It looks like longbow/crossbow base damage was increased from 7-21 to 8-24, but pledge reward bows and bows in the crown store were not. Is there a reason for this?
Is it all types of longbow and crossbows? Or do they have base damage/Weapon damage modifiers from materials on them?
I noticed it when looting crossbows from kobold gunners. Their crossbows have no special properties but their base damage is 8-24, so I tried making a crossbow using pine and cotton (no bonus damage) and it's base damage is 8-24. Then, I made a longbow with the same materials and it's base damage is 8-24.
Are you hoping the base damage numbers match so... the base damage numbers match? Can't imagine why anyone would hunt with the base COTO store items which is not socketable, enchantable, masterworkable, nor do they have any item effects from crafting components. Crafted bows are better than store bows, which is an intentional concept. If anything, the damage numbers being lower indicate we don't sell power. Initially, they're for vanity or display purposes pretty much, but to me, their primary purpose is to salvage them for eternal patterns to apply to your crafted/looted gear. Am I missing something on this one? Not seeing the benefit to increasing these numbers, but open to suggestions as to why this is necessary.
Barugon is known for hunting in indestructible gear, which would explain why they consider this necessary!
Ah gotcha, being indestructible is a nice and powerful feature for store gear items. Probably why we should continue to keep their damage lower to continue to prove we do not sell power as much as possible.
BTW, parry on the Ornate Vile Long Bow is obviously wrong. I bugged it before but nothing was ever done.
If you want more damage, use a crafted bow. I don't understand your reasoning of why it should be increased. Their value is in the fact that they are indestructible. There are not many players that use these base items in combat, so I don't think many people would notice or even care if it was increased. Also I very much agree with Elgarion here, increasing damage on a store bought or reward item (no matter how small the increase) would just look bad in general.
So typical that another player, who is completely removed from the issue, would jump in to slap me down for not cheering the devs as they diminish an aspect of the game that I actually enjoy.
I actually use that gear all the time. I mine with indestructible gear, my meticulous jewelry and some lead gloves. I also from time to time like to see what type of boss I can kill with all indestructible gear. So that change would help me personally, I just don't think it would be a good move for the game. I thought I made a pretty clear point, wasn't trying to slap you down or dismiss your playstyle!
You're the first person, other than myself, that I heard of to use that gear. Just for fun, I tried to start a regular group to attempt high-level content in all indestructible gear, but nobody joined. I just figured that most everybody was only interested in using the bestest gear. It was never an issue before when all the bows had the same base damage.
I just completely redid my adventure tree and I used only indestructible gear to level up most of my skills. Some of the most fun I've had playing in a long while. I'd be down for trying that out, I'll see if I can find anyone else that would be interested too. But in all honesty, nothing really changed to the store bought and reward items. They increased damage for crafted bows yes, but those were already doing a lot more damage anyways. While I do get your point, that all the bow base damages should have been raised... I just don't agree with raising the damage of those kind, only because of the way it looks - they'd be raising power of a store bought item or reward.