Players in Red Dead Online can live the full immersive Western experience by hunting prey, riding on horses, and using old-fashioned weapons. One of the most useful weapons in the game is the Bow. Arrows are cheaper than ammunition, so Bow lets players hit enemies from a distance. This guide compares the Regular Bow versus the Improved Bow based on damage, stamina consumed, and their respective strength and weakness. Without further ado, let’s jump in.
Price & Variants
The Regular Bow is acquired after reaching Level 10 and costs $124. The Improved Bow, on the other hand, has no minimum-level criteria but has a steep price of $275. The no minimum-level requirement doesn’t matter as players will probably exceed Level 10; in trying to raise funds required for the Improved Bow.
Players can’t change how the Regular Bow looks except for the color of its bowstring. The Improved Bow not only allows players to customize it completely, but players can also buy different weapon variants. The iconic ones are Horned, Alligator, Jaguar, and Wooden Inlay variants.
These weapon variants are expensive, but they add a touch of flair and style to your Bow. These variants can be purchased from Gus, and players can even buy these without acquiring the Naturalist role first.
Stamina Drain
The description for Improved Bow states that the bow’s unique shape requires less stamina when drawn. To check out the authenticity of such a statement, this guide tried to test it out. After buying the Improved Bow and comparing it with the regular Bow, it consumed less stamina than the Improved Bow. Surprised or confused?
Players of this game should be aware of a weapon mechanic called Weapon Familiarity. This weapon mechanic is leveled up after killing 200 NPCs with the weapon. Testing the improved Bow with the maximum Weapon Familiarity depicts that it takes considerably less stamina consumption than the Regular Bow.
The results were staggering. With the Regular Bow, the player ran out of stamina within 36 seconds. On the other hand, the Improved Bow’s stamina lasted for 46 seconds. So in terms of Stamina Drain, the Improved Bow fares significantly better. Alternatively, players can drink Stamina Potions to regain their Stamina and focus for longer periods.
Damage
Damage is a big factor when it comes to choosing a weapon. Based on the weapon statistics, Regular and Improved Bow deal the same damage. In reality, the difference between the two is quite stark.
In PvP, The Regular Bow deals more damage at close range using Regular arrows than the Improved Bow. It’s important to remember that ranged weapons in Red Dead Online don’t have any damage reduction with distance. That means the weapon will deal the same damage from 5 or 50 feet away.
While using Poison arrows, the extent of damage between the two bows is pretty much the same. Equipping Fire arrows shows that the Regular Bow does 10% more damage than the Improved Bow. It’s a whole other story when using Dynamite Arrows.
Although Dynamite Arrows have lower base damage, pairing it with the Improved Bow is deadly and powerful. It will One-shot kill all enemies, regardless of the distance. While using Dynamite Arrows with the Regular Bow, it deals limited damage and is nowhere near the high level of damage dealt with the Improved Bow.
Headshots in PvP
Players competing in PvP mode try getting as many headshots as possible. As Headshots have a One-shot kill ability, players aim at opponents’ heads to eliminate them with a single shot. We used both bows to determine which bow gave us the most headshots.
Regular Bow within the Lock-On range almost always results in a One-Shot kill. Whereas, Improved Bow from the same distance only does regular damage. It concerns range; the Regular Bow is far more deadly than the Improved Bow at short range. The Improved Bow has lower damage and an extremely small headshot range.
The information mentioned above might make it look like the Improved Bow is a terrible choice for PvP mode. That can’t be further from the truth. The Improved Bow is one of the game’s best and most overpowered weapons. The second-last section of this article further expands upon this point.
PvE & Hunting
In PvE (Player vs. Environment) mode, there is no discernable difference between the two bows while fighting NPCs. The damage dealt by both of the bows is identical. Enemies on the Easiest difficulty can be killed by a single body shot from both bows.
Enemies on the maximum difficulty can be defeated with three body shots with either bow. Talking about headshots, both of these bows let you execute a one-shot kill at any distance. In hunting scenarios, there is little to separate the two bows.
Suppose the player kills an animal with a One-Shot kill to the head with the regular Bow. The Improved Bow is guaranteed to also kill an animal with a One-Shot kill to the head without ruining the belt quality. Readers will think both bows can be used in PvE with nothing to separate these two. The next section highlights why the Improved Bow is a much better choice than the Regular Bow.
Lock-on Range & Paint It Black
With the Improved Bow, players can kill enemies from longer distances than with the Regular Bow. Two vital weapon parameters make it possible. Lock-On Range and Paint It Black. Paint It Black is one of the Dead Eye Ability Cards. When Dead Eye is active, players can paint targets unto enemies. This ability greatly helps in aiming and shooting accurately.
Lock-On Range is essentially the maximum distance from which players can use outer aim on their targets. This range is the same for both of the bows. But the Paint It Black range is much larger and allows players to shoot from a considerable distance. The Regular Bow’s range with Paint It Black increases, allowing players to stand up to 200-250 feet from a target.
The Paint it Black range increases to 450-500 feet for the improved Bow. That’s a crazy amount of distance, and it allows players in PvE to execute highly long-ranged and accurate shots. For example, most of the time, the target isn’t visible, but once marked, the arrow will find its way to the target and pierce the opponent even if it’s moving.
This ability is highly advantageous in PvP, where targets are constantly moving. The Improved Bow further enhances the magnified effect of Paint It Black in PvE mode as it allows players to hunt animals from insane distances without ruining the belt quality.
Improved Bow’s Glitch/Bug
A final note regarding Improved Bow. While mounted on a horse, the Improved Bow has the same Paint It Black range as the Regular Bow. This little detail can be a bug or a glitch.
Most probably, the developers added this caveat so players won’t become too overpowered. It could also be added to make it harder for Griefers to destroy delivery wagons with dynamite arrows.
In conclusion, the Regular Bow should be equipped for making headshots or body shots against other players in PvP. Otherwise, the Improved Bow should be equipped for any form of PvE, hunting, killing NPCs, and high-level PvP considering the player has Dynamite arrows.
That’s all from this mini-guide. Remember to get Dynamite Arrows if players want to equip the Improved Bow, as it deals more damage. Thanks for reading this through. Adios!