Sword-bow is it worth it?

[Nosta]

I ask this question cause my friend who's a rogue used one did not seem to fair to well with it. but then again he is not a min-maxer . so I ask what would be the best class to get the best out of this weapon and what feats would you take to make sure you can balance the weapons unique blend of range and melee,

looking for advice cause i'd like to use one in my next game I play in

[Darrin]

I ask this question cause my friend who's a rogue used one did not seem to fair to well with it. but then again he is not a min-maxer . so I ask what would be the best class to get the best out of this weapon and what feats would you take to make sure you can balance the weapons unique blend of range and melee,

looking for advice cause i'd like to use one in my next game I play in

The Elvencraft longbow (Races of the Wild p. 166) is superior to the sword-bow because it doesn't cost any actions to switch between ranged and melee attacks.

As far as what class would get the most out of it... archery tends to be underpowered in most 3.X games, unless the optimization level of the group is very low. In higher-optimization games, Swift Hunter is a good choice (typically Scout 4/Ranger 16). You may still get outshined by some Ubercharger meatbag with two-handed Power Attack or Casting Couch wizard, but hey... those mooks aren't going to mop up themselves.

One of the problems with archery in D&D is in order to hope to be somewhat competent at it you really have to throw all of your resources into it (and them some): feats, class abilities, magic items, etc., so it pays off to over-specialize. Trying to do anything with melee as well is probably going to hurt you. Mostly the elvencraft longbow lets you threaten the squares around you for AoOs, but 50 GP will get you some armor spikes that do the same thing. Adding the arrow mind spell or something like Close Combat Shot will let you make AoOs with your bow, but if you're actually close enough to your enemies that they're in your threatened squares, you're probably doing something wrong.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Something that can be competent with melee or archery (whichever you don't focus on) without much investment. A melee secondary is easier, since you'll probably want a high BAB and decent Strength for archery anyway- you only need bonus damage, really. An Inspire Courage optimized bard, maybe, or a Duskblade arcane archer. Or an Incarnate or Cleric or someone who can buff themselves into the roll.