Far Far West Hawkeye Bow Build — A For-Fun Glass Cannon Crit Loadout (And Some Honest Content-Drought Talk)

The Hawkeye bow build for Far Far West: a glass-cannon crit archer loadout that is fun but not nightmare-viable. Strikes + Drain + Pistolero, why the Quad Cell secondary carries it, and a candid look at making content during the early-access drought.
Not every loadout is a meta loadout. Sometimes you just want to be Hawkeye. This one's a "for fun" run — the creator says it upfront: "just another funny loadout I thought I'd put out there cuz I don't know, I just thought it'd be funny." It's a glass-cannon crit bow build, it is not nightmare-viable, and that is exactly the point.

Here's the honest breakdown: what the build is, why it doesn't hold up, and the surprisingly real talk about the state of Far Far West content that fills the rest of the run.
The Hawkeye Build — What It Is

The concept is simple: play the bow as your primary and lean fully into crit. The loadout reads off the HUD as:
| Slot | Pick |
|---|---|
| Primary | Bow |
| Q (Spell) | Strikes |
| E (Spell) | Drain |
| C (Spell) | Pistolero |
| Character | Glass Cannon crit stacking |
The build is built around crit damage multipliers — Glass Cannon, weak-point headshots, and Destroyer all stacking on top of each other. When it lands, the numbers look impressive. When it doesn't, you feel exactly why this isn't a serious pick.
Why It's Not Viable (And the Creator Knows It)

No sugar-coating here. Straight from the run:
"It's not the best, but yet again, I thought this was just a funny video. I don't think they're viable in nightmare. They're pretty difficult to pull off even for me."
The problems are structural:
- Body-shot damage is pitiful — "eight body shot damage, thank you." You live and die by weak-point headshots.
- Ramp is slow and fragile — miss a shot and your whole DPS rotation stalls.
- Glass Cannon means you fold — the multipliers exist because you're paper.
- Horsemen? "Barely." — it can technically kill mini-bosses, but slowly.
"You can clearly tell why this is not a good loadout. Like what is even the point other than goofing off?"
That's the honest verdict. The crit ceiling is real, but the floor is so low it drags the whole thing down.
The Quad Cell Crutch

Same pattern as most "gimmick" builds: the thing carrying it isn't the gimmick. The creator admits to leaning on the quad cell secondary a lot when the bow can't keep up:
"I'm kind of using the quad cell in there a lot, but you guys get the idea."
Why two-tap with the bow when you can one-tap with a real primary? That question hangs over the entire run — and it's the same reason most meme builds quietly rely on a busted secondary to stay alive.
Pistolero, Drain, and Strikes — The Reliable Core

Even in a joke build, the spell core is the same trio that props up basically every weapon loadout:
- Pistolero — free on-kill add clear, still doing the heavy lifting
- Drain — self-sustain so the paper-thin Glass Cannon survives
- Strikes — lightning pools for AoE the bow can't provide
The lesson repeats itself: your build's gimmick is rarely what's winning. The broken staples underneath are.
The Danger Zone and Cryptic Saloon Runs

The build does clear content — Cryptic Saloon, danger zones, and eventually the Train Arrival extraction all get done. But watch the ammo counter: down to 1/6 at points, constantly reloading, scraping through. It works because Far Far West lets you run almost anything if you play carefully. It's just harder than it needs to be.

"I've proven that you can basically run anything. There's like a couple of builds you just can't use because they're actually just horrendous — like this one."
The Real Talk — A Content Drought Confession

What makes this run interesting isn't the build — it's the honesty. Most of the video is the creator thinking out loud about making content for a game in early access:
- The content drought is real. "We're obviously in a content drought, so there's not much really to do." Far Far West is on version 0.1.1.18 — early access, one enemy roster, no big update yet.
- Build variety hits a wall. "I'm kind of running out of builds to make." Once you've covered every weapon, the meme builds are what's left.
- Timing a guide before a patch is a trap. "I don't want to make a full loadout guide right before a big update — then it's outdated information." A genuinely smart reason to hold off on tier lists.
- Longevity is a three-way split. The creator's honest estimate: "50% devs, 40% modders, 10% content creators." Modding — joker rebalances, skyboxes, a proper mod loader like Terraria's tModLoader — is where they see the real future.
It's a rare candid look at the "why" behind the videos, not just the gameplay.
Should You Run the Hawkeye Build?

Honestly? Only if you want to. This isn't a recommendation, it's a novelty:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nightmare viable? | No — even the creator struggles |
| Fun to mess around with? | Yes, when the crits land |
| Better than a real primary? | Not even close |
| Carried by? | Quad Cell secondary + Pistolero, as usual |
| Verdict | A meme build, and a self-aware one |
Quick Reference
| Component | Pick |
|---|---|
| Primary | Bow (Hawkeye fantasy) |
| Secondary | Quad Cell (the actual carry) |
| Spells | Strikes, Drain, Pistolero |
| Character | Glass Cannon crit stacking |
| Best for | Goofing off, style points |
| Weakness | Everything else — body damage, survivability, bosses |
| Playstyle | Weak-point headshots or bust |
The TL;DR
This one's not a guide, it's a vibe. A for-fun bow build that proves Far Far West's build sandbox is wide enough to carry a meme through a full run — and an unusually honest window into what it's like making content for a game that's still finding its feet. Sometimes the most relatable video isn't the optimized one. Sometimes you just want to be Hawkeye and yap.
If the next update drops the new weapons and jokers everyone's waiting on, builds like this might even get a real shot. For now, it stays filed under "funny loadouts."
This was a laid-back yap-and-play run, not a meta guide. For the full commentary and gameplay, check the original video.



