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Bow Draw Time - Light vs. Heavy Attacks

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reften
reften
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So, something I was playing around with the other day, was executing a heavy attack with a bow.

It seems (seems the key word, I don't have fancy programs to confirm, hence this post)...anyway, it seems as though in order to get off a heavy attack, I do not need to draw the arrow back all the way until it stops.

Is this true? Or is there a form of medium attack for bows draw 1/2-way and shot. Or is everything a light attack unless the bow is drawn all the way back until it stops...?

Thanks in advance!
Reften
Bosmer (Wood Elf)
Moonlight Crew (RIP), Misfitz (RIP), Victorem Guild

VR16 NB, Stam build, Max all crafts.

Azuras & Trueflame. Mostly PvP, No alts.

Semi-retired till the lag is fixed.

Love the Packers, Bourbon, and ESO...one of those will eventually kill me.
  • Thejollygreenone
    Thejollygreenone
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    oren74 wrote: »
    So, something I was playing around with the other day, was executing a heavy attack with a bow.

    It seems (seems the key word, I don't have fancy programs to confirm, hence this post)...anyway, it seems as though in order to get off a heavy attack, I do not need to draw the arrow back all the way until it stops.

    Is this true? Or is there a form of medium attack for bows draw 1/2-way and shot. Or is everything a light attack unless the bow is drawn all the way back until it stops...?

    Thanks in advance!

    The way it works is there are three types of basic attacks with a bow (this may be true of all weapons) a light attack which we know is just a basic click, a partial-charge is what my combat-log calls a medium attack which is anywhere between a light attack and a heavy attack. And of course a heavy attack is a fully charged shot.

    However, I've played with this a bit too, not too much, but what I thought I noticed was something similar to what you are describing where you don't have to draw the bow til the end of the animation (full draw) to get the full heavy attack. I was able to cut it short and still have my combat-log read that it was a full draw. So my theory is that there is a small but possible advantageous gap between when it stops qualifying as a partial charge and when the animation of the bow is being fully drawn.

    I'd like someone with a bit more know-how than I to go in and try to test this but in the meantime I'll keep playing with the numbers and my combat-log on the matter.
  • Thejollygreenone
    Thejollygreenone
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    Thejollygreenone wrote: »
    oren74 wrote: »
    So, something I was playing around with the other day, was executing a heavy attack with a bow.

    It seems (seems the key word, I don't have fancy programs to confirm, hence this post)...anyway, it seems as though in order to get off a heavy attack, I do not need to draw the arrow back all the way until it stops.

    Is this true? Or is there a form of medium attack for bows draw 1/2-way and shot. Or is everything a light attack unless the bow is drawn all the way back until it stops...?

    Thanks in advance!
    So my theory is that there is a small but possible advantageous gap between when it stops qualifying as a partial charge and when the animation of the bow is being fully drawn.

    I'd like someone with a bit more know-how than I to go in and try to test this but in the meantime I'll keep playing with the numbers and my combat-log on the matter.

    False alarm, I think I changed my combat log since I remember the classification of a partial charge, I guess this one counts them all as heavy attacks. But the damage of course scales from barely charging to full charge.
  • denmj_ESO
    denmj_ESO
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    What I have noticed to get a heavy attack you must pull the bow to full draw but it only needs to be fully drawn for a fraction of a sec to count as heavy. Anything less then that is partial shot.

    Now some things that can be different for people is lag or fps. And this could cause the bow to be at different pulls that register.

    So the best bet is to find a stable area and do a little practice to see what that sweet spot is for you in the bow animation.

    As for the damage difference as I have found: a long fight ( boss ) then full draw will give you more dps. Shorter fights (trash mobs) use light shots. This is for group.

    Solo heavy shot should be your main goal.
  • Thejollygreenone
    Thejollygreenone
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    denmj_ESO wrote: »
    As for the damage difference as I have found: a long fight ( boss ) then full draw will give you more dps. Shorter fights (trash mobs) use light shots. This is for group.

    Solo heavy shot should be your main goal.

    Unfortunately with animation cancelling being a thing, heavy attacks are generally inferior to the fast paced weaving of abilities and light attacks that you get with animation cancelling. This is at least the case in endgame pve/pvp.

    Starting a fight with a heavy attack isn't a bad idea, and I generally do it, but until animation cancelling gets squashed I'm guessing we won't see any heavy attacks incorporated in any high end dps rotations.

    If someone has a build that sustains 800-900 single target dps while using heavy attacks instead of light attacks I'd love to hear about it, though.
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