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 giantkin 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.

Damage Factors

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	35/180
	AvD	20	27	26	25	24	20	18	16	14	31	27	23	19	27	21	15	9
Composite bow	DF	.350	.325				.350				.275				.150				6	3	Puncture	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	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				2	2	Puncture	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				2	2	Puncture	60/315
	AvD	30	36	35	34	33	31	29	27	25	46	42	38	34	40	34	28	22

References

• http://www.play.net/gs4/info/armory/missileweapons.asp - Offical website and guide
• http://gs4sorcerer.com - QRS script