Talk:Longbow

Drops

It seems that mobs being killed at longbow range do not assign a drop for the bowman. I favor longbows when playing a ranger, though most of my characters are caster or melee. I have found a noticeable decrease in the number of drops when playing ranger with a longbow, having vanquished several areas with nothing but coin drops (which I attribute to drops "assigned" to henchmen/heroes). This is even more noticeably pronounced when I use the terrain to my advantage (ie: attacking from high ground). I have tested this using warrior, elementalist, and necromancer characters, partied with Pyre, Margrid, Jin, and a mercenary (all using a Sundering Darksteel Longbow) and found a noticeable increase in drops assigned to me. Has anyone else noticed this? Gwynna Vive 12:46, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

I tend to avoid using a longbow with heroes since I often find my heroes won't engage while I'm spamming away. I wouldn't be suprised if drops were only allocated to allies within the "aggro range" of the killed foe. -Chieftain Alex 13:22, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

Also lol, did I read that correctly that you've actually given your heroes longbows so you could get more drops? :P -Chieftain Alex 13:23, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

You could test this easily by doing a raptor (or any solo farm, really) run with a human ally barely within compass range. Manifold 23:00, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

@ Chieftain, re: heroes, yes in a manner of speaking. I noticed that if my heroes all have a longbow (and no pet), I am seeing close to 100% of the drops (coins if not a drop assigned to me), provided that I can maintain aggro so that enemies stay at least longbow range from the heroes. Many areas make this impossible due to terrain, LOS, and/or enemy type, but if your foes are downhill from your heroes, and all foes are ranged attackers it becomes more apparent. Saoshang Trail (37 foes, no bosses) is ideal for demonstrating this, do back to back runs, one from Setung Harbor (uphill) and a return trip from Linnok Courtyard (downhill) flagging heroes back until you gain agro before freeing them, or setting their stance to aggressive so they will engage without unflagging. Excepting the mob that drops from the archway at the Linnok Courtyard end, I have consistently seen 90-95% of drops going downhil, while going uphill results in a dramatc decrease in drops, more consistent with the "standard" 1 per (number of party members).

As for testing, per Manifold's advice, the human ally would not get any assigned drops and all foes would drop as per normal (anyone that has run afkers through zones sees this). As a soloist, drops come assigned to the closest PC (the only one in a solo group) depending on how far away that PC is (try unloading a heap of degen hexes on a fleeing foe...you get no drop). Also, coin drops are roughly the same drop rate as a solo run (though the coins are divided amongst the party members when retrieved). I'm either not seeing the logic of Manifold's test idea, or I've failed to properly explain my point. My premise is exclusive to a longbow in that drops are being assigned to some other party member if the bowman remains at or beyond normal longbow range (which is slightly outside the highlighted bubble in the middle of the compass). Gwynna Vive 06:59, 18 February 2013 (UTC)