Longbow: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 06:33, 9 November 2025

Version 0.31: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Name	Longbow
Skill	Ranged Weapons
Damage	14
Accuracy	+0
Base delay (%)	17
Min delay	7 at 20 skill
Hands	2H
Size	Large
Ranged?	Yes

A long, strong bow made of yew.

"Robyn bent a full goode bowe,
An arrowe he drowe at wyll;
He hit so the proud sherife
Upon the grounde he lay full still."

-_A Gest of Robyn Hode_ Sixth Fytte, l. 120-123. ca. 1450

Longbows are an upgrade over shortbows and orcbows, dealing more damage. They fire faster than arbalests.

Strategy

Longbows are one of the stronger weapons for a ranged weapons user. At around 16 skill (or higher), a longbow will outdamage an arbalest against a 0 AC target if you have 0 encumbrance. An arbalest can still be better against high AC foes or if it has better properties, though the base delay introduces risks in combat.

Of course, a triple crossbow is more powerful, but it's rarer and requires more skill to reach mindelay.

	Image
Mundane
Magical
Artifact
Piercer
Storm bow
Zephyr

History

Prior to 0.31, longbows had 13 damage and 16 base delay. Also, it was significantly more likely to find a longbow in the early-mid game (as centaur warriors could have them.)
Prior to 0.30, longbows had 12 damage, 17 base delay, and a mindelay of 6.
In 0.29, longbows had their damage and mindelay reduced (previously 15 damage, 7 mindelay) . They were affected by the ranged weapons rework that applied to all launchers, including the removal of the dedicated bows skill and arrow requirement.
Longbows were introduced in 0.15.

Weapons
Axes	Battleaxe • Broad axe • Executioner's axe • Hand axe • War axe
Maces & Flails	Club • Demon whip • Dire flail • Eveningstar • Flail • Giant club • Giant spiked club • Great mace • Mace (Hammer) • Morningstar • Sacred scourge • Whip
Long Blades	Demon blade • Double sword • Eudemon blade • Falchion • Great sword • Long sword • Scimitar • Triple sword
Polearms	Bardiche • Demon trident • Glaive • Halberd (Scythe) • Partisan • Spear • Trident • Trishula
Ranged Weapons	Arbalest • Hand cannon • Longbow • Orcbow • Shortbow • Sling • Triple crossbow
Short Blades	Dagger • Quick blade • Rapier • Short sword
Staves	Lajatang • Magical staff • Quarterstaff
Throwing	Boomerang • Dart • Javelin • Large rock • Stone • Throwing net

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{version014}}
+{{version031}}{{weapon
-{{weapon
   |name      = Longbow
- |cost      = ?
+  |skill     = Ranged Weapons
- |weight    = 12.0
+  |damage    = 14
-  |skill     = Bows
-  |damage    = 6
   |accuracy  = +0
-  |basedelay = 12 (120%)
+  |basedelay = 17
-  |mindelay  = 6, [[Ranged_combat#Costs|skill req. varies]]
+  |mindelay  = 7 at 20 skill
   |hands     = 2H
   |size      = Large
   |ranged    = Yes
   |acquirement = 10
-}}
+}}{{flavour|A long, strong bow made of yew.
-{{flavour|A long, strong bow made of yew. It does excellent damage in combat and a skilled archer can use it to great effect.}}
+----
-{{crawlquote|This weapon falls into the '[[Bows]]' category. Note that while the base damage is 6, the base damage of an [[arrow]] is added to give an overall base damage of 13.}}
+"Robyn bent a full goode bowe,<br>
+An arrowe he drowe at wyll;<br>
+He hit so the proud sherife<br>
+Upon the grounde he lay full still."
-'''Longbows''' are a marked improvement over [[bow]]s, dealing much more damage in exchange for a slight accuracy penalty and a higher skill requirement for fast attacks. Mid- and late-game bow-users will absolutely want to upgrade to one of these.
+-_A Gest of Robyn Hode_ Sixth Fytte, l. 120-123. ca. 1450}}
+'''Longbows''' are an upgrade over [[shortbow]]s and [[orcbow]]s, dealing more damage. They fire faster than [[arbalest]]s.
+==Strategy==
+Longbows are one of the stronger weapons for a ranged weapons user. At around 16 skill (or higher), a longbow will outdamage an [[arbalest]] against a 0 AC target if you have 0 encumbrance. An arbalest can still be better against high AC foes or if it has better properties, though the base delay introduces [[Heavy#Risks of >1.0 attack delay|risks in combat]].
+Of course, a [[triple crossbow]] is more powerful, but it's rarer and requires more skill to reach mindelay.
 {| class="prettytable" style="border:none; margin:auto; padding:0; text-align: center"
@@ Line 30: / Line 36: @@
 |-
 | '''Artifact''' || [[File:Longbow 3.png]]
-|}
-{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; margin:auto; padding:0; text-align: center"
-! || [[Unrandart]]<br>Longbows
 |-
 | '''[[Piercer]]''' || [[File:Longbow piercer.png]]
@@ Line 39: / Line 41: @@
 | '''[[Storm bow]]''' || [[File:Longbow storm bow.png]]
 |-
-| '''[[Sharnga]]''' || [[File:Bow of krishna sharnga.png]]
+| '''[[Zephyr]]''' || [[File:Bow of krishna sharnga.png]]
 |}
+==History==
+*Prior to [[0.31]], longbows had 13 damage and 16 base delay. Also, it was significantly more likely to find a longbow in the early-mid game (as [[centaur warrior]]s could have them.)
+*Prior to [[0.30]], longbows had 12 damage, 17 base delay, and a mindelay of 6.
+*In [[0.29]], longbows had their damage and mindelay reduced (previously 15 damage, 7 mindelay) . They were affected by the [[Ranged Weapons#History|ranged weapons rework]] that applied to all launchers, including the removal of the dedicated [[Bows (skill)|bows skill]] and [[arrow]] requirement.
+*Longbows were introduced in [[0.15]].
 {{weapons}}
 [[Category:Bows]]