Art of the Bow (guide)

Gemstone IV Archery Guide

“The Art of the Bow” By Nuadjha kis'Anthri, the Briar Fox

Written February 2010

This guide aims to introduce a new archer to the range of options included in archery in GemStone IV and to provide him or her some of the basic info that goes in to making a decision in terms of weapon choice and character build, all with an eye toward long-term character viability. Ideally, the information contained within it will also be of use to more experienced archers who would like to double check damage-factor and crit-rank tables or simply expand their own knowledge. The guide breaks down into several parts:

Basic Mechanics

Bows and crossbows require ammunition, which can either be purchased at bowyer's shop, bought from other players, or made by the archer (see Fletching). Many people find ammunition to be the most irritating of the requirements for archery and the requirement turns many people off. Done properly, however, it's a very simple adjustment. For additional information, see the AIM and FIRE commands in the game.

You may hold your bow in either hand, though the game will automatically place it in your left hand (if it's free) if you use the READY and UNSHEATHE verbs.

Commands:
For Bows:

To get an arrow from a bundle:
>Get 1 my arrow from my (container) (or get 1 my (adjective) arrow from my container), Ex. Get 1 my faewood arrow from my quiver

To aim at a body part:
>aim (body part) – Ex. Aim right eye.

To fire:
>fire (creature), Ex. Fire third orc

To retrieve arrows on the ground:
>gather (arrows), Ex. Gather faewood arrows

For Crossbows:
Crossbows require two extra steps beyond bows. You must also COCK the crossbow and LOAD the bolt into the crossbow.

Macros:
Some simple macros or scripts can make your life much easier.

Example Macro:
>Get 1 my faewood arrow\r fire\r

This macro will get and fire one arrow at an already targeted creature or the first in attack order in the room. You'd only have to hit F1 or the designated key to activate it.

Example Script:
Put aim right eye
Put get 1 my faewood arrow from my quiver
Put fire %1

This script would aim for the right eye, get an arrow, and fire at the creature you designate in the command line. Ex: .reye orc would fire an arrow at the orc's right eye.

Bows vs. Crossbows

Bows and crossbows come in two categories and five types: short bow, composite bow, long bow, light crossbow and heavy crossbow. Each has its advantages, though most experienced archers prefer the long bow. The basic rule is that the lighter the bow, the faster it fires and the weaker its damage factor (DF), which means that it doesn't do as much damage when it hits. This rule can get complicated, though, because the GS combat system takes into account a number of factors, including the type of bow, the target's armor, the target's natural critical or damage padding (if any), and your Dexterity Bonus (for critical weighting – see Ranged AS). Though crossbows are slower in most cases than bows, they add a +30 AS when fired while kneeling. Many people keep a couple cocked and loaded as backups, even if they normally use a bow. See the tables below for detailed information on calculating damage based on bow type, armor and wound location.

Base weapon weights (courtesy of Mark):

Bows (short, composite, long): 3 pounds Light crossbow: 8 pounds Heavy crossbow: 12 pounds

Another note on weights: In addition to the weights above, a bundle of 100 arrows weighs 10lbs. However, warrior sheaths weigh .5lbs and can hold up to five weapons, reducing their weights by 2lbs each. If you use a warrior-made quiver, you can carry a 3lb bow and four bundles of 20 arrows (2lbs each) at 1.5lbs of encumbrance (.5 quiver weight, 1lb bow weight. With a 2lb bow, you can drop that to the sheath weight alone). If encumbrance is an issue for your character, you might use this method. Props go to Droit for realizing the utility of warrior sheaths for this purpose.

Firing Times

Bows:

Name	Base RT
short bows	5 seconds
composite bows	6 seconds
long bows	7 seconds

Crossbows:

• Cocking time – varies depending on character Strength, wounds, and position (lying, standing, etc.)
  
• Firing time – 2 seconds

The Base RT of a firing time is modified by character Strength Bonus and Strength spells and enhancives. For each 10 STR Bonus, 1 second is deducted from the firing RT. If an archer aims, this adds one second, and if an archer fires from hiding, this adds another second.

Example:
Nuadjha has a STR bonus of 25 and as a ranger uses Phoen's Strength (+10 Strength Bonus). This combination produces a STR Bonus of 35. With Wizard Strength (509), he can add another +15 STR Bonus and have a total Bonus of +50, which reduces his firing time by 5 seconds.

A STR Bonus of 50 produces these times for a longbow (base 7 seconds). Minimum RT is 3 seconds:

Open unaimed	3 seconds	7 - 5 is 2, but the minimum RT is 3
Open aimed	3 seconds	8 - 5
Hiding unaimed	3 seconds	8 - 5
Hiding aimed	4 seconds	9 - 5

Aiming:
The basic rule here is that the smaller target, the harder it is to hit. A young archer will have great difficulty hitting anything, much less the smallest targets, like the eyes. Experienced archers will almost always aim for the eyes because of the low fatal crit rank threshold (rank 4 – see below), but younger archers will have better luck aiming for a leg, knocking the creature down, and then aiming for the neck or eyes.

Aiming from the open relies solely on the Perception Skill, while aiming from hiding relies on the Perception and Ambush skills.

Sighting:
Sighting is the ranged version of critical weighting. It follows the same scale as crit and damage weighting (i.e. 10 points is “heavy” sighting). Unlike critical weighting, however, sighting helps you hit your targets rather than increasing the crit rank of a wound.

Naturally sighted woods:

• yew – somewhat
• ipantor - decent
• sephwir – heavy

Puncture Damage and Fatal Crit Thresholds

DF Table

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

Armor Crit Divisors

ASG	AG	AG Name	Armor Name	Coverage	Crit Divisor
1	1	Clothing	Robes	TALH	5
5	2	Leather	Light Leather	T	6
6	2	Leather	Full Leather	TA	6
7	2	Leather	Reinforced Leather	TAL	6
8	2	Leather	Double Leather	TALH	6
9	3	Scale	Leather Breastplate	T	7
10	3	Scales	Cuirbouilli Leather	TA	7
11	3	Scale	Studded Leather	TAL	7
12	3	Scale	Brigandine	TALH	7
13	4	Chain	Chainmail	T	9
14	4	Chain	Double Chain Mail	TA	9
15	4	Chain	Augmented Chain Mail	TAL	9
16	4	Chain	Chain Hauberk	TALH	9
17	5	Plate	Metal Breastplate	T	11
18	5	PLate	Augmented Breastplate	TA	11
19	5	Plate	Half-Plate Armor	TAL	11
20	5	Plate	Plate Mail Armor	TALH	11

AsG – Armor Sub Group
AG – Armor Group
Coverage – Torso, Arms, Legs, Head
Crit Divisor – The amount of damage needed to achieve each critical rank (see crit tables)

Fatal Thresholds for Puncture Criticals:
Eye: 4
Eye: 4
Head: 6
Neck: 6
Chest: 8
Back: 8
Abs: 8

See the Appendix for a full puncture critical table.

Puncture Immune and Resistant Creatures

Some creatures in Gemstone still work on an older model (referred to now as pre-BCS – Basic Creature System). Of these creatures, a handful are immune to puncture damage, and as a result they can be an archer's bane. Examples are nightmare steeds, bone golems, and vaespilons. Most are undead. These creatures are slowly being updated to the BCS, which replaces puncture immunity with puncture resistance, which without going into mechanics, simply means that archers will hurt them, but not a lot. As a result of puncture immune and resistant creatures, some archers train in a supplemental hunting method – either another melee weapon or magic. One of the most popular builds of late is the Voln Fu Archer, since the two skills nicely complement each other and have similar requirements in terms of training. The major difference in that path is that an archer will also have to train in Brawling (see Sample Builds below). Others simply ignore these creatures, of which there aren't many.

Open Aiming vs. Sniping

The basic choice of an archer's existence is whether to be an open archer or a sniper. Open archers aim and fire without hiding, which has the advantage of speed but exposes the archer to injury. Snipers fire from hiding, which adds RT but can protect the archer. The open archery path requires significantly fewer Training Points, and most archers toward cap prefer it for its speed. However, some characters, whether because of their individual hunting style, level, or roleplay, do prefer to snipe. Sniping is one of the most effective CvC styles in the game, if that's your style. If sniping, train in as much hiding as possible, because some creatures are very perceptive, especially animals and the undead. If one is fighting an undead animal, then hiding may be very difficult. The more you train in hiding, the better your chances of staying hidden while you fire, as well.

Ranged AS and DS

Ranged AS and DS are the meat and potatoes of archery. The equation for Ranged AS is fairly simple and well known, but the equation for Ranged DS is complicated and not entirely discovered. For the nitty-gritty details, see below, but if that information is too arcane, the basics are these: For AS, train ranged skill, ambush and perception (each to 2x). For DS, train ranged skill, perception (diminishing returns after 2x), and dodge. Armor and bow enchant add directly to DS, just as bow and arrow enchants (up to 10x combined) add to AS.

The Nitty-Gritty:

The information below is borrowed from Asrial's research posted on the Player's Corner Forum in June 2009, with some edits made to simply it. For the original post, see: http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?t=43815 It is a tentative equation.

Ranged AS: DEX Bonus + Bow/Arrow Enchant (+50 max) + Ranged Skill + ((Ambush ranks – 40/4) + Perception ranks – 40/4)) + Spell effects (211, 215, Warcry, 1606, 425, etc.)

Ranged DS: Dodge DS + Ranged DS + Bow enchant + Armor Enchant + Spell effects

Dodge DS: ORDER OF OPERATIONS: base -> armor modifications -> shield modifications (2 different ones) -> stance modifications -> final result (for melee) -> ranged bonus

BASE: dodge ranks + agility bonus + (TRUNC(intuition bonus / 4))

ARMOR MODIFICATIONS: ((TRUNC(maneuver penalty / 2)) + 100) / 100

SHIELD MODIFICATIONS: ((X + 100) / 100)

X = -22 if small, -30 if medium, -38 if large, -46 if tower

FIRST SET: TRUNC(TRUNC(base * armor modifications) * shield modifications) + Y

Y = -5 if large, -10 if tower, 0 if small/medium/rangedattack

STANCE MODIFICATIONS: (75 + (Z / 4)) / 100

Z = 0 if offensive, 20 if advance, 40 if forward, 60 if neutral, 80 if guarded, 100 if defensive

Melee DS = TRUNC(first set * stance modifications)

Ranged DS = TRUNC((melee DS * 1.5) + .5)

MANEUVER PENALTY NOTES: The maneuver penalty, as it pertains to evade DS, is based on the '.5 training rounds up' thought (IE: 130 armor bonus / 20 = 6.5 which rounds up to 7 RT removal). The maneuver penalty becomes worse if you're under trained, but it is not a set loss of DS so someone 1 rank under penalty removal (5.5 in my example) will have a smaller hit than someone 2+ ranks under.

RANGED DS NOTES: This formula has been extensively tested against melee attacks, but not as much with ranged attacks. However, given the influence ranged has on the formula, I can't imagine there being a difference in the results of moderate testing vs. extensive testing.

ARMOR ENCHANT NOTES: This is probably the best location to add armor enchant (1:1 ratio) to DS determination. This goes for any items that add DS and aren't a weapon or a shield (since you can nullify parry/shield DS, but you can't nullify evade DS even with 0 ranks in dodge). Be aware that you can't nullify shield enchant (or the natural +20 DS it has).

STANCE/2 NOTES: I have long felt that the STANCE/2 part of the parry DS formula is better represented here, as the only time it's nullified is when you're attacked by a ranged weapon and you're wielding a weapon that YOU'RE TRAINED FOR (see note in above post for explanation).

Spells that improve attempts to Dodge include Mobility, Mass Blur, Elemental Refraction, and Song of Mirrors.

Ranged DS:

Ranged DS = TRUNC((ranged SKILL + perception RANKS) * stance modifier)

OFFENSIVE BOW = .15
ADVANCE BOW = .21
FORWARD BOW = .27
NEUTRAL BOW = .33
GUARDED BOW = .39
DEFENSIVE BOW = .45

OFFENSIVE CROSSBOW = .12
ADVANCE CROSSBOW = .17
FORWARD CROSSBOW = .22
NEUTRAL CROSSBOW = .27
GUARDED CROSSBOW = .32
DEFENSIVE CROSSBOW = .37

NOTES: Notice the SKILL/RANKS emphasis. This formula is 100% accurate for ranged skill, but every so often is +1 DS off when adding perception ranks (no more than +1). Further, the formula slows down when you're at 2x+ perception. You also need 1 rank of ranged to activate the formula (including receiving the DS of the bow/crossbow enchant).

BOW ENCHANT DS: Bow/crossbow enchant is added on a 1:1 ratio irregardless of stance (except against a ranged attack).

CROSSBOW PENALTY: Crossbows have a DS penalty of ~20% even while standing. This loss applies only to ranged/perception DS in the form of a smaller stance modifier.

Modifying Skills and Spells

A large variety of skills and spells can effect archery, but some of the basic ones are:

• Surge of Strength (a combat maneuver): Helps reduce firing time by temporarily increasing STR Bonus
  
• Shadow Mastery (a combat maneuver): Reduces stalking and hiding time and adds bonuses to hiding. SM will also allow a ranger using *Camouflage (608) to retain some of the AS bonus when sneaking.
  
• Phoen's Strength (606): Reduces firing time by increasing STR Bonus by +10
  
• Strength (509): Reduces firing time by increasing STR Bonus by +15
  
• Camouflage (608): Instant hide and +30 AS for one attack. With sufficient hiding skill, an archer can stay hidden with a constant +30 AS bonus.
  
• Self Control (613): Adds bonuses to aiming
  
• Sneaking (617): Adds bonuses to hiding (increased with Blessings Lore)
  
• Presence (402): Adds a bonus to aiming
  
• Disarm Enhancement (404): Adds a bonus to aiming
  

Animal Companion (630): Animal companions (available to advanced rangers) have a Guard command that generally lets them guard the ranger for up to -25 AS/+25 DS. With ranged (and thrown) weapons, there is no AS penalty.

Fletching

An archer has the capability to make his or her own arrows with a natural +5 bonus after mastering the artisan skill of fletching. The advantage of such arrows is that one can use faewood (natural 4x) to make 5x blessed arrows. With a 5x bow, an archer is at the maximum +50 AS. Many archers find it simpler to avoid undead creatures and use a 6x bow with ebladed (+20 flaring) ordinary arrows for a flaring +50 weapon, however. For comprehensive information on this ability, see:

Fletching on Krakiipedia: http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Fletching
Nephrenia's Guide to Fletching: http://www.dm.net/~aldamus/Mentors/G.../fletching.htm

Sample Builds

Sniping Rogue

• 2x ranged
• 2x to 3x Perception
• 2x Ambush
• 1x to 2x CM (incl. Surge of Strength)
• 2x to 3x Dodging
• 3x Stalking and Hiding

Hasted Wizard

• 1x ranged
• 2x Perception
• DS is provided by spells and Haste (506) allows deep RT reductions

Voln Fu Archer Ranger

• 2x ranged
• 2x Brawling
• 2x Perception
• 1x Dodging
• 1x to 2x Ambush

Thanks

Thanks go to Droit, Asrial, Mark/Riltus, and WaywardGS for suggestions and corrections, and to AMUSED1 (PC) for the laborious task of posting the guide on Krakiipedia.