Overview

The bow is one of the available ranged weapons, having decent charge speed, range and damage at the cost of not excelling at anything except for its unique ability to shoot fiery arrows. It is only available in one tier, can only shoot arrows, and is overall a solid upgrade if you need something with more range than a slingshot but can't quite afford a crossbow yet.

General Combat Tips

• When in combat with any weapon, make sure that you have shiftlock enabled. This gives you more control over your weapon and makes it easier for you to hit your enemy, avoiding the need to constantly readjust your camera as you turn. Do not use first person either as you'll be unable to see what's around you.
• When in combat with a sword, keep in mind that its (large) damaging hitbox does damage on touch to any body part. This means you want to spam your lunge attack at all times in combat while moving your mouse left and right so as to 'cut' through the enemy's body hitbox, ensuring you are hitting the maximum amount of parts possible as the sword goes through. For more tips on this, look into generic swordfighting combat.
• When using a spear, keep in mind that the thrusting animation does not hit your enemy if they are too close to you - this is due to the very small hitbox on the tip. The spear is best used when chasing someone for the longer range or when trying to ward someone off as they chase you, forcing them to relinquish distance so they aren't poked to death while you walk backwards.
• When using ranged weapons in combat, don't. Lag and constant strafing/jumping make it almost impossible for any shot to hit unless you are quite literally breathing down the neck of your enemy, in which case you should be using a melee weapon. Ranged weapons also slow you down when reloading and also while you aim, giving the person distance to run away from you and disengage or to get closer to you as you hopelessly try to hit them.
• Using armor is paramount to your success, as well as shields, together. Never use one or the other separately, as their defense/DR bonuses need to stack to be able to give any meaningful protection. Even Volcadon armor or shield, when worn separately, aren't powerful enough to protect you effectively from someone using a full copper set plus weapons.
• Hiding your armor and shield is a good strategy to test the character of any given person, or just to get them by surprise when they aren't looking because of the 'noob' impression.
• Experienced players will often retreat when they are in a losing fight. It is up to your discretion whether it is worth it to chase or to ambush them somewhere else where you have the advantage. Inspect your surroundings - are there boats they can use to escape, catapults, other enemies, etc.? Look around and pay attention before making a decision.
• In regards to ambushes, it is always best to have the advantage before entering combat. If you must attack someone who is always surrounded by friends and/or takes care not to leave their backs open for attack, lie in wait until an opportunity arises and engage in combat when they least expect it. Such tactics will almost always end up with the person panicking, and if not, with a severe health point disadvantage which you can then exploit in order to win the duel.
• Never go straight up to an experienced player, full armor and weapons in view, expecting to win any fight. They will be prepared to do all it takes to force either a tie, a very close win/loss or retreat, none of which are good for you especially when they have allies around.

Strategy

Bows, as with all ranged weapons, are not necessarily good for PvP combat. In the case of bows, however, they have their niche as being the only ranged weapon that can burn buildings from afar with fire arrows. Albeit costly, said arrows can be really helpful when chasing down a non-fireproofed boat, or when you want to cause mayhem in a village by shooting structures from far away and forcing players to tend to it or risk having their hard work burned down.

• Normal arrows are not worth keeping - only use them for fire arrows. If you must use something ranged, opt for a slingshot instead as the ammo is way easier to craft and the damage difference is very small.
• The bow is a charge weapon - that means you have to charge your shot before firing. It has a slower charging time than a slingshot and it also makes you slower when moving around (1.5s for a sling, while it takes 2s for a bow).
• The bow's unique fire arrows can be used to not only ignite wooden structures from afar, but also explosives. Take your time to set up some gunpowder close to a structure you want to destroy, then ignite it with an arrow from a distance and watch the fireworks. This is very useful for destroying stone structures and other buildings that do not use wood.
• The bow has a rather sharp projectile drop after a certain distance. If you intend to burn structures while staying stealthy, make sure to train up a bit and test out the different ranges the bow is good at before going for an attack, or you may be spotted as you fail to hit your target. This is all the more important with fire arrows, as they leave a trail that can be easily spotted at night.