Connan this walkthrough is bad. even basic things wrong..
“The bow is useful only in the early part of the game, think twice before investing points in archery skills”
Lol.
I am lvl 20 now and have much easier time with bow then first time around with melee char.
I didn’t read walkthrough in full but even in Broken valley few quests and mindreads missed.
Do you remember the witch; she actually gives 4 predictions and third is not about you becoming a dragon. It is about Bellengar sending you flying, after that you can get fourth and unlock achievement.
I'm level 19 now and I use frequently a bow + ranger skill "Stealth" I find very nice lol ... + I have now a bow that give me + 1 point in that skill, very handy!(and therefore 3 points in it!). I combine it with Magic Missile (now 3 points on it)... and use Wirlwind to kill them if they're almost dead

I love passive skills hihi ... very handy to learn and no quickbutton necessary to use a passive skill

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Personally I find a bow very useful in D II, more than in DD, where I used very rarely a bow (or crossbow)!