when using a bow which of the last four proficiency slots matter?

georgelappies

If I want to play an Archer which one of the weapon style proficiency slots must I invest in to gain a bonus when using a bow?

ZanathKariashi

None. Ranged isn't affected by any of the styles.

georgelappies

Ooi, not cool. So ranged is gimped later in the game then and not viable anymore?

ZanathKariashi

For non-archers, yes...but archer's get a CRAP ton of extra damage as they level, so it remains viable for them.

georgelappies

Great thanks for the info ZanathKariashi

mjs

archers are ranged dps masters, definitely not gimped

Kaltzor

Well, while it doesn't affect Ranged Weapons... Two-Handed Style or One Weapon Style is good to have since you can equip those while having a ranged weapon equipped and switch to them if needed. Using a Ranged Weapon gives melee attackers against you a +4 to their attack rolls from what I know of...

ZanathKariashi

And you also suffer a 4 thac0 penalty when firing at a target in melee range (though an archer can pretty much ignore that part).

Wanderon

Kaltzor said:

Using a Ranged Weapon gives melee attackers against you a +4 to their attack rolls from what I know of...

It also puts a -8 penalty on the ranged character targeting an enemy within melee range.

Itstucktwice

While I wouldn't say Archers are gimped, they definitely have a power curve. Archers are godmode for a lot of the game but their downside is that there are enemies in SOA and TOB that the archer will not be able to hit simply because there aren't arrows strong enough to penetrate the opponent's defenses.

ZanathKariashi

Firetooth (crossbow) hits as +4...and ...I think Gesen's Bow does as well (been forever since I've bothered with ranged weapons that aren't thrown).....any launcher that generates it's own ammo hits at whatever it's enhancement bonus, not the damage bonus of the ammo it generates (So Everard's Sling hits as +5 with it's generated +2 bullets).

Senash

Ranged weapons are strong enough without a stlye bonus.

However, they do lose potential later in BG2. An Archer, due to it's class bonus still rocks though. The damage they can unleash can be insane. But, as it has been said: no +4 or +5 arrows. YET! And that reminds me what I've left out of my BG2EE wishlist.
So there will be enemies (in BG2 mind you) who you won't be able to hit. Not mentioning those, who are immune to piercing-type damage (some golems for example). But I'm not so sure on this, as these rules were always problematic for me.
Also, ranged weapons with unlimited ammunition only comes in the form of a short bow, a sling and a crossbow. No long bow Well, if you don't count quiver of plenty.

BTW, could we put together a complete list of enemies which can't be hit without +4/+5 weapon enchantments?

Drayen

My last BG2 clear involved my main character being an Archer... there is very little you can't hit, i went ith firetooth, i think only some SoA mobs were trouble since you could only use +2 ammo, otherwise +3 ammo does the job. There's always the sling of everard+5 though...

And yea, archers are damage powerhouses, they are like ranged kensais, although more resistant and slightly less damage. Use crossbows, they are the only ones who get damage increases except some specific bows... try to use the light crossbow of speed (3 to 4 attacks per 6 seconds, pretty insane) then later on you can get firetooth +5, and by the end youll have a 100% chance to hit vs everything anyways. My archer does 24-30 damage per hit with firetooth every hit, that's pretty epic with greater whirlwind (I tested it on sarevok, with his 225 hp, and one greater whirlwind killed him before it wore off, so you can do that much damage just with one greater whirlwind lol.

Aasimar069

Itstucktwice said:

While I wouldn't say Archers are gimped, they definitely have a power curve. Archers are godmode for a lot of the game but their downside is that there are enemies in SOA and TOB that the archer will not be able to hit simply because there aren't arrows strong enough to penetrate the opponent's defenses.

I'd like to say this is not correct.

That's not the fact you can't penetrate their defenses, but the fact the arrows' enchantment is not strong enough to hit them.

Some enemies will require +3 weapons (or more). Obviously, you can't hit them with your arrows +2.

You'll have to wait watcher's keep or TOB to find arrows +3

Even if your bow is +3 or +4, that's the level of magical enchantment of your arrows that will matter.

Sorry to explain this again, but the way you wrote it might confuse some of the players. It is not related at all to an armor class or shield protection but linked to the fact mostly strong magical enemies or magical-protected enemies require +3 or more weapons to hit them.

bbear

ZanathKariashi said:

Firetooth (crossbow) hits as +4...and ...I think Gesen's Bow does as well (been forever since I've bothered with ranged weapons that aren't thrown).....any launcher that generates it's own ammo hits at whatever it's enhancement bonus, not the damage bonus of the ammo it generates (So Everard's Sling hits as +5 with it's generated +2 bullets).

The Firetooth bolt is actually +2 fire enchantment. It's still +2 after the upgrade in ToB.

ZanathKariashi

The bolts hit as +4 (and +5 if you upgrade it), but they deal damage as +2. (This is true of all weapons that generate their own ammunition, due to the way the items are coded).


@Senash
+4 - Demogorgon, Demiliches (2 total), Final-Bad

+5 - Vampiric Dread Wraiths (only summoned via Deck of Many Things).

bbear

actually you're right...I just tested it and it worked on the special enemies. I must have loaded bolt+2 on my firetooth.