My thoughts on EC and speciality xbows. (in General)

Maybe this is not correct, but it is how I personally use and think of EC and axbows/enbows.

For a tank to use EC, it is first imperative to make sure the EC is high enough to lower their dex below yours. This saves 1-2 hits a rounds and causes you to hit 1-2 times more. A 2-4x benefit is you can do it.

Then, secondary try to lower their strength to below 0, so even if they hit you they do no damage. Since, as described in other recent posts, even a small amount of positive strength can do a lot of damage.

Most tanks have a higher strength than dexterity so the first is easier to accomplish.

As a mage you have to use your evasion defensive dex as a tanks dex. If you use EC and do not use evasion, your losing a big part of what EC can accomplish. Trying to nerf their strength to 0 or below is quite hard to do for all those you will fight.

WIth a decent amount of EC, one can almost safely neutralize most "mini-tanks". They should have far less str AND dex not to be overcome by a decent sized EC at any equivalent MPR. After all, most of their xp should be in another skill/stat/spell.

With axbows and enbows, one can try to accomplish this selectively. But one has to hit your opponent, while EC automatically takes effect and is immune to opponent's spells. Sometimes trying to hit with one of these xbows can be the problem.

If you use an axbow, your trying to change the dexterity PTH. Remember there is point at which a positive dex differential gives no additional benefit.

If you use an enbow, your attempting to lower their strength to 0 or below as any positive strength can do enough damage to kill.

Kudos to Tyriel for mentioning a lot of this OB's thread.

Just my thoughts on these topics. If you can add additional information, or even disagree, please post below. I would like to view others opinions on EC and the specialty xbows.

Well I rearranged my strat to cater to exactly that; focusing on getting a tanks str to the negatives so my 100k HP enchanters can survive even the biggest Elbows. I just need 10 mil more NW in my Exbow :D

I think in conjunction they work well, since you don't need to commit more than 25% of your mpr to EC if you have a decent specialty xbow.

I'm thinking I'll definitely have to do something different - just EC alone probably won't quite get it, at least for a fair while.

I could indeed use Evasion, but the Ex/Axbows are an impossibility for me, since the one firing the Exbow's STR plays a part in how effective the drain is...

1) I think you shouldn't bother with the DX war once you get up high enough. DX is not tied to PTH like ST is tied to weapon 'x'. Therefore, lowering it doesn't accomplish all that much in terms of reducing the opponent's offense. It DOES reduce his defense (and increase your offence), but again, you can accomplish the same or better with the PTH route. Use EC for lowering ST and combine it with the Exbow.

2) Why'd you change the shortened version from Exbow to Enbow? It's an Enforcer's Xbow to go along with an Assassin's Xbow. If you've got an Enbow, you should be countering it with an Asbow.... which is an unpleasant thought.

3) Fighting the ST war will kill the opponent's offense, but will do nothing to increase your offense or reduce his defense (the exact opposite of the DX war. If you don't have another way of clinching the battle, you will stalemate. I stalemate many people.

The bottom line is that the ToA makes the DX war a waste of time and XP. Fight the ST war and make sure that you have enough EC + Exbow power to reduce everyone to zero or below. If you don't, train more or buy more. Like anything else in the game, pick a route and focus instead of trying to go in all directions. If you try to get rid of BOTH ST and DX, you'll do both poorly. Even tryin got focus on DX with EC + Axbow is a better choice. None can deny, however, the devastating anti-tank power of EC + Exbow. It'll also have a nice side effect of slightly chomping away at the giant Evasion of mages (the EC part), so it works on more than just an anti-tank front.

shouldn't have sold my exbow, I should've kept it and upgraded it, would work nicely with my strat, I believe.

The only problem I have with the DX war is that even if a tank's DX is lowered bellow 0, he can still hit you.

That, in my opinion, makes absolutely no sense. If you give the bow with the highest number of +'s in the world to someone who can even hold it, he shouldn't be able to hit you. Right now, that is not the case.

Why is it that a minion with a strength lower than 0 can't hurt you no mater how many x's are on its weapon, but one with DX lower than 0 can still hit you with enough PTH invested in the weapon?

"Why is it that a minion with a strength lower than 0 can't hurt you no mater how many x's are on its weapon, but one with DX lower than 0 can still hit you with enough PTH invested in the weapon?"

Talion - you're correct in your assessment; I do not disagree. However, you'll be better off learning how to hang glide than learning to redirect the wind.

LOL! Good advice. However, I was so proud of my AxBow strategy when I create it that I am going to stick with it even if it is less effective than an ExBow strategy.

One way to look at things instead of getting an ulcer of it is that strengths are far higher then dexterities, mostly.

It is therefore easier to completely nerf someone dex instead of the strength.

So going the easier route still gives them a chance to hit-via PTH only. Evasion and DBs are counter to this.

Going the harder route, trying to nerf their str completely gives a better result, but is the harder task.


And remember, you still have to hit with these specialty bows, which can be a chore in itself.

That's the way I initially saw it. Every time you hit with an Axbow, the next hit is that much easier to get (at least, it is on a tank). That is why I liked the DX reduction strategy's odds of success better.

i thought a ToA would solve my Exbows problems with hitting and it did that quite nicely...now teams with GA eat me alive, something I seemed to overlook :D

The bonus is stalemating isn't always a bad thing, since those teams will not be farming you, which ultimataly shrinks how many people are stealing CPs from you.