Ranged weapons

Ranged Weapons are the alternative to hand-to-hand combat. They are very useful in most situations, but are difficult to handle effectively against enemies that manage to get in close - this means short-ranged melee weapons are still a good idea even if you want to specialize in archery. Other than bows, crossbows, and thrown weapons, Warband features the the hidden Flintlock Pistol which cannot be seen in the game without cheating or editing the game code.

If any ranged weapons run out of ammunition in the field, players may pick up dropped quivers. Additionally, both Warband and With Fire & Sword permit players to pick up arrows, bolts, and some thrown weapons from the terrain, which may then be fired again.

An important thing to remember when using ranged weapons is that when firing in third person view, the shot is actually aimed about a foot and a half below the targeting reticule when at point blank range, meaning that different levels of compensation are needed to accurately hit targets between the two views at the same range.

Stats

• Name: The name of the weapon. This may include a single modifier, indicating improved or reduced stats.
• Type of Handling: Certain thrown weapons may be wielded as melee weapons by toggling the weapon mode ("X" by default). Other ranged weapons can only be used from a distance.
• Sell Price: Without any modifiers, this price is exactly one tenth of the true value of the item, and one twentieth of the purchase value from a store. When looted from battle, items will display their true value. Modifiers will change this value.
• Weight: Affects overall encumbrance (the speed at which you travel). This also increases the delay after parrying or blocking before another attack can be made with the weapon. Blocking a high weight weapon with a low weight weapon results in a short stun period. With the roles reversed, the result is a standard block of the lighter weapon. The weight of the weapon also affects its ability to crush through blocks. For most ranged weapons outside of those with melee capability, the weight only serves to encumber the wielder.
• Damage "c" (cut): Damage dealt by swinging the weapon. Cutting weapons often do bonus damage against lightly armored targets, but deal significantly lower damage to heavily armored assailants (compared to piercing and blunt damage). Throwing Axes, Throwing Daggers, and Throwing Knives inflict this type of damage, as well as the various Throwing Spears and Javelins when swung in melee.
• Damage "p" (pierce): Damage dealt by firing bows, crossbows, and using Javelins or Throwing Spears. Piercing weapons have higher armor penetration than cutting weapons without losing as much effectiveness against lightly armored targets compared to blunt weapons.
• Damage "b" (blunt): Stones and arena weapons are currently the only ranged weapons that deal blunt damage.
• Accuracy: The maximum effective accuracy of the weapon once the optimum proficiency is reached. The minimum proficiency needed increases alongside the weapon's base damage. Exclusive to ranged weapons.
• Speed Rating: Affects attack and block speed, as well as weapon speed bonus (bonus damage based on weapon speed while attacking). This also affects the weapon's ability to crush through blocks. For ranged weapons without a melee mode, this only shows the rate of fire and reload speed of the weapon.
• Missile Speed: This determines how fast fired projectiles will travel. Higher rating will increase the distance a missile can travel, how much the weapon's aim must be offset to account for missile drop, the chance for the missile to bypass a blocking defender's shield, and adds bonus damage in the same way as the speed bonus for melee attacks.
  • The "Speed" stat determines the rate of fire. All projectiles drop at the same rate, so range is determined by the projectile's flight speed as well as its trajectory. The speed of any given projectile is a hidden value not shown in-game, and must be discovered by accessing the document "item_kinds1.txt" in the "Native" module folder.
• Weapon Length: This attribute is exclusive to certain thrown weapons when used as a melee weapon.
• Requirements: Many ranged weapons require a certain level of Strength, Power Draw, or Power Throw in order to be used.

Types

There are three types of ranged weapons in the game.

Bows

Bows are the standard ranged weapon. They are cheaper and can have larger supplies of ammunition than alternative weapons, but their accuracy and damage suffer with low proficiencies.

▼ Show/Hide Bows ▼

Weapon	Power Draw	Damage	Accuracy	Attack Speed	Missile Speed	Weight	Price	Modifiers
Hunting Bow	-	15 (pierce)	99	100	52	1.0	17	Masterwork • Strong • Bent • Cracked
Short Bow	1	18 (pierce)	99	97	55	1.0	58	Masterwork • Strong • Bent • Cracked
Nomad Bow	2	20 (pierce)	99	94	56	1.3	164	Masterwork • Strong • Bent • Cracked
Long Bow	3	22 (pierce)	99	79	56	1.8	145	Masterwork • Strong • Bent • Cracked
Khergit Bow	3	21 (pierce)	99	90	57	1.3	269	Masterwork • Strong • Bent • Cracked
Strong Bow	3	23 (pierce)	99	88	58	1.3	437	Masterwork • Bent • Cracked
War Bow	4	25 (pierce)	99	84	59	1.5	728	Masterwork • Strong • Bent • Cracked

▲ Show/Hide Bows ▲

Crossbows

Crossbows do more base damage than other ranged weapons, but they don't receive the same damage bonuses from player skills, and so they quickly fall behind.

▼ Show/Hide Crossbows ▼

Weapon	STR	Damage	Accuracy	Attack Speed	Missile Speed	Weight	Price	Modifiers	Other
Hunting Crossbow	-	37 (pierce)	99	47	50	2.3	22	Masterwork • Bent • Cracked
Light Crossbow	8	44 (pierce)	99	45	59	2.5	67	Masterwork • Bent • Cracked
Crossbow	8	49 (pierce)	99	43	66	3.0	182	Masterwork • Bent • Cracked	Cannot be used on horseback
Heavy Crossbow	9	58 (pierce)	99	41	68	3.5	349	Masterwork • Bent • Cracked	Cannot be used on horseback
Siege Crossbow	10	63 (pierce)	99	37	70	3.8	683	Masterwork • Bent • Cracked	Cannot be used on horseback

▲ Show/Hide Crossbows ▲

Thrown

Thrown weapons are ranged weapons cast directly from the hand. They suffer from very low ammunition counts and can be quite expensive, but offer excellent damage.

▼ Show/Hide Thrown weapons ▼

Weapon	Stack	Weight	Throw Damage	Swing/Thrust	Throw Speed	Missile Speed	Throw	Base Value	Modifiers
Darts	7	5.0	22p	-	95	28	1	155	Bent, Balanced, Heavy, Large Bag
Heavy Throwing Axes	4	5.0	44c	32c/ -	97 97	18	4	620	Bent, Balanced, Large Bag
Jarids	4	4.0	45p	16c/20p	89 93	24	2	560	Bent, Balanced, Heavy, Large Bag
Javelins	5	5.0	34p	12c/14p	91 95	25	1	300	Bent, Balanced, Heavy, Large Bag
Light Throwing Axes	4	5.0	35c	26c/ -	99 99	18	2	360	Bent, Balanced, Large Bag
Stones	18	4.0	11b	-	97	30	-	1	Large Bag
Throwing Axes	4	5.0	39c	29c/ -	98 98	18	3	490	Bent, Balanced, Large Bag
Throwing Daggers	13	3.5	25c	-	110	24	-	193	Bent, Balanced, Heavy, Large Bag
Throwing Knives	14	3.5	19c	-	121	25	-	76	Bent, Balanced, Heavy, Large Bag
Throwing Spears	4	4.0	44p	18c/23p	87 91	22	2	525	Bent, Balanced, Heavy, Large Bag
War Darts	7	5.0	25p	-	93	27	1	285	Bent, Balanced, Heavy, Large Bag

▲ Show/Hide Thrown weapons ▲

Ranged Modifiers

Both ranged weapons and their ammunition may have modifiers.

Equipment Modifiers
One Handed • Two Handed • Two Handed / One Handed Name Strength Requirement Damage Attack Speed Price Shop/Loot Chance Masterwork +4 +6 +5 +9 +1 +1650% 30% Tempered - +4 - +670% 40% Balanced - +3 +3 +250% 50% Heavy +1 +2 -2 +90% 70% Chipped - -1 - -28% 100% Rusty - -3 - -45% 100%
Polearms Name Strength Requirement Damage Attack Speed Price Shop/Loot Chance Balanced - +3 +3 +250% 50% Heavy +1 +2 -2 +90% 70% Chipped - -1 - -28% 100% Bent - -3 -3 -35% 100% Rusty - -3 - -45% 100% Cracked - -5 - -50% 100%
Polearm / Two Handed Name Strength Requirement Damage Attack Speed Price Shop/Loot Chance Heavy +1 +2 -2 +90% 70% Chipped - -1 - -28% 100% Rusty - -3 - -45% 100%
Bows Name Power Draw Requirement Damage Missile Speed Price Shop/Loot Chance Masterwork +4 +5 +1 +1650% 30% Strong +2 +3 -3 +360% 40% Bent - -3 -3 -35% 100% Cracked - -5 - -50% 100%
Crossbows Name Strength Requirement Damage Missile Speed Price Shop/Loot Chance Masterwork +4 +5 +1 +1650% 30% Bent - -3 -3 -35% 100% Cracked - -5 - -50% 100%
Thrown Name Power Throw Requirement Damage Missile Speed Price Shop/Loot Chance Balanced - +3 +3 +250% 50% Heavy +1 +2 -2 +90% 70% Bent - -3 -3 -35% 100%
Ammunition Name Stack Amount Damage Price Shop/Loot Chance Large Bag +13% - +90% 30% Bent - -3 -35% 100% Note: Thrown weapons can only carry the "bent weapon" modifier.
Firearms Name Strength Requirement Damage Missile Speed Price Shop/Loot Chance Masterwork +4 +5 +1 +1650% 30% Tempered - +4 - +670% 40% Balanced - +3 +3 +250% 50% Bent - -3 -3 -35% 100% Cracked - -5 - -50% 100%
Armor Name Protection Price Shop/Loot Chance Lordly +6 +1050% 25% Reinforced +4 +550% 25% Hardened +3 +290% 30% Thick +2 +160% 35% Sturdy +1 +70% 50% Crude -1 -17% 100% Battered -2 -25% 100% Ragged -2 -30% 100% Rusty -3 -45% 100% Tattered -3 -50% 100% Cracked -4 -50% 100%
Shields Name Durability Resistance Price Shop/Loot Chance Reinforced +83 +4 +550% 25% Thick +47 +2 +160% 35% Battered -26 -2 -25% 100% Cracked -56 -4 -50% 100%
Horses Name Riding Requirement Armor Speed Maneuver Charge Damage Hit Points Price Shop/Loot Chance Champion +2 - +4 +2 +2 - +1350% 20% Spirited - - +2 +1 +1 - +550% 60% Heavy - +3 - - +4 +10 +90% 70% Stubborn +1 - - - - +5 -10% 100% Swaybacked - - -4 -2 - - -40% 100% Lame - - -10 -5 - - -60% 100%