Bow / Crossbow questions

[BustedHipGaming]

Do crossbows use regular arrows?

Is there an advantage to shortbow/longbow/crossbow?

Does attacking with bows carry any advantage over attacking with melee weapons or magic?

[Tagger]

Crossbows use bolts - not arrows.
Short-/Longbow use arrows.

Think of Short-/Longbow as you'd think of a 1H sword and 2H sword.
One is faster than the other, while making hits for less damage.

Your last question gets answered by looking at this:
https://wiki.melvoridle.com/index.php?title=Combat_Triangle

Another thing about Short-/Longbow and Crossbow, is that Crossbow is the only 1-handed of them. Which adds the ability to use shields with those.
https://wiki.melvoridle.com/index.php?title=Equipment#Ranged_Shields

[BustedHipGaming]

Publicado originalmente por Tagger:

Crossbows use bolts - not arrows.
Short-/Longbow use arrows.

Think of Short-/Longbow as you'd think of a 1H sword and 2H sword.
One is faster than the other, while making hits for less damage.

Your last question gets answered by looking at this:
https://wiki.melvoridle.com/index.php?title=Combat_Triangle

Another thing about Short-/Longbow and Crossbow, is that Crossbow is the only 1-handed of them. Which adds the ability to use shields with those.
https://wiki.melvoridle.com/index.php?title=Equipment#Ranged_Shields

OK so for some reason I cannot figure out how to make crossbow bolts. Where do I find the way to make headless crossbow bolts, and crossbow bolt tips? I can only find a way to make arrows.

[Tom]

headless bolts are level 10 smithing, and require iron.

Gem tipped bolts also start at level 10 fletching and require topaz.

also to equip bolts, you might need a higher ranged skill.

[BustedHipGaming]

Publicado originalmente por Tom:

headless bolts are level 10 smithing, and require iron.

Gem tipped bolts also start at level 10 fletching and require topaz.

also to equip bolts, you might need a higher ranged skill.

OMG all the crossbow ammo requires gems? Heck nawz

[Tagger]

You can get hoards of gems "fairly quickly" though, with gem gloves and when you max fletching, you'll get 2x the amount when fletching, so 1 gem is now 6 bolts.

If you feel you've got a surplus of Slayer Coins, you can also buy the supplies there, which have bolts in them.
..but I kinda wouldn't recommend that - seems a bit like a waste.

[Salmon Snake]

Publicado originalmente por Tagger:

You can get hoards of gems "fairly quickly" though, with gem gloves and when you max fletching, you'll get 2x the amount when fletching, so 1 gem is now 6 bolts.

If you feel you've got a surplus of Slayer Coins, you can also buy the supplies there, which have bolts in them.
..but I kinda wouldn't recommend that - seems a bit like a waste.

And with mastery you get 4 bolts per action, hence 8 with cape.

[BustedHipGaming]

So are crossbows better than regular bows?

[Tagger]

Publicado originalmente por BustedHipGaming:

So are crossbows better than regular bows?

Depends on which bow/crossbow you have available.

But I wouldn't say you should be using a crossbow outside of dungeons.
You'll only really want to use crossbows for (some) dungeons, as you'll need the Damage Reduction a shield can give you.

[DarkDragon]

Publicado originalmente por Tom:

headless bolts are level 10 smithing, and require iron.

Gem tipped bolts also start at level 10 fletching and require topaz.

also to equip bolts, you might need a higher ranged skill.

Thank you for your replied

[Truth_X_ile]

Self Preference

Apart from what everyone already said was pretty much the entirety, it's really just up to what you prefer to go with in terms of ranged means

Fletching Process Tip(s)

Besides the obvious Fletching, Smithing is also a part of the fletching process to gather what you need by tips or bolts, while it's also wise to note that you CAN buy feathers in the shop under the materials section, really helpful for skipping that timely process as well, then for the arrow shafts, if you can get high tier logs either by having a high woodcutting skill or from loot, using those for shafts is preferred, the higher the tier, the more arrow shafts you'll make

My Preference

I for one like to have a lot of high preservation chance to save my ammo, but don't want to use throwing knives, because you can only craft 4 at a time, so it takes a while to get a lot of them piled up, of course that is time costly

Over Prepared

I end up using Bows, just crafted over 1M Dragon arrows and pretty much ready for anything until I reach stage 2 of the game and unlock more availability to craft better ammo/gear, while not necessarily will I need 1M Dragon arrows, but it's at least there to know I won't be running out any time soon

Planning Ahead, Ammo Count/Amount

You'll have to weigh your options based on the amount of ammo and time you have if you're idling with it, so to make plenty or have plenty to achieve your end result as well

Special Weapons Go To

Most of course go with bows, some crossbows but it really comes down to when you finally unlock special weapons for ranged is when your decision will be made to use those

Good Luck & Have Fun