# Greatbow balance

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/greatbow-balance/17474>\
**Category:** The Drawing Board\
**Created:** [November 13, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/greatbow-balance/17474 "2018-11-13T21:59:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 22

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**Author:** ![darktoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@darktoes](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/darktoes)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 12:25pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/greatbow-balance/17474/22 "2018-11-14T12:25:36Z")

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> [@Bows, Crossbows and Their Balance](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/bows-crossbows-and-their-balance/17067/197):
>
> Nodachi does not leave you safe from retaliation even vs normal Z’s (if you miss) and can’t be used against shockers, acids, etc without taking damage, technicians can disarm you, etc, etc.

Wear a survivor firesuit and plate armor then. Get your dodge skill up. Take a hit once in a while, no big deal. It still has higher dps and no ammo requirement. The greatbow doesn’t make you safe, you can still get surrounded, swarmed, or sniped by a shocker bolt.

> [@Bows, Crossbows and Their Balance](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/bows-crossbows-and-their-balance/17067/197):
>
> .50 cal used limited rare ammo and alerts the whole neighborhood to you location.  
> Greatbow is silent, ranged, auto-learn recipe that uses effectively unlimited ammo while still dealing similar damage.

The Barrett does ~126 damage. That’s not exactly similar to 35. The greatbow isn’t silent and the good ammo has decently high crafting requirements. Also, you need 18 strength. I can’t stress enough how difficult that is to get with a normal playthrough.

> [@Bows, Crossbows and Their Balance](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/bows-crossbows-and-their-balance/17067/197):
>
> The problem is, the rest of the game was previously balanced around the kind of scaling melee weapons have.

Where? Around melee weapons? Those scale with skill, weapon quality, and even martial arts in use. Bows ONLY scale around strength, and quality to a lesser degree.

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