Ragnarok Mobile Archer/Hunter/Sniper Comprehensive Guide 6 - Bows
Ragnarok Mobile Archer Guide: Bows
Equipment plays a huge role in Ragnarok Mobile. Majority of the time spent in the game is to acquire enough zenny to upgrade gear. For an attacker class like the archer, the weapon is the top priority when it comes to improving your gear. Unlike the original RO, accessories by default have PATK or MATK stats so they also play a big role in improving our damage so they're next in line when you have an established weapon equipped.
First let's go over the currently available bows.
Mystical Bow (aka Orc Bow) - the Mystical bow used to be the BIS (Best In Slot) weapon for all types because of the raw power it gave. The GH patch introduced the other weapon types which allowed for more diversity, but the Mystical Bow is still the king in terms of raw power. At 95 DEX, it gives a whopping +10% PATK bonus, at 120 and 150 DEX it gives an additional +3% PATK each, giving it a total of 16% PATK at 150 DEX or higher. No other bow (or weapon!) can boast of such a huge boost.
It's base item is the Crossbow (Prontera crafted bow) and is upgraded at Orc Village. It should be noted that the Tier 3 version already has the 95 DEX mod so if you're not going to commit to a DEX heavy build, it's better to keep it at Tier 3. If you are going invest a lot in DEX (150+ total), this is one of the cheapest bows to put an extra slot in because of the (now cheap) materials. The GH patch weapons all use more expensive materials and is harder to slot.
I mentioned this first because Tier 3 Crossbow is the best starter weapon in the game. It has the highest raw PATK and the 95 DEX bonus is a huge boost for a new archer. For veterans that want a cheap 2 slotted weapon, a Tier 3 Crossbow[2] can do a large amount of damage given the right cards and is relatively cheaper to over upgrade. Just remember to keep it at Tier 3 if you do put an extra slot on it.
Recommendation:
* Tier 3 Crossbow is for all new archers/hunters. Switch your weapon when you reach sniper or when you get enough funds.
* Mystical Bow is DEX heavy DPS chars (either ADL or AD).
Lunar Bow - a miniboss dropped weapon. This bow should only be considered if you can combo it with the Lunatic Brooch Accessory because it is only decent if it has the +2 INT, +60 SP and a whopping +10% SP Recovery mods. It's not that hard because they're both acquirable from the Mt Mjolnir Rift. This weapon is recommended for Trappers and is probably BIS until you can achieve unlimited Traps spam. If possible, try to get an Ignore Def enchant on it for more Trap damage.
Recommendation:
* Lunar Bow + Lunatic Brooch is recommended for Trappers and Falconeers that are starting out and cannot afford Cursed Lyre yet.
Malangdo Crab Bow - the first new weapon introduced by the GH patch. This weapon raised a lot of eyebrows because everyone wanted to know if it was worth the price (initial price of the bow at release was over 25m!) Ibanlendel released a video to review it and my take away from the vid is the weapon has to be over upgraded to beat the Mystical Bow. Also, the user must commit to a Crit Damage heavy build to make it worthwhile. This is definitely an end game bow because it will require Crit Damage enchants, Crit Damage cards and a lot of slotted gear. Not many have the funds for that. Also, it should be noted that the base weapon, the Kakkung (Geffen Craft bow), is not worth using at all because the Tier 3 Crossbow is just so much better.
Recommendation:
* Malangdo Crab bow is only recommeded for ADL with at least 90 LUK and is filthy rich. This weapon is terrible with average gear, but amazingly powerful when upgraded to +15 and is further augmented by Crit Damage gear and cards.
Kayin Blitz - a bow that specializes in Fatal Arrow and Charge Arrow and is upgraded from Falken Blitz (Payon crafted Bow). Fatal Arrow is arguably the best Arrow Skill for Snipers and this bow makes it easier to spam. It will lower the SP cost of lvl 10 Fatal Arrow to 30 SP and the cooldown to 4 seconds. If you can get SP regen over 60+ it should be almost spammable (SP regen should be higher than 60 because you still need to cast True Sight). Unfortunately, this build is untested because DPS tend to use Mystic Bow and don't have the SP regen to spam it; Blitzers and Falconeers don't have enough Skill Points to get Fatal Arrow; and Trappers don't get much benefit from casting it. I have yet to see anyone use this weapon so I don't know how good it is.
Recommendation:
* Weapon/Build is untested. If you try this build, please go on discord and tell me how it fares :D
Cursed Lyre - this bow specializes in Falcon Damage and is upgraded from Double Bound (Morroc crafted bow). It changes the Blitz Beat formula to quite a big chunk of damage (see formula in the spreadsheet) and is the best Bow for Falconeers and Blitzers. The other mod of CL is the auto cast of lvl 10 Double Strafe that has no cast delay. This adds nice bow damage but it shouldn't be relied on because it happens too rarely. The biggest drawback of this bow is the price, it's really expensive! Falconeers and Blitzers should get Mountain Ranger Tights (MRT) first before going for this bow.
Recommendation:
* Cursed Lyre is for Blitzers and Falconeers.
Rudra Bow - a Phreeoni MVP drop that is Holy Property by default and allows use of the Heal skill. I'm only mentioning it for completion's sake because this bow has been rendered useless by power creep. It has measly attack power, the heal is too weak (even with 99 INT) compared to a Priest's heal and is too expensive for what it gives. I guess you could experiment with it if you get it as a drop but I discourage anyone from buying this unless you know what you're doing.
Recommendation:
* avoid this bow.
That's it for today, The next post is my last one for the Archer series (because I stopped writing my blog at that point).
Lastly, checkout my YT channel: https://youtube.com/GrawrzGuide
Posted Nov 8, 2018, 4:27 AM UTC · edited