Quick Question!!

[jigglyjim]

Hey I'm making an archer for the first time in a little bit and I was wondering which bow is overall better, the long bow or short bow?

[Miriya_PS]

Ok, now you have started another Short vs. Long thread... shame on you :D

IMO it depends a lot on the other spells you use. Marksman goes for Long always because they use lots of "range 0" (it means range of the weapon) spells. Hunters are the ones who have a hard time picking a bow usually.

If you are starting and you need to grind a lot, I recommend Longs because at lower levels Shied Piercing is better than Dual Shot, and you do not have so much mana to afford many other spells. You also do not have many defence spells, so longer range + harder hits is better at first for any archer.

When you reach lvl 29 (and enable lvl 4 spells), I think it depends on your subclass. As a Marksman you will have a lot of range 0 spells much better than Shield Piercing, so I recommend Longs because of the range advantage.
As a hunter, I think Dual Shot 4 is far far better than Shield Piercing 4. If you use a good bow and use another spells (ambush, sudden, retaliation, Leader of the pack, etc.) you can hit far harder and a little faster and you only lose 5 meters of range. Also remember a shorter range implies that you will need better defence spells.

My huntress uses shorts, because I have a setup that has lots of range 25 spells, so I need to get to range 25 in order to fight well anyways (I will not kill anyone using just my basic and Ensnaring). So I feel more comfortable using range 25 shorts (medium or fast). I also use a pet, so I need to get closer to control the enemy and to distract him from my pet.
I always have a Long bow also, for fort wars (seige situations, for example) and long ranged Ensnarings when chasing someone.

[jigglyjim]

Thanks for the help. I plan on becoming a hunter once I hit 10 btw. I think I'm gonna go with the long bow based on what you said.

[Jedi-x]

the long bow tree leaves alot to be desired as a hunter, very few useful spells there for hunters.

It's all a matter of opinion to be perfectly honest. Myself and many of the people I play with have tested, tested, tested ........... yes ... alot of testing here. The short bow tree ...... many useful spells there, and for a hunter the most versatile tree, as far as bow trees.

I would have to disagree with you Miriya .... sorry ..... Shield pierce is a waste of points and mana. It might be effective at lower levels, but once you reach higher levels, most lvl 4 and 5 SP .... barely scratch me. My normals do more than a lvl 5 shield pierce, which is a dam shame. If SP worked as it's supposed to, you would see many more hunters using the LB tree.

Just my 2 cents

[Kittypretty]

Why not try the tried and true bow switch method?

using a high level ensnare+piggybacked normal with your best long bow, and switching to your short for your dual shot+piggybacked normal, keeping up a steady flow of pain as they all recharge fairly evenly. i do not even incorporate shield piercing in my attacks nor put any points into it at all.

its my only way of surviving being a petless hunter so a few simple ideas that help me are equipting the bows to your spell bar (helps to pace the long bow next to the snare icon, and the short bow next to the dual shot icon ect, if youre like me and rely on a pattern for your buttons) use a good FAST bow to cast buffs and your chosen skills like sudden strike, dirty fighting, while using your main bows (which are most likely med and slows for the real damage dealing..saves seconds.)


i wouldnt mess with shield piercing at all, as im routinely hit by level 5 sp's for less than normal hits. it may be decent on mobs, but then again so is ensnare plus it has a movement bonus (however its higher in the tree so thats a drawback as sp is a lvl 1 skill) so on mobs im sure both would work fine.

as for me i agree the lb tree is pretty sparse, i only unlock enough for the needed skills like parabolic, or the damage % passive, my 2 main attacks are not even in this tree at all.

[Miriya_PS]

I would have to disagree with you Miriya .... sorry ..... Shield pierce is a waste of points and mana. It might be effective at lower levels, but once you reach higher levels, most lvl 4 and 5 SP .... barely scratch me. My normals do more than a lvl 5 shield pierce, which is a dam shame. If SP worked as it's supposed to, you would see many more hunters using the LB tree.
That is what I was trying to say. Lets talk about Hunters. For lower levels, shield piercing is better because it hits harder than Dual Shot and gives you more range (to avoid being hit). For a level 15, for example, I totally recommend Longs and Shield Piercing. When reaching level 21, you can use level 3 spells, and there you can start to compare Shield Piercing with Dual, and pick on your own.
After level 29, when you can use level 4 spells, I think Dual Shot is better. It Hits harder, faster and it may be use with some other good range 25 spells.

About Marksmen, I think is the same at lower levels. But when reaching middle levels the Marskmen have lost of spells far better than Shield Piercing. So as Simmy says, marks use this discipline (Longs) for other spells like Parabolic, but not so much for Shield Piercing. My Marks uses only a good long bow and Recharged Arrows to grind (and a kiting technique).

As everyone agrees is a matter of likes, and you should try your own best setup. I try hard to make myself clear, I am sorry but remember English is not my first language :no:
I give you my REALLY old videos (when there were ranged pets) to show a simple technique of 2 bows I used when I grind at level 20s. Notice I did not use any other spell (defence, self buff or pet's) so this is the basic technique and can be improved a lot.
Just to show you that lots of things are possible in the neverending Long vs. Shorts topic. :juggle:
Miriya 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ_5Z3jNhAk)
Miriya 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NnNsq10NA4)

[Jedi-x]

I'm sorry Miriya .......... I didn't fully read your post before I replied. As I have read it again, not needing sleep as I did last nite, I stand corrected.

I was speaking of the higher levels of an archer character, Shield pierce is a waste of points and mana. I can see your point at the lower levels, I also used it at lower levels, untill I discovered short bows.

+1 Miriya

[Jedi-x]

Jigglyjim ......... try going onto Amun (testing server) and trying some things, as it doesn't affect your main character on the main servers. Try diff spells, and set-ups, that way ... you will know for yourself how a certain spell works, or doesn't. It never hurts to ask as you did here, but there is still much controversy between Long and Shorts. From experience, it really helps you to understand how certain spells, and situations will or affect your particular character. It will also help you to develop your own playing style, just some suggestions.

[Miraculix]

I swear by longbows on my marksman, and bow switching on my hunter.

A medium/30 longbow for me is the best thing a marksman can have. Decent damage, maximum range, great speed. Your damage spells as marksman are mostly fixed damage, meaning they dont depend on the damage of your bow, and their range is the same as your bow range. So being able to fire these off at a good speed and maximum range is why I use a medium/30 longbow on my marksman as a main weapon. If in a situation range is not needed, I switch to a fast/25 shortbow to let these spells off even faster. For the 1 spell (Lethal Strike) that depends on bow damage, I can always switch to a higher damage bow such as a slow/25 or slow/30 longbow, depending on range requirements of that shot.

On my hunter, since I have 2 damage spells only, and they both depend on the bow both for range and damage, and one of them can be used exclusively with a shortbow I try to use the highest dmg shortbow there is, the medium/20 shortbow as my main bow. I may occassionaly switch to a higher dmg and/or range bow, either short or long, for my other spell which does not have a short/long requirement.

Be versatile, carry different bows and experiment. Through experience, you will find a setup and playing style that suits you. There is no need to be bound to a certain type of bow.

FYI, there's 8 types of bows at the higher levels available:

Short medium/20
Short medium/25
Short fast/20
Short fast/25
Long slow/25
Long slow/30
Long medium/25
Long medium/30

I carry all 8 on my hunter (probably overkill but who cares :p) and 3-4 on my marksman.