I have seen a lot of complaints about this from PKers recently. In case you don't know what I am talking about, they are mostly complaining about Dragon Darts, Morrigan's Javelins and Onyx bolts being too powerful. However, I personally do not think that is true.
Let's begin by comparing the highest-hitting Ranged weapons to the highest-hitting Melee weapons. Ranged has Dark Bow, Hunter's Crossbow and Ogre Composite Bow, while Melee has Armadyl Godsword, Dragon Claws, Granite Maul, Dragon Dagger and Vesta's Spear. What is the biggest difference of the Ranged weapons compared to the melee weapons? That's right, their PRICE! There isn't a single Ranged weapon that costs over 10M, while only two of the previously mentioned Melee weapons cost less than 10M. This is what makes people think they are OP: they pack some serious punch for so little cost. In other words, they are way too common.
In addition to this, something like Morrigan's Javelins and Dragon Darts do not even require an actual weapon to use. While it isn't a huge problem with Dragon Darts (they aren't used as a KO weapon, but as weapon for sustained DPS), it becomes a problem with the Javelins. You don't need to invest 50M into the Javelins like you have to invest into an AGS, for example, to get an extremely high-hitting Range KO'er.
Now it's time for the armor. This is a damn no-brainer, to be honest. Fire Cape, Strength Amulet (t), Climber Boots, Red Party Hat VS Ava, Amulet of Ranging, Ranger Boots and Robin Hat. You can get the whole Ranged set for the price of Fire Cape and still have some extra cash left. There is either way too much supply (which I think is the case) or way too little demand on Ranged items. Too much supply is definitely the case for Avas and Ranger Sets: you can, or at least could, get 20+ Avas by simply AFKing Castle Wars over a double ticket weekend, and Ranger Sets are dropped by Black Demons, instead of Kolodion back in Emps-Scape (they are also dropped by Wildy Wyrms, but the number of sets coming from there is only a fraction of what comes from the Black Demons).
Cheap Ranged armor + cheap Ranged weapons = everyone using Ranged, making some people think that Ranged is OP.
My conclusion: something should be done to make Ranged items less common. Sure, it will take a long ass time to actually see a change like this make a difference at this point, but I personally think it's better for the game in the long run.
- Ranger Boots and Robin Hats should be disposed of the drop tables of Black Demons. They should be kept as rare drops From WildyWyrms and maybe added as rare drops from Chaos Elemental as well
- Increase the ticket cost of Avas in Castle Wars store, significantly
- Make Hunter's Crossbow cost more Slayer Points
- Make Morrigan's Javelins drop in smaller quantities
- Finally, make Dark Bows more rare from Dark Beast
I will take no part in discussing nerfs/buffs. I will only say that nerfing something because it is OP in Wilderness will ALSO have an effect in PvMing. I do not want to see Ranged becoming completely useless compared to melee against bosses, because of some PKers crying about OP weapons.
Feedback on my feedback is more than appreciated. Oh, and Neptune Ink, this is how you create a proper feedback thread.
