Longbow / Crossbow PvE Build Guide
Last Updated:October 15, 2024|Changelog
Welcome to the Longbow / Crossbow PvE Build Guide. This weapon combination dishes out a constant barrage of damage! Eagle Vision grants high amounts of Hit ensuring your attacks don't miss! Meanwhile Sniper's Sense grants high amounts of Critical Hit and Crit Damage allowing you to maintain high DPS at all times!
A combination of Selfless Diffusion and Deadly Marker ensures low Cooldowns not just for you, but your entire party! With so many "Attack" skills, Crossbow's passive skill Bloodlust Stack helps to increase your DPS even further making it a great option for high Single Target DPS.
Crossbow adds an incredible AoE option by using Annihilation Barrage Shot. Pairing this AoE skill with Mother Nature's Protest and Flash Wave allows for high AoE damage potential.
End Game Longbow / Crossbow PvE Build
If you're interested in the Leveling Guide, check out our Longbow/Crossbow Leveling Build Guide!
- High Sustain
- High Consistent DPS
- High Cooldown Reduction
- Low Mobility
- Lower Base Crit Damage
Skill Builds
Some skills appear different in the Tooltip due to its Skill Specialization.
- Detonation Mark = Mortal Mark
- Flash Wave = Flash Arrow
- Decisive Bombardment = Decisive Sniping
Active Skills
Damage Skills
- Quick Fire - When paired with your buffs, this Crossbow skill has high damage output and uptime.
- Use Strafing to apply stacks of Gale and follow up with Zephyr's Nock to consume the Gale stacks for increased damage.
- Decisive Sniping - Use the Nature's Blessing area to proc Whirlpool and lower the cast time.
Buffs/Debuffs
- Weak Point Shot - Only use this if you're the only Crossbow user in the party.
- Use in place of Zephyr's Nock.
- Mother Nature's Protest - Always have this active as all attacks from Longbow and Crossbow are considered a Projectile. Each hit from this skill also procs your Mortal Mark bonus damage attack.
- Flame Arrow helps to lower Cooldowns further while Selfless Diffusion is active.
- When Cooldown reduction isn't an issue use Lightning Arrow for higher damage.
- Selfless Diffusion - Use this after Mortal Mark to increase the duration of your mark with each hit.
- Mortal Mark - Use Detonation Mark for the highest possible damage with this skill.
- Mana Exchange - Combine with Nature's Blessing to solve all your Mana problems.
- Nature's Blessing - Gives not only yourself, but the entire party increased Mana Regen.
- Deadly Marker - The core method of lowering not just your Cooldowns, but the entire party's as well!
Passive Skills
- Eagle Vision - Constantly staying 10m+ away makes this perfect to increase Hit without needing to rely on gear that has Hit stats.
- Ambidexterity - Crossbow skills are heavily reliant on offhand weapon attacks making this a must have.
- Nature's Power - Mobility skills are easy to maintain, allowing you to keep this buff active indefinitely.
- Bloodlust Stack - Both Longbow and Crossbow 'Attack' skills have such low cooldowns that maintaining high or max stacks is easy.
- Piercing Strike - Bonus Damage is done per hit dealt so this synergizes well with the number of hits you're doing. This adds a lot of extra damage as long as you're stacking Bonus Damage.
- Rapidfire Stance - In most PvE situations, especially when fighting bosses, you often remain stationary, unless you're moving to another pack.
- Sniper's Sense - Perfect to maintain high amounts of Critical Hit without needing to go out of your way with gearing.
- Roxie's Arrowhead - With constant attacks from either Longbow or Crossbow skills, it only makes sense to use this as your final Passive Skill.
Active Skills
Damage Skills
- Quick Fire and Strafing are your main sources of Single Target damage while farming in the Open World.
- Decisive Sniping, Flash Wave, and Wild Barrage act as your AoE skills.
- Switch to Annihilation Barrage Shot when you're solo farming.
Buffs/Debuffs
- Mother Nature's Protest - Always have this active as all attacks from Longbow and Crossbow are considered a Projectile.
- Lightning Arrow is the highest damage Skill Specialization option.
- Selfless Diffusion - This should always be active before using Wild Barrage for highest damage potential.
- Mana Exchange - Combined with Nature's Blessing Mana is no longer a concern.
- Nature's Blessing - Gives not only yourself, but the entire party increased Mana Regen.
- Deadly Marker - Always use on whichever target your party is targeting.
Mobility Skills
- Nimble Leap - While being a mobility skill, this is mainly used to reset Quick Fire.
- This interaction of skills makes for a great "filler" when waiting for other skills to come off cooldown.
Passive Skills
- Eagle Vision - Constantly staying 10m+ away makes this perfect to increase Hit without needing to rely on gear that has Hit stats.
- Ambidexterity - Crossbow skills are heavily reliant on offhand weapon attacks making this a must have.
- Nature's Power - Mobility skills are easy to maintain, allowing you to keep this buff active indefinitely.
- Bloodlust Stack - Both Longbow and Crossbow 'Attack' skills have such low cooldowns that maintaining high or max stacks is easy.
- Piercing Strike - Bonus Damage is done per hit dealt so this synergizes well with the number of hits you're doing. This adds a lot of extra damage as long as you're stacking Bonus Damage.
- Rapidfire Stance - In most PvE situations, especially when fighting bosses, you often remain stationary, unless you're moving to another pack.
- Sniper's Sense - Perfect to maintain high amounts of Critical Hit without needing to go out of your way with gearing.
- Roxie's Arrowhead - With constant attacks from either Longbow or Crossbow skills, it only makes sense to use this as your final Passive Skill.
Skill Prioritization
- This is a general list of skills used across all forms of content that's recommended to upgrade.
- Should there be a skill here that you don't ever plan to use in your build, skip it.
- Use Quality Skill Growth Books to upgrade your skills from Green to Blue in the order shown below. Once all skills below are Green, use the rest on other skills used in the builds above.
- Use Rare Skill Growth Books to upgrade your skills from Blue to Purple in the order shown below. Once all skills below are Blue, use the rest on other skills used in the builds above.
- Prioritize getting all these skills to blue first before getting them to purple. These are universal skills you always use.
- Upgrade the rest of your skills as you play the game.
Active Skill Priority
Passive Skill Priority
PvE Gameplay and Skill Rotation
PvE is all about marking the target and then rotating your DPS skills as frequently as possible. All the while using Deadly Marker to constantly lower you and your party's Cooldowns!
Party Farming
Skill Rotation
- Deadly Marker
- Selfless Diffusion
- Nature's Blessing
- Detonation Mark
- Wild Barrage
- Blitz
- Decisive Sniping
- This is where the explosion from Detonation Mark should pop.
- Quick Fire
- Detonation Mark
- Zephyr's Nock
- Quick Fire
- Strafing
- Zephyr's Nock
Tips
- Rotate between Quick Fire and Strafing to apply Gale Stacks.
- Use Zephyr's Nock in-between if it's on Cooldown to consistently make use of the Skill Specialization for Zephyr's Nock.
- Use Mana Exchange whenever possible to maintain your Mana.
- Use the Morph, Orc Brawler to regain 4% of your Max Health and counteract the HP Costs.
- Use Nature's Blessing to speed up the cast time of Decisive Sniping.
- Having high attack speed also increases the animations/cast time of your skills too.
- Always use Selfless Diffusion and Detonation Mark before using Wild Barrage to ensure the highest DPS possible.
- Resetting Wild Barrage has the highest value
When farming Open World Dungeons with a party, the goal is to get all your AoE skills off first, and then clean up any mobs left over with Single Target skills while your AoE options are on cooldown.
AoE Rotation
- Deadly Marker
- Use on the target that the entire party is targeting.
- Selfless Diffusion
- Wild Barrage
- Blitz
- Wild Barrage
- Nature's Blessing
- Decisive Bombardment
- Flash Wave
Single Target Rotation
- Deadly Marker
- Use on the target that the entire party is targeting.
- Selfless Diffusion
- Quick Fire
- Strafing
- Quick Fire
Tips
- Use Mana Exchange whenever possible to maintain your Mana.
- Use the Morph, Orc Brawler to regain 4% of your Max Health and counteract the HP Costs.
- Use Quick Fire whenever it's off cooldown, even during the AoE Rotation.
- If it comes off cooldown while using Strafing, use it and then go back to using the rest of your Strafing stacks.
Stat Priorities
Use the following stat priorities when playing a Longbow / Crossbow build in PVE:
- Primary Stat
- Dexterity
- Secondary Stats
- Strength and Perception
You have 49 Stat Points to distribute however you see fit, and gear gives additional stat points that you cannot change. It's free to reset the Stat Points so that you can "respec" whenever you need to as you progress and swap out items. Above are the main Stats you should be attempting to reach with the given builds in this guide.
Longbow / Crossbow excels when stacking very high Critical Hit, Attack Speed, and Maximum Weapon Damage. All three of these things are given to you by stacking Dexterity!
Mid-Game
Your first goal is to hit 50 Dexterity. In PvE, our primary focus is on maximizing Critical Hit, Attack Speed, and Maximum Weapon Damage. To achieve this, first allocate enough points to reach 50 Dexterity. Next, invest points into Strength until you reach 50, which grants increased Heavy Attack Chance that synergizes well with high-damage skills like Decisive Sniping. Finally, place the remaining points into Perception for additional Hit.
End Game
With Purple Gear in the end game, you can achieve all your desired stat breakpoints. Firstly, reaching 60 Dexterity provides increased Critical Hit, Bonus Damage, and a significant boost to Attack Speed even before applying buffs. In addition, getting to 50 Strength grants 100 Heavy Attack, which subsequently enhances your chances of dealing double damage. Furthermore, investing in 30 Perception adds some extra Hit, making it worthwhile. Finally, any remaining points can be allocated to Wisdom, as having 30 Wisdom increases your Maximum Mana.
Gear Progression
The additional Attack Speed trait from Rex Chimaerus's Rake Bow, combined with its high Bonus Damage effect, makes it one of the highest-performing Crossbows for PvE. If you’re fortunate enough to obtain Tevent's Screaming Bow, be sure to use it for even greater damage potential! Queen Bellandir's Annihilation Crossbow is another really great Crossbow to use if you're lucky enough to get one.
End Game Alternative
Fresh 50 Gear for Longbow / Crossbow PvE
If you followed our Leveling Guide for Longbow / Crossbow, you may have some of these pieces already.
If you didn't read the Leveling Guide and have completely different gear, that's fine; your Story Gear doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. The only thing that matters here is that you upgraded your gear.
So let's go into what you can get easily as upgrades right as you hit Level 50.
- Elite Resistance Longbow and Special Resistance Ancient Dragon Armor - From the Main Story Quest.
- Elite Resistance Crossbow from the Bows that Pierce the Target Lithograph Book entry.
- Lethal Fortune Ring from the Rustic Mother Nature Rings Lithograph Book entry.
- Elite Sharpshooter's Cloak from the Cloaks that Wield Victory Lithograph Book entry.
- Elite Tracker's Belt from the Sources of Abdominal Strength! Lithograph Book entry.
Mid Game Longbow / Crossbow PvE Build
Now that you're level 50, this is the first set of gear worth going for that is a mix of blue gear with some Dungeon Drops.
- You might find yourself still using green items while working towards this gear, however, THAT'S OK.
- Just replace items from the gear used while leveling as you obtain them.
- Your necklace is eventually replaced with Slaughterer's Collar by completing the Marienne's Recommended Necklace Collection Lithograph Book entry.
- Unfortunately, one of the necklaces required for that entry is gated behind a Server Milestone so it's not obtainable right away.
Gear Sources
- Replacing your weapons with Dungeon Weapons results in the highest damage upgrade.
- Death's Abyss Co-Op Dungeon
- Karnix's Hell Bow
- Temple of Slaughter Co-Op Dungeon
- Rex Chimaerus's Rake Bow
- Death's Abyss Co-Op Dungeon
- Eternal Ring of Dimension
- Obtained by crafting Recipe: Precious Epic Accessory Selection Chest
- Craft Dimensional Essence: Salvation by gaining 10 Boss Tokens from each T1 Dungeon.
- Obtained by crafting Recipe: Precious Epic Accessory Selection Chest
- Death's Abyss Co-Op Dungeon
- Plate of the Field General
- Cave of Destruction Co-Op Dungeon
- Archpriest's Devotion
- Beast King's Gilded Bracers
- Moonlight Grace Leather Boots
- Also drops from Ghouls in Ruins of Turayne
- Cursed Wasteland Co-Op Dungeon
- Lethal Fortune Ring
- Ant's Nest Open World Dungeon
- Elusive Hexweaver Hat
- Worker Ants
- Elusive Hexweaver Pants
- Acid Ants
- Elusive Hexweaver Hat
- Sanctum of Desire Open World Dungeon
- Alacritous Invoker Gloves
- Avolos Hydromancers
- Alacritous Invoker Gloves
- Belt of the Midnight Hunt
- Drops from Evil Eyes in Manawastes
End Game
Longbow / Crossbow PvE Build
- This build optimizes your damage output giving you increased Critical Hit Damage and adds high amounts of Bonus Damage to synergize with the high amounts of hits dealt.
- This set takes some time to complete, so take it slow! It's not a race!
Gear Sources
- Ghost Wolf Alter Ego Mask
- Talus Field Boss
- Phantom Wolf Tunic
- Tyrant's Isle Co-Op Dungeon
- Shock Commander Gauntlets
- Cave of Destruction Co-Op Dungeon
- Unshakeable Gold Ring
- Demonhoof Trackers in Syleus's Abyss 5th and 6th Floor.
- Reaper's Interring Pants
- Junobote Field Boss
- Phantom Wolf Boots
- Minezrok Field Boss
- Clasp of the Conqueror
- Craft Recipe: Precious Epic Equipment Chest: Abyss
- Tycan's Bloodlust Belt
- Aridus Field Boss
No Field Boss Alternative
Longbow / Crossbow Build
- This build allows you to acquire all the pieces yourself through grinding.
- While there is a loss in Bonus Damage, the additional Critical Hit Damage remains thus maintaining relatively high damage output.
Gear Sources
- Butcher's Canyon Co-Op Dungeon
- Heavenly Arbiter Mask
- Butcher's Belt
- Temple of Slaughter Co-Op Dungeon
- Shadow Harvester Grips
- Phantom Wolf Breeches
- Reptilian Butchers / Soldiers in Saurodoma Island
- Craft Recipe: Precious Epic Equipment Selection Chest: Abyss
- Shadow Harvester Tunic
- Avolos Trackers in Sanctum of Desire
- Craft Recipe: Precious Epic Equipment Selection Chest: Abyss
- Sabatons of the Field General
- Dark Wizard / Berserk Dark Enforcer in Shadowed Crypt
- Craft Recipe: Precious Epic Equipment Selection Chest: Abyss
Guardians
Guardians are special transformations that add offensive or defensive buffs or attacks to your character for 30 seconds. For damage purposes, Shade Revenant Stheno is the best option for Longbow / Crossbow.
- Shade Revenant Stheno is a Guardian that shoots projectiles against all enemies around you for 30 seconds.
- The reason this Guardian synergizes so well with Crossbow is because the projectiles that hit enemies proc Mother Nature's Protest.
Summary
- Longbow / Crossbow specializes in dealing a constant stream of damage.
- With so many "Attack" skills, Crossbow's passive skill Bloodlust Stack helps to increase your DPS even further!
- Stacking Bonus Damage increases your overall DPS output due to how many hits are thrown out with Longbow / Crossbow.
- Deadly Marker ensures low cooldowns not just for you, but your entire party!
- Eagle Vision grants high amounts of Hit ensuring your attacks don't miss!
- Sniper's Sense grants high amounts of Critical Hit and additional Crit Damage allowing you to maintain high DPS at all times!
Credits
Written by Bloo
Reviewed by Yaen and Tenkiei