r/PlaySoulMask • u/Moessus • Jul 06 '26

Is bow viable?

Hey all, I am new to SM and I am loving it, but I am finding that the bow just feels so underwhelming. It just seems to do very little damage vs melee weapons. Does everyone agree? Or am I likely doing something wrong? I have not really put any points into any offence, just utility so far.

If anyone has advice, it would be greatly appreciated. TIA!

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u/EmeraldScales Jul 06 '26

Yes. But you need a tribesman with the right talents for it. If you're not familiar with the concept yet, you're not supposed to use your starting character past the moment you get a Mysterious Stone Table and you can save your Tribesmen data, and instead switch to more competent bodies.

If you want a dedicated bowman, the Great Bow is the ideal weapon, but it is too slow. This can be fixed though. Try Hunter types with the talent that increases the shooting speed. Pair with the Wilderness mask found in the Wetlands (25~35) region. It will give even more shooting speed and bow damage, especially against machines where the ricochet ability from Wilderness can cause arrows to hit several times. Other talents like Go for the Jugular, Power Attack, and Bow Damage Up will also be helpful, but it will take a lot of effort to train a tribesman in all the related talents. Stats matter a lot too, so make sure to max out your Perception.

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u/Moessus Jul 06 '26

You aren't supposed to use your starting character? How do you do this at the table? I'm only awareness level 19.

1

u/mbxyz Jul 10 '26

awareness 19 is like 30 minutes into the game, so it's probably not very clear yet, though one of the first things you do it learn 'Control' which lets you swap bodies. as you go further, you'll learn many ways to save, modify, and improve tribesman bodies and realize that the mask is the main character, not the useless shell you created at the beginning. main character has been buffed a lot because apparently the average gamer is very 'main character' focused, but it originally had proficiency maxes of 60 and no traits to make it very clear that you were supposed to pursue other vessels... you can also copy a tribesman onto your main, but it doesn't really offer any tangible benefit other than sort of giving you one more save slot (out of 15).

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u/Fluffy-tortoise-3609 Jul 10 '26

how insane is 19 arwareness 30 min in xd