Scout - Crossbow + Longbow Large Scale PvP Build
- High Sustained DPS
- Good CC
- Great AOE Burst Damage
- Squishy
- Group Reliant
- Low Movement
Overview
Longbow and Crossbow build for large-scale PvP which plays a crucial role in the backline of any zerg. Its capability to consistently deal ranged DPS and apply pressure on the enemy team is indispensable. Although it may not excel in 1v1 encounters, it can still fend for itself well enough to buy time for teammates to provide assistance if caught out of position.
Attributes
Perception
Dexterity
Strength
WisdomYou want to maximizing damage output as it is crucial for this build, making Dexterity and Perception the primary attributes to focus on. While it doesn't make a big difference which one you pick first, both remain equally important in the end game. By allocating points into these stats, you can significantly enhance your damage potential. Strength is also a worthwhile attribute to invest into, especially 30 points for the extra 750 max HP.
Skills
The build excels at AOE burst damage through the use of 
Flash Arrow (reset through the use of 
Blitz) and of course the outstanding AOE damage from 
Merciless Barrage, especially when coupled with 
Mother Nature's Protest boosting its damage and Gale effect. 
Arrow Vortex also offers incredible CC for large scale PVP fights.
Given that this build relies heavily on abilities obtained early in the game and you should focus on upgrading them as early as you can through the use of free books obtained from completing the main story. Prioritize upgrading 
Strafing, 
Zephyr's Nock, 
Decisive Sniping, and 
Ensnaring Arrow to help with your single target DPS even though your main focus in large scale PVP isn't single target.
Once your offensive abilities are upgraded, shift your focus to utility by improving Health Recovery and upgrade 
Healing Touch as it allows you to heal yourself between fights and even throughout the fight when you aren't in range of your healer. 
Selfless Diffusion increases your cooldown recovery, close to resetting your cooldowns by simply doing damage while under the effect of this buff.
The main goal is to improve damage potential with passives like 
Piercing Strike, 
Roxie's Arrowhead and 
Ambidexterity increasing your overall damage. Even
As far as defensive passives go, this build utilizes a decent amount of them: 
Distorted Sanctuary and 
Devoted Shield while also improving your healing with 
Earth's Blessing.
Equipment
These are the first items you should strive for through the leveling period as they are very easy to get and upgrade or trait as needed. However, you shouldn't try to trait these items too much as you won't be spending too much time playing with this setup before you start changing pieces into the Midgame. The green accessories however are very easy to trait as you can craft many of them quickly in order to get the correct traits so you should consider traiting them until you change into purples. The same goes for the blue ring as you keep it for a long time.
This is the gear you should transition to once you're leveled to 50 and start grinding gear. It is comprised of gear you can get either from dungeons or by completing Litographs, they are relatively easy to trait up and you will spend most of the time wearing this set before advancing into the late game so traiting these items is very important and should be your main focus.
This is the current endgame gear you should aim for, and while it isn't easy to acquire, it offers great power without the need of acquiring archboss gear pieces. However, items like 
Tevent's Fangs of Fury or other archboss weapons are superior but difficult to acquire for the majority of players. If you do manage to get the archboss weapons for your build, feel free to use them over the weapons shown here.
Weapon Masteries
Health Regen |
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Magic Defense |
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Amitoi Heal |
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Max Health |
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Magic Endurance |
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Health Regen |
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Debuff Duration |
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Cooldown Speed |
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Mana Cost Efficiency  | ||
Mana Regen |
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Ranged Hit Chance  |
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Mana Regen |
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Ranged Heavy Attack Chance |
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Weaken Chance |
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Mana Cost Efficiency |
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Ranged Hit Chance |
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Magic Defense |
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Ranged Crit Hit Chance |
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Movement Speed |
| Damage |
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Skill Damage Boost |
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Off-Hand Weapon Attack Chance |
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Damage |
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Buff Duration |
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Added Attack Speed |
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Cooldown Speed |
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Mana Regen |
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Ranged Damage Dealt |
| Max Health |
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Magic Defense |
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Health Regen |
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Movement Speed |
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Buff Duration |
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Skill Damage Resist |
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Magic Evasion |
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Perception |
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Bind Resistance | ||
Mana Regen |
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Ranged Hit Chance |
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Movement Speed |
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Bind Chance |
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Max Mana |
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Mana Regen |
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Cooldown Speed |
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Movement Speed |
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Mana Cost Efficiency |
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Bind Duration |
| Ranged Hit Chance |
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Ranged Crit Hit Chance |
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Damage |
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Bonus Damage |
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Damage |
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Skill Damage Boost |
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Added Attack Speed |
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Ranged Crit Hit Chance |
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Critical Damage |
Crossbow: Focus on damage by placing 9 points into Chain Fire, boosting raw damage and overall output. Next, put 9 points into Move to improve ranged heavy attack chance, Hit Chance, and movement speed. Finish with 1 point in Regen for enhanced health recovery.
Longbow: Invest 9 points in Sniping to maximize your damage potential. Add 9 points to Check for improved damage and cooldown speed, which complements the build's playstyle. Use the remaining point in Support to increase Max Health for added durability.
Rotations
- This is your main burst rotation that can be used to take down enemies from range thanks to Ensnaring Arrow holding them down for you to help get the kill. Make sure to start the rotation with Selfless Diffusion to lower your cooldowns, however, you can also do the rotation without it.
- Once you've used Ensnaring Arrow, you should follow up with Strafing 3 times followed by Zephyr's Nock to lower its cooldown after hitting the same target you hit with Strafing. Transition into your crossbow rotation with
Quick Fire before finishing off the rotation with your second cast of Zephyr's Nock.
- This is your main AOE Burst rotation starting with Arrow Vortex to put enemies into the air with your tornado before transitioning to Flash Arrow (make sure you wait until the enemies are back on the ground). Reset the cooldown of Flash Arrow with Blitz then use it again to finish off enemies that might still be alive or simply keep it for the next engage.
Merciless Barrage: Use this defensively as a way to kill those enemies that might push into your group's backline but you can also use it offensively to wipe out enemies. Make sure to have Mother Nature's Protest active in order to increase damage done through Gale explosions.
Brutal Arrow: This is another AOE damaging skill you should use, especially useful when you are on higher elevation and Flash Arrow has troubles reaching. Try to use this whenever you see a group of enemies stacked together. You can pair it well with Blitz as well to reset its CD.
Comments
We are seeking an experienced Build Admin for Throne and Liberty with a deep understanding of the meta across most weapons and game modes. Get in touch with Galaxian on Discord if you're a good fit for the role or know someone else who is. This is a paid position.
