The Bow FAQ

[hahnsoo]

I decided to make a thread that contains everything that I've written before on bows, all in a single thread. That way, I can just refer people to this thread when they ask questions. Without further ado:

"Everything you wanted to know about Bows, but were afraid to ask"

Last updated on July 14, 2006

A) Overview
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The two basic values of a bow are its damage and requirement. The damage listed is the base damage (maximum of 15-28) that you will do if your baseline value equals your opponent's armor (further discussed in section C). The higher the base damage range, the better the bow is.

The requirement is listed next to the base damage and tells you how much Marksmanship you need to wield the bow at its base damage range. If you wield a bow with less Marksmanship than what is listed on the bow, then it does approximately as much damage as a bow of the same type dropped by a Level 5 enemy (this hidden damage range varies, just like the damage ranges of bows dropped by Level 5 enemies). While this may seem a bit confusing, just remember that your bow will do drastically less damage (typically a third or half damage) if you don't meet the requirement.

Note that you don't get any more damage out of a bow by exceeding its requirement, other than the usual higher damage from having a higher baseline. In other words, if you have two 15-28 damage bows, one with a requirement of 8 and the other with a requirement of 11, your damage for both bows will be identical as long as you have a Marksmanship of 11 or greater. At a Marksmanship of 10, the requirement 8 bow will do more damage simply because you don't meet the requirement of the requirement 11 Bow.

In general, there are 5 different "classes" of bows. Each bow class differs in the following characteristics:
* Range
* Refire Rate
* Arc Size
* Appearance
* Armor Penetration (special)

The 5 classes of bows are:
* Flatbow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Flatbows, and the Ithas Bow
* Longbow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Longbows, and Storm Bows
* Horn Bow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Horn Bow, Ivory Bows, and Shadow Bows
* Composite Bow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Composite Bows, Dead Bows, Recurve Bow, and Eternal Bows
* Short Bow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Half Moon Bows, and Short Bows.

Special Note on Ascalon Bows - Ascalon Bows given by the collectors tend to imitate one of the above bow classes. The appearance of the bow remains as a Flatbow/Longbow, but it can be either a Flatbow, a Long bow, a Composite Bow, or a Short bow as far as range, arrow speed, and rate of fire. You'll have to experiment to find out which one it is.
UPDATE: As of the July 13 2006 update, you can now see what kind of Ascalon bow type you have in the name of the bow. Very cool!

Range
-----
Most bows can be lumped into three categories of ranges:
* Short range - Just within the "Aggro circle" on the Radar. The only bow class with this range is the Short Bow class.
* Medium range - Up to "Casting Range", which is just beyond the "Aggro circle" on the Radar. The Horn Bow and Composite Bow classes dwell in this range.
* Long range - Up to 1.5 times the distance of the "Aggro Circle" on the Radar. The Longbow and Flatbow classes are in this range.

Refire Rate
-----------
The first shot that you fire from a bow will always be 2.0 seconds in duration. However, after that initial shot, the rate of refire differs between the bow classes. There are generally 3 rates of refire:
* Fast - approximately 2.0 seconds between shots. The Short Bow and Flatbow classes have the Fast refire rate.
* Medium - approximately 2.5 seconds between shots. The Longbow and Composite Bow classes have the Medium refire rate.
* Slow - approximately 2.7 seconds between shots. The Horn Bow class has the slow refire rate.

Arc Size
--------
Arc size determines both Arrow Speed (how fast an arrow takes to hit its target) and accuracy (leeway of the target dodging shots)
* High arc - Flatbows have the highest arc out of all of the bow classes.
* Normal arc - Horn Bows, Longbows, and Short Bows all have a normal arc. Note that because a Shortbow has such a small range, the Normal Arc doesn't really have much of an appreciable effect on arrow speed.
* Low arc - The Composite Bow class has the lowest Arc, and thus has the shortest time to target and fastest arrow speed, making Composite Bows the most accurate bow class.

Called Shot, Favorable Winds, Quick Shot (Elite), and Read the Wind will make the Arc size approximately the same as the Low arc of a Composite Bow.

Armor Penetration
-----------------
The Horn Bow class appears to have a base 10% Armor Penetration, according to a few sources. This compensates for its slightly slower attack speed.

What's the "best bow"?
----------------------
There's no such thing as the "best bow". Each bow class has strengths and weaknesses. Short bows are great for overall damage, but are lacking in Range. Flatbows can also deal a similar amount of damage, but they are inaccurate at long range. Longbows are slow, but have a long range and normal arc. Composite bows are guaranteed to hit, but are merely average in other stats. Horn Bows do the most damage per single shot, but have the slowest refire rate of all the bows. My advice? Use a long range bow for pulling/luring, a short range bow for close combat, and a composite bow for interrupting.

[hahnsoo]

B) Bow Bonuses and Upgrades
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There are two kinds of upgrades that you can apply to bows: Bow Strings, and Bow Grips. Each upgrade adds something to the name of the bow, and can be applied to any quality of item, from mundane to magical blue to rare purple/gold. You are more likely to find Purple and Gold items that are already upgraded with a bowstring or bow grip. You can only use one Bowstring and one Bow Grip to upgrade your bow. A new Bowstring or Bow Grip will overwrite the old mod, and you will lose the old mod permanently.

Bowstrings add "prefix" upgrades to a bow and include the following:
* Barbed - Lengthens the duration of Bleeding by 33%
* Crippling - Lengthens the duration of Cripple by 33%
* Ebon - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Earth
* Fiery - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Fire
* Icy - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Cold
* Poisoner's - Lengthens the duration of Poison by 33%
* Shocking - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Lightning
* Silencing - Lengthens the duration of Dazed by 33%
* Sundering - has a random (10-20%) chance of having 20% armor penetration
* Vampiric - -1 Health Degen, Steal life on hit (1-5 points)
* Zealous - -1 Energy Regen, +1 Energy per attack

Which bowstring is right for me?
--------------------------------
The only bowstring that doesn't see much use in my bow rack is the Sundering bowstring, due to the small percent chance of actually applying the effect. While they have been given a boost (having 20% bonus AP up to 20% of the time), it still doesn't drastically affect your damage compared to the other strings. The main value is that there is no downside to using this bowstring, other than the opportunity cost of equipping this bowstring over others. In other words, it's better than nothing, but it's not tremendously helpful. I personally do not use it unless I have no other options for strings.

The elemental bowstrings are popular with Ranger/Elementalists who wish to take advantage of the Conjure lines. Elemental damage does more damage against Warrior enemies with bonus physical armor and less damage against Rangers. It gets around some of the anti-piercing damage protective skills, but this is a minor advantage at best. As of the July 13 2006 Update, Warrior damage absorb no longer protects against non-physical damage, thus increasing the utility of elemental damage against Warriors. You can also take advantage of some PvE enemy weaknesses with this string; for example, you can use a Fiery bowstring against Ice Golems. I generally keep at least one Fiery and one Icy bow in my rack.

Zealous bowstrings are popular with Barrage spammers, as each arrow reclaims one point of energy. With a fast-firing bow and perhaps certain attack speed stances, zealous bows provide a quick method of Energy regeneration, especially for folks who don't use sustained enchantments. Zealous strings are recommended for Barrage farming builds (each arrow gives back 1 Energy) and Quick Shot builds (shoot longer with greater Energy reclamation), on either a Flatbow or a Shortbow.

The various condition-extending strings (Barbed, Crippling, Poisoner's and Silencing) have obvious utility when they are paired with the corresponding condition, which are often side effects of various bow attacks and preparations like Pin Down and Apply Poison. It is said that these strings also extend the duration of conditions applied with Traps. I have personally tested this with a Poisoner's Bow and Viper's Nest, and found this to be true, but I haven't tested this with other skills. Note that these strings will NOT increase the duration of conditions inflicted by Pet Attacks.

For sheer damage, the Vampiric bowstring is the best, as it adds a Health stealing effect which directly increases your DPS per arrow. This is great for Barragers, Snipers, and machine-gunners, as it allows you to kill targets quicker, but the -1 Health Degen limits its use. I find it useful as a "bow switch", switching to a different bow when I'm idling to prevent the -1 Health degen from killing me. The Health gain can also be helpful in Barrage-farming builds, which often rely on passive healing from multiple arrow attacks.

There is a rumor that the Shocking bowstring gives 25% armor penetration. This is not true, but it is based on the fact that most Air Magic spells have 25% armor penetration. Shocking bowstrings only change your damage to Lightning.

Bow Grips add "suffix" upgrades to a bow, and include the following:
* Of Defense - adds Armor +4-5
* Of Shelter - adds Armor +4-7 (vs. physical attacks)
* Of Warding - adds Armor +4-7 (vs. elemental attacks)
* Of Charrslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Charr)
* Of Deathbane - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Undead)
* Of Dwarfslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Dwarves)
* Of Giantslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Giants)
* Of Pruning - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Plants)
* Of Skeletonslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Skeletons)
* Of Tenguslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Tengu)
* Of Trollslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Troll)
* Of Enchanting - Enchantments last 10-20% longer
* Of Fortitude - adds Health +20-30
* Of Marksmanship - adds +1 Marksmanship (10-20% chance while using skills)

Fortitude and Defense/Shelter seem to be the most popular Bow Grips. Some Rangers who are also secondary spellcasters tend to prefer the Bow Grip of Enchanting.

Upgrades can often be salvaged from a bow using an Expert Salvage Kit. Expert Salvage Kits have a random chance of extracting either the Bowstring or the Bow Grip.

Which is the better bowgrip, "Of Defense" or "Of Fortitude"?
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There's an ongoing debate on which bowgrip is better for a Ranger in the long run. The bowgrip of popular choice seems to be a Bowgrip of Fortitude, as seen by the enormously inflated prices for a perfect Health +30 version. However, if you look at the numbers, Bowgrip of Defense with an Armor +5 reduces incoming damage to 91.7% of normal, which means about a 9% benefit. Even if the Fortitude grip is perfect at +30 HP, the benefit from the Fortitude grip amounts to about 5% to 7%, meaning that based on Armor Level alone, the Bowgrip of Defense looks like a better choice.

However, there are several situations in which a Bowgrip of Defense does not give any benefit. For example, Conditions and Hexes that apply Health Degeneration ignore armor, as do most Necromancer and Mesmer damaging spells. Also, Death Penalty applies to your base Health and Energy, while bonuses to Health and Energy remain the same. Thus, while the Bowgrip of Defense Armor bonus remains static, the utility of the Bowgrip of Fortitude actually increases as your Death Penalty goes up, by virtue of the fact that it is not reduced by Death Penalty, giving you a higher overall Health.

Still, it is FAR easier to find a cheap Armor +5 Bowgrip of Defense than it is to find a high level or perfect Bowgrip of Fortitude. Mostly, it boils down to personal preference. The Fortitude bonus always applies, regardless of the kind of damage that you take, but the Defense bonus provides a better long-term benefit.

There are also bowgrips of Shelter and Warding. Having any bowgrip is better than having no bowgrip, but these only protect against physical damage and elemental damage respectively. Neither protect against non-elemental damage like Light, Chaos, or Dark damage from wands and staves (the Bowgrip of Defense does protect against these types), and have the same caveats as stated for the Bowgrip of Defense above.

Inherent Magical Bonuses
------------------------
Certain bonuses cannot be gained from a Bow Upgrade. Instead, they are inherently part of a magical bow (typically Purple or Gold, although occasional blue bows do have these bonuses). The bonuses stack on top of the bonuses from upgrades. An ideal bow will have three magical bonuses: a prefix Bowstring modifier, a suffix bowgrip modifier, and an inherent modifier. Inherent bonuses include:
* Damage +10-15% Armor -10 (while attacking)
* Damage +10-15% Energy -5
* Damage +10-15% (while enchanted)
* Damage +10-15% (while health is above 50%)
* Damage +10-20% (while health is below 50%)
* Damage +10-20% (while hexed)
* Damage +10-15% (while in a stance)
* Damage +10-15% (vs. hexed foes)

[Zero]

C) Damage Primer
==========================================
Bows do various ranges of damage based on their quality. Note that a Short Bow and a Longbow can do the exact same amount of damage. The class of bow does not influence the damage rating of the bow. The maximum damage range that a bow can have is 15-28. There are rumors of 16-28 bows out there, but 15-28 is the maximum you can expect.

Bow Damage Equations
--------------------
This is based on the excellent work done by SonOfRah, but it is subject to change.

The basic equation for Bow Damage is as follows:
Actual Damage = (Base Damage) x (Bow Bonuses) x (Skill vs. Armor Level)

The Base Damage is picked from the effective damage range of the bow. For a max damage bow, this range is between 15-28. The Skill vs. Armor Level is based on a complex equation, but a couple of general rules apply:
* Every point of Marksmanship offsets 5 points of Armor Level, up to an attribute rank equal to the character's Level/2 (round down) + 2. There are diminishing returns if your Marskmanship attribute rank is above Level/2 (round down) + 2 (for Level 20, this is a value of 12). This "baseline" value is compared to the Armor Level of the target to determine the actual damage.
* Every point in Marksmanship above your Character's Level/2 + 2 gives 2 points in addition to the baseline value below that threshold. Thus at Level 20, a 13 attribute Rank gives a baseline of 62.
* If the baseline is equal to the Armor Level of the target, then you do 100% of your damage. If you have a higher baseline than the Armor Level of the target, then you do more damage. If you have a lower Baseline than the Armor Level of the target, then you do less damage.
* Every 40 Armor Level that the target has above your baseline halves the damage, and every 40 Armor Level that the target has below your baseline doubles the damage.

Bow bonuses are multiplied with this along with the Armor Level calculation. All damage is rounded to the nearest integer.

Hit Locations
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Guild Wars uses a Hit Location system. This means that each piece of armor has a chance of being struck individually, rather than an abstract armor level from the pieces summed as a whole. In general, these are the percentages:
* Chest is hit 37.5% of the time.
* Leggings is hit 25% of the time.
* Feet, Gloves, and Head are hit 12.5% of the time.

These percentages are augmented by positioning. It is said that hitting the head provides an increased or automatic chance for critical hits, but this has not been confirmed.

Critical Hits
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Critical Hits always do maximum base damage of the bow. They also give the equivalent of -20 Armor Level reduction, increasing your damage by 41.42%. It is rumored that increasing Marksmanship increases your likelihood of Critical Hits, and that head hits produce more (or always produce) a critical hit, but these are not confirmed.

Situational Damage
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It is not known if attacking from the flanks or from behind gives a measurable damage bonus, although anecdotal reports seem to say that enemies who are running away from you tend to take more damage. Whether it is due to higher chance of critical hits or from a damage bonus remains to be tested. It was thought that opponents did not get the benefit of a shield when attacked from behind or the flanks, but this has been tested to be false as of 5/1/2006.

Attacking from an elevated position has a greater likelihood of hitting the head. Being above your target increases your range somewhat and grants a 15% damage bonus.

Attacking from a lower position has a greater likelihood of hitting the legs and feet. No damage bonuses are known for this position. Being lower than your target reduces your range somewhat.

If your attack is a critical hit, the damage bonus from positioning is ignored.

Bonus Damage from Skills
------------------------
The bonus damage from skills is generally applied AFTER all armor and damage percentage bonuses from the bow are calculated into the equation. So if your bow skill lists a bonus damage of +10, then +10 damage gets directly added after calculations. This means that armor generally has no effect on the bonus damage done by Bow Attack skills.

The exceptions to this rule are Power Shot and Power Attack, for some reason, as those skills add to the Base Damage of the weapon rather than adding bonus damage after the calculations. This is important to know, because this means that Power Shot damage changes based on the armor level of the target. A highly armored target will take much less damage from a Power Shot, while a lightly armored target will take much more damage from a Power Shot.

Damage Absorb
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Absorption provided from Runes of Absorption, certain item properties (Received damage -2, for example), and Ascalon/Knight's armor is directly subtracted from the damage after all armor and damage percentage bonuses are applied, similar to the bonus damage done by skills. When up against non-Warriors, very few things give a Damage Absorption bonus. Damage Absorption is mostly in the realm of primary Warriors, who have Knight's/Ascalon Armor which gives a -3 Damage Absorb, Absorption runes (from -1 to -3 Damage Absorb), and magical Damage Absorb mods on shields. You will usually face between -4 to -9 Damage Absorb on any particular warrior. Damage Absorb used to apply to all damage done to the target, even cutting back on damage that ignores armor. However, the July 13, 2006 Update changed several types of Damage Absorb to only affect physical damage.

Call of Protection is a Ranger skill that gives a lot of Damage Absorption to your pet, allowing them to tank better.

Armor Penetration
-----------------
Armor Penetration is a percentage adjustment of the Armor Level of the target. For example, 10% Armor Penetration means that the base Armor Level of the target is multiplied by 90% to determine the effective Armor Level. Armor Penetration comes in two varieties, Base AP and Bonus AP. Base AP comes from the Strength attribute, Penetrating Attack, Penetrating Blow, and certain Air Magic spells, among other things. Bonus AP comes from Judge's Insight and the Sundering weapon mod. Only the highest value of base AP applies, but all values of bonus AP stack on top of the Base AP.

The maximum armor penetration that a Ranger can have with a bow attack is 60%, from a Sundering bowstring (20% bonus AP) plus Judge's Insight (20% bonus AP) while using a Penetrating Attack (20% base AP).

Damage over Time
----------------
The Damage over Time done by Conditions such as Poison and Bleeding are at a rate of -2 Health per second per "pip" of degeneration, up to a maximum of 10 "pips", or -20 Health per second. This is not reduced by armor nor are there any bonuses/penalties that augment this rate. Conditions stack with each other but not themselves. The final Health Degeneration is determined by the sum of all the Health Regeneration bonuses and the sum of all the Health Degeneration Bonuses, so while you cannot go below 10 pips of Health Degen, you can apply more health degen to offset gains from Healing Breeze, Mending, etc.

List of Health Degeneration Conditions
--------------------------------------
* Bleeding -3 pips or -6 Health per second
* Poison/Disease -4 pips or -8 Health per second
* Burning -7 pips or -14 Health per second

[Zero]

D) Finding a Good Bow
==========================================
Generally, max damage bows drop when you start killing level 18 or higher enemies. Lightning Drakes at the Gates of Kryta or Sanctum Cay, for example, can drop Max Damage bows on occasion. However, your best bet for finding a bow is to kill high level enemies with a Ranger class. Dune Burrowers and Enchanted Bows in the Crystal Desert are a couple of good examples.

Also, several types of unique bows drop in the Temple of the Ages dungeons, typically with maximum damage. Shadow Bows, Storm Bows, and Eternal Bows can be found there.

You can also buy a good bow from people selling at Lion's Arch and Ascalon City usually in District 1. Caveat Emptor. One person's "Godly" bow is the next person's "junk". I wouldn't spend more than 5,000 gold acquiring a max damage bow, as you can always add bow parts to improve an existing bow. Beware of scams to sell Customized weapons to you, as they cannot be used by anyone but the original user. If it says +20% Damage (Customized for "Seller's Name"), stay away from it.

Alternate Bows
--------------
While the best option is to get the most damaging bow with the modifier of choice (usually a +15% Damage mod of some kind), there are several other unique options for those looking for variety or a niche.

Crafted Bows
------------
There used to be bows that offered bonus 10 Armor at the Henge of Denravi or +5 Energy among the Old Ascalon collectors, but these bonuses were taken out in the 9/7/05 update. In Factions, end-game bows can be crafted with this mod.

However, there is a new bow in the 9/7/05 update that can be crafted for 100 Wood Planks, 50 Feathers, and 5 Plat at Sarad, the weapon master at Droknar's Forge. This is a Longbow with Damage +15% (while in a stance), max damage.

Pre-Order Weapons
-----------------
If you preordered your game from Electronics Boutique, then you have access to a unique bow called the Ithas Bow. It does 13-25 damage and adds armor (much like the Henge of Denravi bow), but has two prerequisites of Marksmanship and Expertise of 10 each. Ouch. It has the range of a longbow with a faster fire rate, similar to the Flatbow.

Temple of the Ages dungeons
---------------------------
There are several bows that only drop in the Temple of the Ages dungeons. These are the Shadow Bow, Eternal Bow, and Storm Bow. They have very neat-looking effects, cosmetically. The Storm Bow in particular sizzles with lightning. Each of these bows have their own stats. It is confirmed that the Storm Bow acts as a Long Bow, the Shadow Bow acts as a Horn Bow, and the Eternal Bow acts as a Composite/Recurve Bow.

Sorrow's Furnace
----------------
There are several unique bows with Green text that drop at Grenth's Footprint and Sorrow's Furnace, that have good (but not overpowering) stats, like Thornbeard's Horned Bow. These bows automatically have a perfect prefix, suffix, inherent mod on them, but they cannot be modified in any way with upgrades. They typically drop from the bosses in that area with the same name (i.e. Drago's Flatbow will drop from Drago Stoneherder).

All bows listed below have Maximum damage (15-28) and require 9 Marksmanship
* Boulderbeard's Short Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Shocking, Fortitude)
* Drago's Flatbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Drago's Vampiric Flatbow (+15% in stance, Vampiric, Defense)
* Elswyth's Long Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Poisoner's, Fortitude)
* Elswyth's Recurve Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Vampiric, Fortitude)
* Forgerunner (Long Bow, +15% in stance, Fiery, Fortitude)
* Gargash's Recurve Bow (+15% while enchanted, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Graygore's Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Vampiric, Marksmanship)
* Graygore's Zealous Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Zealous, Defense)
* Stinger (Horn Bow, +15% in stance, Poisoner's, Marksmanship)
* Tarnok's Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Icy, Warding)
* Tarnok's Recurve Bow (+15% while enchanted, Sundering, Enchanting)
* Thornbeard's Horned Bow (+15% while enchanted, Lightning, Shelter)

Rotscale
--------
A new green bow was added to Tyria on June 15, 2006. Rotscale is a level 30 Bone Dragon boss that resides in Majesty's Rest. He drops a unique bow called Rotwing's Recurve Bow (it is not known if he drops other models) which looks like a pair of leathery wings. It has max damage, the +5 Energy inherent mod, and the Poisoner's Prefix and Fortitude Suffix.

Scorpion Bow
------------
If you are a Korean Player taking advantage of the Coke-play deal, you may have in your possession a Scorpion Bow, a bow that's only available to Korea through a special Coca-Cola marketing offer.

Pre-Order Japanese Guild Wars
-----------------------------
The Japanese Guild Wars pre-order special items are named after the seven deadly sins and a random animal. The bow is similar to the Scorpion Bow offered through the Coke Play deal above. It is called the Poisoner's Scorpion Lust Bow (rough translation) and it has the Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%) inherent mod and Poisoner's string (not removable).

Game of the Year
----------------
If you bought the Game of the Year Prophecies boxed set, you get access to a very special bow called the Nevermore Flatbow. It's a max damage bow with 9 Marksmanship requirement and Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%), and looks like a pair of Raven's wings strapped onto a bone frame. Very spiffy.

Pre-Order Taiwan Guild Wars
---------------------------
The Taiwan Guild Wars pre-order special items are also named after several of the deadly sins (although there are only 6 items instead of 7), and the bow in the pre-order set resembles the Nevermore Flatbow. It is called Poisoner's Black Hawk/Eagle Lust Bow (rouch translation) and has similar stats to the Game of the Year Edition bow.

Wintersday Candy Cane Bows
--------------------------
These bows were available during the special Wintersday events of 2005. Candy Cane bows only do 15-15 damage (making them less than desirable compared to most max damage bows), but they have no requirements, which gives them a use in certain specialized builds that require a bow, but do not have high Marksmanship. They have the range of a Short Bow.

Factions Bows
-------------
The release of Factions has added many new bow appearances. Particularly coveted at this time are Celestial Bows and Zodiac Bows. Several new "Green" bows were also released within Factions, available from the Ranger bosses. Celestial Bows can be found in the Nahpui mission and explorable area. Zodiac Bows can be found in the Elite missions that are only available to dominant Alliances who control capital cities. There is also a bow called the "Platinum Bow" that is getting rave reviews in terms of appearance.

Also, there are many bows that are available among crafters throughout the continent of Cantha. The coveted Energy +5 (Divine Path, after completing the Factions campaign) and Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%) mods (Kaineng Center) can be found on some of these crafters.

Here is a short list of Factions Green bows. Note that the Ironwing bows are
available from turning in your Amulet of the Mists, instead of defeating a boss:
All bows listed below have Maximum damage (15-28) and require 9 Marksmanship
* Brrne's Recurve Bow (+15% Armor -10, Crippling, Fortitude)
* Chehbaba's Longbow (+15% Armor -10, Crippling, Shelter)
* Chkkr's Flatbow (+15% Armor -10, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Inallay's Hornbow (+15% Health > 50%, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Ironwing Flatbow (+15% Health > 50%, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Ironwing Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Vampiric, Fortitude)
* Lorelle's Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Poisoner's, Shelter)
* Meynsang's Longbow (+15% Armor -10, Barbed, Fortitude)
* Nandet's Recurve Bow (+15% Armor -10, Crippling, Fortitude)
* Nundak's Recurve Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Poisoner's, Fortitude)
* Razorjaw's Hornbow (Energy +5, Sundering, Marksmanship)
* Razortongue's Recurve Bow (+15% Energy -5, Vampiric, Marksmanship)
* Royen's Hornbow (+15% in stance, Sundering, Marksmanship)
* Ryver's Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Crippling, Fortitude)
* Urgoz's Flatbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Urgoz's Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Ryver's Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Swiftscale's Shortbow (+15% in stance, Vampiric, Fortitude)

List of Max Damage Collectors Bows
----------------------------------
There are many collectors that offer Max Damage Ascalon bows in the Crystal Desert and the Southern Shiverpeaks. Here are the items that they collect:

Tyria: Crystal Desert
---------------------
* Arid Sea - Sir Pohl Sandbert trades 5 Dune Burrower Jaws for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), +15% damage while Health is above 50% (Longbow)
* Diviner's Ascent - Luven Underwood trades 5 Minotaur Horns for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), +15% damage while enchanted (Flatbow) (just outside Elona Reach)
* Skyward Reach - John Verado trades 5 Topaz Crests for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), +15% damage while Health is above 50% (Composite bow) (just outside of Augury Rock)
* Skyward Reach - Mourn Drakespur trades 5 Dessicated Hydra Claws for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), +15% damage while Health is above 50% (Short bow) (southwest of Destiny's Gorge)
* Vulture Drifts - Karl Jakobs trades 5 Massive Jawbones for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), +15% damage while enchanted (Horn bow)

Tyria: Southern Shiverpeaks
---------------------------
* Lornar's Pass - Nord Stonegrimm trades 5 Frozen Shells for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), +15% damage while Health is above 50% (Longbow)
* Mineral Springs - Trego Stonebreaker trades 5 Mountain Troll Tusks for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), +15% damage while Health is above 50% (Short bow)
* Mineral Springs - Bariel Darkroot trades 5 Alpine Seeds for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), +15% damage while Health is above 50% (Composite bow)
* Snake Dance - Hoknil the Lesser trades 5 Azure Remains for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship) +15% damage while Enchanted (Horn Bow)
* Witman's Folly - Mag Ironwall trades 5 Intricate Grawl Necklaces for Ascalon Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), +15% damage while enchanted (Flatbow) (just outside Port Sledge)

Cantha: Kaineng City
--------------------
* Maatu Keep - Dye Master Franjek trades 5 Pulsating Growth for Recurve Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
* The Marketplace - Attendant Nashu trades 5 Putrid Cyst for Short Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
* Pongmei Valley - Luci trades 2 Guardian Moss for Shortbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (vs. hexed foes)
* Senji's Corner - Sakai trades 5 Celestial Essence for Shortbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +20% (while hexed)
* Shenzhun Tunnels - Jung Zeng trades 5 Jade Bracelet for Recurve Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (vs. Hexed foes)
* Shenzhun Tunnels - Kiishen trades 5 Plague Idol for Longbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
* Shenzhun Tunnels - Leijo trades 5 Ancient Kappa Shell for Horn Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while enchanted)
* Undercity - Ohtah trades 5 Plague Idol for Flatbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
* Wajjun Bazaar - Jiangpo trades 5 Venerable Mantid Pincers for Canthan Boots (AL 70)
* Wajjun Bazaar - Kengai trades 5 Plague Idol for Longbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +20% (while Hexed)
* Xaquang Skyway - Claw Tallfeather trades 5 Jade Bracelet for Hornbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +20% (while Health is below 50%)
* Xaquang Skyway - Yu Lae trades 5 Vermin Hide for Longbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while in a Stance)
* Zin Ku Corridor - Adept Bishu trades 5 Soul Stone for Recurve Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while in a stance)

Cantha: Echovald Forest
-----------------------
* Altrumm Ruins - Artor Bobani Kiroz trades 5 Warden Horn for Flatbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (vs. hexed foes)
* Altrumm Ruins - Peltsman Jiri trades 5 Blood Drinker Pelt for Hornbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while in a stance)
* Brauer Academy - Kristoffir Roi trades 5 Dredge Incisor for Longbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +20% (while Health is below 50%)
* Ferndale - Chef Armand trades 5 Truffle for Shortbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while in a Stance)
* House Zu Heltzer - Andru Pitrak trades 3 Keen Oni Claw for Hornbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (vs. hexed foes)
* House Zu Heltzer - Jaun Stumi trades 4 Vampiric Fang for Recurve Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +20% (while Health is below 50%)
* House Zu Heltzer - Master Architect Wright trades 5 Stone Carving for Long Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
* Morostav Trail - Dmitri Scharkoff trades 5 Warden Horn for Flatbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while enchanted)
* Morostav Trail - Jonn Tertehl trades 5 Stone Horn for Recurve Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +20% (while hexed)
* Saint Anjeka's Shrine - Guard Captain Mirkoz trades 5 Dredge Incisors for Flatbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
* Unwaking Waters - Elder Ezio trades 5 Kraken Eye for Hornbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while enchanted)
* Vasburg Armory - Healer Silja trades 5 Dragon Root for Shortbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)

Cantha: Jade Sea
----------------
* Archipelagos - Axton trades 5 Archaic Kappa Shell for Recurve Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (vs. hexed foes)
* Bai Paasu Reach - Amina trades 5 Naga Skin for Longbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while enchanted)
* Boreas Seabed - Catrine Embolom trades 5 Rot Wallow Tusk for Shortbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +20% (while Health is below 50%)
* Breaker Hollow - Maddison trades 5 Naga Skin for Hornbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
* Cavalon - Dauv Merishal trades 3 Keen Oni Talon for Flatbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +20% (while hexed)
* Gyala Hatchery - Pietro trades 5 Black Pearl for Hornbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +20% (while hexed)
* Mount Qinkai - Leon trades 5 Stolen Provision for Longbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (vs. hexed foes)
* Seafarer's Rest - Farrer trades 5 Azure Crest for Recurve Bow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while enchanted)
* Zos Shivros Channel - Elder Pomona trades 5 Kraken Eye for Flatbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +20% (while Health is below 50%)
* Zos Shivros Channel - Kristo Trilios trades 5 Moon Shell for Shortbow 15-28 (req. 9 Marksmanship), Damage +15% (while enchanted)

Where to find Collector's Items (Tyria)
---------------------------------------
* Dune Burrower Jaws - Dune Burrowers. Two good places: The beginning of Elona Reach mission, and the Scar, just outside of the Thirsty River exit. You can actually outrange the first couple of Dune Burrowers with a Longbow, thus giving you a "free" kill pretty easily.
* Minotaur Horns - Minotaurs. The beginning of the Elona Reach mission is full of Minotaurs. Use Spike Mines and defensive skills to kill them quickly.
* Topaz Crests - Sand Drakes. Diviner's Ascent, just out of Elona's Reach, you can beat up Sand Drakes. Fairly easy to solo.
* Dessicated Hydra Claws - Hydras. Go to Skyward Reach...too many Hydras there.
* Massive Jawbones - Sand Giants. I usually run around in the Southern part of the Arid Sea. Also, the entrance to Vulture Drifts from the Arid Sea has a huge group of them. Also, there are Giants in the beginning of Thirsty River, but those don't generally drop Jawbones often.
* Frozen Shells - Frost Wurms. Yeah. Good luck... Find them in Lornar's Pass.
* Mountain Troll Tusks - West of Droknar's Forge in Talus Chute, there's a cave FULL of Trolls.
* Alpine Seeds - Low level 7-13 Juniper Barks give the appropriate Alpine Seeds, as do high level 24 Pinesouls do. Go into Lornar's Pass from Beacon's Perch and kill the Ice Imps and Pinesouls there.
* Azure Remains - Beat up the many Azure Shadows in Snake Dance.
* Intricate Grawl Necklaces - There are hordes of Grawl in Witman's Folly, so you should easily get these in one or two passes, even with a full party.

Factions Bow Crafters
---------------------
Here's a short list of where some of these crafters are (all are max damage with a requirement of 9 Marksmanship):
* Kaineng Center - Manzo crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
* Budek Byway - Sheco crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15% (while in a Stance)
* Wajjun Bazaar - Nago crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15% (while Enchanted)
* The Undercity - Ziyi crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +20% (while Hexed)
* House Zu Heltzer - Mathilde crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%, Armor -10 (while Attacking)
* Cavalon - Theodosus crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%, Armor -10 (while Attacking)
* Vasburg Armory - Gertrud crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%, Energy -5
* Leviathan Pits - Telamon crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%, Energy -5
* Divine Path - Shichiroji crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Energy +5

[Zero]

E) Miscellany and References
==========================================

Using Multiple Bows
-------------------
The game provides up to 4 weapon sets that can be switched during combat at any time. Because of this, it is fairly trivial to have multiple bows for various tactical situations. For example, I use a Flatbow in F1 and a Half-Moon in F3. The Flatbow allows me to pull targets at a much longer range, while I use the increased fire rate and arrow speed of the Half-Moon bow at close range. Another trick to use with multiple bows is to assign each bow a different elemental bowstring. Thus, if a creature is resistant to the element of the current bow, you can switch to a more appropriate element.

Another useful trick is having a Vampiric bow on the switch. When you need life, you can swap to the Vampiric bow, and when you don't need life, you won't suffer from the Health degen if you switch out.

Which Bow Preparation is right for me?
--------------------------------------
Because one can only use one Preparation at a time, it is important to choose which preparation would be best for any given situation and for one's own personal style. Having multiple preparations, while versatile, certainly isn't efficient, and thus one should carefully consider which preparation is optimal.

Core/Prophecies
* Kindle Arrows and Ignite Arrows are similar in scope (adds fire damage). Ignite Arrows does less damage, but applies the damage over an area. Kindle Arrows does more damage and costs less. It is difficult to ponder which one is better, as it is entirely situational. If you think that you are going to get swarmed by large groups of enemies, Ignite Arrows is probably better. If you want to do more damage per hit, go with Kindle Arrows. Both have reasonably long durations (24 seconds).
* The two Interrupt preparations, Incindiary Arrows (Elite) and Choking Gas. Both of them have the disadvantage of having short durations, and thus having Practiced Stance (Elite) would be beneficial. Choking Gas only interrupts spellcasters, who are 90% of the targets of interrupts anyway. Both of these are quite effective, but may be redundant with existing interrupt bow attacks, and lack the spontaneity of Distracting Shot.
* There are also two Damage over Time preparations, Apply Poison and Melandru's Arrows (Elite). Incindiary Arrows (Elite) also does a brief damage over time, but most people get it more for the interrupt capability. Apply Poison is a staple of many Rangers, simply because it is available much earlier than Poison Arrow, and does a decent amount of damage over time. Melandru's Arrows causes bleeding, but isn't available until much later in the game. Apply Poison has a reasonably long duration, just like the fire line of preparations, but it can also be used to add poison to melee attacks.
* Read the Wind, the Markmanship cousin of all of these Wilderness Survival preparations. If you don't want to sink points into Wilderness Survival at all, then Read the Wind is a viable alternative.
* Marksman's Wager (Elite) is also a preparation, but you will generally use Marksman's Wager only to reclaim Energy in short bursts. Thus, you will probably not use it as your main preparation. It is more of an "emergency Energy" skill.

Factions
* Glass Arrows (Elite) is a preparation linked to Expertise. It does bonus damage if it hits, and causes Bleeding if it is blocked, which means the only way your opponent can avoid damage is if they evade. Also, the duration is dependent on the Expertise attribute, which can potentially make this preparation last longer than many of the others.
* Seeking Arrows is a short-acting preparation that makes your arrows unavoidable. They cannot be blocked or evaded. It has quite an Energy cost, but is very useful against opponents that use defensive stances and enchantments (for example, Naga Archers and Afflicted Monks).
* Trapper's Focus (Elite) is a preparation that has nothing to do with bows. Instead, it removes the "easily interruptible" part of your Traps while it is in effect.

Practiced Stance (Elite) is a way to get more bang for your preparation buck. It lowers the casting time of preparations (meh) and lengthens the duration (yay!). It's a stance, which means it's incompatible with the stances that are the staple of Ranger defense, and it's Elite which means it takes up your Elite slot.

In general, most people either choose Kindle/Ignite Arrows or Apply Poison, until they get one of the two late-game Elites, Poison Arrow and Barrage.

Pseudo-preparations
-------------------
There are a few more ways that you can increase your damage with Bow attacks.

* Favorable Winds - Favorable Winds is an excellent "enchantment" in the Spirit line of Ranger skills. It lasts a long time, affects a large radius, and adds a significant amount of damage and arrow speed. Remember, this is a spirit, and thus also affects enemy arrows as well as all of your allies' arrows.
* Winnowing - Another spirit that can add some physical damage to every hit. Same cavaets apply.
* Conjure X - Conjure Flame, Conjure Lightning, and Conjure Frost all can add damage to bow attacks, similar to bow preparations. They cost a reasonable 10 mana and last for a whole minute.
* Necromancer Curses - Weaken Armor and Mark of Pain can enhance your damage dealing capability, while Rigor Mortis prevents your shots from being blocked
* Judge's Insight - This enchantment spell in the Smiting line has a fairly short duration, but provides a great benefit for your attacks by changing all of your damage to Holy damage and giving you 20% armor penetration, a great edge against Undead.
* Fragility - Fragility applies damage to a creature if they gain or lose a status condition. Since one of the strengths of a ranger is applying Status conditions, Fragility combined with, say, Pin Down or Apply Poison can cause a world of hurt for a single targeted enemy.
* Brutal Weapon - The Ritualist Weapon Spells can also be useful in increasing your damage. Brutal Weapon in particular is nice because it lasts longer than most of the other Weapon Spells.

References and Related Threads
==========================================
Tilmitt's work on bow stats - http://guildwars.incgamers.com/showthread.php?t=351910
SonOfRah's Armor thread - http://guildwars.incgamers.com/showthread.php?t=350048
Crystal Desert Collectors - http://guildwars.incgamers.com/showt...=354320&page=2
Southern Shiverpeak Collectors - http://guildwars.incgamers.com/showthread.php?t=358192
Bow Bonuses and Upgrades - http://www.gwonline.net/page.php?p=125#Bows
Show off your bow thread - http://guildwars.incgamers.com/showthread.php?t=351176
What bow string do you use? - http://guildwars.incgamers.com/showthread.php?t=355791
Sundering bowstring analysis - http://guildwars.incgamers.com/showthread.php?t=398974
Which is the better bowgrip? - http://guildwars.incgamers.com/showthread.php?t=358432

[Zero]

All Bow Models In the Game So far:

http://guildwars.incgamers.com/showthread.php?t=403203