Bowyer Essay

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Professions: The Archer

 

Bowcraft FAQ – Originally Written by Amidala / Updated by Aleena of Scots
Updated by Connor Graham, April 2009

 

Skill Overview
    • Chop wood, use a fletching tool on the
      wood to make shafts. Next, kill a feather-bearing creature (bird, harpy,
      etc.), skin it to get feathers, then use a fletching tool to turn the feathers and shafts into arrows or bolts

 

    • To make Bows: Like arrows, but more wood (no feathers), and more skill.

 

 

Bowcraft
Weapon Name Materials Needed Skill
Bow 7 Boards 30
Crossbow 7 Boards 60
Composite Bow 7 Boards 70
Heavy Crossbow 10 Boards 80
Repeating Crossbow 10 Boards 90
Yumi 10 Boards 90
Elven Composite Longbow 20 Boards 95
Magical Shortbow 20 Boards 95
Assassin’s Shortbow 15 Boards1 Dark SapphireRecipe 100
Barbed Longbow 20 Boards1 Fire RubyRecipe 100
Frozen Longbow 20 Boards1 TurquoiseRecipe 100
Lightweight Shortbow 15 Boards1 White PearlRecipe 100
Longbow of Might 20 Boards1 Blue DiamondRecipe 100
Mystical Shortbow 15 Boards1 Ecru CitrineRecipe 100
Ranger’s Shortbow 15 Boards1 Perfect EmeraldRecipe 100
Slayer Longbow 20 Boards1 Brilliant AmberRecipe 100
Elven Craftable Artifact Bows
Weapon Name Materials Needed Skill
Blight Gripped Longbow 20 Boards1 Lard of Paroxysmus10 Blight

10 Corruption

Recipe (From Bowyer Quest)

100
Faerie Fire 20 Boards1 Lard of Paroxysmus10 Putrefaction

10 Taint

Recipe (From Bowyer Quest)

100
Mischief Maker 15 Boards1 Dread Horn Mane10 Corruption

10 Putrefaction

Recipe (From Bowyer Quest)

100
Silvani’s Feywood Bow 20 Boards1 Lard of Paroxysmus10 Scourge

10 Muculent

Recipe (From Bowyer Quest)

100
The Night Reaper 10 Boards1 Dread Horn Mane10 Blight

10 Scourge

Recipe (From Bowyer Quest)

100
Fletching
Item Name Materials Needed Skill
Arrow 1 Shaft + 1 Feather –/40**
Bolt 1 Shaft + 1 Feather –/40**
Shaft 1 Wood –/40**

  • Bowcraft can be taught by the following NPCs: NPC Bowyer
  • At 40 skill, you will begin to make exceptional bows
  • Bowcraft is not a movement-based skill
  • You can repair your own bow with zero skill, as long as you have a fletching kit and the item has not lost more than 20% durability
  • Durability varies, but generally a bow will shoot at good accuracy for 100-200 arrows, but up to about 500 maximum.
    The bow will still function well beyond this, but less effectively
  • Bows are a starting (newbie) item when you choose the Archery Skill, but no longer bear the [practice weapon] label.
  • Bows of Exceptional quality, whether GM-Branded or not are equivalent, see VDP below for more information
Vendor Default Price (VDP)
There are two types of vendor prices.

  1. The amount an NPC Bower will purchase the bow for.
  2. The default price given to the bow when placed on a player owned vendor.

How do I determine VDP for an item? On a vendor you own, just
drop the item into their bag, and single-click the item to see what the
price is displayed as. This is not the price you set, it is a measurement
of quality, the higher the Player vendor prices it, (ex two GM exceptional-quality
bows) the better the item quality. That means if one prices out at 53
gp and the other at 60 gp the 60 will be superior in damage, durability,
and accuracy.

What if I don’t have a vendor, can I still test vendor price?
Yes, the simplest way would be to take a new bow for which you know the
VDP, and test what the shopkeepers offer in town for it. This method is
less reliable, as the price may reflect the “economy” at the time, and
any wear and tear on the bow will factor in. Also, this alternate
method take longer, due to travel time, etc.

VDP Percentages
Of 445 crafted Bows the VDPs percentages were:
% VDP (gold)
43.3 56 gp and under
17.1 57 gp
15.1 58 gp
19.6 59 gp
4.9 60 gp
Contributed by: Colum Phosphoros, GM Bowyer DF

 

Method to Gain

Once you have your logs you can use fletcher’s tools to engage the bowcraft skill. You will be given a menu to select the type of item you wish to try to create. The items get more difficult as you move right through the menu. The easiest thing to make is kindling and the hardest is a heavy crossbow. You will not have the option to make all of the items until you have sufficient skill. The skill needed to make a bow is 30, for a crossbow it is 60 and for a heavy crossbow it is 80. (Kindling, arrows, and bolts can be attempted at any skill level. At the minimum skill level required to create the item in question, you will have a 50% chance to succeed.To become a grandmaster, you will need time, patience, and a lot of boards or logs. Though exact board usage 30-GM is still being compiled, I can tell you the quickest method to gain:

  • Bow30-59.9Uses 7 boards or logs
  • Crossbow60-69.9Uses 7 boards or logs
  • Composite Bow70-79.9Uses 7 boards or logs
  • Heavy Crossbow80-89.9Uses 10 boards or logs
  • Repeating Crossbow or Yumi90-100Uses 10 boards or logs

Often, it is easiest to train lumberjacking and bowcraft/fletching simultaneously so that the crafter can supply his own supply of wood. To turn logs into boards simply target the logs with your axe.

Tips
For best results gaining:

  • Don’t waste your wood on arrows until after you are Grandmaster.
  • Try Xbows and heavies and stick to what makes you gain the best.
  • You can work the Bowcraft skill from 50 to GM by making bows to complete the quests at the Bowyer in Heartwood, while at the same time obtaining the recipes needed to craft the elven and artifact bows and quivers, along with talismans, rare rewards and even rarer Fletching Runic Kits

Selling:

  • With the advent of “market value” arrow and bolt pricing, a bowyer who sells arrows and bolts can make a nice living selling their wares to NPC bowyers and provisioners.
  • Bows and arrows can also be sold to the NPC Ranger/Bowyer, and Blacksmith shops

For more in-depth information consult the Bowyer Skills page, the Player Essays or The Warrior Forum

Last modified: February 11, 2013

1 Comments to “Bowyer Essay”


  1. Mark Taylor says:

    To macro 50-60, macro hitting a tree with an axe to make a log, cutting the log to make a board, then turning the board into a dart.

    1


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