In a rather marginal way, if in any at all.
The name of the game with bows is max range and damage-per-shot. Neither of those things depend on dex.
And accuracy is easy to compensate for by just firing from closer range.
I donât use firing modes most of the time.
Just use . to keep aiming, and âfâ to release once I like the current aim.
I do use âcâ and âpâ when under no pressure: slower targets I have no fear of missing an arrow or two against.
Also, keep in mind firing a bow takes 4 steps:
- Draw an arrow, position it: after you are done, your âaiming interfaceâ appears.
- Draw the actual bow, get ready to release the arrow. This happens already in the aiming interface and can take 100âs of moves. During this step faster enemies can move 4-5 tiles.
- Keep getting better aim. This step is optional.This eats stamina, as the bow is already drawn. At this point every extra âtickâ of aim only takes very little extra time (about 0.1 seconds or so).
- Release. This step by itself takes very little time as well.
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One more important notice:
you can take steps 1, 2 and (to some degree) even step 3 without any targets in range.
For example, if you know something will âcome around that cornerâ, you can draw the arrow, pull the bow and start aiming at the empty tile next to the corner. As soon as your target comes into range, you can adjust the aim and release very quickly.
It feels wierd that bows are pretty much useless agianst armour. I can understand that bows would be ineffective against heavily too medium armoured opponents but you would expect that a high-end bow with proper arrows would be able to deal with light armour quite effectively. Maybe make armour piece value a function of not just the arrows being used but also of the bow it is shot from? A bodkin arrow form a selfbow isnât going to do much against any kind of armour but shot from a proper warbow would certainly deal with light armour quite effectively. Might even be able to deal with a medium armoured traget (soldier zombie) if you fire dozens of shots at it.
The issue here is less how bows works and more how enemies have 100% armor coverage.
P.S. Also, bows can pierce light armor.
I would tend to agree. Just about any medieval society that could field an army had archers and they werenât there to annoy the enemy. Granted most of them trained more than any would be Robinhood in the apocalypse ever will, but the bows themselves were the rifles of the day.
Some were of little use beyond training or small game hunting. Others, like Hunnic horse archersâ laminate bows were compact for maneuverability but were still effective against reinforced cloth, leather or lamellar. English longbows were known and revered because they could penetrate leather and chain easily, even scale and some plate.
I believe part of the problem here boils down to confusion about the type of vest the Kevlar zombies are wearing. There are kevlar vests made for protection from cutting/stabbing and also ones made for stopping bullets. Iâm stepping out on a limb and assuming the military werenât planning on their soldiers getting into a lot of knife fights or sabre duels, so the the armored zombies are likely in bullet resistant armor.
Bullet resistant armor can be pierced by an arrow with a broadhead tip shot from a compound bow. A crossbow bolt will go in the front panel and out through the back one. Again, taking a leap of logic, moving to an arrowhead with a smaller profile, like a bodkin arrow, will only cause even deeper penetration.
I could see arrows largely failing against prison guard zombies, since they were more likely to be stabbed or cut on the job than shot, so would be wearing cut/stab resistant armor. Possibly SWAT zombies as well, though that could be dependant on the situation they are deployed to. Zombie soldiers would almost exclusively be in bullet resistant gear though, and as such, be just another victim for a competent archer with a sturdy enough bow.
So how do bows compare to shotguns?
Found an 1897 with the 1917 bayonet and fell in love, but one bone zombie or Kevlar hulk and itâs back to the loaded stick
Sediment, 99 percent correct on Kevlar. A good way to look at it is that its the modern padded cloth. Itâs so fibours and dense it behaves as a net that catches small moving projectiles, but is better at stopping blunt instruments and Sharp objects moving relatively slowly.
The hard ceramic plates you would find in Proper swat or front line infantry armor though, no dice. Iâd go as far to say that a Warhammer or war pick would be unable to pierce an AR500 or ESAPI trauma plate.
Although in game, I got dusted by some nut with a machete while wearing plate over a Kevlar reinforced gamberson, so CDDA isnât always perfect, but we all love it
Shotguns should beat bows in every fight, with the right ammunition. However, looking at the underlying json, it seems Slug and Flechette have 0 armor pen, same as buck, and identical damage which would make them equally ineffective against heavily armored boys. Guessing this is an oversight that probably should be corrected.
But zombies are vulnerable to fire, and Dragons Breath shells are a thing, and they are flagged properly as incendiary. A faceful of fire should work nicely.