Longbow vs Crossbow

[Frostorm]

The longbow can shoot at pretty impressive ranges (albeit, not with great accuracy at that point).

Would you guys say the Longbow's supposed inferior accuracy (compared to the Crossbow) is an intrinsic property of the weapon or simply because there is a steeper skill curve required to master the weapon?

 

[TheoAllen]

Translating purely for game mechanics

Bow

• Lower damage per hit
• Shorter cooldown / Faster ASPD / DPS
• Bonus damage at long range
• Bonus damage against light armor
• Higher accuracy at long range (you can adjust the string pull strength easier in response to wind speed)
• The class is better as long-range support

Crossbow

• Higher damage per hit
• Longer cooldown / Slower ASPD / Burst damage
• Bonus damage against heavy armor (might also lower def?)
• Bonus damage at close range
• Shorter range, lower accuracy as the range increases
• The class is better as either mid-range support

 

[Mojo907]

I would say something like having crossbows attack effectively last in every round as opposed to shooting every other turn, and possibly having a greater output In critical damage x4 or x5 damage or small percent chance to kill outright.

 

[Frostorm]

Is there a term that describes the state in which the Arbalist needs to reload? I'm going to have this state applied upon using any Crossbow attack. This state will seal off all Crossbow-related skills. The player must then use the "Reload" skill in order to remove this state. I'm just having a hard time naming such a state...

Edit:
The Reload skill will be the 1st skill learned in the skill tree, costing only 1 point. It will be a "Main Action", but there will also be a passive ability further down in the skill tree called Rapid Reload that upgrades the Reload skill into a "Bonus Action" instead. That way, the Arbalist can attack and reload in the same turn.

So if your longbow can counter attack however much it wants to but your crossbow can't that might frustrate players using the crossbow.

I've also decided to make it so the Arbalist's Counter skill is "Shield Bash", which obviously requires equipping a Shield and scales its damage off of DEF. However, it only works for countering at melee range. In contrast, the Archer's Counter skill is "Counter Shot", which works at the bow's range, but not at melee range. It's essentially just a free "normal" attack when it procs.

 

[Tj_Silverfang]

View attachment 208097
I just thought of a cool passive skill for the Arbalist. If a 1H Crossbow & Shield is equipped, the Arbalist automatically Guards while reloading. ^.^

I would say the auto guard would work best with larger shields as the Arbalist can hide behind the shield while reloading, were as with small shields the act of blocking would interrupt their reloading. On the subject of larger shields you could have a special shield only usable by the Arbalist that can be "staked" into the ground and has 2 "wings" that slide out to cover the left/right sides to allow fire from cover. Using this ability would cause the Arbalist to be unable to move until the shield is picked up.

 

[Frostorm]

Btw, I was thinking of adding a few "Stances" for the Arbalist & Archer. Their melee counterparts have stances like High, Middle, & Low Stance, which each does something different and are mutually exclusive (cannot stack). I did some Googling and found some Archery Stances, but I'm not sure if they'd apply to crossbows as well. I'm guessing they don't but if anyone can clarify, that'd be very appreciated. Before I found that site/page, I had a skill in my database I named "Sniper Stance", but wasn't quite sure whether to give it to the Arbalist or the Archer class...thoughts? I haven't really decided what it does yet; I just liked the name, lol.



Edit:

I would say the auto guard would work best with larger shields as the Arbalist can hide behind the shield while reloading, were as with small shields the act of blocking would interrupt their reloading. On the subject of larger shields you could have a special shield only usable by the Arbalist that can be "staked" into the ground and has 2 "wings" that slide out to cover the left/right sides to allow fire from cover. Using this ability would cause the Arbalist to be unable to move until the shield is picked up.

Hmm, I just realized that a "Take Cover" ability would basically be a Stance as well. Thanks for the idea!

 

[fugahagen]

That crossbow vrs bow video was pretty sweet.

I'm using row formations in my game so it's seems to work well to have crossbow guy who can sit in the 3rd row and spend a turn loading the thing. Then it will have armor peircing effects and and a big crit buff.

 

[Frostorm]

Guys, I need help naming these 2 passive skills:

• [insert name here]: Increases Critical Strike chance of ranged attacks by 5/10/15%.
• [insert name here]: Increases Critical Strike damage of ranged attacks by 10/20/30%.

They're so generic in terms of bonuses that I have no idea what to name them, lol...

 

[fugahagen]

Guys, I need help naming these 2 passive skills:

• [insert name here]: Increases Critical Strike chance of ranged attacks by 5/10/15%.
• [insert name here]: Increases Critical Strike damage of ranged attacks by 10/20/30%.

They're so generic in terms of bonuses that I have no idea what to name them, lol...

Passive? What about making different draw weights on the bows.

 

[Frostorm]

Passive? What about making different draw weights on the bows.

Yea, that'll be a thing on the weapons themselves. But the Passive Skills I just described are for the Arbalist's skill tree. Also, a weapon's draw weight would grant an Armor Penetration bonus rather than Crit.

Edit: Update on those Passive Skills...

• [insert name here]: Increases Critical Strike chance of ranged attacks by 5/10/15%.
• [insert name here]: Increases Critical Strike damage of ranged attacks by 10/20/30%. In addition, successful Critical Strikes grant +2/+4/+6 Focus (TP).

 

[fugahagen]

Yea, that'll be a thing on the weapons themselves. But the Passive Skills I just described are for the Arbalist's skill tree.

Oh ok. I got the generic, sharpshooter, dead eye, marksmen, dead shot. Maybe something like Achilles heel?

 

[Frostorm]

So here are 2 "Stances" I made for the Arbalist just now:

• Take Cover: Increases Block chance by 100% but reduces its effectiveness by 50% and immobilizes the user. Only 1 Stance may be active at a time. [Requires Shield]
• Focus Fire: Increases Armor Penetration by a percentage equal to the user's Focus (TP) but reduces Focus generation by 50%. Only 1 Stance may be active at a time. [Requires Crossbow]

 

[Trihan]

Guys, I need help naming these 2 passive skills:

• [insert name here]: Increases Critical Strike chance of ranged attacks by 5/10/15%.
• [insert name here]: Increases Critical Strike damage of ranged attacks by 10/20/30%.

They're so generic in terms of bonuses that I have no idea what to name them, lol...

Crit chance: Sharpshooter
Crit damage: Pinpoint Weakness

 

[Frostorm]

Alright, so I have a classic RPG skill for the Archer: Trueshot Aura. However, I'm having a hard time coming up with a fitting Aura for the Arbalist.

So far, the Arbalist is all about hitting hard, so: +Crit %, +Crit Dmg, +Armor Pen, knock back effects, turn delay effects, etc...

And the Archer is the other end of the spectrum, so: +Hit %, multi-hit atks, multi-target atks, etc...

Edit: I actually have ~80% of the Arbalist's skill tree done. Just missing an Aura, a final skill (for the very last node in the tree), and maybe 1 more other skill or passive. But really, I just can't think of a fitting passive, lol. I'll post the skill tree thus far once I get home from dinner.

Edit2: Here's the Arbalist's WIP skill tree!

• M = Main Action
• B = Bonus Action
• P = Passive Skill
• C = Counter Skill
• A = Aura Skill

Skill Details:

• Concussive Shot - Deals x Pierce damage and pushes the target back 1 space. In addition, a Critical Hit will delay the target's turn order. [Cost: 20TP]
• Crossbow Specialization - (Passive)
• Dual Wield Specialization - (Passive)
• Focus Fire - (Bonus Action) Increases Armor Penetration by a percentage equal to ½ the user's Focus (TP). Only 1 Stance may be active at a time. [Requires Crossbow] [Cost: 10TP]
• Take Cover - (Bonus Action) Increases Block chance by 100% but reduces its effectiveness by 50% and immobilizes the user. Only 1 Stance may be active at a time. [Requires Shield] [Cost: 10TP]
• Reload - (Main Action) Removes the "Reload Required" state, which is always applied after performing an attack with a Crossbow. [Cost: 10TP]
• Rapid Reload - (Passive) Upgrades Reload to cost a Bonus Action rather than a Main Action.
• Shield Specialization - (Passive) Increases Block chance by 5/10/15%. In addition, a successful Block generates 2/4/6TP.
• Shield Bash - (Counter) Deals x Blunt damage to an adjacent target.
• Heavy Shot (Main Action) - Deals x Pierce damage to targets within a circle(1)* AoE. In addition, the primary target has double the chance to receive a Critical Hit. [Cost: 40]
• Piercing Shot (Main Action) - Deals x Pierce damage with 50% Armor Penetration. In addition, a Critical Hit will reduce the target's Constitution by {a.atk÷4} for 2 turns. [Cost: 30TP]
• Straight Shot (Main Action) - Deals x Pierce damage to targets within a straight line. [Cost: 40TP]
• Split Shot (Main Action) - Deals x Pierce damage to targets within 2 cardinal directions. [Cost: 40TP]
• ??? (Aura) -

Note: The 1st row of the skill tree has no point spend requirements. The 2nd row requires 3 points spent while the 3rd row requires 6 points spent, and so on...
Note2: "circle(1)" looks like this: