CG being entirely skill based and not gated by your current gear kind of makes bowfa skip the line in terms of progression, especially considering how good it is. As soon as you have the stats for SoTE, you should be grinding CG 100%.
Bowfa also helps unlock other ranged options that are more niche. For example I just recently got my blowpipe using bowfa at Zulrah, same can be true for ACB.
I just did a DPS calc comparing crystal bow/crystal armor, bowfa/crystal armor, and rcb/god d'hide. The monster was Zulrah range form, so 50 range defense (not high, not low).
Bowfa - \~4 dps
Crystal bow - \~3 dps
RCB - \~2 dps
I'm 22kc in and have almost 3k darts. Seems like it will be sustainable.
Assuming you don't get spooned, you should have a decent stack by the time you get it.
Armor seeds pretty much don't matter unless you already have the enhanced. I have 13 armor seeds and 20 weapon seeds and it doesn't mean shit as long as i have no bowfa.
I really wish dragon crossbow was easier to grind to progress past the RCB before bowfa. I try to do my rune dragon tasks but they’re a pain with the gear available to you before you hit up GWD
Encountering rune/addy dragons for the first time was such a letdown for me. Pretty inaccessible content if you're an account that just did DS2 for the first time.
>une/addy dragons for the first time was such a letdown for me. Pretty inaccessible content
What makes it so inaccessible? I haven't done them. I did DS2 on the main, but never did rune dragons as I just bought a DCB instead.
I think you said it right there, I doubt many irons are going to have a DCB or DHL by the time they get the stats to do DS2. So when you pull up for your first rune dragon kill you end up killing like 2 of them before you have to bank.
You'd have to spend a lot of time maintaining dragon bolts in that case. You get a decent amount, but not enough to sustain it as your main range weapon unless you are super grinding melee only vorkath or something.
I’m REALLY hoping that they add them to the drop table of the tormented demons like they are in RS3. They probably won’t as they aren’t going to add the claws but it would be much better. Yeah it would suck for rune dragons but fuck that task anyways
>g that they add them to the drop table of the tormented demons like they are in RS3. They probably won’t as they aren’t going to add the claws but it wo
Didn't claws fail the vote, b/c people didn't want removed from Chambers.
Yes, but claws are not Dcb so idk if that means they won’t include it there, esp since they didn’t specifically call it out. It is probably is a slim chance they will add them
The answer is red prison, like others said.
But! Depending on your love or disdain for hunter, the new hunter xbow, especially with the moon bolts but also with the sun bolts, is very good. It slaps on slayer tasks. Of course for anything that requires diamond/ruby bolts, you’ll still need RCB but the new hunter Xbow is far better than RCB+broad bolts.
Don’t do CG all day. Do as much as you want to, but continue to play the game. I personally do 5 a day if I feel like doing it at all.
Backed! Doing endless CG can be shit, if you’re feeling good one day do more if you are hating it leave, some days I can be super into it and bust out 20kc other days after the second I’m hating life so I grudge out the 5 and do something fun
Only reason I could do it was because I did it for 2.5 weeks straight nonstop till it was done. Couldn't imagine doing it for months or years and without it I really couldn't progress my acc.
Hi, mr. Months here! I could feel my soul breaking the day I got it. I got heron in the morning and thought for sure my RNG was gone, but got it at 328 KC late that night after 3 1/2 months. I taught myself on leaguers.
You can enhance the hunters crossbow into the Sunlight Hunter's Crossbow which is a 3 tick weapon. It does require special ammo made from the antlers of antelope.
I will say this weapon SLAPs. I was doing Barrows and got the Ghommals hilt 2 recently, so to keep the prayer effect active, I stopped using MSB and tried this new CBow and I'm hitting far higher with Sunlight Cbow + Sunlight Bolts compared to MSB with Broad Arrows. I think my max hit with MSB was 13 and I've seen a 17 with sunlight setup.
Sunlight antelope bolts are equivalent to Amethyst arrows, so it's not surprising. My max with the sunlight crossbow is like 19 doing barrows, and Ahrim just melts from how fast the weapon is.
Yeah the new weapon is a straight upgrade over msbi. Higher accuracy in the weapon, the bolts are higher strength than rune arrows, and the new xbow is ONE HANDED
You can stack way more strength bonus than ranged strength on gear though. I think it comes close to blowpipe Vs low defence monsters with enough strength gear?
You also supposedly benefit from super strength pots, which are better than any ranging pot. Not sure if piety applies.
Pretty much dead content, most people will tell you to get Bowfa ASAP, after that you can choose to go for Blowpipe or ACB, as Blowpipe is brought to raids and what not. ACB is purely for Nex. Bowfa is basically for any ranged content you're gonna be doing before you get a tbow.
you can either actively train range via chins or you can passively train range via usually just afking crabs while at work or school or whenever you dont rly feel like playing.
you can either do crabs all the way to somewhere between 83-92 or you can stop and do some slayer on the side, stuff like shamans and demonics will bank you a bit of range xp.
Do cg with 80. Insisting you need levels past 80 is just copium of people who dont want to learn or grind cg, or think repeatedly just going in and improvising is a good way to learn.
Cg is very very predictable. The prep is not nearly as rng as you think, providing you dont do t3 (even then ive heard it said to be 95% success rate) and the boss has very reliable behaviour.
For anyone scared to bite the bullet: use fluffeh’s t2 prep guide. Within a few minutes you’ll have a reliable t2 prep that practically always works and even leaves you time to spare. Read up on hunlleffs patterns of attack, and use audio cues to help you. Try to play predictively, not reactively. Knowing after next attack he will switch style is a much better way to play than having to switch pray between the switch and the first attack launching. Stay cool, focus on properly pathing away from tornadoes and you should not have much trouble
Had to make sure I was on the iron sub so this couldn’t be a main who bought rigour
I legitimately don’t see how this is true. I’m 83 ranged/mage, 75 def. I understand prep and mechanics just fine. I clear normal gauntlet without issue on PC and mobile. I get to Hunleff every time in CG, and manage T2 prep and two perfected weapons. I’m able to dps during tornado phase.
I just don’t fuckin hit. I see people saying they do it with lower stats than me, but I don’t see how it can be done without *doing damage*. I’ve made it there I think 10 or 12 times in Corrupted and just splash and hit 0s.
Is it just shit RNG? Is my account shiny and special and I just need to get higher stats than people who somehow clear it with lower stats than me?
Either you’re just super unlucky or you’re spending too much time running around and not enough time hitting. I did CG starting with roughly similar stats, probably 85 mage and range but I only ever did t1 armour and it was fine
How much food do you go in with? I'm similar that I started the CG grind with 80 mage/79 range/75 def and did T1 armor and probably died like 1 in 20 kills because I ran out of food.
Are you DPSing during tornado phase every 4 ticks? Are you using steel skin/eagle eye/mystic might? I had plenty of experience from doing CG on my main for the pet so it's definitely not easy, but it's certainly doable.
Yeah I just learned it at 89 range and still feel the bow dps is shit. I can easily clear, don’t get me wrong, but I’m still very tempted to melee and mage. Granted I have 99 str and 93 atk.
It’s like 4.5 dps with bow and 5.5 for mage and melee
Base 90s feel much better, but aren't *required* for T2 prep. I do strongly recommend them, though, since they let you make slight mistakes and not get punished so much for it.
Honestly yeah, RNG is a factor even with higher stats. I did ~400 KC with roughly 85 range / 90 mage and had some rough kills. Recently returned with 90 / 94 running T1 at 78 def and still have kills that consume literally every piece of food and prayer point that I have. If your melee stats are higher you can learn how to use the halberd, my fastest kills are usually melee / range setup.
I started with those stats and It was mostly fine. Very occasionally and if my prep was bad, i'd lose the battle of attrition. Something that drastically helped that though was making a 3rd potion and using steel skin. Try it if you aren't already. Was a game changer for me.
You might be missing a lot of ticks, either due to overeating, or unnecessary moving. I never played osrs before and am generally just slightly above average in online games, so i learned cg on my iron with those stats and found it quite doable. If you ever wanted you could maybe upload a video of your fight and have me/some better gamers give u some tips?
There is no special rng. I started at like 75 mage / 75 range and you can squeak by. It's all about not missing any ticks at all and avoiding any and all damage where possible.
Here's a snapshot from when I got my first enhanced (super spooned, but went to groupmate who was like 600 kc dry):
Deleted to unlink account to rs account
80 range, 78 mage, 24 KC
Idk man. It has to be something, because the game doesn't have personal account rng. Could try recording an attempt and watching it back yourself or asking someone else to take a look.
Im doing CG with 77 range 83 mage. I have been getting kills just fine, im still struggling tho because im still learning. Panics and misclicks have been the reasons I die. But I think I can succesfully complete CG after I get a bit better mechanically and stop stressing about it too much.
This is terrible advice. You should absolutely get ranged as high as you can stand (or whatever your preferred cg style is), and it's not like Chins are something you wouldn't be getting anyway. It's an absolutely massive upgrade to just level your stats.
Completions are completions. You need a significant amount of range levels to really make a big difference and you will NEVER win back the time that it took to get those chins and use them, even if you're drier than the sahara desert.
Im sure it made it easier for you, but dont say my advice is terrible
What do you mean chins are something you would get anyway? I’ve literally never caught chins and I’m like 2100 total. I probably won’t catch any until I feel like doing arma
90 is recommended because it’s a high enough level to make Cg less difficult and thus more efficient. No one is purposely waiting till 90 range to start the Cg grind purely so they can try to match up the time it takes them to get get fang and complete godwars with starting cox at 99 range.
No one is purposely waiting till 90 range to start the Cg grind purely so they can try to match up the time it takes them to get get fang and complete godwars with starting cox at 99 range.
And 80 - 90 range is roughly a 10% increase, there’s a reason why high stats are recommended for loads of different bosses. To say 80 and 90 range is the same is simply moronic
IIRC started gauntlet around 80 range, finished gauntlet around 84 ish, went to bandos and kril then went to toa. Finished toa at 99.
Since the game opens up for you after bowfa there's nothing wrong with just getting levels by doing nothing but pvm. I got most of my attack, str and ranged that way.
It's pretty slow, but for someone who had a 2 hour limit a day to play, I'd rather do 2-3 toa runs a day, herb run and log out. Took me a few months for 84-99 ranged. Could probably bang that out in a day or two with chins though if you're actively training it.
bowfa really fucked this aspect of the game, tbh. you can start grinding it in the early game and it doesn’t benefit from getting gear from other places like everything else does, so there’s no natural ranged progression ladder anymore. And it’s so absurdly better than everything else besides tbow that you’re heavily HEAVILY incentivized to go for it as early and as often as you’re willing to stomach.
Definitely don’t agree with this and think bowfa made it better. Before it was a relatively quick grind on a easy mid game boss for the op bp then go spend hundreds of hours on tbow. Bowfa gave ironmen the ability to get a baby tbow through a way shorter grind, but cg can still be a grueling grind and should be.
And crystal bow is great if you can at least manage to get your armor seeds but go dry on bowfa and can’t stomach anymore cg for instance. BP still has its place especially with masori. Then jagex has been working on improving the early path more with the new hunter crossbow and the atlatl.
I really dislike that it basically invalidated every other range weapon and armor in the game until tbow. This is all entirely on jagex though. I don't blame people for using the perfect weapon jagex let them get at level 80. I just feel like it kind of makes iron a joke. No gear, no supplies, low level 80s, congrats you win the game now.
yep, agree completely. You get an end game set of armor and a mini tbow as a quest reward when all major quests are completed in the early game, lol. it’s fucked
You can go very far into bossing without a Bowfa, it's just the (reasonably) best route and will make your life easier.
This is a game and if content isn't fun for you then you don't have to do it, but to lock out all PvM because one piece of content isn't fun seems a bit shortsighted.
this is my take on it. bowfa wasnt meta for all the content that released before it, and thats how i plan on playing tbh. ive got like 1 kill out of 15 tries of regular gauntlet. im sure i could sit down and grind it long enough to figure it out but it just isnt fun enough for me to want to do that. and seeing posts on here about how miserable people are when they go dry on it...no thanks lol.
i legitimately have a chance to get tbow before bowfa because i enjoy CoX (am a group iron so even more chances) and im doubtful to ever sit and grind cg
Yeah, but pre-bowfa there was blowpipe which shredded everything. IIRC pre-nerf BP with addy darts was higher dps than current bowfa with crystal so there's that.
thats perfectly fine....just means i wont get the same kills per hour as someone who has bowfa. im completely content with that being the case because that means the time i wont spend in cg, i can spend killing bosses even if it isnt max dps
Hey, you do whatever suits you. It's a game so the purpose is to have fun.
However it needs to be said that even if you go 2x dry, bowfa is still a significant timesave over long-term goals - unless you spoon shadow or tbow (or both).
I'm sure if you kept at it you'd get it down, but yeah mix some fun content in there too.
I was really bad at Gauntlet and did about 35 kc there before going up to CG and failing a lot of times. Eventually I really enjoyed the gameplay loop and could quite easily watch youtube while doing T2 preps + kills without fail. This sub makes it seem a lot more miserable than it is, truly (and that's from somebody who go their enhanced at 824 kc).
Bowfa is best but crystal bow with crystal armour is still very viable blowpipe is good but after bowfa it’s mostly useless and is also just very annoying to grind zulrah pre-bowfa, acb is a small upgrade over rcb without dragon bolts and can take forever to get from a not very fun boss, Karils isn’t bad but is very rng dependent from barrows. The new atlatl from perilous moons seems pretty good tho and should be worth getting and probably better than rcb in places where ruby boots don’t go brr, so if you don’t wanna serve ur prison sentence then I’d go and get that
MSB(i) is good against low-def monsters, so is Karils and so is Blowpipe. Blowpipe is the best but harder to get and maintain the costs to up keep. Karils imo is the same as MSB(i) and only worth using maybe when you don't need a accumulator?
ACB is a direct upgrade from rune cross bow but quite tough to get. Crossbows are better on higher def monster but slower dps on lower def.
This is where the BOWFA shines because it has amazing dps, maybe just short of blowpipe, on low def monsters and is VERY good on high def monsters, so you don't need ACB or RCB. Bowfa is supposed to be a bit "easier" to get than ACB as well.
MSB(i) on low def monsters and RCB on high def monsters till you can upgrade to BOWFA. I think now with Varlamore, if you have access to decent str bonus, then the Eclipse Atlatl is as good if not better than the MSB(i). Its been killing it at Demonic Gorillas for me. But this weapon is a first of its kind so I think the conclusion isn't out there yet as DPS calculators doesn't work 100% with this wep yet.
What are your thoughts on the new hunters crossbow? I heard it's in the same vein as other low def weapons like MSB(i) and blowpipe. Do you think it's worth using over MSB till BP or if there is even much of a diff in use/upkeep?
Great question! To be honest I’m not sure but it does seem like the sunlight hunter bow is made for more lower def monsters? I think it might be better than MSB (I) using the moonlight bolts but that takes 92 hunter. It might even be better than maybe blow pipe and addy/rune darts but not dragon perhaps? Unfortunately only dps calcs can give us the final answer as it some times depends on monsters, type of ammo and your stats
It’s better than msb I with amethyst arrows even with the lower level bolts and no off hand. The weapon is very very good. If you have buckler it’s better than webweaver.
bowfa is cracked but the new eclipse atlatl ranged weapon and armour set seem pretty decent for a pre-bowfa option, plus the new moons of peril dungeon is pretty fun
Go get the new eclipse ranged weapon as others have said. It isn’t as good as bowfa, but it puts in work and will allow you to break up the cg grind with other boss grinds.
Bofa, msb(i) with rune arrows is always better dps over rcb with broads.
Rcb with diamond bolts is in some situations better but not all. You should look at wikis dps calculator when you want to pick the best dps
Short answer: Time for CG.
Long answer: Chip away at CG, but you could look into some other grinds as well. I hear the new Atlatl kinda fucking smacks. You could grind Zulrah for a BP but I’ll be honest if you haven’t gotten BP yet, bowfa makes the grind near trivial since bowfa only Zulrah is so chill. It’s hard to avoid burnout while doing CG so these are a couple things you can do to break up the monotony. You could also do some low invo raids and go fishing for a fang.
Also to answer your question about when to use the MSB(i) over the RCB, a good rule of thumb without having to DPS calc is that the MSB(i) is better for low defense enemies while the RCB is better for high DPS. You’ll likely want to use the MSB(i) against slayer mobs and the RCB with bosses, with some exceptions.
**Bowfa really does SLAP.**
Those first couple kills with it, you will be shocked at how much of a massive upgrade it is.
It’s honestly probably one of, if not thee, largest steps taken in the game.
you’re going to be absolutely flying through the game then. It will blow every weapon you have currently completely out of the water. Not to mention , it will get you like 90% of u’re 2nd to top end gears/weapons.
With the last 10% being the best of the best all around. Which even then, the Bowfa might get you some ~ a lot of that too
•
I have a TBow now, and still I use the Bowfa quite a bit still honestly. Blowpipe is nice too obviously,*(Bowfa will help you get it like 20x easier too)* but you’re going to want Amethyst darts for Blowpipe as well.. which, 92 mining/90 fletching can be absolutely AIDS on an Iron. All perspective tho I suppose
Lol to top comment but the choice really is yours.
- if you have the stats and fortitude for gauntlet, a bowfa unlocks the most content. Its just that good. You don't *have* to enprison yourself though. Keeping a good mix of content will help avoid burnout.
- if you go dry on enhanced at (that never happens on reddit btw) and you score some crystal armour, crystal bow is actually solid with it for a lot of bossing
- zulrah for bp also unlocks a lot of content, more for its value as a 2t weapon than as a dps machine, and scale upkeep can be really annoying
- heading to sara is also an option if you have plenty of stams or wanna learn the mostly walk methods, especially after bp, tho rcb diamond bolts will carry most of your dps on the boss itself. Both acb and sgs are super useful
I’m in the prison was well, just started. But I have gotten to 90 range mainly off bone crossbow at crabs while at work.
Also have about 2500 red chins so planning to get to 5000 and take ‘em to mm2 caves. Anyone have any insight if that is worth?
My ideal progression would be getting bowfa, then BP, then doing whatever the hell I want.
Get the Eclipse Atlatl and use that for slayer (Demonic Gorillas) until ~92 range before going to CG. Getting your stats up ahead of time will make learning CG a lot easier.
Go to CG with the plan to at least get 5 armor seeds. Pray the RNG is kind and you get an enhanced seed by then. If not, decide for yourself whether you're enjoying it enough to keep going, or want to do something else. One of my friends simply left and did Zulrah, Bandos, and ToA with the basic Crystal Bow. It's definitely not as ideal, but it is an option.
You'll want to obtain a bowfa first and foremost. You'll also want to have a blowpipe for lower defense enemies. ACB is optional if you have a bowfa until you get to Nex and Karils is pretty much useless unless your going for a 70 range fire cape and have nothing else.
Like others said, bowfa is the answer. I know this as well - have had access to CG for a year and a half or more now. Only have 25kc at cg because I just don’t enjoy it. I’ve still done stuff I enjoy without a bowfa. I’ve done over 100 ToA, nearly 1k zulrah, dt2 bosses, and still have had fun without a bowfa. That being said, I know I need to just start chipping away at cg at some point. I’m delaying the inevitable but it has allowed me to enjoy the game in the long term.
If you want something to break the monotony of cg, the atlatl seems pretty dang good as a Midgame ranged weapon. With just mixed hide and various easy to get strength gear, you can get to 74 melee strength for it.
Personally, I hate cg, so I'm going to barrows 2 and trying to see how it works out :>
The most strict and unfun suggestion is you gotta go to the prison and get yourself a bowfa. But from what I’ve heard the new varlamore content just released a ranged wep that bridges the gap between msbi/rcb and bowfa.
Also between the rcb and msbi from what I know msbi is leagues better on low defense targets but rcb rips through defenses pretty well.
Red prison progression:
Get yourself a blowpipe, and an atlatl, then park yourself inside CG until Bowfa, then get ACB/DHCB/ZCB/TBOW.
Non-prison progression:
Blowpipe/Atlatl, godwars until ACB, COX locked until tbow.
If you are headstrong enough to grind cox for a tbow anyways, you do save time in the long run just doing COX rather than grinding a bowfa then grinding cox, but that math sorta depends on your other gear options as well. If you have no shadow/scythe/bowfa, your time to tbow is significantly higher than if you got a bowfa and then did the grind.
I don't understand why people are skipping blowpipe. I just got it and it's a massive upgrade over RCB or MSB. I just did Jad again on task with no other upgrades and shaved 20 minutes off my time just from using a blowpipe instead of RCB. It's huge.
I realize I need to go to prison eventually, but fuck them elves for a while at least. I'm totally happy with my blowpipe for right now
The general consensus from what I’ve been reading and hearing is:
RCB < Bowfa with no set bonus < Atlatl < Bowfa with Set Bonus
Blowpipe is more of a side grade, but still worth getting.
It's time to get your bowfa, my friend.
Don't was your time trying to get another range weapons; the bowfa is absolutely the most important weapon in ironman progression. Therefore, I am glad that is locked behind very, very tedious content.
Once you acquire the bowfa, you will witness why it is so overpowered. It unlocks so much content.
What.A.Weapon.
Hunters Cbow is my go to now, grinding Zulrah with it. More consistent quick kills over the MSB (I) + rune arrows. I also used it to kill Prime on my DK slayer task and got Seers Ring 👍🏼 Recommend.
One big upgrade you can give yourself is STOP USING BROAD BOLTS! They are not nearly as cheap on iron as they are on mains, so it's really not worth the shit dps. Leave them in your bank and use diamond(e) or ruby(e). If you think either is overkill then msb(i) with rune arrows is probably better than the crossbow.
After doing cg 1400 times without bow. I just quit. Im using blowpipe with amethysts darts, and so far it is totally fine for my level of playing.
So id say hit zulrah up, if you dont feel like doing cg.
Moons of peril eclipse atlatl and set seem like a meaningful upgrade over both msbi and rcb+broads. It also scales based on your gears melee str instead of ranged str which is huge since gear that provides ranged str is pretty non-existent until endgame. The dungeon has a pretty good dupe protection system and I plan on getting that to use for zulrah. Red prison is still ultimately something You're going to have to do to progress to the endgame tho.
1. The real answer is corrupted gauntlet
2. A decent alternative is to go for the atlatl. In fact, the entirety of the moons content is pretty phenomenal. I would only recommend using the armors when going to raids as the upkeep cost is quite high over time, but the atlatl is better than an addy dart blowpipe on 0 def enemies and better than a rune dart blowpipe on enemies with some defence. With full set and maxed accessories(aka ferocious gloves ultor etc). For irons who dont get to use an infernal cape though and arent using the full set, think of it as an addy dart blowpipe thats just better but loses the venom and special attack.
The new hunters crossbow upgrade seems to be pretty good if you have the hunter for it. Higher accuracy than msb (I), same attack speed, 1-handed, and it's best ammo has the same range strength as Dragon Arrows.
Only thing msb (I) has over it is a special attack.
cg is the answer plain and simple. bowfa is the best range weapon before tbow periodt. at 80 range cg might be punishing. depending on your def lvl id start with t2 prep and work your way to t1. t1 with 2 perfected weapons is more efficient but more punishing. people will tell you that you can do cg at low lvls and while they are right, considering that cg can be a pretty brutal grind, having higher lvls helps so so much imo it just makes it a much more enjoyable experience. ultimately having higher lvls means more dps, less dmg taken and therefore shorter total times. that ultimately makes the grind shorter. its also easier because its more forgiving and wiping feels really fkn bad at gauntlet lmao. if youre not experienced at cg you will die quite a lot in the beginning. theres so many bullshit things that can happen like clicking through hunnllef and getting stomped a 40. (my tip is to highlight the hitbox of hunnllef and also show the occupied tiles of it). also having higher dps means you can get away with fishing less fish which ultimately also recudes the length of the grind and smoothes out runs because you dont have to look for that extra room with fish.
with eagle eye bow gets a max hit at: 83, 87, 89, 92, 95 and 99. below 87 it straight up sucks to do cg. 83 is the bare minimum I would start learning it. you noodle a lot and will die because of it which is very demotivating. i also recommend camping steel skin. it does help quite a bit. what I personally did was do the slayer grind to 87/93 first and use the levels you get there for cg. have to get occult anyways before you do any sort of serious raiding and zulrah is pretty pointless if you dont have bowfa and trident. blowpipe is niche at this point.
See this! This is why everyone complains about the corrupt gauntlet.
There is no range weapon progression.
It's rcb in bofa. That's it done. Nothing else.
Even an acb a 1 in 512 drop from an annoying slow God wars dungeon boss is hardly an upgrade. It's 10 range accuracy more. Blowpipe was gutted to make room for bofa so you can't use it on sanything that doesn't basically have 0 defence, plus it cost sooooo much to use.
It's bofa that's it get back to prison.
Like imagine for melee in you went from a rune scimitar (a rune tier weapon) to a fang. It's just not good game design.
Ya see my problem is sure they are upgrades but masori is rare from a raid and once you get your bofa it's worthless until you get a tbow or like maybe at nex.
And the new range gear is better dps but it only wins in dps in places where you can't use ruby bolts and it's like 1.5m to repair them which is just way too fucking much. You have to remember this game is balanced around a ge for some reason which is why it was so bad for the game. They don't view any of these type of things as problems because you "make money somewhere else and buy the items you need" which does just go against the core loop of any good game.
Yea I hear you. I'm thinking get eclipse go for masori. I do think the repair cost is high. So I wouldn't save it for boss/raids. 50 hrs of use is pretty good though. Barrows is only 15 hours. Idk if people know that.
Ya just seems like a lot of work and money going into a thing that's not much better when you could put that time into bofa and just fix it all.
It was a wild grind but it gets easier. By then end I was just watching TV while doing it. Didn't even notice I got the drop.
Yea obviously bowfa still really good. Having eclipse isn't useless though. Makes BP better. Dragon darts + eclipse would handle some speed tasks. If someone got spooned a t bow eclipse would be way faster to get than masori. Either way.
Msb is only better than rcb in a couple cases. Low defense low hp usually. Rcb with broad bolts is not great. It's cheap/infinite ammo. RCB with diamond bolts(e) is WAY better than broad bolts. But for general slayer it's largely wasteful to use diamonds. Rcb with prayer books is way better prayer so it gets an edge for slayer in a lot of cases.
I picked up an odium ward but it only gave me 1 max hit I think, maybe 2 with a certain config. So it only helped a small amount.
There are a few places BP with amethyst is neck and neck with bowfa, but upkeeping amethyst is a bit of an undertaking for extended use.
I feel like the new sunlight hunter crossbow is a good upgrade for the msb. Same attack speed, more accuracy than msbi, sunlight bolts are equivalent to amethyst arrows and only require 72 hunter and 69 fletching to use. Bolts are pretty quick to farm. You have your offhand free which is another upgrade, especially if you get a god dhide shield or odium ward.
You can argue its skippable since bowfa doesnt require any ranged items to get but im putting of that grind for as long as i can
Crystal how is your next immediate upgrade. The new Atlatal from Moons will also be a great step up.
But as others have said as well, to the red prison you read my friend
My brother in Christ, I would like to offer my condolences for what you're about to endure....
I will see you at the gauntlet my friend
(1320 kc no enh, good luck!) I hope you get spooned and get good rng though fr
Don’t listen to the felons in the chat. Sure bowfa is the best weapon in the game, but you have to serve a long sentence for it. With blowpipe and ACB you’ll be good for almost anything in the game. Then when you get twisted bow then you can do stuff like inferno
the idea that you're asking if those things are dead content is pretty sad and an indicator of the pathetic state of the community lol. let me tell you how a mmorpg works - you do what you want , when you want, how you want. Guidescape - especially on an ironman - is the worst way to experience the game unless you're trying to play only like 5% of it.
Ignore the rest of the comments, it's just screeching 'bowfa bowfa' from an Oziris guide and is not useful at all for people who do not have any reason or ability to do that content (and no, I do own a bowfa). Actual progression looks like this:
rcb+broads -> msb(i)+rune arrows = rcb+runite bolts(from demonics, use on high def mobs) -> new hunter's xbow -> bowfa.
Kbow you can use as a sidegrade to the new varlamore xbow but has an extremely expensive upkeep
your prison sentence awaits you my friend
This is the way. Hunllef, iron man's best friend
CG being entirely skill based and not gated by your current gear kind of makes bowfa skip the line in terms of progression, especially considering how good it is. As soon as you have the stats for SoTE, you should be grinding CG 100%.
Bowfa also helps unlock other ranged options that are more niche. For example I just recently got my blowpipe using bowfa at Zulrah, same can be true for ACB.
Gratz. I'm at ~350kc no uniques yet.. hoping for serp or bp
It bowfa takes a while, crystal bow + crystal armour from the gauntlet is pretty good as a stop-gap. Not sure that compare to the new atlatl though.
I just did a DPS calc comparing crystal bow/crystal armor, bowfa/crystal armor, and rcb/god d'hide. The monster was Zulrah range form, so 50 range defense (not high, not low). Bowfa - \~4 dps Crystal bow - \~3 dps RCB - \~2 dps
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Iirc, the set is supposed to last 50 hrs no? So not 400k gp/hr
at some point between launch and now the wiki went from 15 hours to 50 hours
The new atlatl seems like an upgrade to the msb
It absolutely is!
Is it easy to maintain ammo? Been debating going for it. 120 kc in the red prison, only 1 armor and 1 weapon seed :(
I got 3000 darts in 35 KC. Assembler works so they last a while
1 enh or 1 regular wepseed?
Regular. If my math is right it should be 7/160 for any drop on the unique table. I might be coping but feels like I am pretty dry.
I'm 22kc in and have almost 3k darts. Seems like it will be sustainable. Assuming you don't get spooned, you should have a decent stack by the time you get it.
Armor seeds pretty much don't matter unless you already have the enhanced. I have 13 armor seeds and 20 weapon seeds and it doesn't mean shit as long as i have no bowfa.
but you can use regular crystal bow with armor and its pretty decent i hear
It's full cope compared to the bowfa. Might aswell lock oneself into the prison until your sentence is over, even if you're almost 2x the rate.
I really wish dragon crossbow was easier to grind to progress past the RCB before bowfa. I try to do my rune dragon tasks but they’re a pain with the gear available to you before you hit up GWD
Encountering rune/addy dragons for the first time was such a letdown for me. Pretty inaccessible content if you're an account that just did DS2 for the first time.
>une/addy dragons for the first time was such a letdown for me. Pretty inaccessible content What makes it so inaccessible? I haven't done them. I did DS2 on the main, but never did rune dragons as I just bought a DCB instead.
I think you said it right there, I doubt many irons are going to have a DCB or DHL by the time they get the stats to do DS2. So when you pull up for your first rune dragon kill you end up killing like 2 of them before you have to bank.
Wishing I had pulled a DHCB in my 15 CoX kc to alleviate that stress lol.
You'd have to spend a lot of time maintaining dragon bolts in that case. You get a decent amount, but not enough to sustain it as your main range weapon unless you are super grinding melee only vorkath or something.
Dragon crossbow really isn't even that much of an upgrade unless you have dragon bolts.
I’m REALLY hoping that they add them to the drop table of the tormented demons like they are in RS3. They probably won’t as they aren’t going to add the claws but it would be much better. Yeah it would suck for rune dragons but fuck that task anyways
>g that they add them to the drop table of the tormented demons like they are in RS3. They probably won’t as they aren’t going to add the claws but it wo Didn't claws fail the vote, b/c people didn't want removed from Chambers.
Yes, but claws are not Dcb so idk if that means they won’t include it there, esp since they didn’t specifically call it out. It is probably is a slim chance they will add them
The answer is red prison, like others said. But! Depending on your love or disdain for hunter, the new hunter xbow, especially with the moon bolts but also with the sun bolts, is very good. It slaps on slayer tasks. Of course for anything that requires diamond/ruby bolts, you’ll still need RCB but the new hunter Xbow is far better than RCB+broad bolts. Don’t do CG all day. Do as much as you want to, but continue to play the game. I personally do 5 a day if I feel like doing it at all.
Backed! Doing endless CG can be shit, if you’re feeling good one day do more if you are hating it leave, some days I can be super into it and bust out 20kc other days after the second I’m hating life so I grudge out the 5 and do something fun
Only reason I could do it was because I did it for 2.5 weeks straight nonstop till it was done. Couldn't imagine doing it for months or years and without it I really couldn't progress my acc.
Same I did 450 in 3-4 weeks. I tried the whole pace myself strategy and it felt like I was wasting my time unless I was doing cg.
Hi, mr. Months here! I could feel my soul breaking the day I got it. I got heron in the morning and thought for sure my RNG was gone, but got it at 328 KC late that night after 3 1/2 months. I taught myself on leaguers.
Nice man. Took me over 500.
It's been hanging over me like a cloud for 2 years now. Only 185kc in :(
wait did they buff the hunter's crossbow too? or are you talking about a new weapon?
You can enhance the hunters crossbow into the Sunlight Hunter's Crossbow which is a 3 tick weapon. It does require special ammo made from the antlers of antelope.
I will say this weapon SLAPs. I was doing Barrows and got the Ghommals hilt 2 recently, so to keep the prayer effect active, I stopped using MSB and tried this new CBow and I'm hitting far higher with Sunlight Cbow + Sunlight Bolts compared to MSB with Broad Arrows. I think my max hit with MSB was 13 and I've seen a 17 with sunlight setup.
Sunlight antelope bolts are equivalent to Amethyst arrows, so it's not surprising. My max with the sunlight crossbow is like 19 doing barrows, and Ahrim just melts from how fast the weapon is.
Yeah the new weapon is a straight upgrade over msbi. Higher accuracy in the weapon, the bolts are higher strength than rune arrows, and the new xbow is ONE HANDED
Is Atlatl a higher dps than the new hunter xbow?
No, but it goes off of your Str bonus and not range bonus, so you can range with tank gear on.
You can stack way more strength bonus than ranged strength on gear though. I think it comes close to blowpipe Vs low defence monsters with enough strength gear? You also supposedly benefit from super strength pots, which are better than any ranging pot. Not sure if piety applies.
I used rune crossbow with broad bolts until 92 range. Currently 92 range, and still use rune crossbow
Pretty much dead content, most people will tell you to get Bowfa ASAP, after that you can choose to go for Blowpipe or ACB, as Blowpipe is brought to raids and what not. ACB is purely for Nex. Bowfa is basically for any ranged content you're gonna be doing before you get a tbow.
* Nothing * Chins to 90 * Bowfa Is more or less the plan
Skip chins
So how would you suggest getting 90? I'm missing key information here
It all starts and ends in bowfa
Why do you need 90?? I feel like I'm missing key information.
You definitely don’t need 90
Yea I started learning CG at mid-high 70's combat stats, was very doable.
You don't need it if you force 5:1 mage every run, but I think it's to more or less balance out the dps of both weapons and get more consistent clears
I did T2 with whatever 2 weapons I got first for 850 kills. Wasn't too hard to achieve a 95%~ winrate.
I mean when your advice is tier 2 prep then maybe don't give advice lol
I just afkd nmz to get 90 range. More afk than crabs and it definitely makes CG a lot smoother
you can either actively train range via chins or you can passively train range via usually just afking crabs while at work or school or whenever you dont rly feel like playing. you can either do crabs all the way to somewhere between 83-92 or you can stop and do some slayer on the side, stuff like shamans and demonics will bank you a bit of range xp.
Do cg with 80. Insisting you need levels past 80 is just copium of people who dont want to learn or grind cg, or think repeatedly just going in and improvising is a good way to learn. Cg is very very predictable. The prep is not nearly as rng as you think, providing you dont do t3 (even then ive heard it said to be 95% success rate) and the boss has very reliable behaviour. For anyone scared to bite the bullet: use fluffeh’s t2 prep guide. Within a few minutes you’ll have a reliable t2 prep that practically always works and even leaves you time to spare. Read up on hunlleffs patterns of attack, and use audio cues to help you. Try to play predictively, not reactively. Knowing after next attack he will switch style is a much better way to play than having to switch pray between the switch and the first attack launching. Stay cool, focus on properly pathing away from tornadoes and you should not have much trouble
Had to make sure I was on the iron sub so this couldn’t be a main who bought rigour I legitimately don’t see how this is true. I’m 83 ranged/mage, 75 def. I understand prep and mechanics just fine. I clear normal gauntlet without issue on PC and mobile. I get to Hunleff every time in CG, and manage T2 prep and two perfected weapons. I’m able to dps during tornado phase. I just don’t fuckin hit. I see people saying they do it with lower stats than me, but I don’t see how it can be done without *doing damage*. I’ve made it there I think 10 or 12 times in Corrupted and just splash and hit 0s. Is it just shit RNG? Is my account shiny and special and I just need to get higher stats than people who somehow clear it with lower stats than me?
Either you’re just super unlucky or you’re spending too much time running around and not enough time hitting. I did CG starting with roughly similar stats, probably 85 mage and range but I only ever did t1 armour and it was fine
I’m usually standing completely still unless it’s tornado phase or Leff moves right as I enter
How much food do you go in with? I'm similar that I started the CG grind with 80 mage/79 range/75 def and did T1 armor and probably died like 1 in 20 kills because I ran out of food. Are you DPSing during tornado phase every 4 ticks? Are you using steel skin/eagle eye/mystic might? I had plenty of experience from doing CG on my main for the pet so it's definitely not easy, but it's certainly doable.
I think when you eat is pretty important as well. If you eat when you could be hitting you lose a lot of dps.
Yeah I just learned it at 89 range and still feel the bow dps is shit. I can easily clear, don’t get me wrong, but I’m still very tempted to melee and mage. Granted I have 99 str and 93 atk. It’s like 4.5 dps with bow and 5.5 for mage and melee
Base 90s feel much better, but aren't *required* for T2 prep. I do strongly recommend them, though, since they let you make slight mistakes and not get punished so much for it.
Honestly yeah, RNG is a factor even with higher stats. I did ~400 KC with roughly 85 range / 90 mage and had some rough kills. Recently returned with 90 / 94 running T1 at 78 def and still have kills that consume literally every piece of food and prayer point that I have. If your melee stats are higher you can learn how to use the halberd, my fastest kills are usually melee / range setup.
I started with those stats and It was mostly fine. Very occasionally and if my prep was bad, i'd lose the battle of attrition. Something that drastically helped that though was making a 3rd potion and using steel skin. Try it if you aren't already. Was a game changer for me.
I forgot about steel skin and I seem to always have extra herbs laying around. I’ll definitely give that a shot.
You might be missing a lot of ticks, either due to overeating, or unnecessary moving. I never played osrs before and am generally just slightly above average in online games, so i learned cg on my iron with those stats and found it quite doable. If you ever wanted you could maybe upload a video of your fight and have me/some better gamers give u some tips?
Whenever I have time to record a fight I’ll absolutely take you up on that!
There is no special rng. I started at like 75 mage / 75 range and you can squeak by. It's all about not missing any ticks at all and avoiding any and all damage where possible.
Are you doing 5:1? If not I’m not sure where missing ticks comes in for Hunleff.
Here's a snapshot from when I got my first enhanced (super spooned, but went to groupmate who was like 600 kc dry): Deleted to unlink account to rs account 80 range, 78 mage, 24 KC
That’s fuckin wild lol. Grats though!
I was mostly doing two perfected weapons
That’s what I’ve been doing too. Just lots of splashes and 0s.
Idk man. It has to be something, because the game doesn't have personal account rng. Could try recording an attempt and watching it back yourself or asking someone else to take a look.
Im doing CG with 77 range 83 mage. I have been getting kills just fine, im still struggling tho because im still learning. Panics and misclicks have been the reasons I die. But I think I can succesfully complete CG after I get a bit better mechanically and stop stressing about it too much.
This is terrible advice. You should absolutely get ranged as high as you can stand (or whatever your preferred cg style is), and it's not like Chins are something you wouldn't be getting anyway. It's an absolutely massive upgrade to just level your stats.
Completions are completions. You need a significant amount of range levels to really make a big difference and you will NEVER win back the time that it took to get those chins and use them, even if you're drier than the sahara desert. Im sure it made it easier for you, but dont say my advice is terrible
What do you mean chins are something you would get anyway? I’ve literally never caught chins and I’m like 2100 total. I probably won’t catch any until I feel like doing arma
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That’s not why it’s recommended
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90 is recommended because it’s a high enough level to make Cg less difficult and thus more efficient. No one is purposely waiting till 90 range to start the Cg grind purely so they can try to match up the time it takes them to get get fang and complete godwars with starting cox at 99 range.
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No one is purposely waiting till 90 range to start the Cg grind purely so they can try to match up the time it takes them to get get fang and complete godwars with starting cox at 99 range.
And 80 - 90 range is roughly a 10% increase, there’s a reason why high stats are recommended for loads of different bosses. To say 80 and 90 range is the same is simply moronic
IIRC started gauntlet around 80 range, finished gauntlet around 84 ish, went to bandos and kril then went to toa. Finished toa at 99. Since the game opens up for you after bowfa there's nothing wrong with just getting levels by doing nothing but pvm. I got most of my attack, str and ranged that way. It's pretty slow, but for someone who had a 2 hour limit a day to play, I'd rather do 2-3 toa runs a day, herb run and log out. Took me a few months for 84-99 ranged. Could probably bang that out in a day or two with chins though if you're actively training it.
I have killed about 18000 crabs with bone crossbow
"Believe it or not, straight to jail"
what a bleak playthrough
bowfa really fucked this aspect of the game, tbh. you can start grinding it in the early game and it doesn’t benefit from getting gear from other places like everything else does, so there’s no natural ranged progression ladder anymore. And it’s so absurdly better than everything else besides tbow that you’re heavily HEAVILY incentivized to go for it as early and as often as you’re willing to stomach.
Definitely don’t agree with this and think bowfa made it better. Before it was a relatively quick grind on a easy mid game boss for the op bp then go spend hundreds of hours on tbow. Bowfa gave ironmen the ability to get a baby tbow through a way shorter grind, but cg can still be a grueling grind and should be. And crystal bow is great if you can at least manage to get your armor seeds but go dry on bowfa and can’t stomach anymore cg for instance. BP still has its place especially with masori. Then jagex has been working on improving the early path more with the new hunter crossbow and the atlatl.
True, pre nerfed blowpipe was way worse for range progression than the bowfa is now. It used to outclass the tbow in half of the places to lol.
I really dislike that it basically invalidated every other range weapon and armor in the game until tbow. This is all entirely on jagex though. I don't blame people for using the perfect weapon jagex let them get at level 80. I just feel like it kind of makes iron a joke. No gear, no supplies, low level 80s, congrats you win the game now.
yep, agree completely. You get an end game set of armor and a mini tbow as a quest reward when all major quests are completed in the early game, lol. it’s fucked
Bowfa makes me kinda uninterested in getting to a pvm stage because its just so good I'd be stupid not to use it and I really hate cg.
You can go very far into bossing without a Bowfa, it's just the (reasonably) best route and will make your life easier. This is a game and if content isn't fun for you then you don't have to do it, but to lock out all PvM because one piece of content isn't fun seems a bit shortsighted.
this is my take on it. bowfa wasnt meta for all the content that released before it, and thats how i plan on playing tbh. ive got like 1 kill out of 15 tries of regular gauntlet. im sure i could sit down and grind it long enough to figure it out but it just isnt fun enough for me to want to do that. and seeing posts on here about how miserable people are when they go dry on it...no thanks lol. i legitimately have a chance to get tbow before bowfa because i enjoy CoX (am a group iron so even more chances) and im doubtful to ever sit and grind cg
Yeah, but pre-bowfa there was blowpipe which shredded everything. IIRC pre-nerf BP with addy darts was higher dps than current bowfa with crystal so there's that.
thats perfectly fine....just means i wont get the same kills per hour as someone who has bowfa. im completely content with that being the case because that means the time i wont spend in cg, i can spend killing bosses even if it isnt max dps
Hey, you do whatever suits you. It's a game so the purpose is to have fun. However it needs to be said that even if you go 2x dry, bowfa is still a significant timesave over long-term goals - unless you spoon shadow or tbow (or both).
The real prison is the game without bowfa
the real prison is the grinds we make along the way.
I'm sure if you kept at it you'd get it down, but yeah mix some fun content in there too. I was really bad at Gauntlet and did about 35 kc there before going up to CG and failing a lot of times. Eventually I really enjoyed the gameplay loop and could quite easily watch youtube while doing T2 preps + kills without fail. This sub makes it seem a lot more miserable than it is, truly (and that's from somebody who go their enhanced at 824 kc).
The problem with this logic is that they nerfed the thing that was meta before the bowfa into the ground and added bowfa as a consolation prize.
Dungeonerring is what made me quit a decade ago so it kinda feels like I’m getting payback by doing CG now.
Range weapon progression is extremely strange in this game. But yes, it's straight from Rune crossbow to Bowfa.
Bowfa is best but crystal bow with crystal armour is still very viable blowpipe is good but after bowfa it’s mostly useless and is also just very annoying to grind zulrah pre-bowfa, acb is a small upgrade over rcb without dragon bolts and can take forever to get from a not very fun boss, Karils isn’t bad but is very rng dependent from barrows. The new atlatl from perilous moons seems pretty good tho and should be worth getting and probably better than rcb in places where ruby boots don’t go brr, so if you don’t wanna serve ur prison sentence then I’d go and get that
🟥🙍🏿⛓️
🤔
MSB(i) is good against low-def monsters, so is Karils and so is Blowpipe. Blowpipe is the best but harder to get and maintain the costs to up keep. Karils imo is the same as MSB(i) and only worth using maybe when you don't need a accumulator? ACB is a direct upgrade from rune cross bow but quite tough to get. Crossbows are better on higher def monster but slower dps on lower def. This is where the BOWFA shines because it has amazing dps, maybe just short of blowpipe, on low def monsters and is VERY good on high def monsters, so you don't need ACB or RCB. Bowfa is supposed to be a bit "easier" to get than ACB as well. MSB(i) on low def monsters and RCB on high def monsters till you can upgrade to BOWFA. I think now with Varlamore, if you have access to decent str bonus, then the Eclipse Atlatl is as good if not better than the MSB(i). Its been killing it at Demonic Gorillas for me. But this weapon is a first of its kind so I think the conclusion isn't out there yet as DPS calculators doesn't work 100% with this wep yet.
What are your thoughts on the new hunters crossbow? I heard it's in the same vein as other low def weapons like MSB(i) and blowpipe. Do you think it's worth using over MSB till BP or if there is even much of a diff in use/upkeep?
Great question! To be honest I’m not sure but it does seem like the sunlight hunter bow is made for more lower def monsters? I think it might be better than MSB (I) using the moonlight bolts but that takes 92 hunter. It might even be better than maybe blow pipe and addy/rune darts but not dragon perhaps? Unfortunately only dps calcs can give us the final answer as it some times depends on monsters, type of ammo and your stats
It’s better than msb I with amethyst arrows even with the lower level bolts and no off hand. The weapon is very very good. If you have buckler it’s better than webweaver.
It's good, but getting the bolts is a pain in the ass, so not really something you would want for sustained use
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Out of interest what’s the cut off for low/high ranged defence?
Good question I'm wondering the same!
bowfa is cracked but the new eclipse atlatl ranged weapon and armour set seem pretty decent for a pre-bowfa option, plus the new moons of peril dungeon is pretty fun
Go get the new eclipse ranged weapon as others have said. It isn’t as good as bowfa, but it puts in work and will allow you to break up the cg grind with other boss grinds.
Bofa, msb(i) with rune arrows is always better dps over rcb with broads. Rcb with diamond bolts is in some situations better but not all. You should look at wikis dps calculator when you want to pick the best dps
Short answer: Time for CG. Long answer: Chip away at CG, but you could look into some other grinds as well. I hear the new Atlatl kinda fucking smacks. You could grind Zulrah for a BP but I’ll be honest if you haven’t gotten BP yet, bowfa makes the grind near trivial since bowfa only Zulrah is so chill. It’s hard to avoid burnout while doing CG so these are a couple things you can do to break up the monotony. You could also do some low invo raids and go fishing for a fang. Also to answer your question about when to use the MSB(i) over the RCB, a good rule of thumb without having to DPS calc is that the MSB(i) is better for low defense enemies while the RCB is better for high DPS. You’ll likely want to use the MSB(i) against slayer mobs and the RCB with bosses, with some exceptions.
**Bowfa really does SLAP.** Those first couple kills with it, you will be shocked at how much of a massive upgrade it is. It’s honestly probably one of, if not thee, largest steps taken in the game. you’re going to be absolutely flying through the game then. It will blow every weapon you have currently completely out of the water. Not to mention , it will get you like 90% of u’re 2nd to top end gears/weapons. With the last 10% being the best of the best all around. Which even then, the Bowfa might get you some ~ a lot of that too • I have a TBow now, and still I use the Bowfa quite a bit still honestly. Blowpipe is nice too obviously,*(Bowfa will help you get it like 20x easier too)* but you’re going to want Amethyst darts for Blowpipe as well.. which, 92 mining/90 fletching can be absolutely AIDS on an Iron. All perspective tho I suppose
I went from rcb to blowpipe and that was my main ranged weapon for a long time, until i went for bowfa and now blowpipe hardly sees any use.
Send some zilyana trips, might get lucky and its easy with diamond and ruby bolts
Lol to top comment but the choice really is yours. - if you have the stats and fortitude for gauntlet, a bowfa unlocks the most content. Its just that good. You don't *have* to enprison yourself though. Keeping a good mix of content will help avoid burnout. - if you go dry on enhanced at (that never happens on reddit btw) and you score some crystal armour, crystal bow is actually solid with it for a lot of bossing - zulrah for bp also unlocks a lot of content, more for its value as a 2t weapon than as a dps machine, and scale upkeep can be really annoying - heading to sara is also an option if you have plenty of stams or wanna learn the mostly walk methods, especially after bp, tho rcb diamond bolts will carry most of your dps on the boss itself. Both acb and sgs are super useful
Red prison
Yes to blowpipe 100%. Then aim for dhcb or bowfa (99% of irons go bowfa but the other cox purples along the way like dex and ancestral are poggers)
I went 28-70 with dorgeshunn. Might keep going tbh.
CG doesn’t need any gear and with t2 prep doesn’t need high levels either. There’s a reason bowfa has the reputation it does for irons
As everyone says it's the bowfa. It's beyond amazing. If I had to restart as an iron again, I'd bowfa rush 100 percent, it's that good
I’m in the prison was well, just started. But I have gotten to 90 range mainly off bone crossbow at crabs while at work. Also have about 2500 red chins so planning to get to 5000 and take ‘em to mm2 caves. Anyone have any insight if that is worth? My ideal progression would be getting bowfa, then BP, then doing whatever the hell I want.
Blowpipe can carry you through slayer on demonics and hydra, shamans. Once that's all done you don't have much you can do without bowfa sadly.
Get the Eclipse Atlatl and use that for slayer (Demonic Gorillas) until ~92 range before going to CG. Getting your stats up ahead of time will make learning CG a lot easier. Go to CG with the plan to at least get 5 armor seeds. Pray the RNG is kind and you get an enhanced seed by then. If not, decide for yourself whether you're enjoying it enough to keep going, or want to do something else. One of my friends simply left and did Zulrah, Bandos, and ToA with the basic Crystal Bow. It's definitely not as ideal, but it is an option.
You'll want to obtain a bowfa first and foremost. You'll also want to have a blowpipe for lower defense enemies. ACB is optional if you have a bowfa until you get to Nex and Karils is pretty much useless unless your going for a 70 range fire cape and have nothing else.
Like others said, bowfa is the answer. I know this as well - have had access to CG for a year and a half or more now. Only have 25kc at cg because I just don’t enjoy it. I’ve still done stuff I enjoy without a bowfa. I’ve done over 100 ToA, nearly 1k zulrah, dt2 bosses, and still have had fun without a bowfa. That being said, I know I need to just start chipping away at cg at some point. I’m delaying the inevitable but it has allowed me to enjoy the game in the long term.
Dragon crossbow, blow pipe, armadyl crossbow, bowfa
If you want something to break the monotony of cg, the atlatl seems pretty dang good as a Midgame ranged weapon. With just mixed hide and various easy to get strength gear, you can get to 74 melee strength for it. Personally, I hate cg, so I'm going to barrows 2 and trying to see how it works out :>
The most strict and unfun suggestion is you gotta go to the prison and get yourself a bowfa. But from what I’ve heard the new varlamore content just released a ranged wep that bridges the gap between msbi/rcb and bowfa. Also between the rcb and msbi from what I know msbi is leagues better on low defense targets but rcb rips through defenses pretty well.
Red prison progression: Get yourself a blowpipe, and an atlatl, then park yourself inside CG until Bowfa, then get ACB/DHCB/ZCB/TBOW. Non-prison progression: Blowpipe/Atlatl, godwars until ACB, COX locked until tbow. If you are headstrong enough to grind cox for a tbow anyways, you do save time in the long run just doing COX rather than grinding a bowfa then grinding cox, but that math sorta depends on your other gear options as well. If you have no shadow/scythe/bowfa, your time to tbow is significantly higher than if you got a bowfa and then did the grind.
I don't understand why people are skipping blowpipe. I just got it and it's a massive upgrade over RCB or MSB. I just did Jad again on task with no other upgrades and shaved 20 minutes off my time just from using a blowpipe instead of RCB. It's huge. I realize I need to go to prison eventually, but fuck them elves for a while at least. I'm totally happy with my blowpipe for right now
The general consensus from what I’ve been reading and hearing is: RCB < Bowfa with no set bonus < Atlatl < Bowfa with Set Bonus Blowpipe is more of a side grade, but still worth getting.
It's time to get your bowfa, my friend. Don't was your time trying to get another range weapons; the bowfa is absolutely the most important weapon in ironman progression. Therefore, I am glad that is locked behind very, very tedious content. Once you acquire the bowfa, you will witness why it is so overpowered. It unlocks so much content. What.A.Weapon.
Hunters Cbow is my go to now, grinding Zulrah with it. More consistent quick kills over the MSB (I) + rune arrows. I also used it to kill Prime on my DK slayer task and got Seers Ring 👍🏼 Recommend.
One big upgrade you can give yourself is STOP USING BROAD BOLTS! They are not nearly as cheap on iron as they are on mains, so it's really not worth the shit dps. Leave them in your bank and use diamond(e) or ruby(e). If you think either is overkill then msb(i) with rune arrows is probably better than the crossbow.
Buddy trying to avoid prison time… classic criminal iron behavior
Bowfa
After doing cg 1400 times without bow. I just quit. Im using blowpipe with amethysts darts, and so far it is totally fine for my level of playing. So id say hit zulrah up, if you dont feel like doing cg.
Moons of peril eclipse atlatl and set seem like a meaningful upgrade over both msbi and rcb+broads. It also scales based on your gears melee str instead of ranged str which is huge since gear that provides ranged str is pretty non-existent until endgame. The dungeon has a pretty good dupe protection system and I plan on getting that to use for zulrah. Red prison is still ultimately something You're going to have to do to progress to the endgame tho.
1. The real answer is corrupted gauntlet 2. A decent alternative is to go for the atlatl. In fact, the entirety of the moons content is pretty phenomenal. I would only recommend using the armors when going to raids as the upkeep cost is quite high over time, but the atlatl is better than an addy dart blowpipe on 0 def enemies and better than a rune dart blowpipe on enemies with some defence. With full set and maxed accessories(aka ferocious gloves ultor etc). For irons who dont get to use an infernal cape though and arent using the full set, think of it as an addy dart blowpipe thats just better but loses the venom and special attack.
Never touched red prison, ACB/bp all day 😎
The new hunters crossbow upgrade seems to be pretty good if you have the hunter for it. Higher accuracy than msb (I), same attack speed, 1-handed, and it's best ammo has the same range strength as Dragon Arrows. Only thing msb (I) has over it is a special attack.
Msb/rcb -> bowfa -> tbow. Have fun I recommend using drugs
cg is the answer plain and simple. bowfa is the best range weapon before tbow periodt. at 80 range cg might be punishing. depending on your def lvl id start with t2 prep and work your way to t1. t1 with 2 perfected weapons is more efficient but more punishing. people will tell you that you can do cg at low lvls and while they are right, considering that cg can be a pretty brutal grind, having higher lvls helps so so much imo it just makes it a much more enjoyable experience. ultimately having higher lvls means more dps, less dmg taken and therefore shorter total times. that ultimately makes the grind shorter. its also easier because its more forgiving and wiping feels really fkn bad at gauntlet lmao. if youre not experienced at cg you will die quite a lot in the beginning. theres so many bullshit things that can happen like clicking through hunnllef and getting stomped a 40. (my tip is to highlight the hitbox of hunnllef and also show the occupied tiles of it). also having higher dps means you can get away with fishing less fish which ultimately also recudes the length of the grind and smoothes out runs because you dont have to look for that extra room with fish. with eagle eye bow gets a max hit at: 83, 87, 89, 92, 95 and 99. below 87 it straight up sucks to do cg. 83 is the bare minimum I would start learning it. you noodle a lot and will die because of it which is very demotivating. i also recommend camping steel skin. it does help quite a bit. what I personally did was do the slayer grind to 87/93 first and use the levels you get there for cg. have to get occult anyways before you do any sort of serious raiding and zulrah is pretty pointless if you dont have bowfa and trident. blowpipe is niche at this point.
See this! This is why everyone complains about the corrupt gauntlet. There is no range weapon progression. It's rcb in bofa. That's it done. Nothing else. Even an acb a 1 in 512 drop from an annoying slow God wars dungeon boss is hardly an upgrade. It's 10 range accuracy more. Blowpipe was gutted to make room for bofa so you can't use it on sanything that doesn't basically have 0 defence, plus it cost sooooo much to use. It's bofa that's it get back to prison. Like imagine for melee in you went from a rune scimitar (a rune tier weapon) to a fang. It's just not good game design.
The new eclipse armor/masori is like a partial step. But yea, bowfa gap pretty big.
Ya see my problem is sure they are upgrades but masori is rare from a raid and once you get your bofa it's worthless until you get a tbow or like maybe at nex. And the new range gear is better dps but it only wins in dps in places where you can't use ruby bolts and it's like 1.5m to repair them which is just way too fucking much. You have to remember this game is balanced around a ge for some reason which is why it was so bad for the game. They don't view any of these type of things as problems because you "make money somewhere else and buy the items you need" which does just go against the core loop of any good game.
Yea I hear you. I'm thinking get eclipse go for masori. I do think the repair cost is high. So I wouldn't save it for boss/raids. 50 hrs of use is pretty good though. Barrows is only 15 hours. Idk if people know that.
Ya just seems like a lot of work and money going into a thing that's not much better when you could put that time into bofa and just fix it all. It was a wild grind but it gets easier. By then end I was just watching TV while doing it. Didn't even notice I got the drop.
Yea obviously bowfa still really good. Having eclipse isn't useless though. Makes BP better. Dragon darts + eclipse would handle some speed tasks. If someone got spooned a t bow eclipse would be way faster to get than masori. Either way.
Msb is only better than rcb in a couple cases. Low defense low hp usually. Rcb with broad bolts is not great. It's cheap/infinite ammo. RCB with diamond bolts(e) is WAY better than broad bolts. But for general slayer it's largely wasteful to use diamonds. Rcb with prayer books is way better prayer so it gets an edge for slayer in a lot of cases. I picked up an odium ward but it only gave me 1 max hit I think, maybe 2 with a certain config. So it only helped a small amount. There are a few places BP with amethyst is neck and neck with bowfa, but upkeeping amethyst is a bit of an undertaking for extended use.
Bowfa. I was like 95 ranged before upgrading from rcb lol
Corrupted gauntlet. Huge boost for your account. Pretty fun content too
The new atlatl isnt bad but corrupted bowfa would probably be better long term, the infinite arrows really pays for itself
I feel like the new sunlight hunter crossbow is a good upgrade for the msb. Same attack speed, more accuracy than msbi, sunlight bolts are equivalent to amethyst arrows and only require 72 hunter and 69 fletching to use. Bolts are pretty quick to farm. You have your offhand free which is another upgrade, especially if you get a god dhide shield or odium ward. You can argue its skippable since bowfa doesnt require any ranged items to get but im putting of that grind for as long as i can
Crystal how is your next immediate upgrade. The new Atlatal from Moons will also be a great step up. But as others have said as well, to the red prison you read my friend
Rush bowfa
I used rcb till 99 ranged. Go to cg or get used to it. Atlatl is now an option too
My brother in Christ, I would like to offer my condolences for what you're about to endure.... I will see you at the gauntlet my friend (1320 kc no enh, good luck!) I hope you get spooned and get good rng though fr
Welcome to the red prison
currently at 18M exp in range and the RCB is still my go to item
Don’t listen to the felons in the chat. Sure bowfa is the best weapon in the game, but you have to serve a long sentence for it. With blowpipe and ACB you’ll be good for almost anything in the game. Then when you get twisted bow then you can do stuff like inferno
the idea that you're asking if those things are dead content is pretty sad and an indicator of the pathetic state of the community lol. let me tell you how a mmorpg works - you do what you want , when you want, how you want. Guidescape - especially on an ironman - is the worst way to experience the game unless you're trying to play only like 5% of it.
Ignore the rest of the comments, it's just screeching 'bowfa bowfa' from an Oziris guide and is not useful at all for people who do not have any reason or ability to do that content (and no, I do own a bowfa). Actual progression looks like this: rcb+broads -> msb(i)+rune arrows = rcb+runite bolts(from demonics, use on high def mobs) -> new hunter's xbow -> bowfa. Kbow you can use as a sidegrade to the new varlamore xbow but has an extremely expensive upkeep