Guild Wars 2

While i use longbow in PvE and WvW i normally use axe or shortbow in PvP as the maps feel more cramped and the longbow is better the further away you are.
Would it hamper me to a noticeable degree or should i stick with the other weapons for PvP?

Longbow viable for ANYTHING? No. But neither are our other weapons.

I suppose longbow is the most decent weapon we have for zerg WvW action, as it has an AoE. But that’s about it.

Yes, longbow can be viable for PvP. More so in W3 than sPvP. The trick is to use it as a control weapon instead of a pure damage weapon. It excels as a control weapon.

It’s unfortunate that so many Rangers don’t understand the benefits of the longbow.

Hunter’s Shot provides an excellent support benefit by increasing the damage a target takes by 10% (15% if you have Opening Strikes). Your pet also gets into range quicker, which can be incredibly beneficial if you’re using a canine pet that can add extra CC.

Point Blank Shot is really awesome in combination with Barrage. Lay down your Barrage ahead of your target for the cripple effect, then knock them back into the Barrage again for extra cripple duration and damage.

With the trait to lower the cooldowns on bow abilities, you can provide pretty good area denial, especially in combination with traps and Piercing Arrows.

The “pew pew” crowd looks at the longbow and sees a bad weapon. Smart players look at it and see an excellent tool.

Hunter shot is good in big boss dragon … beacause he take 10% more X50 peapol 500% so good attack so in pvp 1 target is useless…add 4 sec snare is good for this attack no? we need wait update

Long bow is almost all I use. With the 20% faster timers, I kill in wvw almost anyone I come up against..Im not as good with it in PvP but I dont PvP a lot so it just may be a talent thing lol

I don’t like SB so LB is all i use combined with GS as melee weapon
might not be the best but its far from bad weapon and i do just fine with it

30/30/10/0/0 btw

1500 yard range in WvWvW is a huge advantage with the LB. Sharping Stone + Barrage at 1500 is very effective.

I use SB/LB in sPvP as well. People stack on the control points, being able to run up and AoE 5ppl at once is nice.

The only way 1500 range would be an advantage on a longbow is if the person you are shooting it at is AFK.

I believe the OP is asking about Longbow’s viability specifically in sPvP, he says he already uses it in WvW and PvE. I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a decent Ranger running longbow in sPvP, your opponents will close the gap with you really quickly making it a very weak weapon in terms of damage, while it doesn’t offer the same defensive advantages as other weapons. I suppose you could slot it as a secondary weapon for quickened barrages over capture points and the occasional knockback, but I personally find other options to be far more effective in this context. Keep in mind that if shortbow is your main weapon in sPvP you might want to consider traiting for condition damage, making longbow even weaker as a secondary weapon in comparison to mainhand axe or sword, or even greatsword. Longbow definitely has its advantages in WvW and PvE though.

Daemon.4295:

I believe the OP is asking about Longbow’s viability specifically in sPvP, he says he already uses it in WvW and PvE. I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a decent Ranger running longbow in sPvP, your opponents will close the gap with you really quickly making it a very weak weapon in terms of damage, while it doesn’t offer the same defensive advantages as other weapons. I suppose you could slot it as a secondary weapon for quickened barrages over capture points and the occasional knockback, but I personally find other options to be far more effective in this context. Keep in mind that if shortbow is your main weapon in sPvP you might want to consider traiting for condition damage, making longbow even weaker as a secondary weapon in comparison to mainhand axe or sword, or even greatsword. Longbow definitely has its advantages in WvW and PvE though.

The longbow definitely isn’t as effective in sPvP as it is in PvE and W3, but it can be used pretty effectively.

It’s really great when used in combination with other professions that can lay down massive AoE (Elementalists and some Necros) as you can use Barrage to keep the area being bombarded crippled.

It’s not a fantastic one on one weapon. It’s great in group situations.

Longbow #1 fires more slowly than it should, so it really breaks the set. This is true for Longbows and Pistols across professions.

nldixon.8514:

Daemon.4295:

I believe the OP is asking about Longbow’s viability specifically in sPvP, he says he already uses it in WvW and PvE. I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a decent Ranger running longbow in sPvP, your opponents will close the gap with you really quickly making it a very weak weapon in terms of damage, while it doesn’t offer the same defensive advantages as other weapons. I suppose you could slot it as a secondary weapon for quickened barrages over capture points and the occasional knockback, but I personally find other options to be far more effective in this context. Keep in mind that if shortbow is your main weapon in sPvP you might want to consider traiting for condition damage, making longbow even weaker as a secondary weapon in comparison to mainhand axe or sword, or even greatsword. Longbow definitely has its advantages in WvW and PvE though.

The longbow definitely isn’t as effective in sPvP as it is in PvE and W3, but it can be used pretty effectively.

It’s really great when used in combination with other professions that can lay down massive AoE (Elementalists and some Necros) as you can use Barrage to keep the area being bombarded crippled.

It’s not a fantastic one on one weapon. It’s great in group situations.

I definitely see what you’re saying, I just find Longbow inferior to Shortbow in terms of both damage and control in sPVP, while as a secondary weapon I personally would choose either Greatsword for its defensive skills or Axe/Warhorn for the superior damage and chill. Basically, if I’m switching out of Shortbow in sPvP it’s usually because my opponent has managed to get into melee range and I need to struggle to survive, I don’t feel like I have the luxury of slotting a secondary weapon for its AoE.

Daemon.4295:

nldixon.8514:

Daemon.4295:

I believe the OP is asking about Longbow’s viability specifically in sPvP, he says he already uses it in WvW and PvE. I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a decent Ranger running longbow in sPvP, your opponents will close the gap with you really quickly making it a very weak weapon in terms of damage, while it doesn’t offer the same defensive advantages as other weapons. I suppose you could slot it as a secondary weapon for quickened barrages over capture points and the occasional knockback, but I personally find other options to be far more effective in this context. Keep in mind that if shortbow is your main weapon in sPvP you might want to consider traiting for condition damage, making longbow even weaker as a secondary weapon in comparison to mainhand axe or sword, or even greatsword. Longbow definitely has its advantages in WvW and PvE though.

The longbow definitely isn’t as effective in sPvP as it is in PvE and W3, but it can be used pretty effectively.

It’s really great when used in combination with other professions that can lay down massive AoE (Elementalists and some Necros) as you can use Barrage to keep the area being bombarded crippled.

It’s not a fantastic one on one weapon. It’s great in group situations.

I definitely see what you’re saying, I just find Longbow inferior to Shortbow in terms of both damage and control in sPVP, while as a secondary weapon I personally would choose either Greatsword for its defensive skills or Axe/Warhorn for the superior damage and chill. Basically, if I’m switching out of Shortbow in sPvP it’s usually because my opponent has managed to get into melee range and I need to struggle to survive, I don’t feel like I have the luxury of slotting a secondary weapon for its AoE.

Yeah, that’s the main problem with longbow. Outside of some VERY specific one on one situations, the shortbow is almost always better for a one on one.

I ran shortbow and longbow for a while and it wasn’t too bad, but I definitely missed having the defensive tools of a greatsword or a sword/dagger.