Bow Suggestions

Liofa

Hey all ! I have some friends who wants to play the game but as an archer and I kinda get sad every time because archers suck in PvE and PvP . Bow is the best weapon for back bar on every stamina class for PvE but if you want to use it for main weapon , you just better go jump from somewhere . Your suicide damage will do more DPS than you would do in actual combat . Anyways , I have some suggestions for Bow to make it viable when it comes to Ranged Stamina DD in PvE . The main idea is making 3 kinds of Bows . It goes like this : Longbow , Shortbow and Crossbow . Skills and passives will work like Destruction Staff skills and passives .

My ideas for skills are :

Longbow : Does more DPS as you get further from target . Some skills deal posion damage . ( More viable in PvE when there are lots of area you can shoot boss from ) Has higher range in all bow skills .

Shortbow : Has stable DPS and have utility buffs for melee users . Some skills deal bleeding . ( More viable in places like MA and also viable in PvP )

Crossbow : Has stable DPS with DPS buffs . No DoT but higher instant damage . ( More viable in PvP if you want more damage instead of utility )

Poison Arrow : Doesn't change for any kind of bow . Because it is a very good skill as is and all bows can fire a poisoned arrow regardless of their type .

Volley : All 3 options should deal the same DPS overall but should be viable for every playstyle .

Longbow : Increased range , duration and radius . Deals poison damage .

Shortbow : Increased damage but same range , duration and radius . Deals bleeding .

Crossbow : Shoots one sharpened arrow to the target location . Small radius . The arrow will hit after 1.5 seconds ( Ranged version of Uppercut . Easy to avoid/counter but deals big damage . ) Deals big instant damage to the targets in the area and knocks down the enemies inside .

Scatter Shot : Only Hard CC for Bow and I thought all bow types should have it .

Longbow : Longest range of them all .

Shortbow : Medium range . Gives Minor Expedition for some duration .

Crossbow : Deals instant damage if your target is stunned . ( Tried to synergize with Volley )

Arrow Spray : This is one of the most useful skills in Bow line for PvP so I tried to not ruin that .

Longbow : Same as is . Poison Damage ( DoT ) Reveals invisibe enemies .

Shortbow : Shoots arrows around you ( in a reasonable radius ) . Reveals invisible enemies . Bleeding Damage ( DoT )

Crossbow : Shoots an arrow in front of you . Hits for 50% more damage if it hits an invisible enemy . Reveals invisible enemies .

Snipe : This is a good ganking skill and I tried to make it viable for both PvE , PvP and ganking .

Longbow : Shoots 5 arrows rapidly in 1 second . Like a ranged version of Flurry .

Shortbow : 1 instant damage with bleeding on it ( Rending Slashes ) . Deals more damage if you are closer to the target . Also gives Minor Resist buffs . ( thought it would be better like this if someone wants to go with 2 bows for certain situations )

Crossbow : Just like Snipe on live . Requires casting .

Passives will work the same way like Destruction Staff passives do .

I think these kind of changes can make Bow more viable as a main weapon . If you ask me , I don't care at all , I play a tank but I have lots of friends who wants to play as an archer . My first character was an archer also ^^

About burst damage I suggested to crossbow , I don't think it will be a problem since there are no cooldowns on gap closers and it should be less damage than Two-Handed since Bow weapon's base damage is lower .

Give me your thoughts . Try to be constructive instead of '' Are you crazy ?! This will break the game ! '' Give suggestions to make Bow better .

Toc de Malsvi

Interesting changes but I think they are way to involved and would necessitate a huge change to bow dynamics and programming so I do not believe they have even a remote chance of being used.

CP5

Would love to see something like this to make bow more interesting.

Jim_Pipp

Really well thought through suggestions, I agree with this completely..

A while back there was a similar thread about making bow more viable, basically it distinguished between having a long range sniper or a short range skirmisher, and I feel your ideas would really contribute to making bow viable in either style (rather than just being a buff/DoT back bar).

Toc de Malsvi

Personally I would like only a few changes that I believe will make bow much more competitive as a primary weapon for both PVE and PVP.

Make Scatter Shot a knock down as well as knock back.
Make the Long Shots passive give 12% damage(its current buff for range) when over 15-20m distant and 8% armor penetration when under that range.
Make Snipe more direct and responsive, shorter flight time + shorter cast time, adjust damage as necessary.

Anti_Virus

All bow really needs is a spammble dps skill like you mentioned rapid fire. And the bow ultimate could be snipe.

Scatter shot and morphs need a range increase to 20 and make the stun a knock down.( magnum shot can have the knock back replaced)

Any ways im glad more people are speaking up about bows short commings. Hopefully zos in the future can make some adjustments. And Btw OP some closed minded people will come in here and call you stupid just ignore them. Just look out for constructive criticism.

Also here is my thread post about bows:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/267944/regarding-dw-bow-builds/p1

Fudly_budly

I am a big-time fan of bow/crossbow in video gaming. In Oblivion and Skyrim, I routinely dispensed bosses easily from stealth before they even knew I was there.. In ESO, I am so very disappointed in the watered-down nerfed bows. Bow/crossbow in real world trumps every type of melee period end of discussion!!!!!!! IN ESO, the handicapped melee brutes have to be given "gap closers" or they'd be little more than pin cushions straight away. Also, It's amazing to me that my level v8 purple greatsword does ~200 more base damage than my v8 purple bow. that's just bs! Bows can be made competitive in ESO in 3 easy ways 1) attack speed passive. more shots per second 2) realistic damage and 3) sniping interrupts those ridiculous gap closers. Finally, bow users need a passive called "Head shot." That gives a % chance for instant kill. But, who are we kidding? It will never happen because of the melee loving player base. SO, put a dollar in one hand and your bow in the other and buy that cup of coffee that's just how worthless bows are in ESO.

Anti_Virus

Fudly_budly wrote: »

I am a big-time fan of bow/crossbow in video gaming. In Oblivion and Skyrim, I routinely dispensed bosses easily from stealth before they even knew I was there.. In ESO, I am so very disappointed in the watered-down nerfed bows. Bow/crossbow in real world trumps every type of melee period end of discussion!!!!!!! IN ESO, the handicapped melee brutes have to be given "gap closers" or they'd be little more than pin cushions straight away. Also, It's amazing to me that my level v8 purple greatsword does ~200 more base damage than my v8 purple bow. that's just bs! Bows can be made competitive in ESO in 3 easy ways 1) attack speed passive. more shots per second 2) realistic damage and 3) sniping interrupts those ridiculous gap closers. Finally, bow users need a passive called "Head shot." That gives a % chance for instant kill. But, who are we kidding? It will never happen because of the melee loving player base. SO, put a dollar in one hand and your bow in the other and buy that cup of coffee that's just how worthless bows are in ESO.

^^^

As long as people can WB, SA or jabs spam who cares? No one cares about archery not the players or devs so don't hold your breath for changes.

AugustoCP

Fudly_budly wrote: »

I am a big-time fan of bow/crossbow in video gaming. In Oblivion and Skyrim, I routinely dispensed bosses easily from stealth before they even knew I was there.. In ESO, I am so very disappointed in the watered-down nerfed bows. Bow/crossbow in real world trumps every type of melee period end of discussion!!!!!!! IN ESO, the handicapped melee brutes have to be given "gap closers" or they'd be little more than pin cushions straight away. Also, It's amazing to me that my level v8 purple greatsword does ~200 more base damage than my v8 purple bow. that's just bs! Bows can be made competitive in ESO in 3 easy ways 1) attack speed passive. more shots per second 2) realistic damage and 3) sniping interrupts those ridiculous gap closers. Finally, bow users need a passive called "Head shot." That gives a % chance for instant kill. But, who are we kidding? It will never happen because of the melee loving player base. SO, put a dollar in one hand and your bow in the other and buy that cup of coffee that's just how worthless bows are in ESO.

I love archery. But you clearly have no idea of what balancing is.