Bowcrafting and Runics

[Krrom]

Ok...dusting off the partially finished Lumberjack/Bowcrafter/Inscriptionist...so I started bowcraft and didnt work the skill for a long time until just this last week.

So I am making bows...chopping wood....making bows from low 40ish to 58 Bowcrafting skill. I got 2 Oak, 1 Ash, 1 Yew, and 1 Heartwood Runic. I just made bows and filled up chests in my house then periodically would load up packys and head to Heartwood for a clickfest bow turnin session. I actually ended up tossing out more than a few somewhere in the middle because I just couldnt stand another trip.

Did I get extremely lucky with the runics?

Heartwood Runic...is it better just to sell this one? I mean getting to GM is going to make my fingers bleed so it may be a while. I used to feel like I was pretty well off goldwise but the inflation of the last 5 years is starting to make me feel needy. Should I sell it for a cash infusion? Not sure how much these things go for but I have seen the bows they make sell for seriously outrageous prices.

 

[Padre Dante]

You were definitely lucky to get the Heartwood, and maybe the Yew. I have been doing the quests from around low 30's and am currently in the low 90's. Gotten numerous Oak and Ash runics, and 1 each of the Yew and Heartwood.

I just received the Heartwood and am in the same predicament. Those use to sell for ~15M on my shard, but now are down to around 6M (and probably falling). Is it worth selling or keeping and crafting once at GM? I don't know the answer to that.

I have been playing off and on for years and do not have much gold/rare items. I figured, what the heck, I finally got something cool, might as well keep it and burn it once I get to GM. Like a reward for the hard work. I mean, what else am I going to buy with the gold I get from selling it? A golden runic hammer?

 

[Krrom]

Yeah you know I think I will keep the runic til I GM and just burn it to see what I get. My Archer is running around with some pretty bad bows compared to today's standard. Just cant bring myself to buy a runic crafted bow for the insano prices they go for on Atlantic...so maybe I will be able to make one or two decent bows. Heck maybe I will continue to get lucky at the same rate with runics from 58 to GM.

 

[Padre Dante]

Another thought I had was to burn whatever Yew runics I get, first. If I get some stellar bow for my archer, maybe then I can sell the Heartwood.

More likely, though, I will be burning the Heartwood, regardless. You know ... just to see what I can get.

 

[guum]

It just depends how much you need the gold, IMO. If 6mil is a lot to you, you should definitely sell it -- the odds of getting either a bow that'll sell for tens of millions or getting any particular combination of mods on a bow in one kit are very low. Unless you've already got a pretty solid bow and a lot of gold to burn, I'd suggest burning Yew runics instead for anything you might want: they're dirt cheap now and you can make a very good (just not quite top of the line) bow with them. Chances are, on burning a single heartwood, you'll just end up with junk. The RNG is streaky, and I've had whole copper runics (which have twice as many charges as heartwoods) without a *single* weapon with SSI.

 

[Mezzac]

It just depends how much you need the gold, IMO. If 6mil is a lot to you, you should definitely sell it -- the odds of getting either a bow that'll sell for tens of millions or getting any particular combination of mods on a bow in one kit are very low. Unless you've already got a pretty solid bow and a lot of gold to burn, I'd suggest burning Yew runics instead for anything you might want: they're dirt cheap now and you can make a very good (just not quite top of the line) bow with them. Chances are, on burning a single heartwood, you'll just end up with junk. The RNG is streaky, and I've had whole copper runics (which have twice as many charges as heartwoods) without a *single* weapon with SSI.

I am very new to Bowcradfting, so....

If I was to use a Heartwood Runic or two, which bows and what wood type would I be best using ??

Thanks Mezzac

I'm well aware that everything is a far cry from alright
I'm well aware that all of us can at times be too uptight
And possibly the remedy is a dose of apathy
You point your finger at you, I'll point mine right back at me​

 

[guum]

Not sure which bows to suggest -- depends a lot on application. For instance, I didn't even realize that some bows have longer ranges than others until someone pointed it out to me. Highest theoretical DPS all-around is with a Heavy X-Bow. If you can get enough stamina & SSI (read: a *lot* of both), you can do insane damage with them. PvPers tend to like faster bows (I see a lot of them with magical shortbows). Etc.

To my mind, the wood question is an easy answer: Ash. SSI is the most important DPS stat there is, it's hard to get on any other gear aside from weapons, and 10% SSI is a big chunk right there. Even if you don't get SSI as a mod from the heartwood kit, the 10% *might* still make the bow usable (especially if it's already a fast one). Bows without SSI are universally unsellable, and not much use.