Ranged weapon enchantments

Remove all ads!

When using the various ranged weapons that do not require ammunition (Gesen Bow, Fire Tooth, etc.), what is the projectile actually capable of hitting in terms of immunities (vampires, wolfweres, liches)? I was just wondering if it is better to look around for expendable ammunition when preparing for monsters with immunities, or if the Gesen Bow somehow fires +4 arrows or something that I am apparently not aware of. Thanks!

 

The weapon descriptions tell what kind of ammunition it uses normally. You can always equip arrows+3 and use them instead.

 

I think that with the Short Bow of Gesen the item description says THACO: 4 and 1-8 electrical with 2 piercing. Do the hit bonuses determine the enhancement unless stated otherwise? What I'm trying to say is, if you shot at a dem-lich with the Gesen, would it hit because of what it says abut the THACO or would it be ineffective because it is pretty much the same thing as an arrow of lightning?

 

I think Gesen is kind of strange. I noticed that when I used arrows with gesen I did no damage at alla hitting some kind of monsters but when I removed the arrows I did both the piercing and electrical damage... So I would guess that if you only use gesen it is raw electrical damage and if you use arrows they somehow alters the electrical to only effect what you hit with the arrows... Strange..

The others (firetooth and those) are easier. It says on most of them what they are. Firestooth is +3 if I remember correctly..

 

Which confuses me, can you hit Demilich or Demogorgon with Gesen's arrows?

 

I'll say right out - I think I know what I'm saying.

Gesen is a +3 bow and fires magical arrows that do electrical damage. I'm pretty sure it can't hit a demi-lich, but the electrical damage might get through. If you fire +1 arrows, I think that will get it to hit a demi-lich (3+1=4). For other enemies, Gesen will hit them. Sometimes all you get is a couple of points of electric damage, but every little bit helps. I've never attacked a demi-lich (Kangaxx) with this bow. Most of the team is hiding during this fight.

Firetooth, do you mean the dagger or the crossbow? The dagger is +3 with fire damage and hits about the same as Gesen. The crossbow should be able to hit anything in the game as it is a +5 with fire damage/bolts.

 

Here we go again, Kuemper, are you sure that ranged weapon's enchantment level is determined by the total enchantment level of BOTH the launcher and ammunition? So Gessen+3 equipped with mere +1 arrows can hit a Demilich? I doN't think so, though I never tried actually.

 

It's Fire Tooth +3, the throwing dagger, and Firetooth +4/+5, the crossbow. Confusing. Anyway, I think Gesen's own arrows count as +4 to determine what they can hit. Haven't tried if you can hit Kangaxx with it, but I suppose it should. I never use Gesen's for Kangaxx, though. There are much better weapon choices.

/edit
Concerning adding the THAC0's, you can add the THAC0's of both bow and arrow to determine your To Hit bonus. Your arrows (the things that actually hit the target) determine if it can be hit. For instance, +1 arrows with Gesen's won't be able to hit an Adamantite Golem, whereas +3 arrows can.

[ February 18, 2006, 12:42: Message edited by: henkie ]

 

So, according to Kuemper's idea, can Firetooth crossbow +5 equipped by mere normal bolts, hit anything requires at least +4?

 

Equipping, say, +2 arrows on the Gesen Bow, which I *seem* to remember fires +3 arrows (could be +4 but it really doesn't matter here), doesn't add up the enchantment to +5. You'll be firing +2 arrows, but with the to hit bonuses from both the bow and the arrows.

Your Thac0 will actually be higher if you equip something on the Gesen Bow, but the enchantment comes *only* from the arrows. I fired +2 arrows with the Gesen Bow at an Adamantite Golem and got the "weapon ineffective" -message. I removed the arrows, shot with Gesen alone, and did damage.

 

I warned you guys I thought I knew what I was saying. Jeez. I do know that Gesen with +1 arrows will get through Imp. Mantle.

 

So equipping +1 arrows with Gessen will actually reduce its power or not? It gets even more confusing with each post.

 

If you equip +1 arrows you get another +1 To Hit, on top of the +4 To Hit of Gesen's. You don't get electrical damage with your +1 arrows, and you won't be able to hit creatures which are immune to +1 and less weapons. I'm not sure if you do more or less damage with the +1 arrows (physical damage, that is).

I do know that if you use Erinne's Sling +5 and the Bag of Plenty +2 you do a lot more damage than if you use the Sling of Everard +5 without any actual bullets.

 

The to hit and damage of a bow stack with the to hit and damage of arrows fired from the bow (or crossbow or sling). So the, in the case of the Gesen bow it does become more powerful when you use magic arrows and will dish out greater damage (depending on the arrow).

Unfortunately, as henkie said, a +1 arrow fired from Gesen would strike as a +1 arrow. Although you would have +5 to hit and +3 damage (with Gesen), it would still be uneffective for creatures requiring a +2 or better weapon to hit.

IIRC, the Sling of Everard has a bug (which is corrected by Baldurdash). Uncorrected, it will add strength bonuses like the Sling of Seeking and becomes extremely powerful with exceptional strength (especially with magic bullets).

 

Gesen's bow is enchanted +4. When you aren't using ammunition it hits as a +4 weapon. When you are, it uses the arrow's enchantment value instead (though as Henkie & Bruno mentioned, the arrow will inherit the bow's THAC0 and damage bonuses). So yes, it can hit a demilich.

(Tansheron's bow is enchanted +3, and Firetooth the crossbow is enchanted as per its name, for the record.)

 

I'm probably about to get shouted at. But I've always found Gesen works best without using any actual arrows with it. Using any Arrows with it pre-empts the electricity arrows it would normally generate. It's description even says as much and so far as I could tell it really works this way as well.