Suggestions for Soul Bow DPS Balance for Archer Classes

[김남효 0]

Subject: Suggestion Regarding Soul Bow Attack Speed and DPS Balance for Archer Classes

To whom it may concern,

I would like to share a concern regarding the current balance of A-grade longbows, specifically the Soul Bow and Shyeed’s Bow, in Lineage II Classic—particularly how they compare unfavorably to lower-grade weapons like the Hazard Bow and even the Bow of Peril in terms of DPS.

---

⚔️ Test Setup & Observations

A comparison was conducted between:

• Soul Bow +3 (A-grade, P.Atk 552)

• Hazard Bow +3 (B-grade, P.Atk 424)

Both bows were tested under identical conditions:

• Character: Level 78 Ghost Sentinel

• No buffs applied

• Target: NPC Holly (Aden Town Store)

• Attack Count: 40–54 swings for each weapon

• 

❗ Key Issues

1. Unexpectedly Low Attack Speed
Even considering that Soul Bow is a longbow, it shows a lower number of attacks per minute compared to the B-grade shortbow Hazard Bow.
This contradicts the behavior seen in D-grade bows, where both longbows and shortbows share the same number of attacks per minute, indicating an inconsistency in weapon design across grades.

2. Lower DPS Despite Higher Attack Power
Due to the reduced attack speed mentioned above, the Soul Bow, despite having 128 more P. Atk than Hazard Bow, ends up showing lower overall average DPS.
This is a clear issue, as higher-grade weapons should naturally offer better performance.

3. Skill Delay, Firing Motion, and Reduced Attack Frequency
It is understandable that longbows have longer firing motion animations, which affects not only auto-attacks but also skill casting speed, making them less effective in hit-and-run or PvP scenarios compared to shortbows.
This aspect can be accepted as part of the intended design difference between longbows and shortbows.

However, the additional drop in attacks per minute, leading to reduced DPS, appears to be a balance flaw rather than a design choice.
Especially when D-grade longbows and shortbows share equal attack speed, it is hard to understand why A-grade longbows like the Soul Bow suddenly lose efficiency in both speed and performance.

 

🧩 Balance Concern
If this issue remains unaddressed, A-grade longbows such as the Soul Bow and Shyeed's Bow risk becoming less valuable than B-grade bows, leading to them being effectively abandoned by players.

📝 Suggested Improvements
We kindly request a review of item settings to ensure that A-grade longbows do not suffer from additional penalties in attack frequency compared to shortbows.

Furthermore, we urge you to resolve the abnormal cancellation issue of the archer debuff skill [Real Target], and to reassess the overall weapon balance so that higher-grade equipment can offer clear and meaningful advantages.

We appreciate your attention to improving the archer class's performance and gameplay satisfaction, and we sincerely hope for a positive review and implementation of the above concerns.

[utangka 0]

I think this is a very serious problem.

On the Lineage 2 main server, the only difference between a short bow and a long bow is the difference in firing speed, and there is no difference in delay. In other words, the number of shots per hour is the same.

When I tested it myself, on the Dion server, the number of shots per hour for D-grade, C-grade, and B-grade short bows and long bows is the same.

However,
the number of shots per hour for A-grade short bows and long bows is different.

carnage bow > soul bow

This is a big problem !!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG

If users spend a lot of time and adena to make an A-grade long bow, but it has a significantly lower DPS than a B-grade short bow, then this is a big bug. 😞

This is an urgent problem that needs to be patched immediately.

[Koll 1237]

5 hours ago, 김남효 said:

Subject: Suggestion Regarding Soul Bow Attack Speed and DPS Balance for Archer Classes

To whom it may concern,

I would like to share a concern regarding the current balance of A-grade longbows, specifically the Soul Bow and Shyeed’s Bow, in Lineage II Classic—particularly how they compare unfavorably to lower-grade weapons like the Hazard Bow and even the Bow of Peril in terms of DPS.

---

⚔️ Test Setup & Observations

A comparison was conducted between:

• Soul Bow +3 (A-grade, P.Atk 552)

• Hazard Bow +3 (B-grade, P.Atk 424)

Both bows were tested under identical conditions:

• Character: Level 78 Ghost Sentinel

• No buffs applied

• Target: NPC Holly (Aden Town Store)

• Attack Count: 40–54 swings for each weapon

• 

❗ Key Issues

1. Unexpectedly Low Attack Speed
Even considering that Soul Bow is a longbow, it shows a lower number of attacks per minute compared to the B-grade shortbow Hazard Bow.
This contradicts the behavior seen in D-grade bows, where both longbows and shortbows share the same number of attacks per minute, indicating an inconsistency in weapon design across grades.

2. Lower DPS Despite Higher Attack Power
Due to the reduced attack speed mentioned above, the Soul Bow, despite having 128 more P. Atk than Hazard Bow, ends up showing lower overall average DPS.
This is a clear issue, as higher-grade weapons should naturally offer better performance.

3. Skill Delay, Firing Motion, and Reduced Attack Frequency
It is understandable that longbows have longer firing motion animations, which affects not only auto-attacks but also skill casting speed, making them less effective in hit-and-run or PvP scenarios compared to shortbows.
This aspect can be accepted as part of the intended design difference between longbows and shortbows.

However, the additional drop in attacks per minute, leading to reduced DPS, appears to be a balance flaw rather than a design choice.
Especially when D-grade longbows and shortbows share equal attack speed, it is hard to understand why A-grade longbows like the Soul Bow suddenly lose efficiency in both speed and performance.

 

🧩 Balance Concern
If this issue remains unaddressed, A-grade longbows such as the Soul Bow and Shyeed's Bow risk becoming less valuable than B-grade bows, leading to them being effectively abandoned by players.

📝 Suggested Improvements
We kindly request a review of item settings to ensure that A-grade longbows do not suffer from additional penalties in attack frequency compared to shortbows.

Furthermore, we urge you to resolve the abnormal cancellation issue of the archer debuff skill [Real Target], and to reassess the overall weapon balance so that higher-grade equipment can offer clear and meaningful advantages.

We appreciate your attention to improving the archer class's performance and gameplay satisfaction, and we sincerely hope for a positive review and implementation of the above concerns.

Hello. Should be fixed. Check change logs. DB will be updated soon.