Arrows +2

jeff5371

Hey all,

I'm having a real hard time finding Arrows +2 or even +1. I have an Archer character and we are totally out. Nothing in Trademeet, nothing in Waukeen's Promendade, I just can't find any. Is this just an issue with the game? I've tried resting for awhile too, and they don't restock them. Any ideas on what I can do or where I can find them?

Thanks,
Jeff

jmerry

Merchants don't restock. That's just the way the game works. However, there's a trick for ammunition; if they offer a stack, you can restock them by selling back ammo, at a rate of one stack per one arrow. Effectively unlimited supply at the cost of a small price increase, as long as you never let them sell out completely.

Availability for +2 arrows from merchants in BG2EE:

Chapters 2,3,6:

Maheer (storekeep on the wooden platform in Waukeen's Promenade): five stacks of 40
Perter (fletcher in one of the shops along Waukeen's Promenade): three stacks of 40
Ribald (Adventurer Mart at Waukeen's Promenade): five stacks of 40
Jayes (under the arches in the southeast of Waukeen's Promenade at night): three stacks of 40
Arledrian (2nd floor of Gaelan Bayle's place in the Slums): four stacks of 40
Black Market Thief (roof of Copper Coronet in the Slums at night): four stacks of 40
Cutpurse (far western Bridge District at night): two stacks of 40
Merchant (one-time event at the City Gates): four stacks of 40
Khan Zahraa (tent in Trademeet, before solving the town's issues): four stacks of 40
Kich (outside Trademeet gates in the northeast at night): four stacks of 40
Caravan Merchant (tent in Trademeet, after solving the town's issues): two stacks of 40
Blacksmith (smithy in Trademeet, after solving the town's issues): three stacks of 40
Merchant (market area in Trademeet, after solving the town's issues during daytime): four stacks of 40

Chapters 4,5:

Storekeep (Brynnlaw): four stacks of 40
Carlig (near Underdark entrance, while disguised as drow): five stacks of 40
Therndle Daglefodd (Underdark gnome village): five stacks of 40

ToB:

Bartender (tavern in Saradush): 30 stacks. Also sells 20 stacks of +3 arrows.
Karthis al-Hezzar (first area outside Saradush): 40 stacks. Also sells 30 stacks of +3 arrows.
Carras (cave in Amkethran, doesn't stay around): four stacks. Also sells 3 stacks of +3 arrows.
Weapon Merchant (Thayan arena during Neera's quest): four stacks. Also sells 2 stacks of +3 arrows.

[Edit - corrected ToB info]

jeff5371

Thank you, this helps! I did what you said, and as long as the merchant has 1 stack (40), and I sell him 1 arrow back, in the merchants inventory it shows 2 stacks. I buy another stack, and it is 40 again.

jmerry

Yes. If the merchant has at least one stack of arrows of a given type for sale, selling one arrow of that type back to them restocks a full stack. Repeat as many times as you want.

jmerry

I should also note some measures for arrow conservation. There are many enemies in the game that don't require magical weapons to hit, or only require basic magic weapons. And against them, elemental arrows (acid, cold, fire) are often better than +N arrows because they do more damage. You can save the +2 arrows for the occasional enemies like stone golems or vampires that actually require +2 to hit.

In the first level of Watcher's Keep, there's a quiver of unlimited +1 arrows, and a case of unlimited +1 bolts. Very helpful for ammo conservation, and they can be upgraded to unlimited +2 ammo in ToB. The random monsters in the area are fairly dangerous, but it's still accessible at a fairly low level; you don't have to face the floor's boss fight for these treasures.

There are two bows that provide unlimited shots at a high enchantment level: Tansheron's bow (bought in Trademeet post-quest) at +3 and the Shortbow of Gesen (assembled in chapter 6) at +4. Both are shortbows, and you can get the high-enchantment shots by not selecting any ammo:

Right-click the bow's icon in the hotbar to call up ammo selection

and then select the icon of the bow itself rather than one of your ammo stacks.

Or you can select real ammo, and enjoy higher damage bonuses than any other bow as the free shot's damage stacks with the real arrows. The only drawbacks there are that you're using up the real ammo and that you use the real ammo's enchantment value instead of the bow's higher value.