Crossbow and Bow.

[Acleacius]

There has been lots of disscusion about the changes in Melee but not much on Range yet and I am not really sure how I feel about the new range weapon's funtions.

What is the deal with the randomness of the loading a bolt in the crossbow?
I wondered if maybe the replay by the PC was an translation error or something as in English he says, "With what", as if somehow it thinks there is no ammo to load.

This is horrible as it happens very often in battle and with the animation effects scripted by PB having priority over our keyboard functions.
I.e if we press a key during an animation the animation continues anyway, which is very unrealistic.
So consequently we are forced to sheath the weapon, redraw and load it again, (which btw could only fire once before doing this whole process over again). :(

Next is crosshair, why can't there just be a small (scalable?) dot, to simulate the parallax view of aming in RL, uggh.

Addtionally the amount of time to draw the bow versus the distance seems very off against the PC.

[Maylander]

The crossbow thing is a bug, and I expect it to be fixed soon.

I feel ranged weapons work great as it is - you can go through most of the game using only range if you want, as long as you have ammunition at least. :)

[Acleacius]

Ahh, good too know its a bug, thanks. :)

[Corwin]

I quite like the bow, but I find a Fireball does more damage!! :) Plus I can fire them off faster than I can pull the bow.

[Sem]

I haven't tried a crossbow yet, but I think fighting with a bow is very intuitive and fun.
The bow fighting is like in Enclave, a moderate game but with good archery.

[mute]

The Bow / Crossbow thing. The bug with "With what" is stupid, but manageable. The trouble with crossbow is the reload time. You really don't want to use it cause you might be standing reloading the thing when you want to back off. In mine experience (I did go for a shield/sword fighter with crossbow) the crossbow is mostly "worhtless". Its okey with enemy that takes 2-3 hits to die, but when fighting with orcs, ogres or something bigger, the crossbow is a big misstake. The bow, with lower damage is much better, more nimble and you don't get caught on your feet trying to reload the damn thing. :)

When i replay gothic i will not be using crossbows at all. But if you don't want to put some skills in hunting to get better bow, it might be fun to have one.

Perhaps i will find some better crossbow elsewhere which does alot of damage and i will revisit this opinion. Again. :) (I have som now that does 150 + some special quarrel, but its more like suicide tryingt o use it...).

If anyone have some tips on using it better please let me know!

[Maylander]

Crossbow works great as well if you have master crossbow, as the loading time isn't too bad, and you get quite a knockback on it, so enemies stop. What you have to do is back away, back away, load(takes a few seconds), back away, shoot, back away, load, etc.. just keep backing away except when loading, and you can get 5+ shots into most creatures(except fast ones). Also, crossbows have MUCH higher damage and accuracy - easier to aim with on longer distances.

I use mine mostly for puling though, as I have a Krush Tarach(req 400 str, 200dmg, the very long orcish polearm) which has such a long range I can keep almost all creatures at bay with it and never get hit myself unless I'm fighting a pack.

I was thinking of trying a bow only game, but I imagine undeads being quite a problem, so I'll probably go with dual-wield and rapiers or something as well.

[Wulf]

Has anyone tried the poison arrows skill? - havn't reached that far yet.

[Maylander]

I find any DoTs(damage of time) spells and abilities useless, so I never use it a lot. Same for spells like Weakening and such - G3 has so fast combat people die before the effects are noticable. Still, I think it could be useful if you like hit and run tactics - tag 2-3 creatures in the pack with poison, run back a bit, tag them again, etc.

[Corwin]

If you're not careful, that doesn't work either. I was trying something similar on a Lizard, but I ran too far and when I went back, it was at full health!! :(

[Maylander]

Yep, it seems they have implemented a WoW style of creature system - as soon as it gets out of range of the player it will regain health very fast.

[Jabberwocky]

I haven't tried a crossbow yet, but I think fighting with a bow is very intuitive and fun.
The bow fighting is like in Enclave, a moderate game but with good archery.

Been awhile since someone mentioned Enclave. I thoroughly enjoyed that game despite its MANY flaws. The graphics were incredible IMHO. I'm just glad that Gothic finally adopted the archery style that I've been whining for since the first game!

[elkston]

Been awhile since someone mentioned Enclave. I thoroughly enjoyed that game despite its MANY flaws. The graphics were incredible IMHO. I'm just glad that Gothic finally adopted the archery style that I've been whining for since the first game!

Yeah Enclave was one of those games that just had that "charm". Despite
some bad points, it was just a blast to play and the game looked gorgeous.

As I was playing I just kept thinking how it would be great if it was a "full" RPG with
dialogue choices and more world interaction.

[Wulf]

If you want interesting immersive gameplay, i suggest using the bow as much as possible, as a hunter with 220 skill, i've just cleared all the orc's from Vengard using the Nimrod bow only - no melee weapon, it was awesome, i equipped 500 arrows and 150 pieces of roast beef just in case - - and had plenty left over.

[Maylander]

Only drawback with bow/crossbow is the slow killing compared to large 2h weapons or magic(provided you have mana regeneration). It sure is fun though, and almost without risk unless you face spellcasters. :)

[Wulf]

Yes indeed, In G3 you can see the opponents spell (for example the ice block) coming at you with trail line behind it whereas in G1/G2 it was almost instant, this slight delay before being hit is sufficient to be able to sidestep left or right and escape the spell by a few feet. The opposing caster has to stand still to cast and this helps the bowman while straffing from left to right to continue firing arrows, havn't used any spells yet - just a poor humble hunter ;) but iv'e yet to face powerful spell casters perhaps, i wouldn't possibly stand a chance against the instant sleep spell and others. Yet i am determined to get to the end an archer/hunter.:-/

[Dez]

I'm also playing a humble ranger character. I just love sniping enemies and collecting throphies on the side of it. Although I'm not a pure archer. I weild two swords and use them when i want to get my hand dirty or when enmies give no chance to stay afar...

Only downside with this archer business is that I'm running short of arrows! And 90% of the merhants sell only ammo for the CROSSBOW :>

[Acleacius]

Stilll as with G2 and G1 the biggest problem with Ranged weapons is the lack of either a Crosshair or a smaller Hitbox, makes it imposslbe to traget (the most important ability for Range) in a group of Mobs, this problem even severly hurts Range Magic.

If a group of charging Wolves or whatever once hit usually you can get one or two but then some may start getting in close range but the Targeting has you locked on a dead body still acting animations or on a distant target unable to point and aim where yoiu want.

This has always been a huge problem for picking up Loot also, constantly being forced shift your postion to try to get and angle on a body you know you have Not looted yet and when its a Boss with a MQ or even SQ specific item it becomes infuriating and heartbreaking to lose or waste hours of gametime. :(

The fix is so simple for this, its very irritating that they just neglected such an important and fluid concept in gameplay when 99% of everything they design is just brilliant.

[mudsling3]

Been using crossbow...that loading bug occurs from time to time. One more bit...you can't put it away or switch weapon right after shooting, got to wait for the hero to finish loading a new one. However, the crossbow is always empty when you pull it out. I hope this could be fixed as well. I am a archer in real world, got a very nice Samick Hawkeye 40#. PB's attention to small details in their game is admirable...love those little noise. Make me worry the bow were about to snap in halves though :) My bow only makes a little "thub" noise upon releasing an arrow.

[MonGoliat]

Enclave! Finaly someone that has actualy heard of it! I got it when I was in Rusia som i thouth that no one had that game. I agree, the bow system is realy nice! But the story suck though...

Ive got a Hunter-Twoblades'ish charater, he rock! But I dont use that bow that much, i let my two flame-swords do the talking. And I havent realy got a good bow jet.

[MasterLich]

Anybody know how the fire arrows work? As far as I understand, there is a chance with every arrow that the victim catches fire and burns for a certain amount of time. I suppose this chance varies with each type of creature, but if I recall correctly, I have only ever been able to set some boars on fire. So, are the chances really so slim or does the probability of enemies catching fire go up with the hunting skill (I have only 150 or so points in hunting)?

[Wulf]

I don't think it's a ratio type timer eg: 1:20 or similar, it seems more completely random to me.
I've had lizards and snakes burning (when dead) and yet sometimes there's no burning at all...?

But now that you mention it, i did seem more frequent as the hunting skill increased - noticed above 180 or 200.

[Maylander]

I think they always do added damage, but sometimes a DoT is added on top of that. Fireballs have the same effect from time to time, adding a DoT after hitting an enemy.

[JDR13]

I preferred the targeting system in Gothic 1&2 where the creatures name would appear above it when it was targeted. I don't like the white pointer crosshair in Gothic 3 at all. Does anyone know if it can be disabled?

[MonGoliat]

I dont know, but In my opinion i couldnt see why I should do it... =p I like it!

[migwell]

Why don't we get Roasted Meat when we get a kill with Fire Arrows? Developers!!!

Anywho, crossbow is pretty useless, although I have gotten up on a few rooftops and rained death from above on the Orcs, mainly saving precious arrows. Reload time is too slow for most things and the occasional 'With what?' is really annoying.

Enclave! That was not really a very good game, yet I played through 3 times... Gorgeous for its day.

[Jabberwocky]

I preferred the targeting system in Gothic 1&2 where the creatures name would appear above it when it was targeted. I don't like the white pointer crosshair in Gothic 3 at all. Does anyone know if it can be disabled?

Well, I don't know HOW to make it disappear, but I imagine something in the .ini file would do it. Still, I would think disabling the crosshair would disable your ability to use ranged weapons. Are you sure you want to do that? As far as I know G3 doesn't lock on target with ranged weapons like the previous two games - you HAVE to aim, like it or not, that's the new design - so isn't a crosshair helpful?

[Wulf]

So many players moaned about G1 and G2 bow targeting system, serves em' right, this new crosshair "V" target system is what must learn to live with. The V indicator changes in size as you allow for the natural curve of the arrow path which assists to still hit targets as they fade from view (which sometimes prevents being detected) a big improvement in my opinion.

[Dez]

gothic 1 and 2 didn't have a targeting system, unless you call autoaim for that. It was quite silly that an arrow could do 180 degrees turn in the air and hit the opponent behind you!

The new melee combat may not be as good as in previous games, but ranged is a lot better and more rewarding.

[Jabberwocky]

Yeah, that's what I meant by "targeting system." You "target" or "focus" an NPC and his name pops up and that's who the arrow hits (Provided your skill is up there enough). I don't ever remember arrows doing 180 degree turns though to hit someone - how is that possible when you must have the NPC in focus to shoot?

Anyway, sorry JDR13, but I'm afraid you are going to be hard-pressed to find another person who dislikes the new system enough to try and disable it.

[JDR13]

It's not the system I dislike, just the pointer. I think it's funny looking to have a white pointer just floating around in the air like that. It breaks the immersion factor for me.

[pantheon]

Is there any reason why I can't hit a Skeleton with my bow and normal arrows. I think I did this earlier in the game. Now I can't hit them. I have purchased the third bow skill and after playing with it it seems bugged and doesn't seem to add much. Nothing is easier to hit - if anything, I miss more often. Can't hit skeletons and don;t know how the fire arrows work unless I'm out of normal arrows - can;t seem to equip them.

Any ideas?

[Jabberwocky]

Not sure about the skeleton thing. As far as arrows are concerned, you have to do this: Place normal arrows and fire arrows in your hot key chart at the bottom of the screen. AFTER you ready your bow, press the hotkey that corresponds to which arrow type you wish to use.
Remember, they will only change when you have your bow out.

[sleipner]

aside from the Nimbus, there is also a few high level bows in the Varant desert

I think there was something like a war-bow at about 105 damage, and the "Silent Death" at 115 (the Nimbus is 110)

the extra 5 points of damage might not matter to everybody for the 40 or 36k it costs, but if you want the absolute best...