Fire Bola vs Thunder Bow

[TwoBits]

I've got a commander with the Heroic Strength ability - with Boots of Strength, Girdle of Might, etc., his strength is above 40, and with Jade Armor, should get double attacks, correct? Oh, he has 1 level of Air magic for casting Aim too, so turning him into a super-archer seems natural.

I'm wondering which people would prefer - double Fire Bolas for four range 40+ attacks with Fire Bond effects, or a Thunder Bow for two attacks of 40+ AN damage (by the way, am I understanding how quickness from the Jade Armor interacts with missile weapons correctly?).

One more thing, I'm pretty sure an Eye of Aiming stacks with the spell Eagle Eyes. Does it also stack with the spell Aim (if so, my archer would have a precision of +20!).

Thanks

[NTJedi]

I would lean towards the fire bola(s) since the thunder bow only has 10_shots unless you know your enemy has specific fire resistance/immunity or an SC where lightning will work. It gives you the option to switch out one of the two fire bolas for a shield or other 1-hand weapon as well.

I wouldn't add an eye of aiming instead I would provide him a pendant of luck.

[TwoBits]

Doh! I shoulda seen the whole ammo thing. Certainly makes a huge difference in all but the shortest battles. I'll save the Thunder Bow for situations where lighting is more effective. On that note, looks like I need to design a team of 'caddies' - gophers who can carry the correct 'club' ("hmm, facing Abyssia today, looks like I'll need the Thunder Bow", or, "eh, Formoria? Pass me Vision's Foe, please!").

On a side note, can anyone tell me if the spell Aim stacks with an Eye of Aiming (if not, I'm really going to regret slapping that Eye in his face)?

[Endoperez]

Aim and Eagle Eyes are spells that grant the same benefit (+4 precision), so they don't stack with each other. Eye of aiming may either 1) cause one of these spells to be cast at the user or 2) grant precision directly. 1) doesn't stack, 2) stacks. I don't know how Eye of Aiming works, but the manual lists if it acts as a spell IIRC.

[Meglobob]

Eye + aim don't stack.

Also, I thought aim and eagle eyes don't stack either but not 100% on that one.

[MaxWilson]

Aim/Eagle Eyes grant +5 precision. Eye of Aiming grants +8 Precision and an affliction (One Eye) which gives -3 Precision and -2 to Att/Def. They're certainly not the same effect even though the net effect is pretty much the same. I don't know firsthand whether they stack with each other, although Aim/Eagle Eye almost certainly does not stack since one is just an area effect version of the other.

-Max

[vfb]

TwoBits, you should really consider trying both. I had a heroic strength guy, and I thought he'd totally rock with double Fire Bolas, and I even gave him an Eye of Aiming. I was really unimpressed. Usually he missed with the Bolas, and sometimes he didn't bother throwing them. So, I gave him a Thunder Bow, and he seemed a lot more effective in battle, every shot killed something.

Unless you're up against a horde of Mammoths or Elephants, I'd go with the Thunder Bow. A Boots of Quickness, double Fire Bola heroic strength hero could be good against a large number of Elephants, assuming he's not the only thing standing between you and the horde. In any case, don't wear Jade Armor because the weight takes away AP and most of the time you'll end up only getting one shot off.

[JimMorrison]

Originally Posted by vfb

TwoBits, you should really consider trying both. I had a heroic strength guy, and I thought he'd totally rock with double Fire Bolas, and I even gave him an Eye of Aiming. I was really unimpressed. Usually he missed with the Bolas, and sometimes he didn't bother throwing them. So, I gave him a Thunder Bow, and he seemed a lot more effective in battle, every shot killed something.

Unless you're up against a horde of Mammoths or Elephants, I'd go with the Thunder Bow. A Boots of Quickness, double Fire Bola heroic strength hero could be good against a large number of Elephants, assuming he's not the only thing standing between you and the horde. In any case, don't wear Jade Armor because the weight takes away AP and most of the time you'll end up only getting one shot off.

I was under the impression from other discussions that the AP needed to make an attack was based off of your actual AP. So if your base is 12, armor and whatnot take you down to 6, and then quickness gets you back to 12 again - you really should still attack twice a round if you don't move. Heavy Infantry with 5-6 AP in combat tend to attack every round if they don't move, for example.

[vfb]

Originally Posted by JimMorrison

I was under the impression from other discussions that the AP needed to make an attack was based off of your actual AP. So if your base is 12, armor and whatnot take you down to 6, and then quickness gets you back to 12 again - you really should still attack twice a round if you don't move. Heavy Infantry with 5-6 AP in combat tend to attack every round if they don't move, for example.

Yep, that's what I thought, and I tested it out.

With a "Wand of Wild Fire" or whatnot, both Jade Armor and Boots gave double the spell casting.

With missile weapons, the unit would sometimes fire, and sometimes inch towards the target, eating APs.

5 round combat:

# of fireballs wearing boots of quickness: 10
# of fireballs wearing jade armor: 10
# of bow shots wearing boots of quickness: 8
# of bow shots wearing jade armor: 5
# of shots, wielding 2 bolas wearing boots of quickness: 14
# of shots, wielding 2 bolas wearing jade armor: 10

I dunno, maybe something was wrong with my tests.

[JimMorrison]

Originally Posted by vfb

Yep, that's what I thought, and I tested it out.

With a "Wand of Wild Fire" or whatnot, both Jade Armor and Boots gave double the spell casting.

With missile weapons, the unit would sometimes fire, and sometimes inch towards the target, eating APs.

5 round combat:

# of fireballs wearing boots of quickness: 10
# of fireballs wearing jade armor: 10
# of bow shots wearing boots of quickness: 8
# of bow shots wearing jade armor: 5
# of shots, wielding 2 bolas wearing boots of quickness: 14
# of shots, wielding 2 bolas wearing jade armor: 10

I dunno, maybe something was wrong with my tests.

Hmmmm. How did you script? I seem to get less of the "inching forward" effect if I Fire Closest. The 2 Bolas + Jade Armor result is pitiful though. And it makes me wonder if I should resurrect my thread that was trying to figure out if there is something wrong with the way that Quickness works.