Archery in GS4
Archery Weapons
There are two types of archery weapons available for use in GemStone IV: the bow and the crossbow. There are several variations within those two types, such as composite bows, long bows and short bows, as well as light crossbows and heavy crossbows. The biggest difference between the two is how they are used.
Bow
In order to fire a bow, the archer must first hold the bow in the left hand. Holding the bow in the left hand is required to gain the necessary Defense Strength (DS) bonus. Next, take one arrow out of your arrow bundle by typing GET 1 ARROW in the command prompt. Lastly, fire the bow by typing FIRE BOW AT <target> or FIRE <target>.
Each type of bow has a base Roundtime (RT). Short bows have a 5 second RT, composite bows have a 6 second RT, and long bows have a 7 second RT. Your archer’s strength bonus decreases this RT. For every +10 strength bonus, the RT for firing your bow is decreased by one. The spells 606 and 509 also help reduce firing RT.
The minimum RT to fire a bow does not go below three seconds. Certain factors, such as encumbrance or being under-trained for your armor, can increase RT.
Crossbow
In order to fire a crossbow, the archer must first hold the crossbow in the left hand. Holding the crossbow in the left hand is required to gain the necessary Defense Strength (DS) bonus. Next, with the right hand open, ready the crossbow by typing COCK CROSSBOW. Be aware that cocking the crossbow forces you into offensive stance.
Once the crossbow is cocked, get a bolt from your bolt bundle by typing GET 1 BOLT in the command prompt and load the crossbow by typing LOAD CROSSBOW. Finally, fire the crossbow by typing FIRE CROSSBOW AT <target> or FIRE <target>. If the archer is kneeling, the crossbow user’s AS will increase by 30.
Each type of crossbow has a base Roundtime (RT). Cocking a light crossbow has a 6 second RT and cocking heavy crossbow has a 9 second RT. The archer’s strength bonus decreases this RT. For every +10 strength bonus, the RT for cocking your crossbow is decreased by one. The spells 606 and 509 also help reduce RT in cocking a crossbow.
The minimum RT
to cock a crossbow does not go below three seconds for a light crossbow and 6
seconds for a heavy crossbow. Certain
factors, such as encumbrance or being under-trained for your armor, can
increase RT. The RT to fire a crossbow
is 2 seconds flat.
Aiming and Sniping
It is possible to aim at a specific body part using either a bow or crossbow. Aiming at a specific body part adds one second of Roundtime (RT). To aim the bow or crossbow, type AIM <body part> in the command prompt. To discontinue aiming, simply type AIM CLEAR.
An archer may snipe a target from a hidden location. This lethal move adds an additional one second RT to the total firing RT for both a bow and a crossbow. Training in the Stalking and Hiding skill increases the chance that an archer remains hidden after firing their bow or crossbow. The archer’s chance of staying hidden is calculated based off of the archer’s Stalking and Hiding skill, compared to the target’s level.
The following spells give a bonus to aiming: 404 and 613. A ranger will receive a higher bonus from 613 than non-rangers.
Spells which put a penalty on aiming are: 607, 703, 412 and 1001.
Other factors which determine aiming success are the body part aimed for and the target’s size. It is easier to hit a bigger creature than a smaller one. Crossbow users have a bonus to aiming, with a more substantial bonus added if the Archer is kneeling. When aiming from hiding, training in Ambush and Perception help. When aiming in the open, Perception helps.
601/611, 608 and 617 help you stay hidden while sniping as well as while cocking a crossbow. The bonuses for staying hidden increase as the ranger gains knowledge of the spell circle.
There is a 1% chance of failure in aiming applied to all archers.
Archery Attack Strength (AS)
Archers can do several things in order to better their Attack Strength (AS). Firstly, training in the Ranged Weapon skill is a necessity. Other Character Manager skills that increase an archer’s strength bonus include Perception and Ambush training beyond the first 40 ranks. Perception’s benefits, however, max out at 200 ranks. The AS bonus is: +1 AS per 2 ranks each of Perception and Ambush over 40. This means that 2 ranks of perception and 2 ranks of ambush would equal +1 AS. Perception benefits cap at level * 2.
The Dexterity stat and certain spells also help with overall strength.
Archery Defense Strength (DS)
Holding the bow or crossbow in the left hand is the first requirement of defense for an archer, providing the archer with a measure of defense to represent that the archer is attempting to remain at range. Weapon skill for right hand weapons (or brawling skill if the right hand is empty) is ignored while Archer Defense is in effect. Other than that, archers calculate their Defense Strength much the same way as any other character, using the Evade, Block, and Parry examples in the Combat Guide.
Ambush and Perception skills provide additional modifiers for Archer Defense, as do the magical bonus of the ranged weapon. The archer’s DS will be slightly lower if holding a crossbow, rather than a bow, and holding anything other than a missile in the right hand will reduce the archer’s defense even further.
An archer will have no chance to parry or block an attack, but he does have ranged DS. The formula I have been given is:
((10 + ranged skill bonus) * stance mod)/100
(40 + (stance mod * 6) / 10))
Bundling Ammo
You can put a piece of ammo back into a bundle that is inside a specific container by typing PUT MY <ammo in hand> IN MY <same type ammo bundle> IN MY <container>.
Bundling Blessed and Ebladed Ammo
In order to keep a bundle of bolts or arrows blessed/ebladed, the archer must make special efforts to bundle their ammo. After firing a bolt or arrow at a target, the archer must return it to the original bundle upon which the spell was cast. If the archer were to shoot that same piece of ammo again, without rebundling, it would lose its bless/eblade. Proper rebundling recharges the fired bolt or arrow for the duration of the bless/eblade.