Ranged Weapons

Ranged weapons are all weapons that use a base launcher of some sort to hurl ammo at a target. Generally, there are two types of these weapons in GemStone IV: a bow and a crossbow.

Bow roundtime is determined by the base RT subtracted by one's STR bonus divided by ten. So, in order to get a 3 second RT using a long bow, the shooter needs a strength bonus of 40. Currently, only a giantman archer with maxed out strength can achieve that without spells or Surge of Strength. Sniping (shooting a target from hiding) and aiming (using the aim verb with the option of anything but random) each add one second to the shooter's roundtime. These are cumulative, so a shot with a long bow from hiding that is aiming at the left eye will incur a nine second roundtime when shooting without any strength bonus.

Attack strength

Dexterity bonus + Ranged Weapons skill + ((Perception ranks - 40)/4 + (Ambushing ranks - 40)/4) + (Bow enchant + Arrow enchant) + kneeling bonus

Perception + Ambushing ranks

Though rogues can triple train in perception, they cannot gain more than +2 to attack strength per level between these skills.

Note that the -40 to ranks never results in a negative number, the bonus does not start till you have 40 ranks in either

Bow enchant + Arrow enchant

These values combine up to +50, or a 10× enchantment.

Kneeling bonus

While firing a crossbow, kneeling adds +30 to attack strength.

Max Ranks and Training Point costs

Type	Square			Semi			Pure
Profession	Rogue	Warrior	Monk	Bard	Paladin	Ranger	Cleric	Empath	Savant	Sorcerer	Wizard
Max Ranks Per Level	2	2	-	2	2	2	1	1	-	1	1
Training Point Cost	3/1	2/1	-	4/2	6/2	3/1	9/3	14/3	-	14/3	14/3

Damage Factors and Attack versus Defense

Weapon	AG	Cloth	Leather				Scale				Chain				Plate				RT	Min RT	Damage Type	STR/DU
	AsG	1	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Short bow	DF	.325	.225				.275				.250				.100				5	3	Puncture/Slash	35/180
	AvD	20	27	26	25	24	20	18	16	14	31	27	23	19	27	21	15	9
Composite bow	DF	.350	.300				.325				.275				.150				6	3	Puncture/Slash	50/225
	AvD	25	35	34	33	32	30	28	26	24	42	38	34	30	36	30	24	18
Long bow	DF	.400	.325				.350				.300				.175				7	3	Puncture/Slash	60/315
	AvD	25	33	32	31	30	29	27	25	23	42	38	34	30	38	32	26	20
Light crossbow	DF	.350	.300				.325				.275				.150				6	4	Puncture/Slash	50/285
	AvD	25	31	30	29	28	25	23	21	19	39	35	31	27	32	26	20	14
Heavy crossbow	DF	.425	.325				.375				.285				.175				7	5	Puncture/Slash	60/315
	AvD	30	36	35	34	33	31	29	27	25	46	42	38	34	40	34	28	22

See Also:

• The Art of the Bow: Guide

External links

• Missile Weapons, on Play.net
• QRS script, on GS4sorcerer.com