I was just looking through the pre-order options and saw that amazon has one that gives you 10 throwing spears.

THROWING SPEARS!!!

I was always dying for some archaic type weapons in the FO3.

Anyone know if there is going to be some sort of xbow or long bow?

Probably not.
And if there is they're probably going to chuck it in with Guns or Melee instead of giving it it's own skill... (Arrow-Based Weaponry)

I should hope there'll be throwing knives as well, but other than that there's nothing definite... And did Fallout 3 not have the Samurai's Sword? D:

Samauri sword doesn't count though because it's such a refined weapon and there's a whole culture that goes along with that.

I'm thinking a tad more rugged.

I've always thought it would make sense for bows to be a heavily used weapon in a post apocalyptic future.

I thought I saw throwing knives somewhere... Oh well, we will see in 34 days? or is it 33?

I've always thought that too.

I'd be a very happy chappy if they'd include bows.... I might be simply satisfied if a developer would actually tell us WHY they won't put one in game.

Probably afraid of people officially declaring it Oblivion With Guns.

I've heard people on the wiki say there will be, buuut... We'll know next month for sure, haha. They were my favorite weapon on Fallout 1... Hahaha.

Like Mad Max's crossbows?

I'd think it would be more likely to use old military surplus rifles, and there's a lot of shotguns and the like around. Especially since its not exactly a complete preindustrial collapse, there ought to be no reason why anybody would use bows, if they wanted to live very long.

Those -guns- are certainly going to be around. BUT ammo would be a harder thing to get. If the apocalypse happened EVERYONE would go to the local gun store and clean the place out in a few hours. After that you'd have to rely on traveling merchants who collected tons of ammo from factories.

Anyone can make an arrow.

Besides, it's just a game. I think bows are sweet.

Tribals, less wealthy farmers and hunters, communities with no knowledge to create gunpowder and has no relations with other communities that can create gunpowder.
Or if they have one with the "know how's" then they still don't have the resources to create it.

exactly

I'd like to see some of the archaic futuristic weapons back. What ever happened to the Gauss guns that didn't svck? As for the really really old weapons, Throwing Spears are nice and all for Melee characters, and they do make sense in context with Caesar's Legion. Ranged weapons like bows are for tribals. Caesar's Legion seems to use a fusion of tribal melee weapons and guns, which is far better than any bow. They just don't need them anymore.

Keep in mind that they were at war and it was basically the '50s so the U.S. would have been in full swing military production and there would have been bullets stockpiled in the billions.

I am starting to think that's not true. The bulk of America's forces in 2077 would have been pushing deep into china. Most of the ammo being turned out would be for military use and sent to the forces in China. I am not saying ammo would be rare but there should not be millions of rounds in every town I come across. There are two wars going on now and I can't get any military ammo. All the ammo I get are Civilian.

I am happy to see spears make a come back :celebration:

This. The only reason (and a pretty valid one) for tribals to be using spears is isolation and the destruction of fast transportation networks.

A band of people living in the desert for 100s of years and rarely exploring or trading could very well run out of guns and ammo and start using spears and arrows.

Also spears would likely be a common weapon anyway, polearms in general are actually top tier melee weapons, and contrary to popular belief, swords were not the primary melee weapon in most ancient and medieval armies, but rather spears, pikes, halberds, and other long weapons.

They'd be exceptionally useful in the apocalypse because their reach can help stop you from getting mauled by various critters, and turns those critters into tasty morsels without wasting bullets.

i want bows with a passionnnnn


ited be awsome, could even be good for the silent killers out there

Actually there never was an official invasion of China, just one squad of t-51b's left to their own devices with minimal contact to the goverment. Most of the Army as busy putting down riots in the majr cities. Which explains the huge amounts of military hardware available.

Really where was this info from?

Yes America did invade China! That was the whole reason behind making mole rats, Wanamingos and the FEV. To make people that can survive chemical and bio warfare. Also Power Armour.

2073: China became increasingly aggressive in the war and began to use biological weapons against American forces.

2074: During the http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Yangtze_Campaign, American T-45d Power Armor units, conventional infantry, and mechanized infantry divisions outfitted with the Power Armor were deployed to China as part of an American counter-invasion of Chinese territory, but they became bogged down on the mainland, putting a further drain on American resources and supply lines.

2076: The advanced T-51b Power Armor finally finished its development cycle, and the first mechanized infantry unit outfitted in this version of Power Armor was sent to China. The new armor allowed these troops to finally carve a swath through Chinese forces. Chinese supply lines from the East and Southeast Asian nations China had annexed began to break down.

2077: At some point, one of the nuclear powers began launching nuclear weapons, which resulted in a massive retaliatory response that culminated in the nuclear annihilation of the Great War on October 23, 2077. All nation-states effectively ceased to exist following the holocaust. It is unknown whether the Chinese government took steps to ensure the survival of itself or its citizens, as the American government did.

FO2 talks about it. President dike Richardson talks about it the Yangtze Campaign. Power Armour only helped break the bogged down front lines in china. "Our gallant soldiers fought from the Yukon to the http://www.project610.com/files/Yangtze.jpg." By the picture means American Forces Captured most of China. China was out of resourses to fight a long war with America. They invaded Alaska to get more resources. I guess they hoped America was in no shape to fight a long war.

Not sure why they couldn't have bows. It was in oblivion so it can't be because of engine limitations.

*faceplam* I'm sorry. I have no idea what I was thinking.. *facedesk*

Don't worry about it.

During wars (world war/major wars) armies don't stockpile ammo. They send it out as soon as possible to the front lines. That's why I can't get any military ammo. It's all going to the military right now. With America invading and occupying china. Putting down riots in the Western United States and Canada. They need every last bullet the armouries can turn out to go straight for the front lines. I find it hard to imagin that there was any civilian ammo being made. With little resources and fighting wars putting down home front chaos the last thing the government would allow is ammo being made to fuel the chaos at home and waste ammo that could be sent to the war.

Hmmm.... But I SEEM to remember something about riots during the war... I can't be arsed to head back to the wiki to look but I THINK it was during the occupation of Anchorage, and over the treatment of Canada, maybe? I'm not positive... Or even sure if I'm making this up or remembering... xD

Food riots were breaking out in America. All resouces were going to the War. America annaxed Canada. Many Canadians were not happy about that. Started fighting back.

One thing FO3 could have done better was to stress how bad things really were in America/world before the Great War.