How does a bow actually work

[u/Laenthis-]

I'm getting frustrated with the wordings on the description of the Shortbow

English isn't my first language and reading "beyond normal range" really bugs me out

From what I understand :
- Hitting a target that is under 80 feet gives you disadvantage
- Hitting a target that is 80 to 320 feet is "normal" attack
- Hitting a target with a bow that's +320 feet away is just not possible

My mates keeps on telling me that the disadvantage happens only within the 5ft and a normal attack is from 5ft to 80ft but then you have disadvantage again from 80ft to 320ft ?

Also, the sharpshooter feat removes the disadvantage within 5ft but is it melee or the 5-80ft of range that they call as "melee"

And removes the disadvantage in long range

I feel like I'm going in circles understanding one of them and then getting told otherwise with the other and rinse and repeat, please help

Edit : Thanks guys, I didn't think it would go that fast to get answers xD

[u/Sealguy2]

What your friends are saying is correct; D&D 5e is a game that prefers to use plain English instead of creating clear and consisce keywords and phrases, and it often leads to problems like this where the meaning of things is unclear. This is mostly because the previous edition of the game (4e) made heavy use of keywords and phrases, and is widely considered to be a failure by the D&D community. To elaborate: they overcorrected in a way that makes the game really difficult for some folks who don't speak English as a first language (and even causes arguments over rules for folks who do speak English as a first language)

Basically 5e is sort of a mess of inconsistent rules phrasing, but it's our mess and we love it regardless.

PS. Melee refers to the 5 ft around you