Summary
Baldur’s Gate 3has players pick up a host of different weapons, each with their own special actions and abilities which change the way battles are played out. One such category of damage dealers areranged weapons, allowing players to attack enemies from the safety of long range.
While most of these weaponstruly pack a punch, some ranged weapons can be considered sub-par for felling devils and hags. Ranged weapons don’t just have to have a low damage output to be considered lackluster, as the effort to find some weapons, the choices that have to be made to acquire them, or failure to meet the expectations of the foe defeated are all valid reasons as well.
8Joltshooter
An Underwhelming Reward
TheJoltshooteris one of the rewards players can choose to obtain when they rescue Counselor Florrick from a burning building at Waukeen’s Rest. Players will be on a timer to reach the Counselor before she burns with the fire, and they could be in for a frustrating time, with doors that explode when opened and various other fire-related hazards that serve to hinder the player. The Joltshooter as a reward is slightly underwhelming for saving someone with the reputation of Counselor Florrick, as the longbow’s special ability, Electric Blood, is only useful when combined with other lightning charge gear.
Electric Blood gives the player two lightning charges every time they deal damage, which is rather worthless unless players have gear which uses those charges for other things. With the effort needed to carry on through the fire and the flames, players may feel hard put off that they must now find other gear that complements their new weapon to make it viable.
7Firestoker
Small Situational Damage Boost
To find this hand crossbow, players will need to travel to the Grymforge and face off against a room full of Hellsboars. After that, they’ll find an opulent chest which containsFirestoker. Being attacked by a group of Hellsboars could catch new players by surprise, and the resulting treasure players get for surviving the encounter is rather lackluster. Firestoker’s unique ability Burned Alive is very situational, and doesn’t resolve very often.
Burned Alive deals an additional 1d4 Piercing damage to Burning targets. Unless players have a designated spellcaster who canconsistently set enemies on fire, Burned Alive is rendered null, and the effort of slaying some Hellsboars for it suddenly becomes wasted.
6Bow Of The Banshee
Can Be Lost To Sea
TheBow of the Bansheewill see players picking up a +1 Shortbow with a handy ability called Blood-Curdling Emission, which can frighten enemies when hit and then deal an extra 1d4 to attack and damage those frightened creatures. Players shouldn’t rely on Blood-Curdling Emission to give out the Frightened condition though, as it will be inconsistent, especially later on in the game. Without sufficient planning for other sources to give the condition, the extra damage will not activate as often as players may like.
The weapon can also become unobtainable by selecting one ofBaldur’s Gate 3’smore entertaining dialogue options. The bow needs to be looted from Corsair Greymon in the Grymforge, who first confronts the player while on a boat. Players will get the amusing option to attempt to push Greymon into the water. If successful, his loot, including Bow of the Banshee, will be lost. If he’s fought on the ship, the Greymon encounter could see the player’s own companions pushed off the edge to their deaths, which can lead to a frustrating encounter.
5Titanstring Bow
Not Good For Usual Statblocks
Players can purchase theTitanstring Bowoff Brem at the Zhentarim Hideout once they’ve completed the"Find the Missing Shipment" quest,which requires the player to safely return a Zhentarim shipment to Zarys. Completing the quest means fighting off a band of Gnolls and their warlord, Flind, which can prove tricky for players on their first playthrough. Players will need to talk to Brem after the completion of the quest to unlock his Special Stock. If the player opens the shipment, or angers the Zhentarim in any other way, then a fight will commence and the Titanstring Bow will need to be purchased from Lann Tarv at Moonrise Towers much later in the game.
This +1 Longbow’s special ability, Titan Weapon, deals additional damage equal to a player’s Strength modifier when it hits an enemy. Usually, a recommended spread of stats will have the player using either Strength or Dexterity, with the other stat being much lower. On an average first playthrough, the extra damage from Strength will not be enough to make this weapon worth the effort to obtain it.
4Vicious Shortbow
Unholy Assassin Is Not Good Enough
TheVicious Shortbowis sold by the Bhaalspawn Echo of Abazigal, who resides in the Murder Tribunal if the player becomes an Unholy Assassin. Becoming an Unholy Assassin will skip a tough fight against Sarevok Anchev, but doing so will lead to the death of Valeria, the disapproval of several companions, and could easily beconsidered a mistakefrom a narrative perspective. The Vicious Shortbow has the special ability Dolor Amarus, which deals an additional 7 damage on a critical hit with any weapon attack.
The extra 7 damage will not show up very often, as critical hits are a 1 in 20 chance for every weapon attack. The ramifications of becoming an Unholy Assassin are much more severe than the tough fight against Sarevok, making the opportunity to buy this weapon not very lucrative.
3Hellrider Longbow
Expensive And Missable
Players will need to hand over 770 gold pieces, or 1550 gold pieces in Honor mode, to procure theHellrider Longbow. It can be purchased from Ferg Drogher in Rivington at the start of Act 3. If players have Shadowheart,one the strongest characters in the game, in the party, and she has shunned Shar, Ferg Drogher will instead direct players towards the House of Grief and be unavailable to trade with, making the Hellrider Longbow unobtainable.
Being a +1 weapon in Act 3 already puts this weapon at a disadvantage, as players will be looking for or already have stronger weapons. Its special abilities, Heightened Awareness and Fiendish Fire, give bonuses to Initiative and advantage on Perception checks, and the possibility to inflict Faerie Fire once per turn on a creature hit, respectively. Though advantage on Perception and Faerie Fire are useful, players at this stage of the game will have high enough stats to consistently hit creatures and find secrets without extra help.
2Lightning Jabber
Throwable But Throw-Away
Though useable as a melee weapon, the primary focus of theLightning Jabberis to be a throwable weapon, and therefore a ranged attack. The Lightning Jabber can be found on the corpse of the Cursed Kuo-Toa Chief when the player is ambushed by Cursed Kuo-toa northeast of the Grand Mausoleum entrance. Due to the nature of an ambush, players will be on the back foot and could suffer a frustrating encounter as they are chipped away in the first turn and unable to respond.
The Lightning Jabber’s special ability, Shocking Sting, possibly shocks a target on a hit, whilst its other property grants an extra 1d4 of lightning damage when thrown. The extra damage when thrown is sometimes handy, though overall, there are other,better ranged weaponsthat will not involve an ambush which the player can more easily find.
1The Long Arm Of The Gur
Not Worth Fighting a Vampire For
Looted from High Security Vault Number 3 in The Counting House of Baldur’s Gate, players will need to find the key to open it before being able to useThe Long Arm of the Gur. The key can be found in Cazador’s Sarcophagus, deep in Cazador’s Dungeon and right in the centre of his boss fight. Cazador is one of thetoughest battles in the game, and players will need all the most powerful spells and tricks to best the vampire and claim his loot.
The +2 Heavy Crossbow comes with the unique ability Revenant Scourge, which adds a 1d4 to attack and damage rolls against undead creatures. Ironically, the ability would be at its most useful in the fight that occurs right before acquiring the weapon and, overall, is not worth felling a vampire for.
