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As part of loot there was a non-magical masterwork composite (+2) longbow.
I am wanting to upgrade the bow to have the weapon property adaptive.
To add adaptive to the weapon, does it need to have an enhancement bonus like the weapon properties that use a bonus equivalent such as flaming?
No, the bow can't have adaptive added without adding an enhancement bonus first. From the introduction to Magic Weapon Special Abilities:
A weapon with a special ability must also have at least a +1 enhancement bonus.
You must have a base enhancement bonus to add any magical special ability.
A weapon with a special ability must also have at least a +1 enhancement bonus. - Pathfinder RPG, p. 468
In general, special abilities add directly to the effective enhancement bonus. However, there is no special exception for ones that add a linear/direct cost. They're are still special abilities and still require the underlying weapon to be enchanted.
