" for you. Former Ruling
Shortbow - For general PvE I use a Shortbow almost all the time. Theres ALOT of Shortbow hate for some reason...But overall I find that if Range doesn't matter (and alot of the time it doesn't in pve) why use a Recurve and sacrifice refire rate or a flatbow and sacrifice arc when a Shortbow is fine :\
Hornbow - All but useless outside of Ranger Spike IMHO. Recurve - the "middle line" in all stats bow..I Don't use them as much as I should, but I'm getting used to PvEing with them little by little. If you are going to buy just one bow... buy a Recurve. Flatbow - If someone is keeping FW up...Use this for most situations. Otherwise its nice for Pulling (better than longbow IMO) or when the enemy isn't moving. Longbow - I have a friend that only uses Longbows..Don't know why...They aren't useless but...In almost any situation that would call for you being that far from the enemy a flatbow is probably going to outclass the longbow.
the_jos
Let's see.
My basic bows are Elswyth's bows (Vamp recurce and Poison longbow). Don't use the long bow that often, but it's in one of my 4 slots (for pulling). I have used the Ironwing Flatbow (Zealous) for some time, mostly on Barrage + FW builds. But now it's just in inventory. All those are 15^50. Furtermore, I have build my own Poison Recurve and Crippling Recurve. One of those is equipped. And I have a short bow (Ice with +7 agains elemental, +14 vs hexed) equipped. Those are the bows I use most. I don't like the average green bow. They are somewhat expensive and unless you really need a specific max-stat bow, you probably can craft /collect a comparable bow (probably with an other skill, but same or almost the same stats). For example, the green 'Bolten's Recurve' (+5e criple, +30hp) is between 10 and 20K according to price check on this site. Collectors +5e recurve is 5 Skree Wings, Crippling string is easily bought at 1K and you should be able to get +28/29 HP at around 4K. That's 5K and some effort to get the Skree Wings. Even with a +30HP you probably save some gold. For most situations, I prefer a recurve bow (also since I have 1 or 2 interrupts on my skillbar most of the time). I think it's also the best bow for cripple (most accurate, so more chance to hit a moving target). The rest of the bows depend on the current situation.
R A C
Mmm... bows...
I've got too many bows and not enough. My favorite string is definitely vampiric. I've got a few elemental bows for fighting stuff weak to whatever element. And also saying Firey Feathered Flatbow of Fortitude is just cool. I'm working on a 20/20 sundering hornbow of marksmanship, but I never can seem to find the upgrades. Elswyth's recurve is fun. It's my only recurve atm so it's for interrupts. My vamp shortbow of fort is my general all purpose bow for when I'm lazy. my ironwing longbow is nice, but meh. I also have a +15% -5e celestial longbow, haven't decided really what upgrades to put on that though... Bows for the future: crippling recurve and vamp flatbow. After that I'll probably decide some other bow is a must have as well. I may have to toss my extra armor set along with other stuff I've collected to make room. candy bow, random hats. Bah, enough rambling. IMO, best bow would have to be short or recurve.
Cathode_Reborn
I'm obssessed with the Read the wind + Flatbow combo
I rarely use any other preparation or bow. I use Drago's flat, I like the stats and the skin is nice too. I never cared much for sundering (I've tested the damage it adds, and it's not much) and I'm tempted to make a bow like drago's but with Vamp instead just to dish out more damage. I'd try out zealous (I here lots of good about it) but I seriously can't stand the damn energy-gain sounds.......jesus anet, make an option to off it!  Anyways......RtW+Flatbow = range, firespeed, arrows that never miss....it's awesome. It really is the sniper setup. If you've played Fort Aspenwood on the kurzick side and went to the ledges up the stairs, you'll know it's begging for a ranger to camp it  You can easily hit squishies in the 100's with 16marks + a somewhat strong attack skill. Everytime I use another bow, the firerate kills me. It feels sooo slow and boring. I'm just thinking "gaawwwwd, shoot the damn arrow already". [QUOTE=R A C]I'm working on a 20/20 sundering hornbow of marksmanship, but I never can seem to find the upgrades. QUOTE] Sounds like you're going for lots of damage. If you don't mind the -1hp degen, a vamp string will easily out-dmg 20/20. I've tested sundering on many weapons, and it's become very easy to test with bows using the paragon shout "Go for the eyes!" for easy criticals. Edit: Can someone tell me how to do the fancy-lookin quotes? It looks lame when I do it 
Emik
If you're using a bow in tombs go for either Chkkr's or Forgotten Flatbow.
Both have zealous mods. Combined with Tigers Fury it's a huge damage dealer. Turbo Barrage FTW. Apart from that I've got a bow of each class and i prefer my Storm coz it keeps you out of range. If you don't fear all that then yeah, a recurve. Too bad the refire rate is so damn slow @ Cathode: You need to end your quote same as you started it In this case Code: [quote(=author)][/quote]
Dutch Masterr
ill admit that the only mistake i made on the bow stats thing is the refire rate of a shortbow and it was a little opinionated. no one here can say a certain type of bow "sucks" because its purley opinion. what i wrote was from my expiriences. the two bows i hate though are flatbows and shortbows. and flatbows are by no mean the best to interupt...shortbows or recurve bows are. flatbows have a good refire rate but are extremley innacurate unless you use a skill like read the wind. i just think its silly to bring a preperation like read the wind just to use a flatbow, when you could be using something like apply poison or a more worth while preperation. i just hate the short range of shortbows and innacuracy of flatbows..but again thats *my opinion*.. this is the set of bows i carry--
sundering amber longbow of fort for barrage and taking out basses in AB. zealous zodiac bow or fort for energy gain/barrage sundering mursaat hornbow of fort for just about anything but mostly pvp. sundering spiked recurve bow of fort for my main pvp bow
eggs0wn
My Bows
Sundering Storm Bow of Fort- Use for pulling and because when I was a noob I thought they were cool *Forgerunner(fire damage)- Use for a Flaming Barrage Build *Rotwing Bow- Use for poision build which I used to do ALOT but not too much anymore Zealous Recurve of Defense- New bow I made recently and have been using alot for most builds. * = green And I used to have Vamp bow but I just didnt like the -1hp degen. I know it ends up dealing more dmg but it just didnt work for me at the time. But ironically, I now sort of want a Vamp Shortbow.
XvArchonvX
If you only buy one bow, a longbow or recurve isn't a bad choice, but frankly, having a bow to fit every situation is far more effective. If finance is a problem, then get collector bows. A ranger with an unmodded bow of every type is likely to be a stronger all around ranger than one with a perfectly modded single bow, no matter what the mods.
lennymon
Last count my bow storage spanned 4 characters because I'm not well organized... basically if I put em in a closet and pretended they were shoes I'd be Imelda Marcos. I've 2 more on 'layaway' now. I think I'll be able to retire some soon with the latest round of upgrades though.
drupal
Dragos is really nice and the Ironwing is no bad choice, too.
My prefered mods are Poisonous-, Sundering-, Vampiric-, Zealous Strings and always a Fortitude Grip. |
