Slings, XBOWs or Bows?
GaNoN
Member Posts: 151
well ive been reading old BG1 forums but the info there seems outdated or theres too many ppl saying different things.
About this weapons on BG:EE
Are slings good for high STR characters?
And when to chose if im going to use a bow or a xbow.
ty.
About this weapons on BG:EE
Are slings good for high STR characters?
And when to chose if im going to use a bow or a xbow.
ty.
0
Comments
slings are nice, and can do damage rivaling bows with unenchanted/+1/+2 ammo in hands of a high strength (here meaning 19) character... however!
ammo is a problem with slings, compared to bows. not as in availability, but in variety/power. slings have unenchanted/+1/+2 bullets, and that's it. (edit: they also have elemental bullets, but those are... shit. no thac0 bonus, +1d6 damage, and they allow save vs breath for *no extra damage*) bows on the other hand have fun stuff like acid arrows, with +2d6 acid damage, and to a lesser degree, fire and ice arrows with +1d6 dmg.
crossbows...
I'm not sure. there are bolts of lightning (+4d4 lightning damage) for 'em, but I have no idea about quantity of those.edit: checked, high hedge and sorcerous sundries each stock 1000 bolts of lightning with their cute +4d4 lightning damage (save vs breath for *half*, not none), so you'll have enough for pretty much the whole game. they're expensive as hell though.and as for the weapons specifically... there are 2 very nice bows, composite longbow +1 and longbow of marksmanship (+2 thac0 +3 dmg and +3 thac0 +2 dmg, respectively), one of them available early on, the other not much later. there is one awesome sling +3, but it's at the bottom of goddamn Durlag's Tower... as for crossbow, light crossbow of speed is the only one worth using.
Sling is effective enough for those clerics and mages who can't use bows, especially since they're likely to be doing something other than slinging in the really big battles!
I use bows where ever I can. Easily the best missile weapon in the game.
@Phyrax: the slings in IWD2 (which I'm coincidentally also playing atm
@atcDave: normal ammo, no, but you can easily run out of arrows of acid. though it's more of an NPC preference, pretty much no one there is proficient with crossbows (except if you're using BG1 style proficiencies, because that just... better)
and in BG2, crossbows can be pretty badass, especially in the underdark.
as for clerics... yeah, I was really happy when I learned slings receive str bonus - basically I could turn Yeslick into a death machine (with a bit of equipment), without having to force him into melee... he actually does MORE damage with a sling +3 - bullets +2 combo then he could in melee, and having a useful second cleric is a nice addition (especially if they kick so much ass).
...
but yeah, that's pretty much it. it has +1 dmg (and yeah, +4 thac0) compared to light crossbow of speed, but lacks the extra attack... with bolts of lightning, and their added 4d4 lightning damage (save vs breath *for half*), erm... yeah, light crossbow of speed
takes it to a bar, puts some roofilet's just say it's much better, and leave it at that.also, with a warrior, chances are he'll not only hit with either, but gets extra damage from proficiencies, making the light crossbow even more superior.
also also, checked ammo quantities, there are 1000-1000 bolts of lightning in high hedge and sorcerous sundries, so it's highly unlikely you'll ever run out of them... they do cost an arm and a leg though, but what else are you gonna spend your money on?
You know, unlike the in-game description.
Me, I'm a longbow kind of Charname. I tried using crossbows a few times, but I didn't like how slow they were at the beginning. Maybe I'm just impatient, but there it is.
don't worry, we still love you
Bows are usually better (unless you're Montaron or a cleric or a hasted fighter with high strength), though. I prefer shortbows, though, for the easy access early on to the +1 Shortbow, there's a +2 one available later, and Shortbows are generally better than long/composite bows in BG2 and I like to retain the same proficiencies for my characters in both games.
have your mages/cleric lower saving throws with malison and doom then have one (N)PC hit your enemies with darts of stunning. you'll get 3 attacks per round, so if you can potentially stun 3 enemies per round and keep them stunned while your heavy hitters knock them down.
normal darts are poop, but darts of stunning are fantastic!
And slings were used with deadly precision by specialist troops throughout ancient times (the longest era on anyone's calender).
Bows are the best of the bunch in the hands of a skilled user, but that is often a huge qualifier.
Bow or XBOW is good for characters with high Dexterity, as they would gain a bonus to hit from Dexterity, but require 2 hands.
Yet there are some specific bosses, who have a special drop table(s) for such items in both modes, even moreso in HoF. I know of at least 8 or 9 bosses in HoF that can be 'farmed' for specific items, and as the Massive Greataxe of Flame can be found in normal too, I guess the sling is on one of those tables too. [yet getting several Tymoras loop is more important ^^]
On the other hand, as already mentioned, one would be stupid to ignore that the best ranged weapon is a crossbow with 4 ApR in HoF or 3 in normal and is a 100% drop! And who doesn't kill those slave-traders anyway ^^
slightly off-topic :>
The downsides of the loightcrossbow of Speed are that the THAC0 enchantment from the launcher is only +1, instead of +2 from the +2 short bow, and there is less choice of ammo (e.g. now arrows of detonation / slaying / piercing / dispelling / detonation etc.) and enemies drop magic bolts *far* less often than they drop magic arrows, so unless I have an NPC who already uses shortbows, I still *usually* take shortbows for CHARNAME thieves (and bards).
In BG2 both crossbows and shortbows (less so longbows and composite bows, due to lack of high +x magic ammo and no autoloading options above +2) have good magic versions e.g. Firetooth for former, Tuigan (3 APR!). Tansheron, and of course Gesen, though in BG2 vanilla magic does only get the +x value for THACO not damage, whereas crossbows get it for both (though this may change in BG2EE)