News · 18 October 2026

Ranged combat and new armor

Ranged is in: shortbows, longbows and crossbows in eight woods, arrows from bronze to celestial, and fences to shoot over. Plus the Royal Knight, the Ronin and the Fire cape.

Two Contractors hunting deer on a meadow in the Hunting Preserve in the late afternoon: a red-haired Contractor at full draw with a pale elder longbow, and behind her a hunter in a wolf hood whose arrow is in the air towards a stag, a doe close by — Hunting in the Demesne: one at full draw, one arrow already on its way.

You can fight from a distance now, with everything that comes with it: Rapid and Longrange, arrows to pick back up after a fight, and fences to stand behind.

Bows

Ranged is a new combat skill on the same XP curve as the others, 1 to 99, and it counts toward your combat level. Every bow takes both hands and fires from the new ammo slot, which holds your whole stack of arrows at once.

There are three kinds. The shortbow and the crossbow reach 7 tiles and shoot every 4 ticks; the longbow reaches 9 and shoots every 6. Each comes in eight woods: plain, oak, willow, walnut and yew, then rosewood, duskwood and elder for members. Yew needs Ranged 40, elder 70.

Three Contractors side by side in the Combat Yard at noon, all at full draw and facing the same way: one with a yew shortbow, a hunter in a wolf hood with a pale elder longbow and one in a red hat with a red rosewood crossbow, the training dummies behind them — A yew shortbow, an elder longbow and a rosewood crossbow.

Arrows run from bronze through iron, steel, black, mithril and adamant to rune, then obsidian and celestial for members. A bow only takes arrows up to its wood: a plain bow fires bronze and iron, a yew bow everything up to rune, and only duskwood and elder go all the way to celestial.

Shooting

With a bow in hand, the Combat tab’s styles are Accurate, Rapid and Longrange. Accurate hits more often and a little harder. Rapid shoots a tick sooner. Longrange adds 2 tiles of reach, to 10 at most, and splits your XP between Ranged and Defense.

You need a clear line to your target. Walls and buildings stop arrows, and so do trees, rocks and market stalls. Fences, hedges and railings don’t: you can shoot straight over them, and whatever is on the other side can’t follow you. Yes, safespots work.

A Contractor in a wolf hood with a yew shortbow on the path in the Combat Yard, an arrow in the air over the laser fence of a pen, and on the other side a goblin champion in a steel helm with a sword, stuck there — A goblin champion on the wrong side of its fence.

Arrows take a moment to get there, one to three ticks depending on how far they fly. Most fall under the target when they land, and they’re yours to pick back up; about one in five breaks. Nobody else can see your fallen arrows for a minute, so there’s time to collect them after a fight.

A Contractor in raven wings with a yew shortbow in a farmyard, rune arrows lying in the grass where chickens fell and a feather where one arrow broke, three chickens still pecking about, a haystack and a barn beside them — Arrows to pick back up after a feather run.

The Gear tab now sorts your bonuses into Melee, Ranged and Defense. Heavy armor costs you accuracy with a bow: a platebody takes 15 off your Ranged attack and platelegs 11, while a leather body costs nothing.

The Gear tab of a Contractor in a wolf hood with a yew longbow in the Combat Yard: 1,250 rune arrows in the ammo slot, and the bonuses in three groups, Melee, Ranged with attack +47 and strength +49, and Defense — The Gear tab, Ranged in the middle.

Fletching

You can make all of it yourself. Fletching is part of Artisanry, at the workbench: a log makes 15 arrow shafts, 15 feathers turn them into headless arrows, and a single bar tips all 15. Bronze arrows are Artisanry 1 and rune arrows 53. A shortbow or a crossbow takes one log of its wood, and a longbow two.

The Artisan window at the Atelier’s workbench searched for arrows, listing headless arrows, arrow shafts and the arrows by metal, rune arrows chosen at Artisanry 53 for 15 headless arrows and a rune bar, the materials in the pack beside it — The workbench, searched for arrows.

Feathers come from chickens, and from Mother Mallard, who drops up to 30 a kill. If you’d rather buy your first bow, the Contractor’s Outfitter in the compound sells the plain longbow and bronze and iron arrows, and the Bowyer in Gullhaven sells oak bows and the leather set.

Armor

Two new sets of armor came in this week too, and both are the real thing, with stats to match their looks.

The Royal Knight is polished plate edged in gold filigree, a tall plume on the helm and a tabard with a gold crown on the chest. It’s for members, at Defense 65, a step below dragon. The tabard comes in royal blue, crimson, emerald and onyx, the plume in red or white, and there’s a plain platebody with no tabard at all.

Five Royal Knights side by side at the head of the red carpets on the Hotel Plaza at noon, in polished plate and plumed helms, their tabards crimson, emerald, royal blue and onyx and the last in plain plate, the middle one in the Fire cape, the grand fountain, the Founder’s gilded statues and the hotel behind them — The Royal Knight in every color, on the Hotel Plaza.

With it comes the Fire cape, the best cape in the game: molten rock with a crust over it, which never quite cools. It drips lava, and the grass it lands on is scorched. It’s for members, with no level to wear it.

A Royal Knight seen from behind on a lawn of the Hotel Plaza at night, the Fire cape down their back glowing with cracks of lava, a drop splashing at the hem and the grass round their feet scorched, the plaza’s benches and lit windows beyond — The Fire cape after dark.

The Ronin is for members: an indigo robe and wide hakama, straw sandals, a katana sheathed at the hip, and a straw kasa worn low over the eyes. It needs Strength 40 and Defense 40, and it’s a strength set, +10 Strength over its six pieces.

A Contractor in the Ronin outfit, a wide straw kasa, an indigo robe with a red sash and a sheathed katana at the hip, standing by the well under a cherry tree in Cherry Hollow, its petals on the grass — The Ronin in Cherry Hollow.

None of the three can be found in the world just yet. The bows can: pick up a longbow at the Outfitter, and the goblins in the Combat Yard are waiting behind their fences.