Crossbow Or Bows, What do you prefer

[TheRedGoblin]

I play a wood elf and would feel wrong using a crossbow. I rarely draw my dagger or axe so the attack speed of the bow (after perks) is really nice.

 

[Alissa DeWitt]

I prefer bows. The reason is purely aesthetic.

 

[Hermaeus_Mora]

I play a wood elf and would feel wrong using a crossbow. I rarely draw my dagger or axe so the attack speed of the bow (after perks) is really nice.

But then again, being a rank and file Imperial, you would probably have a crossbow. Orcs as well, as they prefer brute force, etc. It's all about the RP in my opinion.

 

[Hildolfr]

I've been thinking about your comment and I think I've finally come up with an answer.

What is Agmaer? A peasant who's attuned to using his pa's axe. And what does Isran need? A crack team of vampire hunters and he needs them now, with minimal time set aside for training. Using the crossbow as a primary weapon, he can very easily, very quickly get together an efficient fighting force against the rising threat. I think it's so cool how that aspect of the crossbow's history does play a role in the game.

I agree and I like the point you're making, actually. The crossbow definitely fits the Dawnguard really well. They need able bodies and the crossbow is the perfect method to get them up and running with very little training. I do think, though, based on the various vampire raids I've encountered, those raw recruits focusing entirely on their crossbow aim are in for a rude awakening!

 

[perkecet]

I agree and I like the point you're making, actually. The crossbow definitely fits the Dawnguard really well. They need able bodies and the crossbow is the perfect method to get them up and running with very little training. I do think, though, based on the various vampire raids I've encountered, those raw recruits focusing entirely on their crossbow aim are in for a rude awakening!

this historically accurate reasoning for the crossbow is assuredly coincidental. bethesda isn't clever enough to think of that for one. also, the reason they put crossbows in dawnguard was mostly just due to demand from the community. the same thing goes for when the next DLC comes out and they add spears.

 

[Jeremius]

for me it depends on archetype:

1. Warrior (no destruction magic at all)-Crossbow
2. Ranger/Assassin-Bow
3. Anyone that uses Destruction Magic-neither

 

[Neriad13]

this historically accurate reasoning for the crossbow is assuredly coincidental. bethesda isn't clever enough to think of that for one. also, the reason they put crossbows in dawnguard was mostly just due to demand from the community. the same thing goes for when the next DLC comes out and they add spears.

You think that Bethesda isn't clever enough to put crossbows in a faction in which it would make sense to use them? They're clever enough to write the story of a war over whom people still argue about to this day. They're clever enough to add surprises where you least expect them, even after you've been playing the same game for months.

I do agree that fan demand had a huge impact on the presence of crossbows in the game, but there is such a thing as giving in to that demand while also writing it into the story convincingly.

 

[perkecet]

You think that Bethesda isn't clever enough to put crossbows in a faction in which it would make sense to use them? They're clever enough to write the story of a war over whom people still argue about to this day. They're clever enough to add surprises where you least expect them, even after you've been playing the same game for months.

I do agree that fan demand had a huge impact on the presence of crossbows in the game, but there is such a thing as giving in to that demand while also writing it into the story convincingly.

how convincing is it that the schematic for a special crossbow is in a dwarven ruin that one of the wealthiest cities in the province is actively excavating, while just one random woman knows it's there? how convincing is it that this woman also knows building crossbows like the back of her hand, and will gladly teach you how, yet nobody in skyrim knows anything about the damn weapon? what's convincing about the lack of "crossbow technology" in skyrim, when 200+ years ago it was an everyday thing for the dark elves of morrowind who, by the way, have all been forced to flee to skyrim? not one brought an old crossbow with them? how strange.

the bottom line is bethesda got sick of people complaining about it and put them in. dawnguard as a concept assuredly existed when skyrim launched, and i'd wager that crossbows were added somewhere between the concept and development stages.

 

[Mr1cammando]

That's how game development and creation works. Things are added and dropped, sometimes with no canon reason. You are reading way too far into the game's mechanics.

 

[Faust]

um... i feel like mentioning the fact that there ARE mods out there for those of you who want higher lvl crossbows (basic xbow collection on steam for example)
i prefer crossbows personally because while they are slow to reload its very easy to kill something in one or 2 shots
i do appologize for the fact that im posting in january
oh and another thing... there are also mods that make the game moderately harder at higher levels (if not quite a bit harder) these mods tend not to be unbalanced (the crossbow mods are natural progressions of the simple steel xbow... or so it would seem... and the creatures in the harder skyrim mods dont break your immersion a heck of a lot)

 

[Haru17]

Dwarven crossbow > dragonbone bow, the crossbow scale is different. I like different ones for different purposes.

 

[Stigweard Ruadhan]

I prefer a bow for the fluid and stealthy feel of it.

I like the motion of drawing back, picking a target and loosing an arrow into the ether...much more natural!

 

[Naginata]

I use my crossbow all the time, it is my default weapon, I use it even more often than my mace. I love that it does tons of damage, and staggers enemies. However, I do switch to my bow sometimes to kill those super long-range enemies that my crossbow can't reach. I have the perk in the archery tree that allows you to reload 30% faster (I think it's called Quick Draw) which makes using the crossbow and bow even more worth it!

 

[TheDovahkiin]

Cross-Bows, a combination of the two. I use Crossbow for functionality, and bow for fun.

 

[Moris]

Crossbows on my current build do about 140 more damage than my best bow, and I can chase enemies while carrying a loaded crossbow.

But I do still prefer a regular bow. It just seems much more stealthy.

 

[feliciano182]

I use both.........win.

 

[Argonianale7]

IMO Enchanced Dwarven Crossbow>Dragonbone Bow, when I use it I feel like a snipe.

 

[Dohvahkiin]

I just recently just got my enhanced dwarven crossbow and I enjoy it very much but my play style is an assassin so usually I use a normal bow but since the crossbow is more of a close/medium range weapon when I am detected I use the bow to pick off enemies and when they get closer I switch to the crossbow and then run and fire.

 

[Haru17]

I have a enhanced dwarven crossbow that does 277 normal damage, 69 fire and frost damage, and another 10 from the enchanted bolts. It feels pretty nice to use. I'm going to make a new one that is fire / chaos damage and it'll be even crazier.

 

[Faust]

with my current xbow im at around 107 (with steel bolts)... and im lvl 23 area
orcish crossbow for the win
has anyone else noticed how the bash (shield or otherwise) is so weak? its quite sad that a big hunk of steel and wood can't even do 10 (idk the real number... just saying something low) damage