UsefulnessNecessity of crossbows : V

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 4:02 am

For those who have gotten pretty far, how necessary or helpful have you found crossbows vs using melee weapons? If my char is a lvl 18 Nord who has never used a bow, should i spend the time and money to get a respectable archery lvl, or just start a new archery oriented char to play DG?

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 6:48 am

Just use it and increase your level with it or pay for training. No need to start a new character for it. Putting some perks into it wouldn't hurt either.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 2:06 am

new archery character imo

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:11 am

I actually much prefer the new dragonbone bow to any of the crossbows you can get.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 2:28 pm

I'd make a new character. My enhanced dwarven crossbow (legendary) does 261 damage with my enchanted armor and upgrades, which is better than the dragonbone bow. I highly suggest you make a new character.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:07 am

I have a level 18 Orc warrior and I like the X-bow. They are more powerful than the bows, especially with smithing. I use it to give me a good shot at guys up high I can't reach with my 2H sword and some archers in hard to reach places. It also gives me a nice first attack at a charging warrior before I whip out my 2H sword and cleave him in two.

Though I might find it more useful also because for RP reasons my Orc does not like or use magic unless it's built into a weapon or armor.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 3:19 am

I actually much prefer the new dragonbone bow to any of the crossbows you can get.

I guess I should amend/extend the topic to include ranged weapons of any kind. Or ranged magic attacks, as my character uses neither (except shouts). Basically I want to know if you can get by using melee weapons only.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 8:40 am

I'm sure you can, especially with shouts or followers but depending on the difficulty you play at it might be wise to have some ranged weapon because of hard to reach guys or the archers that stay back or run and shoot.

.... and Dragons, you need a ranged sometimes to get them to land.. until you get THE shout.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:51 am

I personally find them great. From what I've seen, the bolts fly a lot straighter than arrows from a bow do, so more annoying shots can be made easier. The only drawback is you cannot quickshot like with a bow.

» Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:04 pm

I love the crossbow.... Much more powerful feeling and accurate... And I also love not seeing arrows on my back while sneaking around. At level 18, you should be able to level up your archery skills pretty fast... I would stay with him.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 2:43 am

I made a DLC exclusive character build, Heavy Archer.

I think you get it.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 12:44 pm

I've actually found them quite good, especially with the different Arrow types (Thanks for this Bethesda). Especially when sneak attacking, they can deliver a lethal punch, and they also have a longer range than standard bows. The one thing to remember, is to use the Crossbows as you would a sniper rifle due to the long reload time you need to drop them in the first shot, and avoid using them in close range combat.

If you are sneak attacking and you miss your first shot, don't forget that bolts are heaviver than arrows, and as such make more noise shoud they hit a wall or something.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 11:50 am

I've still not used my crossbow and I've played around 20hrs since getting the dlc on tuesday.

Not even done any of the dlc quests yet either. I'm so behind everybody else.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 11:44 am

I've still not used my crossbow and I've played around 20hrs since getting the dlc on tuesday.

Not even done any of the dlc quests yet either. I'm so behind everybody else.

That just shows how much there is to do in Skyrim.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:12 am

crossbows werent all they were cracked up to be. you cannot zoom in or slow down time and you have to press rt once to point adn once more to fire. those mechanics kinda svck dont you think.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 11:09 am

crossbows werent all they were cracked up to be. you cannot zoom in or slow down time and you have to press rt once to point adn once more to fire. those mechanics kinda svck dont you think.

You can zoom in, you just need the archery perks first.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 7:21 am

You get explosive ammo for them so don't worry about a new character but if your going to rely on them... Go for it, make a new character

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 1:26 am

crossbows werent all they were cracked up to be. you cannot zoom in or slow down time and you have to press rt once to point adn once more to fire. those mechanics kinda svck dont you think.

Is that a joke? Or are you really just that uninformed? You CAN zoom and slow down, you just need the perks. It works exactly like the bow lol...

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 1:39 am

I'll definitely use crossbows with my thief character, who is specced into archery. They seem like a quick-fire alternative to bows.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 10:50 am

The only SIGNIFICANT differences game-wise is that it seems you dont have to compensate for the bolt dropping as much and that you can get explosive fire/frost/shock bolts.

BUT they 'feel' really satisfying to use.

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 2:21 pm

Only thing I dislike about them is that you still have to hold RT down to 'draw', even though the drawing is actually done during the reload. So it makes zero sense if you press RT once and the bolt falls to your feet. *shrug*

» Fri Nov 16, 2012 12:59 am

Only thing I dislike about them is that you still have to hold RT down to 'draw', even though the drawing is actually done during the reload. So it makes zero sense if you press RT once and the bolt falls to your feet. *shrug*

Thats never happened to me.