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 + Truncate[((Perception ranks - 40) + (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 (including level 0). e.g. at level 50, 102 ranks in perception will count towards ranged AS (likewise with ambush), though it is possible to train up to 104 ranks in each at level 50.

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	2	1	1	-	1	1
Training Point Cost	3/1	2/1	4/1	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

Resources

• The Art of the Bow: Guide
• List of woods
• Puncture Critical Table
• Sighting
• Missile Weapons, on Play.net
• Officials folder
• The Archery Haven guide, on Archeryhaven.com
• QRS Script, on GSGuide.net