This is my idea of how to rework the bow. I am a ranged player, bow main with 1.4k hrs, 1k+ hrs playing bow. I will analyze the skill tree and armor perks, by describing a rework of some perks, and explain the reason behind it.
These are just suggestions, based on my personal experience, what i read on forums, and overall opinions of other bow players. My intention is, of course, to make the bow a viable weapon, with a defined spot, without making it busted. I’ll try to be as objective as possible (though i may not), so be constructive with your critics.
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Heavy attack: reduced draw time. Now it’s possible to chain a dodge after an heavy attack.
heavy attacks are never used during a fight, the only purpose they have with the current perks, is for a big opening, after staying still for a long time. Not only this isn’t worth, since there is no follow up on the target, but it’s only available as first shot, otherwise damage considering other perks, gets halved. The difficulty of taking this shot, in conclusion doesn’t make it worth, it’s better to get closer to you’re target and start poking. Outside of this situations, heavy attacks are used mostly in 1v1 situations to bait enemy rolls, but the draw time is so long that by the time you make it roll twice, you still shoot a light one, and if you hold it more to use the heavy, it becomes worthless, since the targets it’s probably closer to you and after the heavy you’re just paralyzed. Overall there isn’t a good situation where an heavy is better then a light attack -
Arrow speed: all arrows speed increased by 30%.
Applied the Heavy Attacks 30% speed bonus by Aim True to all arrows. I believe this isn’t a
busted buff as increasing hitboxes, since it was already used by Heavy attacks; this will make bow
shots more consistent overall. -
Light Attacks: removed the 0.33sec root after every shot.
A really dumb idea to implement this, removing the jump shot exploit was a obviously needed fix, but this was a really dumb way to fix it. The fact you are paralyzed after each shot, that you can’t even spend stamina to dodge immediately, makes the bow clunky, an horrible experience compared to how it was. Fire Staff is able to immediately dodge after every shot and skill; why the bow must have this root?
SKILL TREE
HUNTER
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Aim True: removed.
With the draw time reduced and the arrow speed applied to all shots, a flat 30% extra damage is quite pointless, since heavy attacks are now meant to be used even in mid fight and not just as an opener. -
Through the Eye of the Needle: bow shots now have 15%/20% armor penetration.
the biggest problem of the bow is the huge difference between hitting a light and a medium/heavy target. The damage gets straight up halved, and on the weapon with the slowest fire rate in the game, and the smallest projectile in the game, and with skills with one hit and big cds, it’s the one that gets the most impacted by an huge stack of armor and fortifies. This is not meant to be a damage buff overall, but a way to reduce the difference between a light armor target and a medium/heavy ones. -
Opening Strike: reduced to 20%, now affects all attacks.
Since heavy attacks are no longer meant to be a once-per-fight option and without the 30% damage buff, this perk can be made more flexible, allowing a quick light or a skill like pen shot and ROA to give a big opener on a group of targets. (this change is the one I am not sure, since it can deal, considering the new perks, an insane amount of burst aoe damage. But considering it is only on full health target, it may be a valid option. Overall, it must be changed since heavy attacks have now another purpose. -
Arrow Range : removed. Changed arrows’ gravity to include this perk effect.
a QOL change, since i’ve never perceived this perk to be really impactful. The difference was minimum and barely noticeable in long range distance. The removal allows an extra perk. -
Keen Aim: critical shots and headshots now ignores 15% fortify.
Another change to reduce the damage difference between a squishy and a tanky target. The reason why only critical hits are affected, is to incetivize headshots and keen perks, and to just balance the damage overall, since it doesn’t affect dots and white damage. -
Splinter Shot: reworked. Now it shoots a single arrow, traveling for 10m, that deals 120% weapon damage, and triggers 2 extra arrows that hit 2 extra target for 80% weapon damage (the first hit can headshot). Can be cast while zoomed, no longer stucked in place when used. Extra arrows do not work with Skirmisher tree perks.
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Scatter Shot: now Splinter Shot triggers 4 extra arrows.
be patient with this change, because i don’t really know how to make it good, so i follow the original idea that is an aoe skill that can be spammed in aoe situation ( i doubt devs want this to be a one tap skill, since they removed in beta how it worked, from a shotgun shot to a delayed shotgun that can’t even headshot). I changed the way it works to be the same of a chain perk. This way it actually has a reliable aoe application, offering a non bursty alternative aoe option, like Rain of Arrows, but a constant one. Being able shoot while zoomed and walking is a QOL, i think it should still have the same loading time, but being used like Stopping Powder of the musket, with a loaded arrow, without changing animation, while aiming and moving. -
Rapid shot: can now be used while aiming down sight and walking. Can be interrupted by a dodge.
It’s just frustrating to aim with Rapid Shot, expecially because it puts you out of zoom in a crouched position, and the third shot puts you even lower, changing twice the way you have to aim it. With this change, the ability won’t feel clunky and won’t be influenced by the third person camera excessively, and being able to dodge out of it, will make it viable in pvp too.
SKIRMISHER
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Knee Shot: removed.
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Crippling Shots (in place of Knee Shot): light attacks deal a 10% slow for 5s, heavy attacks deal a 20% slow for 5s. Can stack up to 30%. Each application refresh the duration.
I’ve always wondered the purpose of Knee Shot, and i could never find one. It’s effect was horrible, that was supposed to stack with the other tree’s perk, but the best possible situation was just a what, 35% slow for 5s on a full health target? Just trash, not even for the memes was good, without considering how you have to hit legs, that totally invalidates all the headshot perks in dex. Now, with the possibility to stack it, up to 30%, and a long duration, allows this perk to actually a spot: a constant slow, that offers a greater kite option compared to the Hunter tree, an easier application of the Mark and dex perk, and an actual purpose to Hunter’s Insight (percentages and seconds are to be discussed, I suggest the change to make it a stackable debuff that last enough to give value to cc perks and malachite). -
Evade Shot: the animation is now faster. Can be used to dodge to the sides now.
Speeding up the animation gives an actual value to Evasive Knockback, since the target starts moving the moment you land. Being able to jump to the direction you’re walking (left,back or right) adds flexibility to the skill, since being animation locked, on the same line of when you jump, makes this ability predictable and totally useless against ranged damage. -
Impale: hitting a foe that you haven’t damaged in the last 15s deals a bleed that deals 7% weapon damage per second for 7s.
adding a bleed on a normal arrow hit allows Skirmisher to truly be the DoT tree. Bow lacks a reliable DoT on hit, it must always use Poison Shot, with a really long cd, and Rain of Arrows, which is Aoe; adding an on hit debuff helps to use perks like Hunter’s Insight and Mark, without relying on weapon perks like Keenly Jagged. -
Battle Precision: position changed with Impale.
I believe this helps to avoid Hunter builds to overuse Skirmisher perks: a DoT on hit it’s powerful and making this an option deep in the tree the balance. -
Poison Shot: hitbox increased to be the same of a normal arrow.
Poison Shot arrow hitbox, maybe my impression, is much smaller than a normal arrow. Many times it went trough bodies, between legs, below chins ecc.
ARMOR PERKS
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Empowered Splinter Shot: hitting 2 extra targets gives 10% Empower for 3s.
Now this actually has a purpose. A flat empower for a short duration, with a potential downtime of 7s. -
Fortyfing Rain of Arrows: duration increased to 12s.
a 19% fortify is good, the problem is it’s duration compared to ROA cd. Increasing its duration I believe makes it worth. -
Enfeebling Poison Shot: now it applies to the first 2s of the poison cloud.
totally worthless a weaken that lasts 4s for just 14%, on a small arrow with a 30s cd. There are two ways this can be reworked: making it Aoe and keeping the same values, or single target, by increasing the weaken duration. The aoe option makes it identical to Maelstrom, so it can be extremely abused in wars and big groups; the single target option instead can be good, if the weaken value is increased, and the duration too.*
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Refreshing Penetrating Shot: now reduces the cooldown per enemy hit by 11% (3 times max).
Never understood the purpose of on kill cd reduction in pvp, expecially with such low numbers. 14% is like 2.5s, totally worthless, considering you have to get the kill to gain the effect. Straight up copying the Refreshing Pillar of Fire perk, and tuning it down a bit, makes it a valid option, both pve and especially pvp.
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Penetrating Rapid Shot: the final hit of Rapid Shots applies a 10% rend for 6s.
Always as been an useless perk, now it actually contributes to the overall damage: a rend helps to get a Mark debuff, and combined with other armor perks like the Splinter Shot one, it gets a better value when building your armor.
