PC Does anybody even use crossbows and bows anymore?

[kultivater]

I never use the crossbow due to the reloading time. My main choice of weapon is still the bow.

I admit that I don't have much late-game experience, and also admit that I haven't used the crossbow since alpha 17.2, but, unless changes have been made since then, I don't see the problem with its load time. Usually it loads up fast enough, and considering the incredible distance it can go without having to adjust aim(as with the bow), and the huge damage it does(one shot kill mostly in my experience), it just completely out-does bows for me :-/.

 

[ZombieSurvivor]

I admit that I don't have much late-game experience, and also admit that I haven't used the crossbow since alpha 17.2, but, unless changes have been made since then, I don't see the problem with its load time. Usually it loads up fast enough, and considering the incredible distance it can go without having to adjust aim(as with the bow), and the huge damage it does(one shot kill mostly in my experience), it just completely out-does bows for me :-/.

I do not believe there has been a change in the reload speed of the crossbow in A18 so there should be no problems at all. I was simply stating as a personal preference, due to the slow reloading compared to the bow I use the bow over the crossbow because of my play style.

 

[Boidster]

2. they just are not very good at being silent and always seem to wake up the poi.

Look, I'm not TRYING to step on the stupid bit of trash! And that barricaded door had a DOOR HANDLE on it! Do you know how valuable brass is?!? Of course I had to destroy the door immediately!

 

[Stranded_Napkin]

I love games that allow for bows. Bows can be fun when properly implemented. This alpha doesn't help itself by dropping a decent amount of 9mm armor piercing ammo. That doesn't work in the turret. I save the normal 9mm for the turrets and then once I've gotten a decent amount of armor piercing ammo, I drop the bow for the smg. The issue with the smg is that they don't drop for sh*t. I get my loot skill to level 5, wear loot goggles, and still never find one above level 2. I've had to build it every time. By that time I've got multiple stacks of armor piercing ammo and can make more. The bows are quiet without a mod, but once you have the silencer you're golden. I've only restarted a couple times, but in each game I made ~500 arrows and never made another. Since they don't break like they used to, they just never go away. I eventually just get tired of them and shelve it for the smg. That is both a pro and a con to the bow. You really don't have to make ammo, but then you end up scrapping stone ammo and then stuck in a weird place with iron arrows that just will not go away when you're ready to move up to steel. It might just be me but it feels wasteful. I don't know. Bows are fun and are worth using but they don't feel well implemented in balancing.

 

[Vomkat]

Like in the title, I find myself in a place where there is no advantage to using either of the bow weapons.Silenced SMG is better in every way

This is why I play on 25% loot, no respawn. Arrows are a luxury.

 

[Ghostlight]

Like in the title, I find myself in a place where there is no advantage to using either of the bow weapons.Silenced SMG is better in every way, ammo is not an issue since my stealth build means one bullet = one zombie put down.

I suppose there are builds where these weapons might still be useful in the late game but as it is, there's just too many disadvantages.

What does your stealth build use before you have found a Silencer? And what do you use in general before you have a gun or a decent amount of bullets?

 

[Andy Red]

When starting a new game, I'll go with a Sledgehammer until I found a gun and ammo.

During my first A18 experience I moved to the 9mm once I found a silencer. Don't know why but that little gun is so fun with a silencer and red dot sight. Easy and quiet headshots on sleepers, enough capacity in the magazine for firing at groups and only one gun powder per bullet.

My second round after the server reset for 18.3, I found an AK on Day 1 and have been using that for every encounter. I might switch back to the 9mm when I can make/find a silencer, I do tend to waste more bullets with the AK than with the 9mm though, so that's a downside.

I just never seem to find enough feathers for arrows/bolts, when Nitrate, Coal, Lead and Brass are easily found to make bullets.

 

[ktr]

Love the bow. The best surprise I can get in A18 is stumbling across a wooden or compound bow. With sneak damage, you can get by on stone arrows decently well and iron arrows pretty darn well even with the primitive bow. Add in the flaming and explosive arrows/bolts and you've got some great alt ammo on hoard nights.

I play AGi builds in SP and MP with a 'minor' in Perception for LL and Salvage Ops and I love getting to the point where I can go through large POIs with a stack of arrows and a few 9mm rounds - makes all that loot I cart out feel that much more worthwhile.

 

[Blasphemous]

What does your stealth build use before you have found a Silencer? And what do you use in general before you have a gun or a decent amount of bullets?

It's a generic build early on so a bit of a jack of all trades.

In my current game I did find a level 2 rifle very early, as in single digit levels.

With some ammo, I was golden, with headshots it was quite efficient ammo-wise.

I was actually forced to wait a long time before I got the silencer schematics, I've found no actual silencers in any loot so had to make them.

Before that, it was indeed crossbow and just regular guns.

Level 3 compound crossbow was one of the relatively early quest rewards so I stuck with that for quite a while.

Again, as soon as silencers were available, I ditched the xbow and never looked back.

 

[bigstep70]

i use it ( a bow that is ) almost exclusively for luring zeds from their hiding places, piltching vultures outta the air and causing general chaos amongst the undead. deer, rabbit, and chicken fall to my arrows as well so theres the food factor

may not be strong but its good, cheap fun.

 

[Pichii]

Like in the title, I find myself in a place where there is no advantage to using either of the bow weapons.Silenced SMG is better in every way, ammo is not an issue since my stealth build means one bullet = one zombie put down.

I suppose there are builds where these weapons might still be useful in the late game but as it is, there's just too many disadvantages.

In the early game, with a lucky find of a regular or compound version, it's feasible and projectiles can be mass-produced but as soon as you find the books that increase ammo loot in containers and in general improve looting, getting more bullets is no longer an issue.

I'm thinking about possible changes that would allow crossbows and bows to keep up the pace and remain competitive but other than drastically increasing the damage or adding some default sneak multiplier on top of other sneak-related bonuses, there's not a lot of options. Anybody else feels the same?

You use them because they dont take gunpowder. You can kill small groups of zeds with them and its ranged so there is minimal to no risk.

Compound Xbow can compete with a hunting rifle and can also be scoped.

Your silenced SMG is quieter than the Xbow but less quiet than a Compound Longbow.

Compound Longbow also has one of THE best max projectile effective ranges in the game.

(Offhand, I think it is 3rd best below Hunting Rifle->Marksman Rifle->Compound Longbow)

-Your SMG doesnt shoot exploding projectiles. (Exploding bolts/arrows anyone?)

I use them on raid night with 0 perks spent.

Does wonders to be able to lob those bombs in a straight line.