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General Charles Xander

General of the 11th Imperial Legion
Hello people. So I have been thinking about this for a long time, and finally posting a debate thread about this. War Bow vs Crossbow. The Semi Auto vs The Bolt-Action. The Powerful vs The Quick.

War Bow:
-Faster
-Versatile
-convinient
-common

The bow I have mixed feelings about. It's fast and convinient, but it lacks in strength to where if I'm not careful, I'm forced to pull out my sword. While that is true, it's very common to where I can get one immediately and start to practice, whereas the crossbow I need to wait to level 12 or so. The bow also has a faster stun time. If I'm about to be hit up close, I can quickly cancel a draw and smack the opponent resulting in a stun so that I may retreat a little. The crossbow however seems to be a bit qwonky with the bash. I have to cancel the shot and for some reason wait a second or two before the game allows me to bash.

On th other hand, the crossbow is powerful. Volon, (Dalton's crossbow) can kill a Death Lord in four to five shots. That's also not including the explosive bolts.

Crossbow:
-powerful
-built in stagger mechanic
-shoots at a higher velocity

Crossbows. They are loud. Sneaking is near impossible with them, for the enemy can detect you three times further away then a bow. They also reload slower and you are vulnerable to attack due to the reload being impossible to cancel. Also, bolts can only be purchased/made if you are a Dawnguard member. If not then to bad. But, the regular crossbow is and can be as powerful as a Deadric Bow. With the "Power Shot" perk, the crossbow has a whopping 75% stagger rate. Good luck having an enemy get close if you know how to use it. Also, by the time you are finished with the kill cam, the Crossbow is already reloaded and ready to fire another shot. The explosive bolts increase the damage, but are a burden to craft both early on and later. My biggest concern about them however, is that explosive bolts DO NOT benifit from sneak damage. To leave off on a good note, the advanced versions have a 50% ignore armor bonus. That can not be ignored.

Any ways, what do you guys think? Post your views, what side you are on, and what you think is better.

Thank you. :)
 

General Charles Xander

General of the 11th Imperial Legion
Also, what is better? An army of followers with Bows? Or Crossbows?
 

JoeReese

Well-Known Member
Interesting comparison. I tend to like both, and which I use depends primarily on my mood. I'm not crazy about the DG quests, though, so I rarely have the Dwemer or enhanced versions.

If you give them to followers, I've had some problems with the Dwemer crossbows. Followers seem to want to aim and relax, over and over, but never shoot. Take it away and give them a standard crossbow and bolts, and they shoot fine. I can only assume it has to do with the same damage formula that makes followers revert to their default hunting bow, if they have good arrows on them.

Zephyr, I like the speed, especially with the quick shot perk, but IIRC I wasn't able to upsmith it at all.
 
J

Jeremius

Guest
For me, it depends on the character. A melee warrior character would probably use a crossbow, on the thinking that they may not have had time to learn the bow. A stealthy archer would go for a bow, more so with a bosmer archer.
 
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T. Rakinson

A Brute among Beasts
If you choose Vampire in Dawnguard, you can pick Crossbows off the corpses of foes BTW.

Definatly go for Longbow if sneaking, but as a general ranged weapon Crossbow can be great. Ever used MfD on a dragon, then used an enhanced Crossbow? Gruesome.
Another thing to note: Ammunition. With Dawnguard crafting arrows makes them easy to obtain, whereas you have to either buy or loot bolts from Dawnguard/Animaculi. But exploding bolts are great because their effect is part of the bolt, not the Crossbow.
So you can have a ranged weapon that penetrates armour, uses exploding ammunition and can bear an enchantment (or two!) of your choice.
 

conchvegas

Aravis, deadly archer
I was a staunch bow user for the longest time. I just recently started using the crossbow and using all the upgrades that are available i.e. explosive bolts, fire, ice and shock. I'm looking for the second upgrade now after enhanced crossbow. In terms of stealth, I actually utilized quite well. I've got muffle enchanted boots and four different apparel items enhancing the archery damage. It is loud, so usually most enemies are alerted after the first shot, but if I stay in sneak mode at a certain distance I can usually pick them off pretty fast. I found the reload time quite quick actually, especially when getting rushed where I've finished off up to five enemies in succession within seconds. I like to call it Skyrim's shotgun, and my bow has been underutilized for a while now.
 

FullmetalHeart20

Well-Known Member
Well, the best crossbows can ignore 50% armor, and the bolts can explode in fire, ice, or lightning. I think that's worth the slower reload time.
 
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General Charles Xander

General of the 11th Imperial Legion
Well, the best crossbows can ignore 50% armor, and the bolts can explode in fire, ice, or lightning. I think that's worth the slower reload time.
But it's not just that. I love both, but I can use the bow and kill everyone without them even knowing. The crossbow ruins that. Also, if they get close and you're in the middle of a reload on a high difficulty, you're done.

The explosive bolts are fun and cool, however they don't benifit from sneak damage.
 

General Charles Xander

General of the 11th Imperial Legion

General Charles Xander

General of the 11th Imperial Legion
You misunderstand. I meant the Illusion skill perk.
Again, sadly no.

"Quite Casting- all spells you cast as well as shouts are silent" -UESP
Nothing about weapons being affected.
 

Sah

Well-Known Member
General Charles Xander says: But it's not just that. I love both, but I can use the bow and kill everyone without them even knowing. The crossbow ruins that. Also, if they get close and you're in the middle of a reload on a high difficulty, you're done

this one agrees with the General :)...there is something missing....maybe the ability to swing your bow as you would a sword at close range. ...also a problem facing multiple targets...they will eventual close the distance on you...then your forced to change to weapons for close combat, this one thinks you can get more shots in with a bow before they get to you. o_O

:eek: this one understands now General ...the Trolls...that explains the picture, how many shots did it take to take all 4 down?...and what level?...saw 3 arrows in one troll...thinks Master/Legendary?
:)
 

General Charles Xander

General of the 11th Imperial Legion
General Charles Xander says: But it's not just that. I love both, but I can use the bow and kill everyone without them even knowing. The crossbow ruins that. Also, if they get close and you're in the middle of a reload on a high difficulty, you're done

this one agrees with the General :)...there is something missing....maybe the ability to swing your bow as you would a sword at close range. ...also a problem facing multiple targets...they will eventual close the distance on you...then your forced to change to weapons for close combat, this one thinks you can get more shots in with a bow before they get to you. o_O

:eek: this one understands now General ...the Trolls...that explains the picture, how many shots did it take to take all 4 down?...and what level?...saw 3 arrows in one troll...thinks Master/Legendary?
:)
I was on Master difficulty. I shot one from afar, but didn't kill him. I then got snuck up on by two others and got brought down to almost no health. I ran away and healed with potions, then proceeded to turn around and unload I believe seven total arrows before I was forced to switch to my sword. A fourth one came out of nowhere to be a troll and make things harder. The rest I killed with my sword.

I don't feed the trolls, I kill them. :cool:
 

T. Rakinson

A Brute among Beasts
Would anyone be so kind as to post a video of a crossbow in action?
Well, here's the video I mentioned before, showing the use of crossbows by players and NPC's. For an outlook on crossbows in comparison to longbows, go for this link.
 

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