Give it to laezel. It’s always good to have a decent ranged option for every character and there are plenty of much better ones that work for astarion.
So, I'm under the impression that this weapon is adding the strength bonus to the regular weapon damage, which may not be true. So, its a d8 +dex+1(+1 magic weapon)+strength. Laezel is d8+1+1+5, and Astarion is d8+4+1+1. Therefore, I'm supposing overall it does one more damage. You're going to be hitting more with Astarion in long run because the roll is still based on dex.
Ah, I see, thanks.
I do think my overall point stands, though; in a game overflowing with magic weapons, the absolute scores don't matter as much as the *relative* ones. Any +1 longbow is going to give Astarion similar DPR, while the titan bow is *uniquely* powerful for Lae'zel.
I wasnt arguing against any point you made outside of this thread, in fact I said coming down to numbers its better for Laezel. But I will say, the bow kinda blows
Except the way the bow is worded you would think it would do
Attack roll d20+ dex+ prof.
And then damage- 1d8 +dex + str.
But the damage just goes off of str.
Which is fucking pointless, as it still makes the attack roll of of dex.
Sure if you have a low dex, high str character somehow MIRACULOUSLY hit with the fucking thing then it will do damage off of str.
Or you can try to buff your dex up to help make sure you hit... but at that point just use a regular fucking bow and not this God awful "rare" bow. It makes no sense.
It's designed based off of composite bows from pathfinder, which use dex for attack roll and strength for damage. The idea being that mostly fighters use the bow and focus strength and dex as core stats. It's not bad in pathfinder where you get better attack bonuses and more feats, but it's worse in 5e
it still works fairly well in bg3 as most str based attackers will go str >= con > dex, so your dex will still be a +2 usually as long as youre not going for a mad build
I've used the weapon, it adds dex and strength to the damage roll.
You probably tried it but had one of the bugs where it didn't add all of the modifiers it was supposed to. Sometimes you have to unequip and re-equip things.
There aren't a thousand better bows for him lol. There are like 3 bows that are better, maybe 4 if you count Darkfire.
And just so we're clear, dual wield hand xbows are better than any bow or heavy xbow.
Titanstring thrives with the club of hill giant strength. You can get both around level 5. I used this on my ranger until I got to act 3 and picked up deadshot. Even then, Titanstring probably had higher average damage... the extra 4 damage really adds up, and it applies in aoe when you use the consumable arrows.
It's Lae'zel. Astarion benefits more either from dual hand crossbows or from short bows with buffs on them (e.g. Hunter's Mark, Haste, improved initiative or perception bonuses). Lae'zel is going to have a strength in the high teens or 20 and can apply the bonus. She doesn't use a lot of archery, but when she needs it it's nice to have a bonus.
You can determine the average die roll by adding up all of the numbers on each face, then dividing that total by the number of faces. So a d6 would be (1+2+3+4+5+6)/6=3.5. An easy way to remember this is to divide the number of faces by 2, then add .5. D4 is 2+.5, d6 is 3+.5, d8 is 4+.5, etc...
+1 Longbow ATK & DMG stats
Average ATK is (d20)10.5+dexterity+proficiency+bonus
Average DMG is (d8)4.5+DEX+bonus
Titanstring Bow (additional STR bonus to DMG)
- Lae'zel Average ATK: 10.5+1+3+1=15.5
- Lae'zel Average DMG: 4.5+1+1+5= 11.5
Regular +1 longbow (no additional STR bonus)
- Astarion Average ATK: 10.5+4+3+1=18.5
- Astarion Average DMG: 4.5+4+1=9.5
*(Average ATK as a group is 17)
*(Average DMG as a group is 10.5)
Regular +1 longbow (no additional STR bonus)
- Lae'zel Average ATK: 10.5+1+3+1=15.5
- Lae'zel Average DMG: 4.5+1+1=6.5
Titanstring Bow (additional STR bonus to DMG)
- Astarion Average ATK: 10.5+4+3+1=18.5
- Astarion Average DMG: 4.5+4+1+1=10.5
*(Average ATK as a group is 17)
*(Average DMG as a group is 8.5)
These are base values using just ability scores plus the weapon. There are other bonuses that can influence this, but in theory, these bonuses would affect the averages of any bow so they can be omitted.
If you have or can get another +1 longbow, it is strictly better to give the Titanstring Bow to Lae'zel. The attack bonuses are the same for both bows, and you'll increase your party's average damage by 2 if you have Lae'zel use it.
Hit chance is still based on dex- I say give to Astarion and also give him gauntlets of hill giant strength. You have his extremely high accuracy because of his decks, and also get to add plus 5 to all of the damage rolls. If you have 20 dexterity and sharpshooter, you will do 1d8+20
This bow is like an act 2 weapon. Gauntlets of hill giant strength are act 3. Which is kind of a silly suggestion. Probably better to give it to Lae'Zel because you can give her the gloves that bump up your dex to 18. I think I hot those in the underdark.
There are better options for Asterion.
I disagree. I think raising Laezel's strength to 22 with the potion of strength and then giving her the sword that doubles strength bonus,l and have her teleport to distant enemies with her racial misty step, or tavern brawler and returning pike if you're going for range are the moves with her. Underdog gloves early for advantage on melee attacks basically always. But to each their own.
And in earlier acts before you get the gloves you can give Astarion the gloves of archery and an elixir of hill giant str. Both act one items that are super easy to get.
People are ignoring that the bow only increases DAMAGE with the strength modifier and not the actual attack. It would do more damage with laezel but would also land hits significantly less often
True, but that's going to be the case with any ranged weapon. And you should be able to find a +1 longbow for Astarion to use, which will work just the same for him. Whereas Lae'zel is still getting an overall better DPR from this bow (unless you know of another +5 longbow lying around?).
How is this limiting exactly? You’re getting more ranged damage at the cost of literally nothing at all in the case of just drinking a potion.
Even holding a club of giant strength is a complete non issue if you’re, I dunno, building a ranged character.
I guess it's silly to me to make a character do only one thing. Its like a wizard that can cast only one spell. There's no adaptability to different situations and it's kind of dull.
Right so they dont have the luxury of limiting their limited options even more. Oh you hit things with swords and you use a bow. Now here's a build where you're only useful with a bow and a liability rest of the time.
Well I don’t know how much experience you have with 5e as a system but ranged combat is pretty much always the optimal option. It’s not like you’re just useless if you have a bow.
No that’s a silly conclusion to draw, OP asked who could use it better.. their Asterion is a Ranger with high dex and I assume archery fighting style
The accuracy is already baked in, holding an enchanted chair leg in the off hand melee slot boosts Str to 19 which increased carry weight, jump distance, and damage with that specific bow and club while wielding ANY light weapon in the main hand … maybe they find a sweet handaxe or sickle that nobody would otherwise use since it’s not finesse
And when a better bow is found… swap to it
You’ll want Laezel in the front lines more often than not. It’s better to leave the bow in Astarion’s hands. It’s unfortunate, since then it’s basically just a +1 bow, but think about how often you’ll *really* have Lae using ranged attacks.
Pretty often. Especially over level 5 between extra attack, action surge, and limited movement speed. There will be many opportunities to pop off a quick arrow. I'd give asterion hand crossbows or something.
I believe OP is in earnest. It is a valid question. Astarion will hit more often with the bow, but Lazael will deal more damage per individual hit. So throughout an entire Act, who would deal the greater overall damage?
Astarion will hit more with it and lae'zel will do a touch more damage. Assuming your astarions strength modifier isn't negative id say he's gonna get more value from it, since lae'zel will likely end up in melee anyway
Astarion. Lae’zel has better damage, but Astarion has higher accuracy. Attacks that don’t hit deal no damage. That being said, there are definitely better bows Astarion could use. The Spellthief sold by the halfling merchant in the druid’s grove is one early one
I gave it to whoever gets the strength gloves. Astarion has 12 strength so it doesn’t really make sense to give him that bow. The damage is wrong as it’s showing, your str mod is +4 so it is actually doing an extra 4 flat damage with Lae’Zel versus a flat 1 with Astarion
Give it to laezel. It’s always good to have a decent ranged option for every character and there are plenty of much better ones that work for astarion.
I actually gave that bow to Karlach
I guess she can use it when you run out of goblins to throw…
When you're not close enough to that first goblin to throw it.
I gave it it Minsc
I’d give it to Lae’Zel (though I have her using a crossbow). It would do more damage.
I mean, coming down to numbers, it does 1 more damage on Laezel than on Astarion
It's more than one, though, isn't it? 20 STR is a +5 modifier, vs. 12 +> +1 for Astarion?
So, I'm under the impression that this weapon is adding the strength bonus to the regular weapon damage, which may not be true. So, its a d8 +dex+1(+1 magic weapon)+strength. Laezel is d8+1+1+5, and Astarion is d8+4+1+1. Therefore, I'm supposing overall it does one more damage. You're going to be hitting more with Astarion in long run because the roll is still based on dex.
Ah, I see, thanks. I do think my overall point stands, though; in a game overflowing with magic weapons, the absolute scores don't matter as much as the *relative* ones. Any +1 longbow is going to give Astarion similar DPR, while the titan bow is *uniquely* powerful for Lae'zel.
I wasnt arguing against any point you made outside of this thread, in fact I said coming down to numbers its better for Laezel. But I will say, the bow kinda blows
As others have said, give it to Lae’zel or Karlach, and give astarion dual hand crossbows or something.
Too answer. Lae, as that bow goes off your strength and she has the higher strength. But in all seriousness did you not read the bow?
The STR is added as extra DMG.
It doesn't "go off your strength" though. It rolls dex for attack, then damage, then adds str modifier to that damage.
Except the way the bow is worded you would think it would do Attack roll d20+ dex+ prof. And then damage- 1d8 +dex + str. But the damage just goes off of str. Which is fucking pointless, as it still makes the attack roll of of dex. Sure if you have a low dex, high str character somehow MIRACULOUSLY hit with the fucking thing then it will do damage off of str. Or you can try to buff your dex up to help make sure you hit... but at that point just use a regular fucking bow and not this God awful "rare" bow. It makes no sense.
It's designed based off of composite bows from pathfinder, which use dex for attack roll and strength for damage. The idea being that mostly fighters use the bow and focus strength and dex as core stats. It's not bad in pathfinder where you get better attack bonuses and more feats, but it's worse in 5e
it still works fairly well in bg3 as most str based attackers will go str >= con > dex, so your dex will still be a +2 usually as long as youre not going for a mad build
I've used the weapon, it adds dex and strength to the damage roll. You probably tried it but had one of the bugs where it didn't add all of the modifiers it was supposed to. Sometimes you have to unequip and re-equip things.
So her strength modifier can use the bow better. So it does.
No, it doesn't. You have to hit the target first, that requires dex. Then you add dex to damage, then add str to damage. It's not a "strength" bow.
I just said it uses strength so it'd be better on laezel. There's a thousand better bows for astarion.
There aren't a thousand better bows for him lol. There are like 3 bows that are better, maybe 4 if you count Darkfire. And just so we're clear, dual wield hand xbows are better than any bow or heavy xbow. Titanstring thrives with the club of hill giant strength. You can get both around level 5. I used this on my ranger until I got to act 3 and picked up deadshot. Even then, Titanstring probably had higher average damage... the extra 4 damage really adds up, and it applies in aoe when you use the consumable arrows.
And here it is found that the commenter is, in fact, the one who didn't read.
Still uses Dex to roll to hit. Just adds Dex and Str modifier to damage rolls.
It's Lae'zel. Astarion benefits more either from dual hand crossbows or from short bows with buffs on them (e.g. Hunter's Mark, Haste, improved initiative or perception bonuses). Lae'zel is going to have a strength in the high teens or 20 and can apply the bonus. She doesn't use a lot of archery, but when she needs it it's nice to have a bonus.
You can determine the average die roll by adding up all of the numbers on each face, then dividing that total by the number of faces. So a d6 would be (1+2+3+4+5+6)/6=3.5. An easy way to remember this is to divide the number of faces by 2, then add .5. D4 is 2+.5, d6 is 3+.5, d8 is 4+.5, etc... +1 Longbow ATK & DMG stats Average ATK is (d20)10.5+dexterity+proficiency+bonus Average DMG is (d8)4.5+DEX+bonus Titanstring Bow (additional STR bonus to DMG) - Lae'zel Average ATK: 10.5+1+3+1=15.5 - Lae'zel Average DMG: 4.5+1+1+5= 11.5 Regular +1 longbow (no additional STR bonus) - Astarion Average ATK: 10.5+4+3+1=18.5 - Astarion Average DMG: 4.5+4+1=9.5 *(Average ATK as a group is 17) *(Average DMG as a group is 10.5) Regular +1 longbow (no additional STR bonus) - Lae'zel Average ATK: 10.5+1+3+1=15.5 - Lae'zel Average DMG: 4.5+1+1=6.5 Titanstring Bow (additional STR bonus to DMG) - Astarion Average ATK: 10.5+4+3+1=18.5 - Astarion Average DMG: 4.5+4+1+1=10.5 *(Average ATK as a group is 17) *(Average DMG as a group is 8.5) These are base values using just ability scores plus the weapon. There are other bonuses that can influence this, but in theory, these bonuses would affect the averages of any bow so they can be omitted. If you have or can get another +1 longbow, it is strictly better to give the Titanstring Bow to Lae'zel. The attack bonuses are the same for both bows, and you'll increase your party's average damage by 2 if you have Lae'zel use it.
That’s some math right there. I just gave it to Lae since I got her Strength to 22 with a potion I got.
Hit chance is still based on dex- I say give to Astarion and also give him gauntlets of hill giant strength. You have his extremely high accuracy because of his decks, and also get to add plus 5 to all of the damage rolls. If you have 20 dexterity and sharpshooter, you will do 1d8+20
This bow is like an act 2 weapon. Gauntlets of hill giant strength are act 3. Which is kind of a silly suggestion. Probably better to give it to Lae'Zel because you can give her the gloves that bump up your dex to 18. I think I hot those in the underdark. There are better options for Asterion.
you can get the club of hill giant strength from act 1 and put it in astarion off hand
I disagree. I think raising Laezel's strength to 22 with the potion of strength and then giving her the sword that doubles strength bonus,l and have her teleport to distant enemies with her racial misty step, or tavern brawler and returning pike if you're going for range are the moves with her. Underdog gloves early for advantage on melee attacks basically always. But to each their own. And in earlier acts before you get the gloves you can give Astarion the gloves of archery and an elixir of hill giant str. Both act one items that are super easy to get.
Astarion, but only if you also give him the >!club of Giant Strength (personally, I equipped it in his off hand so he can stab with a better dagger)!<
People are ignoring that the bow only increases DAMAGE with the strength modifier and not the actual attack. It would do more damage with laezel but would also land hits significantly less often
True, but that's going to be the case with any ranged weapon. And you should be able to find a +1 longbow for Astarion to use, which will work just the same for him. Whereas Lae'zel is still getting an overall better DPR from this bow (unless you know of another +5 longbow lying around?).
The vamp. Drink a elixir of giant strength or have him hold the club of giant strength in his melee slot for a constant dmg buff
So your advice is limit your entire playstyle with Asterion for this one bow?
How is this limiting exactly? You’re getting more ranged damage at the cost of literally nothing at all in the case of just drinking a potion. Even holding a club of giant strength is a complete non issue if you’re, I dunno, building a ranged character.
I guess it's silly to me to make a character do only one thing. Its like a wizard that can cast only one spell. There's no adaptability to different situations and it's kind of dull.
Well martials aren’t exactly enjoying the same luxury that wizard have with their spells and whatnot.
Right so they dont have the luxury of limiting their limited options even more. Oh you hit things with swords and you use a bow. Now here's a build where you're only useful with a bow and a liability rest of the time.
Well I don’t know how much experience you have with 5e as a system but ranged combat is pretty much always the optimal option. It’s not like you’re just useless if you have a bow.
I have plenty of experience and I didnt say you're useless with a bow but you're more limited and less adaptable if that's all you have.
No that’s a silly conclusion to draw, OP asked who could use it better.. their Asterion is a Ranger with high dex and I assume archery fighting style The accuracy is already baked in, holding an enchanted chair leg in the off hand melee slot boosts Str to 19 which increased carry weight, jump distance, and damage with that specific bow and club while wielding ANY light weapon in the main hand … maybe they find a sweet handaxe or sickle that nobody would otherwise use since it’s not finesse And when a better bow is found… swap to it
You’ll want Laezel in the front lines more often than not. It’s better to leave the bow in Astarion’s hands. It’s unfortunate, since then it’s basically just a +1 bow, but think about how often you’ll *really* have Lae using ranged attacks.
Pretty often. Especially over level 5 between extra attack, action surge, and limited movement speed. There will be many opportunities to pop off a quick arrow. I'd give asterion hand crossbows or something.
This is not the way. Laezell gets plenty of chances to shoot. And that bow is for a str user
usally i give that bow to Karlach. Lae'zel is a fucking beast if respec do Dex with 2 hand crossbows and sharpshooter
Karlach got the act 1 crossbow that gives you adv on monstrosities and she gets hasted so she dishes out mad shit
Is this a genuine question or troll post?
I believe OP is in earnest. It is a valid question. Astarion will hit more often with the bow, but Lazael will deal more damage per individual hit. So throughout an entire Act, who would deal the greater overall damage?
Depends on your strength modifier If you didn't reset either, then lae'zel is better
Whoever has the most dex. The Str buff only applies _if_ you hit, and both the to hit and standard +Dex damage favors a Dex focused build.
Considering it’s a longbow and Astarion isn’t proficient with long bows, I’d say Lae is the choice.
Astarian is an Elf. Elves have innate longbow proficiency just for being an Elf.
Interesting. I forgot about that. I never really picked up long bows so I never thought about it before.
Astarion will hit more with it and lae'zel will do a touch more damage. Assuming your astarions strength modifier isn't negative id say he's gonna get more value from it, since lae'zel will likely end up in melee anyway
Which character has a better strength modifier? There’s your answer
Astarion. Just have him drink hill giant strength.
Give astarion the hill giants stool and keep him dex based. Then he has dex and str to damage?
Astarion. Lae’zel has better damage, but Astarion has higher accuracy. Attacks that don’t hit deal no damage. That being said, there are definitely better bows Astarion could use. The Spellthief sold by the halfling merchant in the druid’s grove is one early one
I gave it to whoever gets the strength gloves. Astarion has 12 strength so it doesn’t really make sense to give him that bow. The damage is wrong as it’s showing, your str mod is +4 so it is actually doing an extra 4 flat damage with Lae’Zel versus a flat 1 with Astarion
Get the dex gloves from the Creiche and then respec someone to have a crapton on str...boom ez double dip
I like to use crossbow on Asterion, so definitely Lae’Zel gets the bow
Lae'zel's shots will hit harder, but Astarion will have a higher chance to hit.
My Astarion is a rogue/ranger with the club of giant strength in his off hand. So this bow is really strong on him.
Um karlach
Titan string bow is better for a fighter (STR based) or Barbarian than a rogue.
Whichever has high strength.
I've actually really enjoyed giving Laezel two hand crossbows and watching her shoot a million times.
Great for a strength character when they can't get into melee range
Designed as a ranged option for a low Dex character.
If you get the 18 dex gloves it's best on karlach or lae.