Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) Help/Tips/Tricks Arrow Skills

What are the best arrow and bow skills? Is it best to put points into bow or crossbow skills, or the arrow skills (fire arrow, etc)? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/question.gif" alt="" />

I was hoping someone knowledgeable would answer - but I give up and will respond my self instead.

Converting arrows is more or less wasteful - you can find lots of arrows of all types. Putting a lot of points in the skill trees for specific types of arrows limits you - what if you run into mobs resistant to different types of damage? But it isn't THAT expensive to forget and relearn skills so putting points into an arrow you happen to have a lot of and find very useful is fine - you can switch later when you decide a different arrow works better.

A key decision is bow versus crossbow since those are different skills. I would skill-up for the best bow/xbow you have or can buy - and if you later get a uber bow of the other type switch around. Note that xbows tend to require higher strength to use and their damage may be governed partly by strength - regular bows may be governed by agility.

I don't play archers much - find them too wimpy - so hopefully others who know more will reply but something about a post with no replies geases me to answer (and Kiya and Raze and lately Arianna don't leave many).

I'd say a good bow was absolutely no match for a good spell, honestly. Archers are pretty outmatched in the long distance heavy damage stakes, and most of the time you will be in fairly enclosed spaces, limiting the effectiveness of your weapon.

Unlike in DD, there is only one large outdoor area in the game.

i wish i could argue this with elliot, but as i'm still in act 2, i'd be talking a lot of non-sense (i know, i know. what's new??!??). you have to wait for 3 more acts! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/stupid.gif" alt="" />
now, i don't play a mage - so i have no firsthand knowledge. i run an archer (hero) and melee DK.
however...i personally find archers to be incredibly more efficient than melee types, performing a good 85% of all kills (i truly find the dk worthless except as a pack animal). and i don't experience any problems inside or in closed areas (anyone remember josie in DD?).
my kill rate is a good 8 or 9 to 1 (bow over melee)...and if what elliot says is true '...a good bow was absolutely no match for a good spell...' i would have to imagine the kill ratio would shoot to about 15 to 1 over melee.
kinda makes you wonder why you'd have a sword........
honestly though, i believe whatever YOU are comfortable playing is the BEST choice for you.

did i sound sufficiently defensive of my archer?!? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />

Your comments sound very sensible to me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />



Josie... (Shudder) Only about ten times tougher than the Demon Of Lies...

It sounds to me like you need to work on your DK if his kill ratio is that low. Are you using Sharpen on his weapon? Are you using one handed weapons? By now two handed are better...



By the end of the game, my Elemental Missile spell was doing around a thousand points of damage, IIRC - and that is considered one of the weaker spells by some members of this board...

I mowed through the last fight with it pretty easily though. The main villain never even looked like winning.



That I will completely agree with <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />



Sounds like you enjoy playing him - which is the main thing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

What is your technique, Lego?

Through act 1 I've never had an archer who does 1/10 as well as a melee with a sharpened weapon.

Where do you put your skill points, what are your attributes and do you find a bow or xbow better?

I loved archers in DD but I can't get them to work well in BD.

unlearning costs depend on what level you are. the higher the level, the more expensive, and now that the arrow goldmine dried up, well *pout* that's changed things a bit in terms of expense. now i suppose if you are a hex editing freak then this is a moot point *heh* but... just thought i'd point that out. for no particular reason than to be anal retentive. *smirk*
or something like that.

ariana - i posted some of what you're asking about in the holy water thread (toward the bottom).
please keep in mind that as i've just started act III things may change in how i choose to build my character(s), but it's proven quite successful so far.
i personally don't put any points (for melee DK or archer) into intelligence or constitution. only a very few go into speed. i focus primarily on agility and strength with a fair amount in survival. i choose equipment that compliments this and fills in any holes i've created.
i only steal gold charms, ydra, joph and zand(urra!) . ha ha ha. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />
my archer currently has 10 points in critical hit, 10 in reload, 4 in point blank, 5 in piercing and 2 in splitting arrows. please recognize that at times i've sold off and re-bought skills to gain what i wanted (converted 10,000 splitting arrows, sharpen, tried detect traps, etc.).
i only use splitting arrows (though power arrows are fun!) and currently have 20,000 which should last a while.
shadow bow (i have others that are straight piercing, and even do more damage - but they're not as good).

elliot - though i've done this before, i'll point it out again as you may have missed it (and i just got new act III monsters!! woohoo!).
look at the following series of 4 pics. you'll see my archer responding to the appearance of 2 crystal gargoyles and inflicting 695 points damage before DK can even engage.
this entire sequence takes place over about 2-3 seconds in time, so it's not 'til the 4th pic in the sequence that he's even a factor, doing one slash. the final tally of hit points inflicted on these two gargoyles is DK 1 slash for 175 points damage, zandurra (hero) 12 arrows for 946 points damage.
it's not that DK is incapable, he's just far, far too late getting into the battle. by the time he can take the 3 to 5 steps to engage, they're dead.
new sequence
here are a couple pics of both characters doing damage pic 1 and pic 2
in the first shot you can see the damage total is 92 slash vs. 258 arrow, and in the second you see 155 slash vs. 241 arrow. and the arrows come far quicker.
you may be entirely right that magic is far superior to archery...but melee can't come close to archery.
oh, one other advantage to archery - what monsters?!? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/stupid.gif" alt="" />

anyone know how to set up sequences (pictures) so that the link can provide the ability to click through the group instead of clicking each pic as an individual? this is what i can do on my desktop, but i've no idea how to provide for others. thanks. lego

Heh, maybe he's playing on Very Easy or something. When i was playing that, my archer usually killed things before the melee could even get up to it.

i'm personally on hardcore (man that sounds bad!!).
started in tactical, but it was way too easy.

uh, ummm, errr. what i said. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/stupid.gif" alt="" />

Nice posts Lego. As an aspiring archer accidentally stuck on hardcore (having a rough time too) you have given valuable tips on stat and skill point distribution. Does the arrow goldmine of BF I dry up in later acts? First time playing the game <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" />

You could create a simple web page for each one with the picture being clickable to go to the next page. There are probably easier ways to do it, but this is the only way I can think of. Just a suggestion.

[color:"orange"]Does the arrow goldmine of BF I dry up in later acts?[/color]

There are not as many arrows dropped or available as loot in later acts. However, with the patch installed the BF traders regenerate their inventories each time you enter, so you don't need to worry about an arrow shortage. Even before that, it was relatively easy to build up a fair stockpile in act 1.

I think I'll restart my archer and build him a little different... And, of chorse get the stuff behind the counter in the barracks <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />.

Übereil