Hero Guide: Longbow

Overview – Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: The Longbow boasts the longest effective range of any weapon, making it outstanding at picking off enemy heroes (“warlords”) from a safe distance. Its high single-target burst damage and headshot potential allow a skilled archer to eliminate key targets quickly, often before those enemies can retaliate. The Longbow’s ultimate skill (Lightning Bolt) pierces through multiple foes and stuns or staggers all targets in its path, even bypassing shield blocks – a huge asset in breaking enemy shield formations or halting a retreat. Longbow heroes also excel at harassing enemy backlines: they can snipe artillery crews, enemy ranged units, or mounted opponents with well-placed shots (e.g. using Flaming Arrow to dismount cavalry or heroes via fire damage over time). Positioned correctly, a Longbow has a bird’s-eye view of the battlefield, allowing you to see and respond to threats early. In summary, the Longbow is a lethal hero-killer (against light Armor and geared **more below**) and support sniper, ideal for weakening enemies before they ever reach your team.

Weaknesses: The Longbow class is extremely fragile – it wears light armour and has low HP, so any melee attacker who closes the gap can dispatch a Longbow very quickly. In close quarters, Longbows have limited escape tools (a single roll or jump-back skill) and minimal melee capability, making them vulnerable if caught. The class also lacks burst AoE damage to clear large groups of troops (unlike classes with big sweeps or explosions), so Longbow players must focus on priority targets rather than wiping squads of units. Furthermore, Longbows tend to become primary targets for enemy flankers and assassins – notably Dual Blade users, who can stealth and one-shot a careless archer. A Dual Blades assassin is the biggest threat to Longbows; as one veteran notes, “they will sneak on you and eliminate you right away”, and your only hope is having protection or the assassin making a mistake. Lastly, Longbow gameplay has a higher skill-floor for aim: there is no scoped crosshair or hit-scan (unlike the Musket); you must manually aim and lead shots, accounting for arrow drop – “you don’t have a marker, so it requires way more practice than the Musket”. In short, positional awareness and precise aim are critical – if a Longbow is caught out of position or misses crucial shots, its advantages vanish quickly.

Optimal Skill Build (PvP & Territory War)

Core Longbow Skills: In Conqueror’s Blade, you can equip 4 active skills (3 regular skills + 1 ultimate). For Longbow, the optimal PvP/TW build focuses on mobility, single-target damage, and utility:

Evasive Roll (Light-Footed or Sharp Exit): Light-Footed is generally preferred – it makes your hero jump backward to evade, and at higher levels it can even be used while stunned (granting a burst of move speed). This is your emergency escape button. (Sharp Exit is a similar dodge skill sharing the cooldown, but Light-Footed’s ability to break stun at level 3 is invaluable in PvP.) Always bind one of these to your Q or preferred key – survivability is paramount for a Longbow.
Bodkin-Tipped Arrow: Shoots a specialized piercing arrow that debuffs the target’s defenses and lowers their block (especially at higher skill upgrades). Use this against shielded or heavily armoured foes – a Bodkin hit makes them far more vulnerable to both your shots and your teammates’ attacks. It also weakens a hero’s block, so a shield user can’t turtle as effectively. Usage: Tag a tough hero (e.g. a Shortsword or Glaive) with Bodkin before unloading your normal shots or ultimate on them. This softens tanks for your team.
Marksman’s Buff (optional): This is a self-buff that lets your next autoattack or skill instantly shoot as fully charged. Activating Marksman right before you unleash a combo (like a Lightning Bolt or a volley of headshots) can significantly increase your damage, especially against high-armour targets. This skill doesn’t deal damage itself but helping your arrows punch through armour. Usage: Pop this buff when engaging a well-armoured hero or unit to maximize your DPS. (In the latest meta, some Longbow players forego this skill in favor of an extra attack skill, but it remains valuable if you struggle versus armour.)

Ultimate (Paragon) Skills: Longbow has two ultimate choices, but one is typically superior for PvP:

Lightning Bolt (Preferred Ultimate): A powerful piercing shot that travels in a straight line, crushing through shields and stunning all enemies it hits. This is the signature Longbow nuke – it deals massive damage to any hero caught in its path (often over 50% of a squishy target’s HP) and can hit multiple targets if they’re lined up. Crucially, Lightning Bolt ignores or breaks blocks (shield users can’t block it) and inflicts a stun (with rune), allowing your team to follow up. It’s excellent in PvP for sniping an enemy hero at the start of an engagement or turning the tide by stunning a key target (e.g. interrupting or stopping a escaping Dual Blade). Usage: Wait for a clear shot on a high-priority hero – e.g. the enemy musket in the back, or a shield hero leading a push – and release Lightning Bolt to instantly disable them. (New in the latest season, a rune can make Lightning Bolt “Concuss” enemies for 2 extra seconds, further increasing its CC power – more on runes below.)
Explosive Arrow (Alternate Ultimate): Fires an arrow that explodes in an AoE, dealing big splash damage. While it sounds strong for hitting clusters of troops, it’s generally considered “not as great as Lightning Bolt” for Longbow’s role. Explosive Arrow can kill or injure multiple soldiers, but Longbow’s job is usually to kill singel targets, not lower tier trash units. Its damage vs heroes is also less bursty than Lightning Bolt (which can half-health or one-shot squishies). Usage: You might take Explosive Arrow in specific Territory War scenarios if you plan to focus on wiping clustered units (for example, defending a wall where enemies clump up or stop a single charge of units / hero). Otherwise, Lightning Bolt is the go-to ultimate for almost all PvP situations due to its crowd-control and hero-killing impact.

Skill Build Summary: For standard PvP/Siege battles, a common build is: Light-Footed (escape), Bodkin-Tipped, marksmen and Lightning Bolt ultimate. This gives you mobility, single-target burst, a debuff, and a strong CC/damage finisher – ideal for hunting enemy heroes. In Territory War or large-scale fights, you can adjust by swapping Explosive Arrow if you expect to face dense formations, but Lightning Bolt with a hero-focused skill set is generally the most effective at influencing fights. Remember that your normal charged attacks are also a huge part of your kit – a fully drawn bow shot to the head can do devastating damage. Some veteran longbow users note that spamming skills like Flaming/Bodkin on cooldown can be a “DPS loss over a fully charged left-click” headshot in certain situations (due to the raw damage of charged basic arrows). In practice, use your skills strategically – e.g. Bodkin to set up a combo, marksmen to instant charge ult – and otherwise keep raining down charged shots on vulnerable enemies.

Gear & Equipment – Weapons, Armor & Traits

Weapon: Your bow is your primary damage source – craft the highest-tier bow you can and enhance it.

Purple gear is mandatory to play Longbow, a good weapon as well… Truth be told: You have to invest a lot before you can make Longbow viable…

PvP Siege & Field Battle Tips

In matched PvP (siege battles, field battles, and ranked matches), the Longbow should adapt to the map and phase of battle:

Siege Defense: Dominate the walls. As a defender, immediately take to the walls or a high perch. Snipe enemy siege engine crews: a couple of well-placed shots can kill the operators on a culverin or cannon, rendering it useless. Target enemy climbing ladders – a Longbow can often one-shot or heavily injure light units trying to scale the walls. Use Autohits on units that are pushing up siege towers or rams to weaken and slow them. Reposition along the walls frequently – if the enemy concentrates siege fire on your last known spot, move to another tower and continue sniping. When the enemy breaches, fall back to the next high ground (inner keep walls, etc.) and continue raining arrows. A Longbow defending can easily rack up kills and more importantly cripple the enemy assault by picking off light heroes and special units (healers, falcos, range, lioncrew, etc.). Just stay out of melee range – if the walls are lost, retreat with the team; don’t get caught alone trying to solo hold a wall.
Siege Attack: On offense, move with your team’s pushes but at a healthy distance. Early on, you might climb a siege tower or join a group scaling a ladder after the initial vanguard has engaged – this lets you get to the top of the wall safely. Once a foothold is established, take position on the enemy walls and turn their defenses against them (shoot defenders as they fall back). Before your team breaches, use your range from the ground: for instance, snipe defenders on the battlements from far below – Longbow range can reach archers on a wall where they can’t hit you back. Focus on clearing enemy artillery on battlements by sniping the crew, and pick off exposed enemy ranged units. Support each push: when your allies rush a gate or siege tower, target the enemy heroes defending that point (bodkin, explosiv arrow or concuss with lightning). As always, once your team breaches, stick to cover and high positions. A good tactic is to climb onto captured walls or buildings inside the enemy base and provide overwatch fire as allies fight in the streets. Keep an eye on the clock and objectives; in siege PvP, you may sometimes need to jump on the final capture point in overtime. Longbow isn’t great at contesting objectives (melee heroes do that better), but if you must, try to stay at the edges of the capture point circle, using any cover, and reset the cap timer with your presence while plinking at enemies coming in.

Territory War Strategies

Territory Wars are large-scale battles between Houses (guilds) for fiefs on the world map, often involving many players and units across a wider battlefield. The Longbow’s role here is similar to siege, but you must account for more variables and possibly longer engagements:

House Coordination: Work with your warband. In Territory War, you’re likely on voice comms with allies or following a battle plan. Let your allies know that you’re providing long-range fire support. Often, a coordinated team will have shield infantry and pike blocks at front, with ranged units and heroes in the back – as a Longbow, fit into this formation and do your job: remove priority threats. Stay near friendly infantry blobs for protection, but not so close that you get caught in AoE that hits them.
Large-Scale Positioning: Maps in Territory War can be bigger, with multiple approach paths. Position yourself where you have clear sight lines of those paths. For example, if defending a village, stand on a hill overlooking the main road. If attacking a fort, find a flank angle where you can see into the front gate melee. You might also move more frequently as the battle flows – e.g. rotating from one flank to another if the enemy repositions. Keep your horse handy for repositioning; in TW you might need to gallop from Point A to B quickly to respond to incursions. Just dismount at a safe distance and resume shooting.
When two large armies clash, a Longbow can sometimes sit on a flank and keep firing almost non-stop, because there are so many targets. This is where trigger discipline matters: focus fire on the most impactful targets. For example, if you see a unit of Lioncrew tearing through your allies, try to eliminate the unit’s hero or thin the unit. If there’s an enemy mortar shelling your forces, those are prime targets for your bow – autohits can kill a mortar (or any artillery), buying your team breathing room. Essentially, identify what’s killing your team’s units and remove that threat.
Maintaining Awareness: Territory Wars can be chaotic with multiple fight pockets. Stay aware of the bigger picture. If your side is losing one flank and enemies might encircle, reposition early so you don’t get cut off. Conversely, if your team is making a push, advance behind them (on foot or horse) to keep within effective range. Also, watch out for enemy reinforcements – a new wave of cavalry could swing around, or reserve units might appear. As a ranged “overwatch”, you may often be the first to notice an enemy detachment coming from a different direction – call it out! Your range and vision truly make you an “eyes of the army” in TW. Use unit “Follow” command on your unit to have them trail you as you reposition, so you always have some protection.

In summary, meta for Longbow involves leveraging the new rune enhancements to stay competitive, adjusting to the fact that enemies are tougher (so teamwork and sustained damage are crucial), and countering the new units (hwarang, Lioncrew) with your superior range and utility. Longbow’s core playstyle — long-range elimination and support — is still very much intact and valuable. With the right build and strategy, a Longbow in the current season can devastate enemy ranks and turn battles before the enemy even knows what hit them. Good hunting, archer – and may your aim be true! | Keep in mind: You are useless without the mandatory gear requirements…