Dead shot +2 vs Composite Longbow +1

Wanderon

So for all you math geniuses out there - which is statisticly better for my level 5 elven archer -

Dead Shot +2 (Longbow of Marksmanship) Thac0 +3, Damage +2, Speed 5
(Currently = Thac0 3, damage 7-12 with normal arrows)

or

Composite Longbow +1 - Thac0 +2, Damage +3, Speed 6
(Currently = Thac0 4, damage 8-13 with normal arrows)

Rohndil

thac0 > damage

TheCoffeeGod

Depends on your personal preference.
My personal preference is to maximize damage.
I mean, with an Elven Archer, is there really a need for 1 more point in THACO?

FinneousPJ

It's dependent on enemy stats as well.

JonathanCornelius

Statistically that one point of THAC0 would cause your attacks to hit 5% more often. Average damage for DS+2 is 9.5, that of the CL+1 is 10.5 . Let's say you have 20 attacks against an AC 0 enemy. You will do on average 171 damage with the DS+2. With the CL+1 you will do 178.5 damage. Better to go with the Composite Longbow.

emjay

Yeah vs say sarevok it's all about the thac0. Vs weaker enemies you just want to put them down fast hence dmg. Honestly your ammo choice vs enemies makes more difference than weapon at that stage ( piercing arrows vs elemental or detonation)

Agricola

Prefer the Thac0 and the earlier attack since I like using bows as a backup to my silence to interrupt mages. Plus acid arrows are 3d6+1 already and I use these in the serious fights.

[Deleted User]

emjay said:

Yeah vs say sarevok it's all about the thac0. Vs weaker enemies you just want to put them down fast hence dmg. Honestly your ammo choice vs enemies makes more difference than weapon at that stage ( piercing arrows vs elemental or detonation)

Actually, Sarevok's AC isn't as good as you might think, and Wanderon has an extremely good THAC0 with either bow. With how accurate you are thanks to being an Elf, having a high Dex, (high) mastery with longbows, and the ranged combat bonuses of the Archer kit, you're entering a zone where overcoming an enemy's resistance to piercing/missile damage is much more of a concern than hitting them in the first place.

Bercon

It really depends on your thac0 and enemies AC. On the left is your Thac0 and at the topic is enemies AC. Most of the the time, composite longbow +1 is better (red cells). The numbers are difference in average damage per round between the two bows.

[Deleted User]

Most of the hard to hit enemies in the game have an AC ranging from 0 to -3, so we can see by @Bercon's chart that by level 3, an Elven Archer's THAC0 is more than good enough to justify using the CL +1 over the Dead Shot.

Anyone who can't manage more than one pip in longbows, on the other hand, should probably use the Dead Shot. Fighter-types with 18 Dex who specialize in longbows will see better results from Dead Shot at first, but should switch over to the CL +1 by level cap.

Quartz

In the case of godly characters (e.g. Coran, Kivan, your PC), I would go with the higher damage.

In the case of a lesser archer (e.g. Shar-Teel, Khalid), I would go with the THAC0.

Wanderon

Quartz said:

In the case of godly characters (e.g. Coran, Kivan, your PC), I would go with the higher damage.

In the case of a lesser archer (e.g. Shar-Teel, Khalid), I would go with the THAC0.

Thats actually exactly how I sorted it out - the PC archer has the composite and Kahlid gets the Dead shot - altho he has not used a bow yet (level 6) just sword & shield so far.