Is Arbalest OK?

[Rumblood]

I almost posted a rage thread about Arbalests seeming to be nerfed a week or 2 ago.

I was using a MW Arbalest and unloomed Steel Bolts at the time and struggling to get any kills.  Then i loomed my bolts to +1 and suddenly was doing well again.  Then I dropped down to a normal Arbalest and didn't even notice a difference.  The lesson I learned from this is that sometimes you just go on a bad run.

Using an Arbalest is one of the worst weapons for relying on the circumstances.  To do well you need; cover to reload, a nice firing position, a distraction so that people can't just dodge, no rain, a team that stays alive long enough for you to reload more than 3 times.  Fail to get these things and you don't really get the opportunity to shine which is why i always go hybrid

120 wpf is more than enough proficiency if you have a brain and then you have plenty of points left over to go melee when it rains

Not to mention that where you hit the other player, how far away they were, whether the sun is shining in Tibet, and how close the moon is currently in orbit will all affect the damage that you do 

[WITCHCRAFT]

Not to mention that where you hit the other player, how far away they were, whether the sun is shining in Tibet, and how close the moon is currently in orbit will all affect the damage that you do 

That's all to make up for the fact that none of your stats will ever effect the crossbow's damage! 

[El_Infante]

I played 4 o 5 gens of loomed arbalester and I have to say that:
- Rain ruin our day. Why? I have to change server everytime it happen. I hope someday dev remove that unfair penalty.
- Accuracy was nerfed a lot. In the oldtimes we had pinpoint accuracy at 170wpf. I agree is not balanced but a slightly buff is needed because is very hard to land far shots and our fire rate is so slow.
- Ranged damage is random. That is why sometimes players with heavy armor get oneshotted. (Speed bonus + high random damage).
- Oneshotting is luck. Sometimes archers die in one shot, sometimes not. The best way to do is shooting people that are running straight to you.

The thing I more hate is the repair rate. I can't earn money because that 1400 repair occurs more than it should, and my equipment is cheap (scale armor, mail gauntlets, and a flanged mace)

[Rumblood]

I played 4 o 5 gens of loomed arbalester and I have to say that:
- Rain ruin our day. Why? I have to change server everytime it happen. I hope someday dev remove that unfair penalty.
- Accuracy was nerfed a lot. In the oldtimes we had pinpoint accuracy at 170wpf. I agree is not balanced but a slightly buff is needed because is very hard to land far shots and our fire rate is so slow.
- Ranged damage is random. That is why sometimes players with heavy armor get oneshotted. (Speed bonus + high random damage).
- Oneshotting is luck. Sometimes archers die in one shot, sometimes not. The best way to do is shooting people that are running straight to you.

The thing I more hate is the repair rate. I can't earn money because that 1400 repair occurs more than it should, and my equipment is cheap (scale armor, mail gauntlets, and a flanged mace)

I dislike xbows, but this player sounds reasonable. I've always been a supporter of 170 WPF being the sweet spot for accuracy for ranged. If you've devoted that much to it, you aren't some tincan running around with melee AND long range spam  The random factors just blow.  (I don't consider speed bonus random FYI)

[Tomas]

(click to show/hide)

I played 4 o 5 gens of loomed arbalester and I have to say that:
- Rain ruin our day. Why? I have to change server everytime it happen. I hope someday dev remove that unfair penalty.
- Accuracy was nerfed a lot. In the oldtimes we had pinpoint accuracy at 170wpf. I agree is not balanced but a slightly buff is needed because is very hard to land far shots and our fire rate is so slow.
- Ranged damage is random. That is why sometimes players with heavy armor get oneshotted. (Speed bonus + high random damage).
- Oneshotting is luck. Sometimes archers die in one shot, sometimes not. The best way to do is shooting people that are running straight to you.

The thing I more hate is the repair rate. I can't earn money because that 1400 repair occurs more than it should, and my equipment is cheap (scale armor, mail gauntlets, and a flanged mace)

I disagree with most of this. 

Rain is part of life and should not be removed, I rarely even notice it tbh. A head shot is still a head shot even with rain, whilst I don't notice the difference between 2 shotting or 3 shotting players because i can never know their build or what other damage they've taken.  Besides I deliberately try not to focus on individual players anyway as imo it decreases awareness of everything else. 

Accuracy is fine imo, nothing should be pinpoint in a game that doesn't have sway or wind.

Ranged damage isn't random, but how can you ever know how much health your opponent has in battle or their armour.  There's a massive difference between a 39-3 build in loomed plate/heavy gauntlets and a 21-18 build in normal plate/heavy gauntlets.  30 hitpoints and 10 BA to be exact.  Both will look identical to you though. My experience on the duel server is that damage is pretty stable if you replicate the shot against the same opponent.

As for not 1 shotting archers, this is the trade off from having pierce damage.

Repairs are the only issue i agree with but it is a wider issue related to the new valour system which rewards melee far more than in the past.  That is another topic though.

[Rumblood]

(click to show/hide)

Accuracy is fine imo, nothing should be pinpoint in a game that doesn't have sway or wind.

Ranged damage isn't random,

But it DOES have gravity and missile speed which gives pronounced arcs to missiles, so it isn't some straight line shooter like you want to imply. It also has lightning fast horses (courser) that can change direction on a dime (Arabian), most maps with plenty of cover, athletics that let people run around like Benny Hill when they see that they are being targeted, and not to mention, shields.

Given comments from many otherbeta testers/dev types, I will take their word that ranged damage has a random component to it until the developer in charge of the formulas says otherwise.

[Tomas]

Given comments from many otherbeta testers/dev types, I will take their word that ranged damage has a random component to it until the developer in charge of the formulas says otherwise.

Meant to say "isn't that random" as in doesn't fluctuate as wildly as some people seem to suggest

[Rumblood]

Meant to say "isn't that random" as in doesn't fluctuate as wildly as some people seem to suggest

That I could see. Still somewhat random, but yes you are right. People will shoot someone in the chest, then shoot them in the arm and say "WTF? Damage is so random!"

[Tomas]

That I could see. Still somewhat random, but yes you are right. People will shoot someone in the chest, then shoot them in the arm and say "WTF? Damage is so random!"

Don't you mean - WTF!? I one shot a tincan (agility based player already down to 5HPs, shot point blank in the chest from above) but failed to kill a peasant with my next shot (level 35, 42-3 str crutcher, shot in the arm from 50 yards on level ground). Damage is so random!!

[WITCHCRAFT]

More so than archers, crossbow users need to survey their field of vision for good targets. The slow reload and low ammo count means that every shot should be deliberate and meaningful. I like this distinction and don't want to see crossbows become more bow-like.

[Segd]

I'm playing as xbowman only for 1 gen, but I think it requires some buffing if you'll compare them with bows:

- Rain reduces bow damage by 10%
- Rain reduces crossbow damage by 25%.
Bows also have more DPS(damage per second), more ammo & no need to use cover.

[Paul]

Damage randomness against unarmored targets is low. The more armor is used, the bigger is the randomness because of the structure of the Native raw damage vs. armor calc. What can appear as randomness to the untrained eye is the cRPG bone based hit zone system that will cut the damage down if  for example a limb is hit.

[Tovi]

In real world, xbows become unusable under rain.

[Corwin]

This isn't real world. Otherwise, 20 arrows fired from horn bow wouldn't be able to hurt anyone wearing plate armor.

[Rumblood]

I'm playing as xbowman only for 1 gen, but I think it requires some buffing if you'll compare them with bows:

- Rain reduces bow damage by 10%
- Rain reduces crossbow damage by 25%.
Bows also have more DPS(damage per second), more ammo & no need to use cover.

Yet somehow you see tincans using a xbow sidearm with 1 wpf, but never see them using a bow. Why? Your calculation completely leaves out the 6 skill points you need for Power Draw to use a Rus, Yumi, or Longbow. That is 6 points that can be placed into 3 strength points for the additional health, option for more power strike, etc. 6 skill points certainly is not insignificant and definitely disingenuous to leave out of the xbow vs archer debate. Not to mention the xbows can be held forever while an archer has a small window of firing opportunity for accuracy. Xbows fit their role just fine without a buff.