Changing bows into elements

Im going to make a archer and wanted to know how bows work when you change them to an ele like i herd

Bow +15 =more of phys dmg

Fire Bow + Fire Arrow = more fire dmg/less phys

Magic Bow + Moonlight Arrow = more magic dmg/less phys

Divine Bow + Moonlight Arrow = more magic dmg/less phys

but what about chaos, enchanted, raw, and lightning do these work the same as the stuff above or is it pointless to make a bow into these?

from what i understand chaos, enchanted, raw, and lightning will only add damage if you use the bow as a meele weapon.

no they add damage to shots but the split in attack type is usually to much of a drain on the damage as it has to go through two sets of defense. +15 or crystal are really the best options for bows, which one would you be using?

sparkly-twinkly-lizard wrote:no they add damage to shots but the split in attack type is usually to much of a drain on the damage as it has to go through two sets of defense. +15 or crystal are really the best options for bows, which one would you be using?

thanks for the clarification! any experience with the darkmoon bow?

From the tests players have done, elemental bows will carry the elemental damage through the arrow, but not the visual effect.
A fire upgraded bow will inflict fire damage, but not set the target on fire like a fire arrow will.
A divine upgraded bow will prevent skeletons from assembling, when equipped with any type of arrow.

40 dex and black bow of pharis will outdamage most other bows, and while sniping from afar you can activate the red tearstone ring as well.
For pvp a composite bow is better, since you are closer to the target, and the bow is quicker to draw and fire.

I recommend that you only use anything other than +15 if you have another bow option to fall back to (like one that is already +15 regular) or have a specific goal or target in mind. Sparkly-twinkly-lizard has it right. The damage gets splie, i.e. flame defense eats a set amount of flame damage for a fire bow while physical is up against physical. Most PvE uses of the bow are for drawing enemies or hitting them outside of aggressive range meaning that there is no shield/raised defense. A lot of mob armors will have good enough defenses to whittle away the individual damages to a pretty low amount (i.e. some physical and some elemental resistance). A good way to think of it is the total damage shown in your equipping menu. If this is all one type of damage (physical piercing for an arrow) then it only subtracts the defense of that type. By adding an element you then go against two defenses while the total damage is still about the same. So for PvE I do not recommend elemental. Crystal will do tons o' damage but you better not make a unique bow out of it unless you have a back up plan. If you plan on going after a specific target that is weak to an element by all means element the heck outta it.

For PvP it will vary greatly depending on your goals what I would recommend. You are more likely to encounter shields/raised defense so choosing a "weakness" can be wise. Unless you're dedicated though it won't be your kill weapon, it will be a tool to harass so choose how you want to harass and go from there. Personally I still use a +15 so I get max damage from a hit. I add in poison arrows to cause a little anxiety though, which is the true purpose of my PvP archery.

Darkmoon bow for PvE is quite underwhelming as it is not a crazy amount of damage total and splits damage. At first glance it looks pretty powerful but with +15 on a Black bow for instance the scaling is amazing so base damages are deceiving. However, as PvP does have more shield action than PvE you find that most players with shield up are pretty immune to a regular bow. The Darkmoon, with moonlight arrows can change that tune a little.

You can't repair a crystal bow as I've found out to my cost. I've often wondered why crystal weapons can't be repaired. I wish they could be.

SlakeMoth wrote:You can't repair a crystal bow as I've found out to my cost. I've often wondered why crystal weapons can't be repaired. I wish they could be.

Correct me if i'm wrong but in the DkS guide it says you could use the repair spell on crystal weapons to repair them.

Unfortunately the repair spell will not work on crystal weapons.

I maxed out almost every kind of bow and tested them against different enemies. The 3 I've kept and consistently use are Pharis' for sniping at distance, +15 Longbow (does more damage than Pharis' if the target is close to mid-range), and +15 Composite in NL Ruins because it's the only one that can still 2-shot those G** damn ghosts at NG+infinity.

I couldn't get much damage out of the Darkmoon or Occult +5 (50 faith), two bows I've seen recommended here.

djgq42 wrote:from what i understand chaos, enchanted, raw, and lightning will only add damage if you use the bow as a meele weapon.

sparkly-twinkly-lizard wrote:no they add damage to shots

...

Ummm... I can't really figure out how to use a bow as a melee weapon anyway???

Darkson wrote:

djgq42 wrote:from what i understand chaos, enchanted, raw, and lightning will only add damage if you use the bow as a meele weapon.

sparkly-twinkly-lizard wrote:no they add damage to shots

...

Ummm... I can't really figure out how to use a bow as a melee weapon anyway???

excellent point! :oops:

djgq42 wrote:

Darkson wrote:

djgq42 wrote:from what i understand chaos, enchanted, raw, and lightning will only add damage if you use the bow as a meele weapon.

sparkly-twinkly-lizard wrote:no they add damage to shots

...

Ummm... I can't really figure out how to use a bow as a melee weapon anyway???

excellent point! :oops:

You can backstab people with bows.

Check my incomplete research thread for some info about elemental upgrades on bows:

https://soulswiki.forumotion.com/t332-elemental-upgrades-bows

ChizFreak wrote:

djgq42 wrote:

Darkson wrote:Ummm... I can't really figure out how to use a bow as a melee weapon anyway???

excellent point! :oops:

You can backstab people with bows.

Check my incomplete research thread for some info about elemental upgrades on bows:

https://soulswiki.forumotion.com/t332-elemental-upgrades-bows

I heard about those bow-backstabs! But I tried this with a Pharis Bow on the hollow soldiers in the burg, no matter how I tried (1 handed left hand, right hand, 2 handed) I never managed to backstab them with my bow. I either shot them in the back, or back-punched them with my fist... Tell me! Tell me! How do I do it?!?!?

Edit: Oh wait! Do you do it when you have no arrows equipped maybe?

Can you really bs with a bow but not with a whip? :shock:
Damn I want to know how to do it too!!

^ Whip Bs' would be hilarious

I think making a Crystal Longbow or shortbow would be one of the best since they are farmable and purchasable, so if one breaks just get another.