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bows vs slings (maybe crossbow?)

This forum is to be used for all discussions pertaining to Black Isle Studios' Icewind Dale and its Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster expansions.
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maximouse
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bows vs slings (maybe crossbow?)

Post by maximouse »

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum. oh! and its the only forum in the net discussing IWD! Hope to get some good help here.

I've completed iwd + HoW. Its not that hard. Now, planning to go Heart of fury mode and I need to know some game mechanics to tweak my party better.

Here is the first in the list

Which is better? Bows or Slings? cBow might be good but did not find many.

Thanks.
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octavius
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Post by octavius »

Bows are generally better, since they get two attacks per round.
Light Crossbow of Speed also gets two attacks per round.

All missiles weapons do Piercing damage, so no difference in that regard.
Personally I change sling Bullets to do Crushing damage, so that they are more useful against some enemies like Skeletons.

Some slings allow extra damage if the wielder has high STR, in which case it *may* do more damage per round than a bow.

Halflings get a bonus when using slings and elves get a bonus when using Long Bows.
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maximouse
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Post by maximouse »

huh? strength has no effect on bows but it has on slings. I;ll have to re-read my manual.
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octavius
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Post by octavius »

maximouse wrote:huh? strength has no effect on bows but it has on slings.
Not on all Slings, I think. I remember changing *some* Slings from No to Yes in the "Allow strength bonus?" field in Near Infinity.
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kmonster
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Post by kmonster »

Normal crossbows are inferior to slings which are inferior to bows.
But the best crossbow you'll find in chapter 6 in the fire giant area is the best missile weapon in the game. There's also a small chance that you'll find a very good crossbow in chapter 2 in the cold wight area, but the other magical crossbows aren't even as good as a nonmagical composite bow.
For a fighter it can make sense using slings instead of bows, since you get strength bonus, can put more than *** into them (extra attack at ***** !) and wear a shield, but usually my priests are the only ones using them.

PS: There are more forums discussing IWD.
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maximouse
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Post by maximouse »

Sorry for asking a lot of newbie questions around here. Its strange that i'm just finding this out AFTER completing the game LOL.

So... If.... a thief (with *) and a fighter with (**) in bows does exactly the same damage if both is using the same bow assuming the hit. Correct? Since bow damage do not add with str.

And... anyone with a duhm spell like the paladin would be better off with a sling as str adds up. Oh... carry less bullets too :)
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kmonster
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Post by kmonster »

A level 1 thief using a shortbow can attack twice per round for 1-6 damage each, 2-12 damage total, 7 average.
A level 1 warrior, specialized in bows has 2.5 attacks per round with a composite longbow for 5-10 damage each, 12.5-25 damage total, 18.75 average. He also has a better chance to hit.
When gaining levels the warrior gains thac0 twice as fast as the thief and extra half attacks per round at level 7 and 13, so the gap in damage dealt will even increase.

The damage output with slings for a very high level 25 strength paladin is in fact higher than with bows. But you have to cast the DUHM spell which only lasts for 10 rounds.
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