Bow for a EDA/Volley Hero?

Besides the ebon mod and possibly being a recurve bow, what kind of bow would you stick on a EDA/Volley hero?

[ebon dust aura][volley][distracting shot][savage shot][Lightning Reflexes] (optional) (optional) [res sig]

I would get an Ebon longbow of fortitude, or possibly enchanting to increase blindness duration.

Longbow for the distance or some other reason?

A recurve bow is for interrupting. I'm curious as to why you don't just use barrage rather than volley. If you get splinter weapon and combine that with barrage, you get some serious damage.

I have 2 areas left to vanq. for Leg. Master of the North, one being sparkfly swamp.

With all the physicals, I thought some AoE bilnd would go a long way. (I'm also bored of running sabway :S)

Also, this guy.



P.S.- I'll be running [spirit's strength][volley][splinter weapon] on my rit.

I'd get a flatbow for the attack speed, or a recurve if you prefer the interrupts to be better timed.

Recurve and flatbow are the answers to nearly all questions a ranger asks .

So either an Ebon Flatbow (Strength and Honor) of Fortitude or an Ebon Recurve Bow (Strength and Honor) of Fortitude.

Enchanting isn't nessesary, as EDA lasts long enough even on low specs (but I guess you are running 8-10 to get the blindness duration decent).

How often do you get more than 4 enemies together in general PvE?

Besides, Splinter Weapon only triggers on 4 hits with <14 channeling.

Why waste your elite on something that can be easily replicated with a non-elite with no downsides.


Ebon Dust Aura can spam blind and shut down multiple physicals on top of good interrupting ability.

Longbows are bad; flight time is too long for interrupting, and the arc makes it too inaccurate for just general use without using Read the Wind or Favorable Winds.

... because he is using a blind build, not a damage build, and EDA is elite.

Now, the question about the bow... you will likely want ebon string, +5 energy inscription, +20% longer enchants. As far as bow type... it would depend on your playing style and what you are fighting.

If you are dealing with mostly melee foes, I would go with a shortbow on your hero for the refire rate and considering that the guys you want to blind are going to be close to you anyway. If you are fighting ranged attackers, a longbow or flatbow allows your hero to do his/her thing from further away.

EDIT: Dragonmaster advised fort vs enchant on the bow. I disagree.. the less often your hero has to recast EDA, the more energy and time he/she can spend firing the bow. The +30 health doesn't do a whole lot for a ranged hero with good armor that likely won't be the initial target of the enemy AI.

My EDA hero primarily uses a short bow. In some cases, mostly in HM, I switch her to a flatbow.
You could also consider using [called shot] instead of one of the interupts, for the un-blockability.

yeah shortbow for a blinder hero. main reason?

the targets that need blinding will likely be in melee range anyway, so you might as well take advantage of the fast attack speed of shortbows.

When i run barrage ranger heroes while on my necro, i use Great Dwarf Weapon on them for both the extra damage AND the knockdown/interrupt(40% chance), have you given this a try yet? As for bow choices, if your ranger is under the effect of either read the wind or favorable winds, then flatbow is the best of all bows imo.

Ebon recurve bow of enchanting worked like a charm. The area took a while because of all the paras with the mesmer boss but Jin did her job and did it well. Thanks everybody!

Just one more area to go... Arbor Bay.