That old dead horse -- lack of prismatic bow rewards

[p]Yes, yes, I know. This has been an argument since at least DoF, and likely since the very first prismatic line in the original game. However, since the rewards for SoD are being posted, and (unsurprisingly), there is once more a glaring lack of a bow reward option. [/p][p]I'll try to keep it short. While I completely understand the reluctance in going back and revisiting old prismatic lines and taking up the art department's time simply to develop such a reward for previous tiers that have long been set down and moved past, I'm rather aggravated that for all the past arguments about this, the dev team has ignored the matter again. Look, guys, I know you don't want to create options for every single playstyle imaginable, and I know you're already getting flack from the sorcerers about the lack of a 1h blunt reward, but this is not a playstyle issue for us. The bow is, no ifs, ands, or buts, our primary weapon. The vast majority of our combat arts and all of our major DPS comes from our bow, NOT our melee weaponry. It's not an optional thing. We know this. You know this. Why, why, why, why is it constantly ignored? [/p][p]This isn't a gamebreaker, obviously. And unfortunately, I expected as much given past prismatic lines. But man if it isn't extraordinarily irritating to see that once again the major questline of an expansion doesn't offer rangers anything in the way of their primary weapon.[/p]

[p]might as well start getting used to it. the ranger epic from RoK is probably a 2h Staff.[/p][p]and fyi, yes, it is a gamebreaking issue. because a ranger without an uber bow is 1k dps behind the one with a good bow (of which there are currently only 3 in-game)[/p][p]no other DPS class is this dependant on one equipment slot. NOBODY. this is beyond "primary weapon". this is our ONE and ONLY source of damage. Without a bow there is no ranger class.[/p][p]the game has a lack of bows, a lack of rangerd crit item, a lack of ranger double attack items and a lack of ranged proc items. nearly EVERY SINGLE questline with rewards for different classes and playstyles completely ignores rangers. [/p][p]The main questlines offer fighters a shield, a 2h weapon, a 1h weapon and a DW weapon... while ranger get not a thing.[/p][p]It's beyond pathetic. Have you seen the uber new jewelry set from the new zone? Yay! There is a +4% ranged crit chance on it! Awesome. Only it's not, because the same item gives melee double attack, meaning that it will NEVER go to a ranger as we don't melee. [/p][p]seriously, just delete the damn class if you aren't going to bother making any items for it. [/p][p]count how many 1h or 2h weapons there are in EoF or KoS (fabled) and then count how many bows. [/p][p] [/p]

Can we say dramaqueen? Its not that bad if we dont get a bow - and there are plenty out there. If you dont have a decent bow yourself then go raid the start of EH - wolfy really isent that bad.

Mortred@Befallen wrote:

[p]Our definitions of "plenty" are clearly different, according to eq2idb (which limits searches to 50 items), there are:[/p][p]Fabled level 65-70:[/p][p]45 2-handers [/p][p]50+ 1-handers[/p][p]50+ duel wields[/p][p]14 bows.[/p][p] There isn't a single class which uses 2-handers and there are 45 of them. There is 1 class that uses bows as primary and 11 others that also use bows. [/p][p]If you do not see the imbalance, you are simply ignoring the facts. [/p][p]As far as the quest reward goes, this is the equivalent of Assassins getting a Round Shield as their only reward option. Sure they can roundshields, but it's not their choice item. Seriously, this is the toughest quest in the game and one that is supposed to provide you with a powerful weapon, in our case, it fails to deliver for the 4th time in a row.[/p]

[p]The number of bows available outside of this questline is not the point (but yes, I agree, bow itemization is another one of my irritations. Not everyone can kill Mayong or raid EH. It would be nice if we could get a comparable upgrade in the same places other scouts can upgrade their primary weaponry (Labs, Lyceum.) The new jewelry from the raid zone is another sticking point, but again, not the point of this post or this issue.[/p][p]The point is that every single class, every single one, has a reward that is meant to be theirs in every single one of these particular quest lines (and yeah, I know there are complaints about the rewards for SoD from other classes, I sympathize). But not rangers. Bows could be the most common weapon in the entire game, and it would STILL not change the fact that these quests need a bow reward. These are meant to be THE quests for each expansion. Why is it that one class is constantly ignored when it comes to drawing up the rewards for them? [/p][p]I remember back in DoF, the official response was that the devs could not cater to every single playstyle out there. Well, guys? This is not a PLAYSTYLE. It's the way a class is designed. Until if and when you allow our melee to do as much as much damage as our ranged it will remain so. That's like telling wizards that it's merely a playstyle choice to cast spells rather than getting in and mixing it up with your staff and book.[/p]

Well that sucks hard :/ Which are the three good bows?

Deterrent wrote:

rigid scale, star darkened, and ancient sarnak i think... lol, the third might not be right, whatever bow drops off of venekor...

[p]The third I was referring too is Longbow of Corruption (off matron)[/p][p]Sarnak is the best of what's available to the mere mortals. But having done HoS about 50 times now, I've seen it drop only once.[/p][p]edit: to be fair to the above poster asking for upgrade from same zones as other scouts, Sarnak is to a ranger what Grinning Dirk is to an Assassin. Lyceum is a tad easier, but it's the same tier of difficulty. The issue that no one will challenge an assassin on a grinning dirk. If a sarnak drops, 9 classes other than the ranger are gonna roll for it. Grinning dirk also isn't going to increase the assassin's ZW by 1k, so while it's a great weapon, the marginal difference it makes is a lot smaller than sarnak. [/p]

ROFL!

Honestly I don't mind there not being a bow in the rewards just as long as there is a useful item included. Now that said i'm hoping that the soulfire sabre proc will work off of a ranged attack, that would make it useful to us as well as the melee scouts. It has the same proc description as the Kilji so we'll see. As for Ranger Epic I am actually hoping not to get a bow. What I would like to see is a quiver that summons ammo similar to the DT bows. Something that we can keep stocked that is the best (or second best if they add something like the limited recipie tenderwood arrows) ammo for the next tier. It seems weapon loot is often upgraded and good arrows last much longer as far as usefulness goes.

[p]Yes there are a shortage of bows for normal / non upper tier raid guilds. But there are more than 3 good bows.[/p][p]1. Star Darkened Longbow - Mayong (IS)[/p][p]2. Rigid Scale Bow - Wuoshi (EH)[/p][p]3. Longbow of Corruption - Direvine Matron (Mystic Lake)[/p][p]4. Longbow of the Grove - Galiel (EH)[/p][p]------------------------------------------[/p][p]5. Ancestral Sarnak War Bow - Venekor (HoS)[/p][p]6. Natures Bow of the Stalker - Sarik (EH)[/p][p]7. Wind Shaped Bow - Sarik (EH)[/p][p]8. Recurved Heartstinger - Crux (Cube mob in Bonemire)[/p][p]9. Dragonhorn Recurve - ? pretty sure its from Ghazi in Bonemire[/p][p]10 Sinew Wraped Longbow - Gnillaw (Lyceum)[/p][p]11. Bazkul the Soulseeker - Tarinax (DT) (edit had to add Bazkul - forgot abou that one)[/p][p] [/p][p]The bows below 4 are alot easier to get all of which will up your dps signifacntly. The cube mobs drop 2 bows that are real nice, and stupidly easy to get if you put the time in to camp them. I used the Heartstinger for along time, consistantly outparsing any of our assassins,casters and the other ranger in the guild I was in- who had the Bazkuls.[/p]

[p]I would have to disagree about all the bows past #4 being easier to get...[/p][ul][li]I've been on literally dozons of raids which have killed Venekor yet have never seen the Sarnak bow drop.[/li][li]Several of these bows are on from epic contested mobs which are routinely dropped by the top raid guilds on each server. This leaves little chance for the casual raider to get their hands on one.[/li][li]Bazkul is almost as rare as Sarnak. The KoS mobs just have such an expansive loot table that the odds of any particular item dropping are miniscule[/li][li]Sinew wrapped longbow really doesnt belong on a list of top bows.[/li][/ul][p]I would say that the most attainable bows are the Wind Shaped and Natures Bow from Sarik. He's instanced, epic, and not to bad a fight; he drops 2 different bows and the loot table is smaller then the KoS bosses.[/p]

[p]Sarik is also a random spawn, clearing EH for 2-3 months every week and we have had him up ....1 time. Honestly I think wind shaped and natures bow would be ruff, I havent even seen the darn gloves yet.[/p][p] The contested mob - Crux from the phylactorys in Bonemire are killeable by 3 groups in Labs gear.[/p][p]Dragonhorn from Ghazi all you need are the items to spawn him and any 3-4 group raid can kill him over and over, we did him 3 time in a row one day, alot on alts =D[/p][p]Yes Sarnak is a low drop rate, I did HoS almost every week for a year before I got mine =([/p][p]Bazkuls.......we must have differant luck on Unrest, ive seen that bow like 10 times[/p][p]Your right on about Sinew, but it is a starter raid bow, it does ok for being legendary and is in a easy zone.[/p]

[p]I'll vouche for Prand here. Oasis must just suck when it comes to bow drops, because we were bored and locked out of all the EoF zones, we decided to hit up DT last week. For the first time ever, I saw Tari drop Bazkul.. first time. Have only seen Ichorstrand once (yeah I know it sucks as a bow, but its ammo is still pretty sweet). Seen Sarnak once. So while the zones themselves are easy, the huge loot tables on both Vene and Tari make seeing those bows pretty rare.[/p][p]The only thing I want from Sarik is those gloves, and he never drops them either. I hate that wolf, more then anything, I hate that hes a random spaw. Random instanced mobs ftl![/p]

[p]I finally seen Bazkul drop last week. It might be close to over a year old but I still put the DKP into win it.[/p][p]I've only seen Ichor twice from all times I've raided DT. Mayong also has a 30 item loot table so I can imagine it might Bazkul part 2 untill Star Darkened Drops.[/p]

gee.. Sarik dropped the gloves the first time we ever fought him! Just lucky I guess. And I'll be old and grey before he drops the waning moon cutter. Tell ya what Nesse, I'll trade you the gloves for your bow!

Hopefully, an adjustment to the number of fabled bows is being made in RoK. I'm hoping to see many more bows in T8.

I've done DT a billion times... and never seen a t8 ammo bow drop... And my guild has done MMIS prolly 10 times, and seen 2 star darkened... As for Sarik... lol, idk, but he's up for my guild damn near 2/3rds of the time... damn different servers having different drop rates...

[p] Stay away from my bow darn you! I dont like the gloves THAT much. [/p][p]You know whats up for us a good 75% of the time? Rumbler and that damned Unicorn on the second floor. If we could just get Sarik as often as we get Rumbler, I wouldnt mind I guess. Sarik might be up for us 33% of the time we zone in. So once a month, twice in a good month. As long as Im talking about mobs I hate... Add Treah to that list. Stingy freaking tree! With all the class gear on her, I'll never see those leaf rot bracers.[/p]

I can think of 3 total fabled throwing weapons available in the game at this time. One of which drops off a contested mob that is pretty much on lockdown on any server with a serious and capable raiding guild. Another drops on the 3rd floor of EH (maybe 2nd). The other one drops of Tarinax and is pretty bad, even if it does summon ammo. Granted there are only 2 classes that have to use a throwing weapon and another 2 that need one to perform their ranged combat art, but I'd just like to point out that you guys aren't alone in the distaste for the slew of fabled 2 handers that drop like candy and get transmuted every single time. We have rangers in our raids that are using the rain caller, and it's pathetic. I think I've only seen one decent bow drop for us in the last 6 months (off Sarik). I'd also point out that brawlers and rogues are melee classes and having a nice ranged weapon isn't a huge deal as far as DPS goes. For you guys, I can't even imagine how many rangers out there are doing half the DPS they could be doing because they have a quested t6 bow or some POS t7 legendary with an awful damage spread, etc.