Ever See the Movie: 'Predator'....?

In all honesty... the Cravenbow is currently the most broken item in kt. Even though it is a quest item, all of the other quest items are much worse than the cravenbow. The reason that the cravenbow is overpowered is because the scaling on the explosive damage is much too high, on top of an insane range. I think that the range is supposed to be the main advantage of the item, as well as the synergy with WLL builds rather than flat out broken damage. 

If you are however trying to counter the bow, you're ALWAYS going to need to close the distance (unless you have poachers bow). By choosing to close the distance remember that you are always committing to fight to the end. If you run you will most likely die. Never use a mele item against this weapon as ever since jav got nerfed mele is nonexistent in the current meta. The reason we are closing the distance is so that the wielder of the bow cannot use his superior range to kite in his advantage, whether it be trade kiting or simply staying out of your range. The cravenbow is currently relying on flat damage, so you are have to going to find a way to be able out dps it. Considering that it is purely physical damage, a shield as your offhand and high level armor like hauberk can be helpful for sustain. Hauberk is great because it negates the damage well and also has a nice heal active. The cravenbow has 2 stats. DEX and INT. This means that the wielder is going to attack you very fast, and is mostly likely going to spam spells. This is where frost armor comes in. I see frost armor neglected all of the time even though in my opinion, it is the best spell in the game (especially against dex items). Every time you get hit by the cravenbow, a tick of frost armor will apply, on top of that the bonus armor and spell resistance provided by frost armor will greatly help out with the damage it does. Armor to prevent against insane damage from the passive, and spell armor to prevent spell spamming. Considering that cravenbow attacks very fast with its +10 DEX, your frost armor is going to last awhile and it will be well worth it's low mana cost. The faster an item attacks, the better frost armor is against it. (Never use repeating bow against frost armor!!! you'll always kill yourself). Assuming that you also have some dps on a main hand (that must be ranged) it's time to fight the cravenbow! ***(mage builds can also work against the cravenbow, you just need to spam frost armor and siphon)***. Be wary that even with all of these assets, the cravenbow is a very powerful item and can still melt through your armor, (although not nearly as fast). Follow these instructions and it's going to come down to skill. Always remember good food and potions. Diseased cocktail is an excellent choice for potion over concoction because the cravenbow relies on energy to be powerful. Energy fuels its passive and allows it to spell spam. Goooood luckkkkk. 

P.S.: I still think it needs a nerf

It probably could use a nerf, but make it a small nerf to ensure the quest items remain the strongest items in the game.

When I have the Shtickficker, I can use spells like normal with no worries. It never seems to cost me.
What if the explosives sucked more magic power, but could be toggled off by clicking it, in order to conserve power?
Think it needs a bit of an attack rate nerf as well. But for sure there should be some level of spell sacrifice. It should remain a top-end ranged weapon, even without the explosives active. I agree with Distro that superior range should be its outstanding advantage, and would add that its AoE is handy for surprise Reaper's Hands/pets/etc.

Nice, I never tried it, but yeah, does illustrate the point, as I never needed to. lol

I disagree, there are several ways to deal with the attack speed. 

Frost armor is always reliable for returning a considerable amount of attacks from high attack speed. 

If you're skilled mechanically and good and trade kiting this is never even a problem. 

EX: Both players go at each other. Player A has fishsticker, player B has a venomous arbalest. Both of the players trade on attack, knowing that player A will be able to attack again first, player b cloaks to that cant happen. Player A can either match the cloak or keep attacking. If he decides to keep attacking by when player b breaks his cloak both auto attacks will be up again. Player B and A come out even on auto attacks rather than B getting pounded twice. If player A decides to match the cloak, make your next decision by amount of energy the players have.