I'm not sure if crossbows are Dawnguard exclusive but anyway

I never used bows so I don't know if there is a difference but crossbows seem very op. My current crossbow does 215 damage, ignores 50% armour, does 25 fire damage and 25 frost damage.

I play on the highest difficulty yet this is no challenge, I do more damage then dual casting fireballs and I can do shoot a lot more then I could fireballs.

If I'm in sneek with ciceros gloves I can do about 2000 damage in a single bolt.

I will probably just ignore crossbows from now on because I like the challenge but it's disappointing that the thing I looked forward to most is insanely good, to the point I don't want to use it.

How do you load them? I have yet to play Dawnguard. If they load it by holding the xbow with one hand and pulling the string back and cocking it with the other while still being able to move... Well that's just plain stupid.

215 Damage?!?! It's not the crossbow that's OP....it's your upgrading of it

Yeah, I think you may be upgrading it to much. That's what upgrades are for anyway.

Then again, my level 8 Nord got a Crossbow and annihilated anyone in her path on Expert difficulty with a xbow.

Crossbows a decent. Their reload time draw back evens them out. Even with the reload perk its still excruciating waiting to for it to finish.

When I judge how good a attack style is I look at how it can be improved. No swords will ever get to the damage the crossbow can.

Isn't that true in real life, too? I mean, the English won the Potiers whatever battle with longbows. Not swords. Crossbows will always be superior to swords because they're long distance weapons, and your enemy can't hurt you with their sword unless they are archers or use a crossbow or destruction magic. *shrug*

Well depends on you you talk to, I haven't picked up DG yet but from what I've been reading lots of people say they are way OP compared to bows because they out damage bow's (dwarven bow out damages deadric at base levels) and that the reload isn't slow enough to make much difference in overall RoF. From what I make out is that after firing a bolt you are immediately put into an unavoidable reload animation and move slowly unlock the bow where you can shoot and scoot.

Ah, I don't have Dawnguard yet (PS3 player here). So it's hard to judge. One could say bows are overpowered compared to swords due to their distance and the element of surprise/sneaking.

I think crossbows should be difficult to reload, like REALLY, in ye olden times. Those svckers aren't as fast as people think they are. If the reload is too fast, I'll agree, it's a bit OP.

By this logic swords are way OP because you can't get unarmed damage up to sword damage...yes crossbows are powerful but not OP unless you choose to make them so

Nah, they do a fair amount of damage. Vampires are tough to kill so it's the best weapon, even more with the upgrades. Even, even more if using the Dwarven Crossbow + its upgrades! *pukes rainbow*

Well my first steel crossbow I got from the Dawnguard did outdamage my upgraded ebony bow by about 20 damage ... Let's say it's on paar with the best bows in the game damage wise so yes, it is a very good weapon ! Reload times and range needs a bit of practice for sniping but otherwise it is REALLY good . But that's up to you you to decide which weapon is OP or not ... You could just upgrade a hunting bow to make it deal 300 damage

This.

You mentioned destruction, which would massively outclass your crossbow using the expert spells. You can fire 8+ 90 damage spells in the time it takes to reload and fire the crossbow.

Well compared to bows, they are pretty op. I just have the steel crossbow now, upgraded. It beats my glass bow upgraded.

It is great for a great sneak attack, but I have died a few times trying to reload in melee.

Crossbows reload 30% faster with the "Quickshot" perk. With the "Ranger" perk, you can move at normal speed while reloading, which get's rid of the crossbow's drawback.

In TES III: Morrowind, the Dwarven Crossbow was better than the Daedric Longbow too. The Dwarven Crossbow did 30-30 damage, while the Daedric Longbow did 1-50 damage, so the Dwarven Crossbow had higher average damage. The Dwarven Crossbow also staggered opponents 100% of the time (Or damn near), was more accurate at short-mid range, and unlike in Dawnguard, it reloaded fast and didn't slow your movement when reloading. The only drawback to the Dwarven Crossbow, was that it didn't have as long of a range as a Daedric Longbow.