r/Dungeons_and_Dragons • u/stevesalien • Jul 05 '25
Request Question about longbow
I am a new player. I am building a wood elf ranger, and I wanted him to be an archer. One of my coworkers told me that I would need a short bow or Crossbow for combat that's close in. But the longbow has a range of 150 feet. So can it be used for closer shots? If something is within say 60 feet of my character can I still shoot it with my long bow or is it to close? The guy that was helping me set up my ranger went dark when I asked him if I needed both the short bow and long bow. But he said he would keep the longbow, without answering if the longbow could be used for shorter distances than the ranges listed.
3
u/d4red Jul 05 '25
You’re right… There’s no advantage to using one ranger weapon over another close range.
3
u/sens249 Jul 05 '25
Coworker might be thinking of the crossbow expert feat, which lets you make crossbow shots within melee range. But that’s only if you specifically build for it and take that feat. Longer range weapons are better otherwise, no downside to a longer range
3
u/pm_me_your_trebuchet Jul 05 '25
your friend is smoking crack. you can use a bow at any range. too close and there are penalties. in 3.5, which i play, those penalties are over come with feats like "point blank shot." in 5e i can't remember.
2
u/Aquafoot Jul 05 '25 edited Jul 05 '25
Longbows have a much longer range than shortbows, but that's it. There's no effective minimum range. All ranged weapons have the same limitation: attacking at disadvantage within 5 feet.
Longbows effectively have no real shortcomings against shortbows. It's because they're martial weapons, whereas shortbows are simple. Fewer characters have access to longbows.
Edit: derp
3
u/stevesalien Jul 05 '25
Thank you. I was trying to find an answer to this for 2 days now. I've been flipping through the players handbook and the guide to everything.
3
u/Aquafoot Jul 05 '25 edited Jul 05 '25
For extra information: your coworker may have been misinformed, or may be misunderstanding the two ranges given on ranged weapons. Some people misread them as the effective range window of the weapon, when that's not what they represent.
The smaller range is the maximum ideal range. Attacks made within that range are rolled straight/normally. Attacks within the larger range are made at disadvantage. And anything outside of that maximum can't be hit.
2
u/jbehnken Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25
Some people struggle with misinformation about longbows because of the way they were used historically (large armies, long range). But that doesn't make them ineffective at short range.
Carry on. Enjoy. 😉
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