Started as a tank player, eventually transitioned to DPS and absolutely love the Bow+Rapier combo. I could go on and on about it but essentially I really love the “knife’s edge” playstyle that this weapon pairing naturally invites. It is loads of fun.
Basically what I want to know is if it’s completely grief to go 5/300+/5/5/5 from where I am right now (low 50s). For context, I’ve been running >20 con for a while now and my execution in PvE has improved quite a bit over time, and I am still getting better at playing the build. I also don’t really mind getting one shot by elite mobs/bosses that much and find that whole thing more fun than anything else, but I recognize that it’s not all about me.
So, how shitty is this build is for my teammates to play with? Should I build 5/300/5/5/50 then go to 5/300+/5/5/50? I play PvE at the moment but plan on branching out soonish. Does this sort of build become more or less viable at 60? Am I only getting away with this because it’s PvE?
I would say for PvE there is nothing wrong with a 300 Dex/50 Con. Unless you start facing enemies which do unavoidable damage that could one shot a 50 con.
The Dex past 250 because of harsh diminishing returns has been shown to benefit a lot from putting your 50 points or even 100 into a secondary stat. This is because the secondary stat with no diminishing returns (even giving less damage than a main stat that hasnt reached its diminishing return number) is of greater benefit.
The following numbers arent accurate but used to give an example.
Main stat of 1 = 1 damage for every point
@ 201, 1 main stat point now = 0.2 damage.
Secondary stat gives 0.3 damage.
This is only relevant for weapons that you are using which have a primary and secondary stat.
People will maybe correct this which is great as Im still learning myself.
In that case, would it make sense to gem the bow so that it scales off of a secondary stat (ie Int)? Then would I get better returns from Int, which would scale both the Rapier and the Bow?
Gemming gets complex. Best way is to test it all out. My advice though is do not get a gem >20%. Those gems arent working properly by all accounts.
First do 300 dex like you wanted - see the dmage - 200 dex/100 con - then 250 dex/50 con. Only way, if you have a house you can also get target dummies to test out but the mobs will do just make sure the mobs are all the same type.
Even with an int gem it should still scale off the primary stat of the weapon, so unless your int is higher than dex a bow or rapier will still scale off dex.
It appears to be either go 300 dex for the crit after dodge roll, and 100 int, or 250 dex and 150 int for the increased elemental damage.
I think I’m definitely going at least 300 dex unless the bow deals more with less dex somehow. Do you think points into int are really worth it? Won’t that only increase the rapier damage?
If you are going bow/rapier yes, you probably want full dex as bow doesn’t scale off int. I’m doing musket/rapier for a more pvp centered build, and I think in my situation I may want 250 dex / 150 int, I’m at 360 dex / 40 int now, I’m going to respec and get dmg numbers to get an idea if it’s at all worth.
The crit after dodge roll doesn’t even work properly - maybe. If you dodge twice without using an attack it puts the crit passive on the 10 second CD. Makes it decidedly worse than how a lot of people think it actually works.
I came back to share, it appears 250 dex with 150 int is undoubtedly better for musket, after some testing even my non-converted thrust damage hits harder, if only slightly, and overall damage is increased by 5-10%.
The true build for bow +rapier is 300dex 100int
You can try it out when you get to 60.
Your rapier will out dps your bow due to secondary stat. While ur bow will still hit like a truck.
Can you help me understand whether 400 dex is viable? I get that you can get more value out of your points by putting them towards int and having a Rapier that hits harder, but I am still wondering if dex past 300 is viable. Would you say it is? Or is it just a complete waste compared to putting the points into int instead?
Due to diminishing return on points above 200, its only recommended to go 300dex max even if ur bow only take dex. 400dex will prob only grant u 20 more dmg from that additional 100dex, maybe less.
So why not spend the extra 100 points into int if ure rapier, or str if ur secondary is spear.
Alot of people get overly focused on stat mixing, I Have 370 dex and 50 con, this is all I need to survive and I pump out serious damage. Over all I think it’s pretty dumb to not stack dex on dex weapons because you’ll be limited to what you can use if you off stat for str or int.
I’ve been bow/rapier for about a month now and have been able to solo 64+ group elites prior to patch and can do it even better after patch. For PVE, it was and still is strong. It just takes more skill to play than other options.