——————
- Armor (gwrg4a) -
——————

The main attribute that distinguishes Ranger armors is their +30 Armor Level
against Elemental damage, which allows Rangers to tank hits from Elemental
attacks much easier.  Ranger Armor also has a total plus 1 energy regen bonus
(which brings Energy regeneration to 3 points).

As one progresses through the PvE/questing portion of the game, the armor rises
in protective value. The “final” armor has a base armor level of 70, and this
is the same base armor level found on PvP end-game characters.  Note that the
1.5k Armors available at Droknar’s Forge are identical in stats to both the 15k
Armors available at Marhan’s Grotto and Granite Citadel and the Fissure Armors
available from the Fissure of Woe.  They only differ in appearance.

In Factions, you have several choices of Armor crafters, each with different
appearances and raw material requirements.  Remember that you can mix and match.
If you lack the Steel to make an armor, for example, you can head to another
armor merchant that takes Leather Squares or Damask.  Since each armor has a
unique appearance, you may want to experiment a bit and see which look is right
for you.  Note that the first available “end-game armor” in Factions is at
Kaineng Square.  In the Prophecies campaign, this is the first city you will
visit in Cantha, while in the Factions campaign, you won’t reach this area until
you get to the mainland.  Head north from the Marketplace after you arrive on
the mainland to get to Kaineng.

The release of Nightfall has made armor crafting even more customizable than
before, with the addition of Insignias.  These provide the traditional armor
bonuses of the non-standard armors, but they can be sold or transfered to other
characters.  You can use them to freely customize the type of armor you are
using for yourself or your Heroes.

A list of all the armor crafters can be found in the Appendices, under Armor
List [gwrg9b].

Leather/Ranger’s
================
The standard ranger armor provides no additional bonuses or penalties.  The top
version of Leather Armor can be gained from the Crystal Desert collectors, thus
making it the cheapest top level armor in the game, quite affordable for any
Ranger looking to save some gold.

Drakescale/Pyrebound
====================
This armor provides an additional 15 points of armor against the Fire element.
This is great protection against Hydras and creatures that roam around the Ring
of Fire island chain, but other than that, most people simply take this set for
the looks.  Greater Conflagration (Elite) turns all physical damage to Fire
damage, increasing your armor with this suit by 45 points against physical
attacks (30 base, plus 15 from the Drakescale bonus).

Druid’s
=======
This armor provides an energy bonus for each piece of armor.  This armor is
ideal for Rangers who are also secondary spellcasters, and for most rangers in
general.  The 15 Armor Level bonus of the other armors are negligable for the
most part, and the energy bonus of the Druid’s set gives a distinct advantage
in all situations.  If you can afford it or find it (Druid’s Armor is not
available until after Lion’s Arch), go with this set.

Fur-lined/Frostbound
====================
This armor provides an additional 15 points of armor against the Cold element.
By utilizing the Nature Ritual skill, Winter, one can turn all Elemental Damage
into Cold, which favors this particular armor.

Studded Leather/Stormbound
==========================
This armor provides an additional 15 points of armor against the Lightning
element.  Very few things deal lightning damage (Shadow Phantoms come to mind),
so much of the time this armor is relegated to situational PvP only.

Factions: Explorer’s
====================
This armor was recently introduced with Factions, and it provides a Health bonus
per piece.  Very useful in increasing your survivability, especially if you have
a Superior rune in your skillset.

Factions: Scout’s
=================
This armor provides an extra 10 armor bonus while using a preparation. Not so
great for a Barrager, but great for anyone who uses preparations early and
often in a battle.

Factions: Sentry’s
==================
This armor provides an extra 10 armor bonus while using a stance. Since you
are on the defensive when using a stance anyway, this armor provides a nice
complement to reducing the damage done to you.

Headgear
========
Each Ranger headgear offers a bonus to a different Ranger skill.  The Archer’s
Mask, for example, adds +1 to Marksmanship.  In general, it is wise to choose
a mask that gives a bonus to your highest attribute, or the attribute that is
used most frequently in your character.

List of Masks:
* Archer’s Mask     +1 Marksmanship
* Hunter’s Mask     +1 Expertise
* Simple Mask       No Bonus
* Tamer’s Mask      +1 Beast Mastery
* Traveler’s Mask   +1 Wilderness Survival

Runes
=====
Ranger Runes can be socketed in Ranger Armor (and as a side note, you can ONLY
use runes of your primary class/armor).  A Minor Rune increases a skill by one,
a Major Rune increases a skill by two and subtracts -35 from maximum health,
and a Superior Rune increases a skill by three and subtracts -75 from maximum
health.  In general, it’s NOT a good idea to stack multiple Major/Superior
runes, as it will make your character too fragile for combat. I wouldn’t reduce
your maximum health by more than -75, which is either one Superior or two Major
runes, but this comes down to personal preference.

It used to be that Major Runes reduced health by -50, but this was changed in
the June 1, 2006 update to be only -35.  Thus, having two Major runes gives a
net plus 4 to attributes (plus 2 to two different ones) with only a -70 health
loss, which is slightly more favorable than a Superior rune.

Runes that modify the same attribute do NOT stack.  Only the highest bonus
applies.  Thus, you won’t gain more than a +1 bonus from having two identical
Minor runes, nor will you get a plus 3 to an attribute from having a Major and
a Minor rune for that attribute.

Runes can be used (similar to Masks) to increase your attributes above the
in-game limit of 12, and can also be used to offset points from an attribute
at the high end.  Due to diminishing returns and the exorbitant cost of an
attribute above 8, the points saved by using runes can easily shore up the
points in other attributes, especially secondary class attributes.

There is no reason NOT to use Minor runes for all of the Ranger attributes that
you are using, so be sure to seek out and collect the Minor runes that you
need.  I find that most Minor runes go for 100-300 gold in-game from sellers.

Also, be sure to invest in a Vigor rune of some sort (which can be used by all
classes).  A Minor Rune of vigor gives 30 to maximum health, a Major Rune of
Vigor gives 41 to maximum health, and a Superior Rune of Vigor gives 50 to
maximum health.  Not only can these runes offset your health loss from Major/
Superior runes, but they provide more survivability and staying power for your
Ranger.

—————–
- Bows (gwrg4b) -
—————–

Bow Classes
===========
There are 5 classes of bows in Guild Wars, which I will name according to the
most “common” type:
The 5 classes of bows are:
* Flatbow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Flatbows, and the Ithas Bow
* Longbow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Longbows, and Storm Bows
* Horn Bow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Horn Bow, Ivory Bows, and Shadow Bows
* Composite Bow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Composite Bows, Dead Bows,
  Recurve Bow, and Eternal Bows
* Short Bow - includes some Ascalon Bows, Half Moon Bows, and Short Bows.

In addition, each bow class differs in the following characteristics:
* Range
* Refire Rate
* Arc Size
* Appearance
* Armor Penetration (special)

Ascalon Bows
————
Ascalon Bows given by the collectors tend to imitate one of the above bow
classes.  The appearance of the bow remains as a Flatbow/Longbow, but it can be
either a Flatbow, a Long bow, a Composite Bow, or a Short bow as far as range,
arrow speed, and rate of fire.  You’ll have to experiment to find out which
one it is.

UPDATE: As of the July 13 2006 update, you can now see what kind of Ascalon bow
type you have in the name of the bow. Very cool!

Damage Range
————
Bows do various ranges of damage based on their quality.  Note that a Shortbow
and a Longbow can do the exact same amount of damage. The type of bow does not
influence the damage rating of the bow.  The maximum damage range that a bow
can have is 15-28.  There are rumors of 16-28 bows out there, but 15-28 is the
maximum you can expect.

In order to take advantage of the damage range listed on a bow, one needs to
meet the prerequisite amount of Marksmanship required by the bow.  Otherwise,
the bow will behave as a Level 5 bow of the same type, with greatly reduced
damage.  The actual base damage value varies and it is hidden, but it will be
the same as if the bow was dropped by a Level 5 enemy.

Bows with lower Marksmanship requirements do NOT do more damage if you exceed
the Marksmanship requirement by a greater amount.  There are no bows with a
requirement of Beast Mastery or Wilderness Survival, and the only bow with an
Expertise requirement is the Ithas Bow (which has both an Expertise and
Marksmanship requirement).

Range
—–
Most bows can be lumped into three categories of ranges:
* Short range - Just within the “Aggro circle” on the Radar. The only bow class
  with this range is the Short Bow class.
* Medium range - Up to “Casting Range”, which is just beyond the “Aggro circle”
  on the Radar. The Horn Bow and Composite Bow classes dwell in this range, and
  it is similar in range to all Wand/Staff weapons.
* Long range - Up to 1.5 times the distance of the “Aggro Circle” on the Radar.
  The Longbow and Flatbow classes are in this range.

These ranges are based on flat terrain. Being on higher ground than your target
will increase the range of your bow, while being on lower ground decreases the
range of your bow.

Refire Rate
———–
The first shot that you fire from a bow will always be 2.0 seconds in duration.
However, after that initial shot, the rate of refire differs between the bow
classes. There are 3 rates of refire:
* Fast - approximately 2.0 seconds between shots. The Short Bow and Flatbow
  classes have the Fast refire rate.
* Medium - approximately 2.5 seconds between shots. The Longbow and Composite
  Bow classes have the Medium refire rate.
* Slow - approximately 2.7 seconds between shots. The Horn Bow class has the
  slow refire rate.

Arc Size
——–
Arc size determines both Arrow Speed (how fast an arrow takes to hit its
target) and accuracy (leeway of the target dodging shots):
* High arc - Flatbows have the highest arc out of all of the bow classes. Thus,
  the Flatbow class is the least accurate against moving targets at range.
* Normal arc - Horn Bows, Longbows, and Short Bows all have a normal arc. Note
  that because a Shortbow has such a small range, the Normal Arc doesn’t really
  have much of an appreciable effect on arrow speed.
* Low arc - The Composite Bow class has the lowest Arc, and thus has the
  shortest time to target and fastest arrow speed, making Composite Bows the
  most accurate bow class.

Called Shot, Favorable Winds, and Read the Wind will make the Arc size
approximately the same as the Low arc of a Composite Bow.

Armor Penetration
—————–
Horn Bows, Ivory Bows, and Shadow Bows have 10% Armor Penetration, according to
a couple of sources.  This compensates for their slightly slower attack speed.
With speed increases, these bows can potentially do the most damage, especially
on armored targets.  For general purpose use, and for Bow skills, however, a
Short bow is probably better.

What’s the “best bow”?
———————-
There’s no such thing as the “best bow”. Each bow class has strengths and
weaknesses. Short bows are great for overall damage, but are lacking in Range.
Flatbows can also deal a similar amount of damage, but they are inaccurate at
long range. Longbows are slow, but have a long range and normal arc. Composite
bows are guaranteed to hit, but are merely average in other stats. Horn Bows do
the most damage per single shot, but have the slowest refire rate of all the
bows.

My advice? Use a long range bow for pulling/luring, a short range bow for close
combat, and a composite bow for interrupting.

Bow Upgrades
============
There are two kinds of upgrades that you can apply to bows: Bowstrings, and Bow
Grips.  Each upgrade adds something to the name of the bow, and can be applied
to any quality of item, from mundane to magical blue to rare purple/gold.  You
are more likely to find Purple and Gold items that are already upgraded with a
bowstring or bow grip.  You can only use one Bowstring and one Bow Grip to
upgrade your bow.  A new Bowstring or Bow Grip will overwrite the old mod, and
you will lose the old mod permanently.

Upgrades can often be salvaged from a bow using an Expert Salvage Kit.  Expert
Salvage Kits have a random chance of extracting either the Bowstring or the Bow
Grip.  With the release of Nightfall, you can now choose which upgrade to
extract when you salvage an item, and the item has a chance of remaining intact
as well.

Nightfall has created a third kind of upgrade which allows you to modify/change
the inherent mod of a bow.  These are called Inscriptions.

Bowstrings
———-
Bowstrings add “prefix” upgrades to a bow and include the following:
* Barbed - Lengthens the duration of Bleeding by 33%
* Crippling - Lengthens the duration of Cripple by 33%
* Ebon - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Earth
* Fiery - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Fire
* Icy - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Cold
* Poisoner’s - Lengthens the duration of Poison by 33%
* Shocking - Changes the bow damage from Piercing to Lightning
* Silencing - Lengthens the duration of Dazed by 33%
* Sundering - has a random (10-20%) chance of having 20% armor penetration
* Vampiric - -1 Health Degen, Steal life on hit (1-5 points)
* Zealous - -1 Energy Regen, +1 Energy per attack

Which bowstring is right for me?
——————————–
The only bowstring that doesn’t see much use in my bow rack is the Sundering
bowstring, due to the small percent chance of actually applying the effect.
While they have been given a boost (having 20% bonus AP up to 20% of the time),
it still doesn’t drastically affect your damage compared to the other strings.
The main value is that there is no downside to using this bowstring, other than
the opportunity cost of equipping this bowstring over others.  In other words,
it’s better than nothing, but it’s not tremendously helpful.  I personally do
not use it unless I have no other options for strings.

The elemental bowstrings are popular with Ranger/Elementalists who wish to take
advantage of the Conjure lines.  Elemental damage does more damage against
Warrior enemies with bonus physical armor and less damage against Rangers.  It
gets around some of the anti-piercing damage protective skills, but this is a
minor advantage at best.  As of the July 13 2006 Update, Warrior damage absorb
no longer protects against non-physical damage, thus increasing the utility of
elemental damage against Warriors. You can also take advantage of some PvE
enemy weaknesses with this string; for example, you can use a Fiery bowstring
against Ice Golems.  I generally keep at least one Fiery and one Icy bow in my
rack.

Zealous bowstrings are popular with Barrage spammers, as each arrow reclaims
one point of energy.  With a fast-firing bow and perhaps certain attack speed
stances, zealous bows provide a quick method of Energy regeneration, especially
for folks who don’t use sustained enchantments. Zealous strings are recommended
for Barrage farming builds (each arrow gives back 1 Energy) and Quick Shot
builds (shoot longer with greater Energy reclamation), on either a Flatbow or
a Shortbow.

The various condition-extending strings (Barbed, Crippling, Poisoner’s and
Silencing) have obvious utility when they are paired with the corresponding
condition, which are often side effects of various bow attacks and preparations
like Pin Down and Apply Poison.  It is said that these strings also extend the
duration of conditions applied with Traps.  I have personally tested this with
a Poisoner’s Bow and Viper’s Nest, and found this to be true, but I haven’t
tested this with other skills.  Note that these strings will NOT increase the
duration of conditions inflicted by Pet Attacks.

For sheer damage, the Vampiric bowstring is the best, as it adds a Health
stealing effect which directly increases your DPS per arrow.  This is great for
Barragers, Snipers, and machine-gunners, as it allows you to kill targets
quicker, but the -1 Health Degen limits its use.  I find it useful as a “bow
switch”, switching to a different bow when I’m idling to prevent the -1 Health
degen from killing me.  The Health gain can also be helpful in Barrage-farming
builds, which often rely on passive healing from multiple arrow attacks. After
a recent e-mail, I must emphasize that while the Vampiric Bowstring provides
the best damage bonus, that does not mean it is my favorite mod or the mod that
I would recommend for all builds due to the drawback of -1 Health Degeneration.
You need to have a build that easily incorporates the life-stealing effect
either through mass targets (multiplying the Health gain) or faster attacks
(speeding up the Health gain) or offsetting the penalty with a Regen bonus.

There is a rumor that the Shocking bowstring gives 25% armor penetration. This
is not true, but it is based on the fact that most Air Magic spells have 25%
armor penetration.  Shocking bowstrings only change your damage to Lightning.

Bow Grips
———
Bow Grips add “suffix” upgrades to a bow, and include the following:
* Of Defense - adds Armor +4-5
* Of Shelter - adds Armor +4-7 (vs. physical attacks)
* Of Warding - adds Armor +4-7 (vs. elemental attacks)
* Of Charrslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Charr)
* Of Deathbane - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Undead)
* Of Dwarfslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Dwarves)
* Of Giantslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Giants)
* Of Pruning - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Plants)
* Of Skeletonslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Skeletons)
* Of Tenguslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Tengu)
* Of Trollslaying - adds Damage +10-20% (vs. Troll)
* Of Enchanting - Enchantments last 10-20% longer
* Of Fortitude - adds Health +20-30
* Of Marksmanship - adds +1 Marksmanship (10-20% chance while using skills)

Fortitude and Defense/Shelter seem to be the most popular Bow Grips.  Some
Rangers who are also secondary spellcasters tend to prefer the Bow Grip of
Enchanting.

Which is the better bowgrip, “Of Defense” or “Of Fortitude”?
————————————————————
There’s an ongoing debate on which bowgrip is better for a Ranger in the long
run.  The bowgrip of popular choice seems to be a Bowgrip of Fortitude, as seen
by the enormously inflated prices for a perfect Health +30 version.  However, if
you look at the numbers, Bowgrip of Defense with an Armor +5 reduces incoming
damage to 91.7% of normal, which means about a 9% benefit. Even if the Fortitude
grip is perfect at +30 HP, the benefit from the Fortitude grip amounts to about
5% to 7%, meaning that based on Armor Level alone, the Bowgrip of Defense looks
like a better choice.

However, there are several situations in which a Bowgrip of Defense does not
give any benefit.  For example, Conditions and Hexes that apply Health
Degeneration ignore armor, as do most Necromancer and Mesmer damaging spells.
Also, Death Penalty applies to your base Health and Energy, while bonuses to
Health and Energy remain the same.  Thus, while the Bowgrip of Defense Armor
bonus remains static, the utility of the Bowgrip of Fortitude actually increases
as your Death Penalty goes up, by virtue of the fact that it is not reduced by
Death Penalty, giving you a higher overall Health.

Still, it is FAR easier to find a cheap Armor +5 Bowgrip of Defense than it is
to find a high level or perfect Bowgrip of Fortitude.  Mostly, it boils down to
personal preference.  The Fortitude bonus always applies, regardless of the kind
of damage that you take, but the Defense bonus provides a better long-term
benefit.

There are also bowgrips of Shelter and Warding.  Having any bowgrip is better
than having no bowgrip, but these only protect against physical damage and
elemental damage respectively.  Neither protect against non-elemental damage
like Light, Chaos, or Dark damage from wands and staves (the Bowgrip of Defense
does protect against these types), and have the same caveats as stated for the
Bowgrip of Defense above.

Inherent Magical Bonuses
========================
Certain bonuses cannot be gained from a Bow Upgrade. Instead, they are
inherently part of a magical bow (typically Purple or Gold, although occasional
blue bows do have these bonuses).  The bonuses stack on top of the bonuses from
upgrades.  An ideal bow will have three bonuses total: a Bowstring prefix bonus,
a Bow Grip suffix bonus, and an inherent bonus.

Inherent bonuses include:
* Damage +10-15% Armor -10 (while attacking)
* Damage +10-15% Energy -5
* Damage +10-15% (while enchanted)
* Damage +10-15% (while health is above 50%)
* Damage +10-20% (while health is below 50%)
* Damage +10-20% (while hexed)
* Damage +10-15% (while in a stance)
* Damage +10-15% (vs. hexed foes)
* Energy +5

While the ranges seem rather wide, I’ve never seen a bonus below 10% or above
20%, other than some of the damage ranges seen on some of the special
Collectors Bows.  The +20% damage bows are extremely rare… expect to get +15%
damage at the most (from a collector’s bow), unless you get a lucky drop from a
level 28 enemy.  Note that bonuses of +15% or higher are far more common on
bows that give a damage bonus with a penalty, like Health below 50% or while
Hexed.

Alternate Bows
==============
While the best option is to get the most damaging bow with the modifier of
choice (usually a +15% Damage mod of some kind), there are several other unique
options for those looking for variety or a niche.

Crafted Bows
————
There used to be bows that offered bonus 10 Armor at the Henge of Denravi or
+5 Energy among the Old Ascalon collectors, but these bonuses were taken out
in the 9/7/05 update. In Factions, end-game bows can be crafted with this mod.

However, there is a new bow in the 9/7/05 update that can be crafted for 100
Wood Planks, 50 Feathers, and 5 Plat at Sarad, the weapon master at Droknar’s
Forge.  This is a Longbow with Damage +15% (while in a stance), max damage.

Pre-Order Weapons
—————–
If you preordered your game from Electronics Boutique, then you have access to
a unique bow called the Ithas Bow.  It does 13-25 damage and adds armor (much
like the Henge of Denravi bow), but has two prerequisites of Marksmanship and
Expertise of 10 each.  Ouch.  It has the range of a longbow with a faster fire
rate, similar to the Flatbow.

Temple of the Ages dungeons
—————————
There are several bows that only drop in the Temple of the Ages dungeons. These
are the Shadow Bow, Eternal Bow, and Storm Bow.  They have very neat-looking
effects, cosmetically.  The Storm Bow in particular sizzles with lightning.
Each of these bows have their own stats.  It is confirmed that the Storm Bow
acts as a Long Bow, the Shadow Bow acts as a Horn Bow, and the Eternal Bow acts
as a Composite/Recurve Bow.

Sorrow’s Furnace
—————-
There are several unique bows with Green text that drop at Grenth’s Footprint
and Sorrow’s Furnace, that have good (but not overpowering) stats, like
Thornbeard’s Horned Bow.  These bows automatically have a perfect prefix,
suffix, inherent mod on them, but they cannot be modified in any way with
upgrades.  They typically drop from the bosses in that area bearing the same
name (i.e. Drago’s Flatbow will drop from Drago Stoneherder).

All bows listed below have Maximum damage (15-28) and require 9 Marksmanship
* Boulderbeard’s Short Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Shocking, Fortitude)
* Drago’s Flatbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Drago’s Vampiric Flatbow (+15% in stance, Vampiric, Defense)
* Elswyth’s Long Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Poisoner’s, Fortitude)
* Elswyth’s Recurve Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Vampiric, Fortitude)
* Forgerunner (Long Bow, +15% in stance, Fiery, Fortitude)
* Gargash’s Recurve Bow (+15% while enchanted, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Graygore’s Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Vampiric, Marksmanship)
* Graygore’s Zealous Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Zealous, Defense)
* Stinger (Horn Bow, +15% in stance, Poisoner’s, Marksmanship)
* Tarnok’s Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Icy, Warding)
* Tarnok’s Recurve Bow (+15% while enchanted, Sundering, Enchanting)
* Thornbeard’s Horned Bow (+15% while enchanted, Lightning, Shelter)

Rotscale
——–
A new green bow was added to Tyria on June 15, 2006.  Rotscale is a level 30
Bone Dragon boss that resides in Majesty’s Rest.  He drops a unique bow called
Rotwing’s Recurve Bow (it is not known if he drops other models) which looks
like a pair of leathery wings.  It has max damage, the +5 Energy inherent mod,
and the Poisoner’s Prefix and Fortitude Suffix.

Scorpion Bow
————
If you are a Korean Player taking advantage of the Coke-play deal, you may have
in your possession a Scorpion Bow, a bow that’s only available to Korea through
a special Coca-Cola marketing offer.  It has the Poisoner’s mod and Damage +15%
(while Health is above 50%) inherent mod, and is customized to the character.

Pre-Order Japanese Guild Wars
—————————–
The Japanese Guild Wars pre-order special items are named after the seven
deadly sins and a random animal.  The bow is similar to the Scorpion Bow
offered through the Coke Play deal above. It is called the Poisoner’s Scorpion
Lust Bow (rough translation) and it has the Damage +15% (while Health is above
50%) inherent mod and Poisoner’s string (not removable).

Game of the Year
—————-
If you bought the Game of the Year Prophecies boxed set, you get access to a
very special bow called the Nevermore Flatbow. It’s a max damage bow with 9
Marksmanship requirement and Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%), and looks
like a pair of Raven’s wings strapped onto a bone frame.  Very spiffy.

Pre-Order Taiwan Guild Wars
—————————
The Taiwan Guild Wars pre-order special items are also named after several of
the deadly sins (although there are only 6 items instead of 7), and the bow in
the pre-order set resembles the Nevermore Flatbow.  It is called Poisoner’s
Black Hawk/Eagle Lust Bow (rouch translation) and has similar stats to the
Game of the Year Edition bow.

Factions Bows
————-
The release of Factions has added many new bow appearances. Particularly coveted
at this time are Celestial Bows and Zodiac Bows.  It is rumored that several
new “Green” bows were also released within Factions.  Celestial Bows can be
found in the Nahpui mission and explorable area. Zodiac Bows can be found in
the Elite missions that are only available to dominant Alliances. There is also
a bow called the “Platinum Bow” that is getting rave reviews in terms of
appearance.

Here is a short list of Factions Green bows. Note that the Ironwing bows are
available from turning in your Amulet of the Mists, instead of defeating a boss:
All bows listed below have Maximum damage (15-28) and require 9 Marksmanship
* Brrne’s Recurve Bow (+15% Armor -10, Crippling, Fortitude)
* Chehbaba’s Longbow (+15% Armor -10, Crippling, Shelter)
* Chkkr’s Flatbow (+15% Armor -10, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Inallay’s Hornbow (+15% Health > 50%, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Ironwing Flatbow (+15% Health > 50%, Zealous, Fortitude)
* Ironwing Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Vampiric, Fortitude)
* Lorelle’s Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Poisoner’s, Shelter)
* Meynsang’s Longbow (+15% Armor -10, Barbed, Fortitude)
* Nandet’s Recurve Bow (+15% Armor -10, Crippling, Fortitude)
* Nundak’s Recurve Bow (+15% Health > 50%, Poisoner’s, Fortitude)
* Razorjaw’s Hornbow (Energy +5, Sundering, Marksmanship)
* Razortongue’s Recurve Bow (+15% Energy -5, Vampiric, Marksmanship)
* Royen’s Hornbow (+15% in stance, Sundering, Marksmanship)
* Ryver’s Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Crippling, Fortitude)
* Urgoz’s Flatbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Urgoz’s Longbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Ryver’s Shortbow (+15% Health > 50%, Sundering, Fortitude)
* Swiftscale’s Shortbow (+15% in stance, Vampiric, Fortitude)

Also, there are many bows that are available among crafters throughout the
continent of Cantha.  The coveted Energy +5 (Divine Path, after completing the
Factions campaign) and Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%) mods (Kaineng
Center) can be found on some of these crafters.

Here’s a short list of where some of these crafters are (all are max damage
with a requirement of 9 Marksmanship):
* Kaineng Center - Manzo crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15% (while
  Health is above 50%)
* Budek Byway - Sheco crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15% (while in
  a Stance)
* Wajjun Bazaar - Nago crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15% (while
  Enchanted)
* The Undercity - Ziyi crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +20% (while
  Hexed)
* House Zu Heltzer - Mathilde crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%,
  Armor -10 (while Attacking)
* Cavalon - Theodosus crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%,
  Armor -10 (while Attacking)
* Vasburg Armory - Gertrud crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%,
  Energy -5
* Leviathan Pits - Telamon crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Damage +15%,
  Energy -5
* Divine Path - Shichiroji crafts Longbows and Short Bows with Energy +5

Wintersday Candy Cane Bows
————————–
These bows were available during the special Wintersday events of 2005. Candy
Cane bows only do 15-15 damage (making them less than desirable compared to
most max damage bows), but they have no requirements, which gives them a use in
certain specialized builds that require a bow, but do not have high
Marksmanship.  They have the range of a Short Bow.

Using Multiple Bows
===================
The game provides up to 4 weapon sets that can be switched during combat at any
time.  Because of this, it is fairly trivial to have multiple bows for various
tactical situations.  For example, I use a Flatbow in F1 and a Half-Moon in F3.
The Flatbow allows me to pull targets at a much longer range, while I use the
increased fire rate and arrow speed of the Half-Moon bow at close range.

Another trick to use with multiple bows is to assign each bow a different
elemental bowstring.  Thus, if a creature is resistant to the element of the
current bow, you can switch to a more appropriate element.

Another useful trick is having a Vampiric bow on the switch.  When you need
life, you can swap to the Vampiric bow, and when you don’t need life, you won’t
suffer from the Health degen if you switch out.

Note: When you switch bows, your bow doesn’t swap immediately. It takes the
place of the next “queued” action, which means if you are in the middle of a
bow attack or skill casting, you won’t switch your bow until after the current
action.  If you “buffer” a skill during the current action, the bow switch will
be cancelled!

Finding a good bow
==================
Generally, max damage bows drop when you start killing level 18 or higher
enemies.  Lightning Drakes at the Gates of Kryta or Sanctum Cay, for example,
can drop Max Damage bows on occasion.  However, your best bet for finding a bow
is to kill high level enemies with a Ranger class. Dune Burrowers and Enchanted
Bows in the Crystal Desert are a couple of good examples.

Also, several types of unique bows drop in the Temple of the Ages dungeons,
typically with maximum damage. Shadow Bows, Storm Bows, and Eternal Bows can be
found there.

You can also buy a good bow from people selling at Lion’s Arch and Ascalon City
usually in District 1.  Caveat Emptor.  One person’s “Godly” bow is the next
person’s “junk”.  I wouldn’t spend more than 5,000 gold acquiring a max damage
bow, as you can always add bow parts to improve an existing bow.  Beware of
scams to sell Customized weapons to you, as they cannot be used by anyone but
the original user. If it says +20% Damage (Customized for “Seller’s Name”),
stay away from it. A recent patch places a warning if a Customized item is being
traded to you, so you have plenty of fair warning.

There are many collectors that offer Max Damage Ascalon bows in the Crystal
Desert and the Southern Shiverpeaks.  A full list can be found in the Appendix
of collectors [gwrg9c] at the end of this Ranger Guide. Here are the items that
they collect:

* Dune Burrower Jaws - Dune Burrowers. Two good places: The beginning of Elona
  Reach mission, and the Scar, just outside of the Thirsty River exit. You can
  actually outrange the first couple of Dune Burrowers with a Longbow, thus
  giving you a “free” kill pretty easily.
* Minotaur Horns - Minotaurs. The beginning of the Elona Reach mission is full
  of Minotaurs. Use Spike Mines and defensive skills to kill them quickly.
* Topaz Crests - Sand Drakes. Diviner’s Ascent, just out of Elona Reach, you
  can beat up Sand Drakes. Fairly easy to solo.
* Dessicated Hydra Claws - Hydras. Go to Skyward Reach…too many Hydras there.
* Massive Jawbones - Sand Giants. I usually run around in the Southern part of
  the Arid Sea. Also, the entrance to Vulture Drifts from the Arid Sea has a
  huge group of them. Also, there are Giants in the beginning of Thirsty River,
  but those don’t generally drop Jawbones often.
* Frozen Shells - Frost Wurms. Yeah. Good luck… Find them in Lornar’s Pass.
* Mountain Troll Tusks - West of Droknar’s Forge in Talus Chute, there’s a cave
  FULL of Trolls.
* Alpine Seeds - Both level 13 Juniper Barks and level 24 Pinesouls give Alpine
  Seeds. Go into Lornar’s Pass from Beacon’s Perch and kill the Ice Imps and
  Pinesouls there, or run around the Northern Shiverpeaks for Juniper Barks.
* Azure Remains - There are many Azure Shadows in Snake Dance and Witman’s Folly
* Intricate Grawl Necklaces - There are hordes of Grawl in Witman’s Folly, so
  you should easily get these in one or two passes, even with a full party.