Greetings adventurers! Today, we'll delve into the significant changes to bows coming in Elder Scrolls Online, which goes live on PC on August 21st and on consoles on September 5th. There's been a lot of talk about the viability of bows, and we are here to break down the changes, making them easy to understand and offering ideas on how to incorporate bows into your builds.

Changes to the Long Shots Passive
Previously, the Long Shots passive granted up to a 12% bonus in Damage to your bow abilities based on your distance from the target. Now, this passive has been renamed to "Vine Dusk Training" to reflect its new functionality better, and it has received a flavorful lore twist. This passive now offers two bonuses:
Damage Increase: Gain 5% increased Damage Done against enemies within 15 meters.
Critical Chance: [/b]Gain 13.14 (6%) increased critical chance against enemies farther than 15 meters.

[b]New Functionality
The key change here is that the Long Shots are passive, now Vine Dusk Training, used to enhance bow abilities exclusively. However, it has been adjusted to provide a damage bonus to all your abilities while a bow is equipped. This shift aims to integrate bows more seamlessly into your character's toolkit, promoting versatility instead of pigeonholing you into a specific play style.

Developer's Insight
The developers' intention with this change was to transform bows into additional tools that synergize with your character rather than standalone playstyles. By offering bonuses and eso gold for both close-range and long-range situations, they aim to maintain consistent power for the weapon while avoiding frustrating gameplay experiences.

Viability and Versatility
These changes create versatile play styles. You can freely move around the combat arena without worrying about losing Damage based on your distance from enemies. Moreover, bows retain their other damaged passives. For instance, the 6% crit chance bonus from the Accuracy passive remains, while the[b] new Vine Dusk Training[/b] passive further bolsters versatility.

Example Builds and Combat Metrics
Let's take a look at how bows are performing using combat metrics reports on trial dummies. Please note that these setups provide inspiration and should be tailored to your specific scenarios.

Sorcerer Build (133k+ DPS)
Use Maelstrom two-hander and a Master's bow.
Main spammable: Lethal Arrow. Crystal Fragments for special procs.
Back bar: Endless Hail and Poison Injection.
Other options for the front bar: Bound Armaments or Mages Wrath (execute).
Race: Dark Elf

Nightblade Build (133k+ DPS)
Use the Thief Mundus Stone and Max Stamina food.
Spammable: Killer's Blade. Use Impale for a Magicka-based setup.
Notable change: Merciless Resolve and Relentless Focus are always active now.
Race: [/b]Dark Elf

[b]Templar Build (134k+ DPS)
Utilize the Velidreth monster set and Vampires Bane ability.
Notable: Blazing Spear on the front bar for Templar's crit damage passive.
Race: Dark Elf
Added bonus: [/b]Velothi's Pact set synergizes well with the bow's playstyle.

[b]Conclusion:
Bows have received substantial changes in Update 39, making them strong and versatile options for various builds. The revamped Vine Dusk Training passive and other adjustments create a more fluid gameplay experience, allowing you to weave bow attacks into your rotation more seamlessly. Remember, these example builds are just starting points; adapt them to your specific needs and preferences.