… because of the server lag.
Fix the server lag.
Nah, i dont play bow because its too slow. I use it for puzzles and explosive arrows to crack starmetal meteors as well as purges to kill golems.
The rest of fhe time i melee everything.
Bowing in UE5 is a bit rough atm do to wild desync whatnot. Most don’t know bow is the best weapon for PvP. It also requires a lot of skill. Void forge bow + mandibles/hollow bone arrows two tap heavy armor users.
i don’t think it’s just lag. It’s also that arrows often hit invisible geometry.
Besides that, they don’t give much advantage in most situations. You often aggro like 3 melee enemies at once and by the time you manage to slip in 2-3 arrows (of which sometimes maybe only 1 actually hits) the enemies catch up with you and start swinging.
It is possible to deal with them using a bow alone but why even bother if any kind of melee is just way faster…
On paper, it’s understandable that bows do less damage than melee weapons, because you have the advantage of distance = lower risk to get hurt. But in reality it’s not so good because enemies close the distance quickly. I guess you can use a bow very effectively while your thrall/s keep the enemy busy - if the arrows don’t get stuck or lagged, that is.
I wish there was some kind of stealth system so you would have a chance to get a number of good hits before they even realize where that came from, especially at night. Some games add a damage bonus if you hit unaware enemies.
Archer thralls are not great either, i don’t think.
Yes, its broken and OP if you can land your shots. Also very satisfying to play (if it does not lag and desync)
They actually deal more damage 
You are using the wrong bow and arrows. Try what @Yvirten said.
That’s why we need the 15 Grit bonus movespeed removed. As a step into the right direction.
I’m sorry but i refuse to take niche, rare, and DLC items into consideration.
- Voidforge Bow is Siptah exclusive, i think.
- Hollowbow Arrows “can only be harvested with a very low rate from Children of Jhil” (wiki)
Instead, i would much rather compare items that can be crafted and unlocked via standard leveling, because that is what’s available to everyone without needing any special knowledge:
Star Metal Bow + Star Metal Arrows 18 (8.1%) + 18 (16.2%) = 36 (24.3%)
Star Metal Short Sword 51/56 (16.2%)
Star Metal Great Sword 51/61 (20.25%)
Star Metal Mace 41/45 (24.3%)
Also, when i said that bows do less damage, i meant DPS in standard practical situations (and PvE only) which means you will aggro enemies that will run at you constantly, and you need them aggroed because otherwise they leave and regen fully, which means you need to keep running from them and dodging without causing them to give up and run from you.
For the record, i’m not trashing bows really. After all, i used Khari Bow (bowmaker) + Serpent-man Arrows to shoot the new bone dragon to death… I actually like bows in this game.
(Although i’d like the devs to change the draw animation a bit so the right hand is closer to the character’s cheek which would look more realistic, thanks.)
You know, I was about to post that bows were consistently being asked to be nerfed. So how were they suddenly so weak (without being adjusted)? It is not the bows, clearly. 
You have that backwards. Bows have an advantage in both power and range because you have to STAND STILL WHILE AIMING / FIRING which puts you at a massive DISADVANTAGE and higher risk of getting hurt / killed. You have to stop, aim, fire, then move. Rinse / repeat. Melee can just swing swing swing while constantly moving (so long as they are not foolish enough to deplete ALL of their stamina).
They are most definitely not. 
You can check Xevyr’s guid to Thralls for more information on them.
if you read my posts here you’d know that i’m aware of that. That is why i said “on paper”. In practice you constantly keep losing the distance advantage.
Well, you can craft Khari Bows, once you optained the recipes. And they are base game and also available to anyone.
The bow is pretty good. As this video proofs:
But people are not playing it. On console I understand. Controller + aiming is just horrible.
On PC, its because of lag and skill. I’ve only seen a few really good archers and they can kill you in less than 3 seconds in PvP.
that’s what i’m using in “endgame”
i play only on gamepad (without lock-on).
It’s a fact that aiming on mouse is always faster in all games, so i’m sure in PvP mouse archer will always beat a gamepad user.