This section contains information about the various missile weapons in Dominions 3.
Slings & Blowdarts[edit]
The least damaging of all missile weapons, the two are generally unused. Slings have poor damage and precision and Blowdarts have very little damage and range, but they do stunning damage in addition. Slingshots and Blowdars are affected by storms and Air Shield.
Short, Composite & Long Bows[edit]
Bows are one of the most common missile weapons in game. Shortbows have the least damage potential, Composite Bows are between Short and Longbows in damage and Longbows are the strongest of bows, but they are also the rarest. Bows are affected by Storms and Air Shield.
Crossbows & Arbalests[edit]
Crossbows and Arbalests have higher damage than the bows but they need time to be reloaded. Crossbows take a round to reload after they have fired and Arbalests need two rounds. Because of this these units can be difficult to use but if used properly they can be devastating as Crossbows can do damage on most armored units and Arbalests can pierce even Ulmish heavy armor. Crossbows and Arbalests are affected by storms and Air Shield.
Javelins[edit]
Javelins are found on many units. They have a short range and are mostly used as skirmishing weapons. A javelin volley or two can soften up masses of weakly protected units. Javelins are often found on units who are designed for melee. Putting these units on Attack command will cause the units to use their melee weapons instead of Javelins. Using Fire or Hold and Attack command will make them use their Javelins and melee weapons. Setting a block of javelin armed infantry on Hold and Attack can be a good tactic if you want to do a tactical defense. Javelins are affected by storms and Air Shield.
Breath Weapons & Magic Attacks[edit]
Some cretures such as Dragons or Bog Beasts have breath attakcs and some other creatures have magical ranged attacks such as the Throw Flames found on Dai Oni. These attacks do elemental or poison damage most of the time and can be nullified. The range and sometimes damage of breath weapons is often determined by strength of the creature using it. Breath weapons and magic ranged attacks aren't most of the time affected by storms or Air Shield.
Mind Blast[edit]
Mind Blast is a special ranged attack found on creatures that have awesome mental strength. Mind Blast has an extreme range and unlike many other missile weapons it isn't affected storms and it is always precise. A Mind Blast can be resisted with Magic Resistance but if the target doesn't resist it gets Paralyzed. Mind Blast is an excellent sniper attack on strong units as it practically nullifies the threat from them.
Magic Missile Weapons[edit]
There are a number of magical missile weapons that can be forged.
- Black Bow of Botulf, its dark arrows will feeblemind those unlucky enough to be hit
- Bow of War, a single shot from this bow unleashes thirteen arrows upon the enemies
- Piercer, a crossbow that fires bolts that ignore armor and can be fired underwater