Does the Horse Archery skill affect crossbows too?

[Button Pusher]

Does horse archery affect you while on horseback? Will it make it more accurate with higher damage or does the Horse Archery skill not affect crossbows at all?

[ColonGlock]

If you are in motion on the horse yes it affects crossbows. If you are stopped it does not.

[Button Pusher]

Thanks

[kaiyl_kariashi]

I generally don't bother with horseback crossbows, only hunting and light can be reloaded on horse back and they're extremely weak relative to the other crossbows, but more importantly, their projectile velocity is so low they have trouble penetrating shields, even at very close ranges.

If you're bothering with horse archery, you should be focusing on bows who gain the most benefit from it.

But yes, any ranged weapon is affected by horse archery if the horse is in motion. However thrown weapons don't get very much benefit due to having a large innate reduction on aiming drift while in motion.

[Sohei]

If you are being cheap on points but still want a ranged weapon while on horseback a masterwork light crossbow works alright. The damage and penetration are low compared to others but you get plenty of shots at least with a single stack of bolts. A few points in horse archery is worthwhile even if you use a crossbow.

If you are going to be more specialized in horse archery, then yes a bow is going to be much better but you will need to dump a lot of points in both power draw and horse archery in that case. For those that choose not to be dedicated horse archers a light crossbow is okay as a backup. It is better than a thrown weapon in my opinion since you don't need to even spend the few points in power throw and get more shots but it does require two slots.

With enough proficiency, some points in horse archery, and practice you can still sometimes one shot enemies with head shots even with a light crossbow on horseback. The firing arc for crossbows is also less convenient compared to a bow but you can work around that. I have taken down thousands of enemies with a crossbow from horseback myself.

[kaiyl_kariashi]

Honestly, horse archery is actually kind of useless.

I've never seen a big reason to put more then 4 points in it, and even then I could probably make due with 2....just makes the very early game a little bit easier. But if ranged is your main mode of attack you'll eventually get in the 200+ skill ranges and at those levels HA just doesn't make much difference at all. 250+ you can be at a near full gallop with almost no reticule drift even with no HA. I actually find Weapon Master to be more effective in the long run for horse archery, since you can reach those 200+ numbers MUCH more quickly and it does double duty by making it easier to train up any weapon, where as points spent in HA are largely wasted after the early game.

[Sohei]

I fought my first few groups of sea raiders when I first started playing the game using a hunting bow from a cheap horse. It worked. At a slow trot you can aim behind and get shots on their exposed parts such as legs or heads from close range even with no proficienccy to speak of. It was a fresh character just a few days in to the game. A handful of recruits camped on a hill while I led the sea raiders in circles until I ran out of arrows then helped me mop up the few that were left standing. I am not a particularly skilled player so if I can do it I think just about anybody can. Just try to aim around the shields or wait for them to drop them as they get close. Take a shot and trot away before they can swing at you.

Later on with better skill and equipment I used the same tactic against all sorts of armies. It is the age old circling horse archer bit, but slowed down to a slow trot once they use up their own missile weapons. The slow speed minimizes the accuracy penalty. I now prefer to use a crossbow instead just to save points but either one can be effective at harrassing the enemy until they take serious losses and the survivors are easier to handle. High skills and proficencies do make it much more effective but even a starting character with junk gear can do a bit of damage.