Guild Wars 2

I realize this is a common question and is ask far to much, but is Shortbow better in “General” than the Longbow, what I mean by in General is I’m not asking does it deal more damage, but is it better for general use as an overall main weapon choice. I’ve been running with a Longbow pretty much the whole time, just because I like the look of the bigger bow, and I do Archery in real life so Longbow feels more realistic and at home to me.

Also if I go with a Shortbow would going Power/Crit still be effective? Or does the Shortbow force me to make condition build to utilize the Shortbows skills more effectively?

Also which is better for PvP, I hear a lot of people say Shortbow is best at PvP but most Rangers I see are using Longbow in PvP

First let me say this:
Shortbow is better at power/crit builds than longbow. Sb deals more damage, no need to worry about what range you’re in and you can proc on crit stuff better.

Sb has built in evade, which is cool. And better than a push the lb has.

Sb has poison, which reduces the amount your for is healing (good for pvp).

Lb has AoE, but just
pick “Piercing Arrows” trait and your sb is now an AoE machine.

For pvp just use sb. It’s way better than a lb.

Aesthetically I would pick lb. I hate how small all shortbows are. I’m glad my Living Shortbow skin isn’t that small (well it looks bigger then most).

Don’t listen to sweet lily, they know not what they say.

Shortbow is better at close range, longbow is better at long range, at long range just pressing the 1 skill pumps out as much damage as the shortbow can WITH its bleed, throw in hunters shot and rapid fire as well and you stomp the shortbows damage output all from 1200yds away and them turning around doesn’t completely negate your damage.

As an overall weapon though, it depends on what you’re going for. If you want a skirmishy condi + physical damage weapon then shortbow is your man, if you wanna support your allies and control the battlefield from afar (or just be a giant kitten blocker to your enemies at close range with your PBS) then the longbow is your bow choice.

I personally use the longbow for both Aesthetic and Playstyle choice because the longbow just gives me so much more control and ways to prevent people from doing what they want to do, Shortbow does have some nice skills granted, but they’re just not for me. And frankly, when you’re a BM build, being able to make your pet (and any other ally) do 10% more damage to a target is pretty awesome.

PS: They’re both balanced, they just both fill their own niche.

@Lily, yeah but if we’re putting piercing arrows into this then longbow has even more AoE, including an AoE KB, and AoE 15 stacks of vuln on your opening strike (hunters shot tends to be the opener for LB), which is a lot better than a bleed on anyone who had their back turned and a cripple, because face it, concussion shots CD is terrible compared to PBS.

It’s funny how people that have no clue about Ranger like lily still think shortbow is stronger than everything.

Longbow does way more damage in WvW and PvE, it’s raw power with aoe. You can trait it to have 1500 range.
Shortbow got a huge speed nerf some time ago and its damage is laughable. The only thing you use it for is condition builds, which only work in sPvP.

I don’t know what you mean with pvp, but i can assure you that nobody runs longbow in spvp because thats dumb.

It’s just situational. Pve + WvW, longbow. sPvP + tPvP, shortbow. It’s as easy as that but it takes the people 4-5 months to still not realize that.

Btw I don’t think sb is stronger than anything else. 1h sword is. Lots of dmg and fast attack speed. But there is a downside to it, melee range=danger zone.

And dudes, sb out-dps’ lb even in power/crit builds. Oh and guess what. You get all those bleeds + poison as a bonus dmg. You just look at Shortbows skills and see only conditions, which makes you think:“Oh, ok, so this is a condition build weapon”. And the speed nerf? It reduced shortbows dmg by 7% (according to Anet), which isn’t even enough to lose to lb in dps. You just see high numbers, but its the overall dmg that counts.

Last thing I’ll say:
I’m not saying you can’t use LB, use it if you prefer it. The margin in dmg is really really small. Personally I dislike the weapon, but I still carry one in my bag all the time.

Or you can be a sucker for punishment like me and run….WAIT FOR IT….BOTH BOWS!

Both have their strengths honestly. Like you, I ran with LB essentially the entire time I leveled my character. I’ve morphed into more WvW-focused, and the LB was really awesome for running in groups for siege. However … outside of siege, I felt really gimped. Anytime I needed to 1v1 or skirmish in small groups I just wanted a different feel – to be able to get in and out of melee range on both weapon sets. But contrary to what some say, both can be viable in WvW and PvE – it’s a playstyle choice.

Anyway now I run SB / Axe + Horn in WvW primarily, and toss my LB on during sieges for Barrage, etc. And I find I’m enjoying the SB build for PvE as well – and I never thought I’d stray away from LB. I also agree that I like the LB’s looks and animations better though, but, oh well. =)

Durzlla.6295:

Don’t listen to sweet lily, they know not what they say.

Shortbow is better at close range, longbow is better at long range, at long range just pressing the 1 skill pumps out as much damage as the shortbow can WITH its bleed

When was this? I picked up the game over Thanksgiving and had the same question. So in December I went to the test golems in the Mists with both PvP bows and a stopwatch. SB was hands down better.

Ok, I just went to the Mists again and retested on a heavy golem. Using vanilla LB and SB at max range with 30/30/10/0/0 build, and 20% faster bow skill recharge:

LB auto-attack only: 20 sec (18-21 sec variance)
SB auto-attack only: 19 sec (18-20 sec variance)

LB #3, #2, then #1: 19 sec (18-21 sec variance)
LB #2, #2, #1, #3, #1: 17 sec (16-19 sec variance)
SB w/ bleed: 12 sec (11-12 sec variance)

The animation delays pretty much cancel out most of the benefit of using the LB #2 and #3 skills (though #3 is still useful in a group).

Also note that due to the bug of auto-attack not working at extreme range even though the weapon is in range, the distance where LB does max damage but will still auto-attack is rather narrow. You pretty much have to get the increased LB range trait to make it viable.

So:
worst-case LB is worse than worst-case SB
best-case LB is barely better than worst-case SB
best-case LB is far worse than best-case SB
And SB is easier to use (just leave it on auto-attack)

My Sweet Lily.1952:

Btw I don’t think sb is stronger than anything else. 1h sword is. Lots of dmg and fast attack speed. But there is a downside to it, melee range=danger zone.

I tested the 1h sword too on the heavy golem with the same build. Average kill time was 13 sec. So the SB is actually slightly better.

Where the 1h sword shines is when fighting multiple mobs clummped up.

LB has one useful skill. SB has 1.5, so see for yourself.

SB at melee range w/ poison opener: 10-11 sec

Unless you happen to play exclusively with people who stand still at optimum range with their flanks exposed, the mathcraft is worth kittenpoop.

Try them both and decide for yourself. Asking a forum for a definitive ‘better’ weapon in a game where weapon choice was designed to be a matter of taste is a massive waste of the internet’s bandwidth, especially if it’s been asked thousands of times already.

I don’t like the longbow because it only does optimal damage at range. Standing way far away from the enemy makes pets and pet swaps useless. As a BM ranger, I stay very close to my targets so my pets can attack right away after swaps. Usually at range of 150-600. You’d be surprised how long it takes some people to realize a ranger is standing right behind them, point blank, unloading a shortbow into them.

What it comes down to is versatility of skills, in other words, the two have similar, if not the same, damage output. I’ve used longbow for the majority of my gaming time, and found that longbow is horrible 1v1: its slow, clunky, and only really good at burst damage at a distance.
Shortbow on the other hand is great for close encounters, since it has more cc and maneuverability built in, but it doesn’t do any more damage, and potentially even less damage than longbow.

All in all, I would say use longbow for WvW (great for defending/assaulting keeps), and use shortbow in PvE or sPvP.

Durzlla.6295:

Don’t listen to sweet lily, they know not what they say.

Shortbow is better at close range, longbow is better at long range, at long range just pressing the 1 skill pumps out as much damage as the shortbow can WITH its bleed, throw in hunters shot and rapid fire as well and you stomp the shortbows damage output all from 1200yds away and them turning around doesn’t completely negate your damage.

As an overall weapon though, it depends on what you’re going for. If you want a skirmishy condi + physical damage weapon then shortbow is your man, if you wanna support your allies and control the battlefield from afar (or just be a giant kitten blocker to your enemies at close range with your PBS) then the longbow is your bow choice.

I personally use the longbow for both Aesthetic and Playstyle choice because the longbow just gives me so much more control and ways to prevent people from doing what they want to do, Shortbow does have some nice skills granted, but they’re just not for me. And frankly, when you’re a BM build, being able to make your pet (and any other ally) do 10% more damage to a target is pretty awesome.

PS: They’re both balanced, they just both fill their own niche.

@Lily, yeah but if we’re putting piercing arrows into this then longbow has even more AoE, including an AoE KB, and AoE 15 stacks of vuln on your opening strike (hunters shot tends to be the opener for LB), which is a lot better than a bleed on anyone who had their back turned and a cripple, because face it, concussion shots CD is terrible compared to PBS.

Don’t listen to Durzlla, he honestly don’t know what he speak… I have been playing ranger for 1,800 hours hes my main and pretty much only thing I play. I have personally not picked up a longbow since beta because the longbow is by far the worst weapon a ranger can have in his hands, its super easy to evade and shoots at half the speed of smell. Shortbow is by far the better way to go because you shoot faster and hit your target alot easier. People are learning to dodge when a ranger uses rapid fire and to just evade any direction when barrage starts coming down. I would only recommend if you ever use longbow it be in pve where your foe doesn’t know how to dodge.

I tend to run LB/SB in wvw, s/h and sb (or LB) in pve.

Traited LB in wvw is awesome, but switching between bows and knowing how to play and what skills to use when is crucial.

I had to level another ranger to 80 just as I wanted the charr racial skill for the 6 seconds and stuff to combine with qz and throw out a barrage- it’s quite effective:-)

As I have said before, it really depends on your play style and where you are, but I usually don’t have much problems 1v1 against most classes in wvw. If a thief gets the jump on me then there is sod all you can do anyway when he hits 6-8k steal and 8k cnd and you can’t see him so I don’t bother building for them, even though I spend a lot of time soloing camps, etc as for some reason we lack thiefs who realise they can be useful in killing dolyaks and taking camps.

Against d/d thiefs if u can see them , hit LB 3 followed by 2, skill 2 will track them and still hit them in stealth and if they are glass cannon they are forced to use their stealth bubble, whack that barrage on it st8 away and when stealth ends you’ll see a downed thief:-)

Main problem with ranger attacks is ’block’’obstructed’’evaded’’missed’ happens way too often in wvw- even your own pet can obstruct your damage! Which is a reason for going melee…

For WVWVW go long bow, its way better than a short bow. Soloing, small groups and zergs included.

You just can’t beat the burst on long range shot in addition to vulnerability and the extra range.

Casey.9687:

Durzlla.6295:

Don’t listen to sweet lily, they know not what they say.

Shortbow is better at close range, longbow is better at long range, at long range just pressing the 1 skill pumps out as much damage as the shortbow can WITH its bleed, throw in hunters shot and rapid fire as well and you stomp the shortbows damage output all from 1200yds away and them turning around doesn’t completely negate your damage.

As an overall weapon though, it depends on what you’re going for. If you want a skirmishy condi + physical damage weapon then shortbow is your man, if you wanna support your allies and control the battlefield from afar (or just be a giant kitten blocker to your enemies at close range with your PBS) then the longbow is your bow choice.

I personally use the longbow for both Aesthetic and Playstyle choice because the longbow just gives me so much more control and ways to prevent people from doing what they want to do, Shortbow does have some nice skills granted, but they’re just not for me. And frankly, when you’re a BM build, being able to make your pet (and any other ally) do 10% more damage to a target is pretty awesome.

PS: They’re both balanced, they just both fill their own niche.

@Lily, yeah but if we’re putting piercing arrows into this then longbow has even more AoE, including an AoE KB, and AoE 15 stacks of vuln on your opening strike (hunters shot tends to be the opener for LB), which is a lot better than a bleed on anyone who had their back turned and a cripple, because face it, concussion shots CD is terrible compared to PBS.

Don’t listen to Durzlla, he honestly don’t know what he speak… I have been playing ranger for 1,800 hours hes my main and pretty much only thing I play. I have personally not picked up a longbow since beta because the longbow is by far the worst weapon a ranger can have in his hands, its super easy to evade and shoots at half the speed of smell. Shortbow is by far the better way to go because you shoot faster and hit your target alot easier. People are learning to dodge when a ranger uses rapid fire and to just evade any direction when barrage starts coming down. I would only recommend if you ever use longbow it be in pve where your foe doesn’t know how to dodge.

I know people dodge when i use rapid fire, it’s awesome, i get them to waste all their dodge to avoid a skill they really shouldn’t be DODGING on because it evades 2 of the shots at best, then i can plop em with entangle and roflmao as my kitty rips their kittening face off because they’re not able to move.

Longbow is amazing for manipulation and crowd control, shortbow is not, this is why i use longbow, not to mention i get my full damage at super range where if you try that with a shortbow all they have to do is turn around and boom, there goes your bonus.

racta.4250:

For WVWVW go long bow, its way better than a short bow. Soloing, small groups and zergs included.

You just can’t beat the burst on long range shot in addition to vulnerability and the extra range.

Soloing small groups and zergs? ummm no unless your shooting a group of lvl 2’s freshly made then maaaybe but no your Longbow cannot do this. Longbow is the worst damage weapon unless your shooting new players who don’t know how to move what so ever. If your out to just hunt them new players which really isn’t all that great of sportsmanship then by all means take the longbow but if you want somthing to actually help against the average and hardcore player you need your shortbow.

Casey.9687:

racta.4250:

For WVWVW go long bow, its way better than a short bow. Soloing, small groups and zergs included.

You just can’t beat the burst on long range shot in addition to vulnerability and the extra range.

Soloing small groups and zergs? ummm no unless your shooting a group of lvl 2’s freshly made then maaaybe but no your Longbow cannot do this. Longbow is the worst damage weapon unless your shooting new players who don’t know how to move what so ever. If your out to just hunt them new players which really isn’t all that great of sportsmanship then by all means take the longbow but if you want somthing to actually help against the average and hardcore player you need your shortbow.

longbow isn’t worst damage, at the furthest range you’re not supposed to use rapid fire you use #3, and #1 and that’ll get you max damage because of how much damage it can hit for at top end range, people have tested this. Does the longbow shoot as fast? No, but that’s not a disadvantage, if anything that’s an advantage. ESPECIALLY against something that puts up a lot of retaliation and confusion.

And what happens when the foe runs to you? No more max range max dmg.
Could I pls see your LB build for dungeons Durzlla, I really want to know if it can out-dps my sb build.

My Sweet Lily.1952:

And what happens when the foe runs to you? No more max range max dmg.
Could I pls see your LB build for dungeons Durzlla, I really want to know if it can out-dps my sb build.

Well my damage comes from my pet, so i can out dps your shortbow build with the change of one utility skill slot, or are you able to burst someone down in 3s? That being said, i can’t go around out dpsing your bow using my bow alone with the current build i’m running, that’d be like comparing my pet to your pet.

EDIT: When the foe runs to me i use rapid fire + barrage and swap to my sword, because they took the liberty to come dance with me, and then when the CD on swapping is gone i can disengage with hornets sting and continue my assault from range.

I see a LOT of people discussing LB and max range like it’s some kind of OP heavenly weapon. Guess what? How often are you shooting at max range in PvE? How often in WvW? Unless you are standing on castle walls and the enemy is foolishly standing still and at max range..you simply WILL NOT be getting max dps with it.

They both have their uses, but I find that SB is much more useful as whole in both PvE and WvW(hardly ever at max range, moving constantly, don’t like to stand on the walls, etc). Totally depends on your playstyle, but to blanketstatement that SB is “bad” or only for condition builds…lol, sorry you don’t know the class well.

Also, if you don’t believe us SB users who discuss dps, go do the tests yourself/read the other tests done MULTIPLE times in the past: SB auto outdamages LB 90% of the time.

somsom.5201:

I see a LOT of people discussing LB and max range like it’s some kind of OP heavenly weapon. Guess what? How often are you shooting at max range in PvE? How often in WvW? Unless you are standing on castle walls and the enemy is foolishly standing still and at max range..you simply WILL NOT be getting max dps with it.

They both have their uses, but I find that SB is much more useful as whole in both PvE and WvW(hardly ever at max range, moving constantly, don’t like to stand on the walls, etc). Totally depends on your playstyle, but to blanketstatement that SB is “bad” or only for condition builds…lol, sorry you don’t know the class well.

Also, if you don’t believe us SB users who discuss dps, go do the tests yourself/read the other tests done MULTIPLE times in the past: SB auto outdamages LB 90% of the time.

Until you throw barrage in the mix, then the LB wins, because if you haven’t noticed the LB isn’t to far behind shortbow in ANY of the tests.

And the real question is against what competent opponent are you going to ever be flanking for a long period of time? You wont, you’ll get a handful of shots off tops, a longbow you can keep them at range (in your kill zone) a lot longer than you can stay behind someone especially if you use spike/frost trap, muddy terrain, LR, and a sword.

@Casey, i meant LB for soloing. LB for small group fights. LB for zerg fights. not soling zergs.

In wvwvw theory, you will get one shot at an approaching enemy. In wvwvw REALITY you get lots of long range shots because of kiting, distractions, not 1v1 situations, etc.

Don’t put arguments in a vacuum. A lot of the times, enemies don’t have the luxury to make sure they are close range to you, because of other circumstances going on. When put in practice, it is generally pretty easy to get mid-range and long-range shots off at targets. This is especially true when dealing with players who run away.

Durzlla.6295:

somsom.5201:

I see a LOT of people discussing LB and max range like it’s some kind of OP heavenly weapon. Guess what? How often are you shooting at max range in PvE? How often in WvW? Unless you are standing on castle walls and the enemy is foolishly standing still and at max range..you simply WILL NOT be getting max dps with it.

They both have their uses, but I find that SB is much more useful as whole in both PvE and WvW(hardly ever at max range, moving constantly, don’t like to stand on the walls, etc). Totally depends on your playstyle, but to blanketstatement that SB is “bad” or only for condition builds…lol, sorry you don’t know the class well.

Also, if you don’t believe us SB users who discuss dps, go do the tests yourself/read the other tests done MULTIPLE times in the past: SB auto outdamages LB 90% of the time.

Until you throw barrage in the mix, then the LB wins, because if you haven’t noticed the LB isn’t to far behind shortbow in ANY of the tests.

And the real question is against what competent opponent are you going to ever be flanking for a long period of time? You wont, you’ll get a handful of shots off tops, a longbow you can keep them at range (in your kill zone) a lot longer than you can stay behind someone especially if you use spike/frost trap, muddy terrain, LR, and a sword.

Those “tests” are a stand still target….LB is easily dodged with a moving target…i wish i had fraps so I could prove to you why the LB is a horrible weapon.

Casey.9687:

Durzlla.6295:

somsom.5201:

I see a LOT of people discussing LB and max range like it’s some kind of OP heavenly weapon. Guess what? How often are you shooting at max range in PvE? How often in WvW? Unless you are standing on castle walls and the enemy is foolishly standing still and at max range..you simply WILL NOT be getting max dps with it.

They both have their uses, but I find that SB is much more useful as whole in both PvE and WvW(hardly ever at max range, moving constantly, don’t like to stand on the walls, etc). Totally depends on your playstyle, but to blanketstatement that SB is “bad” or only for condition builds…lol, sorry you don’t know the class well.

Also, if you don’t believe us SB users who discuss dps, go do the tests yourself/read the other tests done MULTIPLE times in the past: SB auto outdamages LB 90% of the time.

Until you throw barrage in the mix, then the LB wins, because if you haven’t noticed the LB isn’t to far behind shortbow in ANY of the tests.

And the real question is against what competent opponent are you going to ever be flanking for a long period of time? You wont, you’ll get a handful of shots off tops, a longbow you can keep them at range (in your kill zone) a lot longer than you can stay behind someone especially if you use spike/frost trap, muddy terrain, LR, and a sword.

Those “tests” are a stand still target….LB is easily dodged with a moving target…i wish i had fraps so I could prove to you why the LB is a horrible weapon.

LB hardly misses anymore with the arrow speed increase, i haven’t gotten a “miss” or “obstructed” since the arrows have been buffed (when i say this i mean under circumstances they SHOULDN’T miss or be obstructed, not from shooting while blinded or as they dodge behind a wall).

Longbow has barrage, and strong auto attack at max ranged, 1500 range, and a push back, but as lilly said shortbow outpreforms it within 1200 range. Its auto attacks with a zerker build do about as much as a rapid fire crit so you can keep up the constant preasure, get a stun/daze, a cripple, and bleeds. Longbow sucks at, and idc about pve, anything is fine in pve and wvw. In spvp SB is better. Then again, in spvp any other class is better than ranger.

I will give you an honest advice go to Heart of the Mists (spvp area) and test it by yourself.
People love to make claims without presenting any evidence at all, for all i know they could be right, but why should you take their word as a fact?

I ran some personal tests yesterday, i know exactly which are the best dps-wise weapons which ones are the most reliable across the board as well as their strengths and weakness.

That said grab a stop watch and notepad time your performance with different weapons and builds against dummies, write down your damage and make your own conclusions.

So, i just tested both auto attacks, longbow while flanking (since the build i’m testing with is 30/30/10 with berserkers, gotta make sure i get teh 25pt on both): is 12s
Longbow non flanking: 14.9s

Shortbow flanking: 11.2s
Shortbow non flanking: 15.7s

Longbow flank + 5 and 3: 8.5s
Shorbow flank + 2 (all others seem to be a dps decrease when pet is not used): 10.6s

Longbow +5 and 3 front: 10s
Shortbow Front +2: 15.4s

LB ~750yds: 15.7s
LB point blank: 24.8s

LB ~750 + 3, 2, 5: 9.7s (died mid rapid fire)
LB point blank + 3, 2, 5: 8.7s (died mid rapid fire)

LB~750 flank: 20.1s
LB point blank flank: 23.3s

LB ~750 flank + 3, 2, 5: 7.9s
LB point blank flanking + 3, 2, 5: 7.9s

As you can see, the longbow isn’t all that pre skills, but the second you start using its abilities it completely DESTROYS the SB in terms of damage, so if you want to just sit back and spam 1 to victory go for shortbow, if you just want 1337 dps (like just about everyone on this forum seems to want) than you should go for the longbow.

NOTE: Each of these tests was an average from 4 trials at the same location/position using the same skills etc. Are they exact? Likely not, no, but they should be close. The shortbow hit for around of 370 dmg and critting for around 700 damage on average.

The longbow on the other hand hit for around 880 damage on auto attack (1000+ range) and would crit for around 1800damage on auto attack at 1000+ range.

All of these tests were performed on a heavy golemn, the pet was on passive the full time, runes of melandru were used (so no interfering from random prods), and no utilities or elites were used at any give time. These tests were done in a secluded area (right next to the water testing grounds) to avoid other players and any help they might’ve provided.

LB provides much better burst damage than SB (skill 5+3+2) , while SB auto attack could out damage LB’s auto attack. I think both are situational and can complement each other well. LB can be well used for burst while SB is build as a kiting weapon and good for close range. Therefore I like to combine those two.

To comment on some remarks posted in this thread..

People that argue for SB as a better weapon damage wise.. I find it rather ridiculous that you would stand and just auto attack for maximum damage output (since SB obviously lacks strong attacks and the burst of the LB). Of course I wouldn’t say that SB is worse than LB, but if you want to provide the most damage out of your weapon you are basically forced to use skill #1 on SB and that for me is just boring game play. At best you would also use QZ + #1. That’s why I prefer a combination of both.

Secondly some people argue that if you play with LB, it is difficult to stay at max rang to provide better damage from #1. This is also why I think SB may complement LB very well but I do disagree to a certain degree with this argument. It is often much preferred to stay at max damage (especially as a pure dps build) and many situations requires it and it isn’t uncommon either. Dungeons and certain bosses is a very good example of this. As well as in WvW, honestly I don’t know who wants to stay in a middle of a zerg (unless you are melee and are forced to). Personally I like to stay at max range no matter what class I run and keep doing it as much as possible (maybe that’s also why I prefer playing ranged classes).

I’ll just say “Depends on your play style”!! lets say SB is better in dmg but your not comfortable handling it.. stuff like that… But I would try both which one is my thing.

“Have fun and enjoy the game”

if you want to play afk style and have nothing to do with your mates play longbow..sure
but in pvp/wvw you never will be so usefull as a sb, you wont win any 1vs1 again anyone that is not a totaly noob. same for small fights 5vs5, no one give a kitten on you

cause no one needs

Use both bows when playing glass cannon! Works great in WvW from my experience!

@bambula,

Don’t spread lies. I use LB and win many 1v1s, small fights, and 5v5s.
In fact I’ve never lost to a shortbow ranger 1v1 either.

I wish people would stop asking this. Its just a bait post. And the answers depend on your build not just the weapon. Gear, Runes and Sigils all factor in the real answer. Its up to you what will be better. The skills you use in your slots matter also.

racta.4250:

@bambula,

Don’t spread lies. I use LB and win many 1v1s, small fights, and 5v5s.
In fact I’ve never lost to a shortbow ranger 1v1 either.

It’s amazing how many SB rangers will allow you to just back away from them, your damage increasing more and more as you do so xD.

Solandri.9640:

Durzlla.6295:

Don’t listen to sweet lily, they know not what they say.

Shortbow is better at close range, longbow is better at long range, at long range just pressing the 1 skill pumps out as much damage as the shortbow can WITH its bleed

When was this? I picked up the game over Thanksgiving and had the same question. So in December I went to the test golems in the Mists with both PvP bows and a stopwatch. SB was hands down better.

Ok, I just went to the Mists again and retested on a heavy golem. Using vanilla LB and SB at max range with 30/30/10/0/0 build, and 20% faster bow skill recharge:

LB auto-attack only: 20 sec (18-21 sec variance)
SB auto-attack only: 19 sec (18-20 sec variance)

LB #3, #2, then #1: 19 sec (18-21 sec variance)
LB #2, #2, #1, #3, #1: 17 sec (16-19 sec variance)
SB w/ bleed: 12 sec (11-12 sec variance)

The animation delays pretty much cancel out most of the benefit of using the LB #2 and #3 skills (though #3 is still useful in a group).

Also note that due to the bug of auto-attack not working at extreme range even though the weapon is in range, the distance where LB does max damage but will still auto-attack is rather narrow. You pretty much have to get the increased LB range trait to make it viable.

So:
worst-case LB is worse than worst-case SB
best-case LB is barely better than worst-case SB
best-case LB is far worse than best-case SB
And SB is easier to use (just leave it on auto-attack)

Two other things to add and consider. In those short time spans, you won’t see the full potential of the SB either, because it takes time to ramp up the bleeds and over a longer fight, the SB will pull ahead even more. The downside is, if you are doing a world event, many times I see the bleed maxed out at 25 stacks, making your contribution as a SB ranger, completely useless to the group’s damage.

Durzlla.6295:

racta.4250:

@bambula,

Don’t spread lies. I use LB and win many 1v1s, small fights, and 5v5s.
In fact I’ve never lost to a shortbow ranger 1v1 either.

It’s amazing how many SB rangers will allow you to just back away from them, your damage increasing more and more as you do so xD.

uh u realize that LB #1 does like negligible damage in your rotation? LB is about two things: control using #4 and #5, and burst by stacking vuln and #2 + QZ. burst can be close or long range. SB is a utility weapon that’s great for skirmishing (evasion, cripple and daze). it does negligible burst.

nerva.7940:

Durzlla.6295:

racta.4250:

@bambula,

Don’t spread lies. I use LB and win many 1v1s, small fights, and 5v5s.
In fact I’ve never lost to a shortbow ranger 1v1 either.

It’s amazing how many SB rangers will allow you to just back away from them, your damage increasing more and more as you do so xD.

uh u realize that LB #1 does like negligible damage in your rotation? LB is about two things: control using #4 and #5, and burst by stacking vuln and #2 + QZ. burst can be close or long range. SB is a utility weapon that’s great for skirmishing (evasion, cripple and daze). it does negligible burst.

actually, LB #1 is AMAZING damage when used at range, look at the test i did. If you’re in close range though you’re absolutely right i’m not even going to argue with that.

with full zerker gear it crits for about 2K every few seconds. it’s better than zero sustained DPS, but not why id pick up the LB. personally, i prefer coming in a little closer to land more of my #2 + QZ on 20 vuln stacks. almost a sure kill. reposition and repeat.

racta.4250:

@bambula,

Don’t spread lies. I use LB and win many 1v1s, small fights, and 5v5s.
In fact I’ve never lost to a shortbow ranger 1v1 either.

haha maybe vs new comer that are lvl 30
your “burst” is not strong enough to take down your enemy and everyone that got a bit brain can doge your auto hits with normal move and no need to doge

Bambula.3649:

racta.4250:

@bambula,

Don’t spread lies. I use LB and win many 1v1s, small fights, and 5v5s.
In fact I’ve never lost to a shortbow ranger 1v1 either.

haha maybe vs new comer that are lvl 30
your “burst” is not strong enough to take down your enemy and everyone that got a bit brain can doge your auto hits with normal move and no need to doge

Have you -played- ranger since the december patch? You can’t do that anymore, it’s the same for ALL arrows, because the longbow arrow doesn’t move any slower than the shortbows, you just shoot it from a further system.

And you can certainly do burst with a LB, it actually has burst, where SB has “Spam more auto attack!!” for its “burst”.

its no burst..cause you cant nuke an enemy down with one combo like other class and you still can doge them, same for sb but the firerate on sb is higher

Bambula.3649:

its no burst..cause you cant nuke an enemy down with one combo like other class and you still can doge them, same for sb but the firerate on sb is higher

Yeah but if you’re dodging the arrows by moving back and forth (only way to) the pet is going to be able to just stand there and rip your face off due to the range increase on their attacks. Not to mention that in any real scenario you’ll be moving around too, making your arrows more likely to hit and not be avoided by the strafing nonsense.

And depending on how you build, YES we do have burst like other classes, if not better because it’s coming from two sources and a storm of attacks, not just one single bullet that is easily dodged/reflected like a warrior.

lol..no you even can doge with sidemoves so you get closer to the enemy.
and no we dont have burst like other classes..

LB/SB is viable, play what you enjoy, if you find a way to make any weapon combo work for you why not? There will always be FoTM specs….does that make them the only spec? No…..do what you have fun doing..

see Sig below for Full Bow Ranger Solo Footage…

Depending on your traits and your build along with play style should be your deciding factor.

BTW, keep up all the Ranger Love. Best Profession, just needs a little fixing is all.

Durzlla.6295:

nerva.7940:

Durzlla.6295:

racta.4250:

@bambula,

Don’t spread lies. I use LB and win many 1v1s, small fights, and 5v5s.
In fact I’ve never lost to a shortbow ranger 1v1 either.

It’s amazing how many SB rangers will allow you to just back away from them, your damage increasing more and more as you do so xD.

uh u realize that LB #1 does like negligible damage in your rotation? LB is about two things: control using #4 and #5, and burst by stacking vuln and #2 + QZ. burst can be close or long range. SB is a utility weapon that’s great for skirmishing (evasion, cripple and daze). it does negligible burst.

actually, LB #1 is AMAZING damage when used at range, look at the test i did. If you’re in close range though you’re absolutely right i’m not even going to argue with that.

One caveat though. Even after the last patch, the farther away you are from your opponent, the more likely he’ll avoid it through strafing/having an object block your way.

But yea, Longbow 1 hits like a truck at long-range. I don’t think people realize this. It does twice the damage at long-range than warrior rifle’s autoattack. However, you’re not going to be able to be plinking away at far range for everything. Adapt accordingly.

Bambula.3649:

its no burst..cause you cant nuke an enemy down with one combo like other class and you still can doge them, same for sb but the firerate on sb is higher

u can burst most profs/specs down from 100 to 0 with LB #2, Sic Em, QZ, pet, and 10-20 vuln stacks.