When Bow/Xbow/TW were all lumped into the Missile Weapon skill their damages were adjusted so that each had an advantage. Bows were in the middle of the pack in DPS, but has the smallest crits, Xbow has the lowest DPS but the biggest crits, and TW had the best DPS and middle of the pack crits. TW, being gimped with Strength as a damage modifier, at least had a DPS advantage to make up for it.
Now fast forward two years and introduce a new loot tier into the mix, and the numbers break down as follows:
Rate of fire (arrows per minute):
Bows: 28.2
TW: 23.4
XBow: 22.4
Ammunition:
Bow: 32-40
TW: 41.6-52
XBow: 37.1-53
Max tinked stats with Epic blood thirst (reasonably acquired); DMG Bonus, Elemental DMG bonus, DMG mod:
Bow: 31/22/175%
TW: 31/22/195%
XBow: 31/22/201%
Base Damage = (Ammo max + DMG Bonus + Elemental DMG Bonus) * (1+DMG mod)
Bow: (40+31+22) * (1+1.76) = 256.68
TW: (52+31+22) * (1+1.95) = 309.75
XBow: (52+31+22) * (1+2.01) = 319.06
Minimum Damage = Base * (1-Ammo Variance)
Bow: 256.68 * (1-0.20) = 205.344
TW: 309.75 * (1-0.20) = 247.8
XBow: 319.06 * (1-0.30) = 223.342
Damage Per Minute = [(Base*Crit%) + NonCrit%*(Base + Minimum)/2] * Rate of Fire
Bow: [(256.68 * .11) + .89(256.68 + 205.344)/2] * 28.2 = 6594.16
TW: [(309.75 * .11) + .89(309.75 + 247.8)/2] * 23.4 = 6603.10
XBow: [319.06 * .11) + .89(319.06 + 233.342)/2] * 22.4 = 6292.51
Breakdown DPM using bow as the standard:
Bow: 100%
TW: 100.14%
XBow: 95.4%
As you can see, xbow still maintains the crit advantage over TW and Bow, but the DPS advantage TW used to have over bow is effectively gone. A .14% advantage is laughable for a character who sacrifices 90 attribute points into Strength. It's time to switch TW's damage modifier from Strength to Coordination.
Now fast forward two years and introduce a new loot tier into the mix, and the numbers break down as follows:
Rate of fire (arrows per minute):
Bows: 28.2
TW: 23.4
XBow: 22.4
Ammunition:
Bow: 32-40
TW: 41.6-52
XBow: 37.1-53
Max tinked stats with Epic blood thirst (reasonably acquired); DMG Bonus, Elemental DMG bonus, DMG mod:
Bow: 31/22/175%
TW: 31/22/195%
XBow: 31/22/201%
Base Damage = (Ammo max + DMG Bonus + Elemental DMG Bonus) * (1+DMG mod)
Bow: (40+31+22) * (1+1.76) = 256.68
TW: (52+31+22) * (1+1.95) = 309.75
XBow: (52+31+22) * (1+2.01) = 319.06
Minimum Damage = Base * (1-Ammo Variance)
Bow: 256.68 * (1-0.20) = 205.344
TW: 309.75 * (1-0.20) = 247.8
XBow: 319.06 * (1-0.30) = 223.342
Damage Per Minute = [(Base*Crit%) + NonCrit%*(Base + Minimum)/2] * Rate of Fire
Bow: [(256.68 * .11) + .89(256.68 + 205.344)/2] * 28.2 = 6594.16
TW: [(309.75 * .11) + .89(309.75 + 247.8)/2] * 23.4 = 6603.10
XBow: [319.06 * .11) + .89(319.06 + 233.342)/2] * 22.4 = 6292.51
Breakdown DPM using bow as the standard:
Bow: 100%
TW: 100.14%
XBow: 95.4%
As you can see, xbow still maintains the crit advantage over TW and Bow, but the DPS advantage TW used to have over bow is effectively gone. A .14% advantage is laughable for a character who sacrifices 90 attribute points into Strength. It's time to switch TW's damage modifier from Strength to Coordination.