My 66 dam. siege crossbow only hurts for some 26 even on close and medium range?

[satayagraha]

The title just about says it.

In this game I tend to prefer the regular bows, as they are faster and I am better at aiming with them for some reason.

But in this playthrough I decided for a challenge in that regard. So I went all Rhodok and all crossbow. (I love my sharpshooters - they are awesome.) But still, after many hours of practice, I can't get my own rather powerfull siege crossbow to make even half as much damage as I could a strong plain bow. Also, it seems that those companions whom I have equipped with crossbows (I have set their stats so as to suit crossbow archery in order to test it) don't make quite as many kills as they did with plain bows.

And I have tested it in many different settings against many different enemies, and in field battle and in sieges and everything. The aiming part on my own behalf do get better as I practice, so hitting is no longer an issue. It's the damage part that is perplexing me.

Is it normal, or am I doing something wrong?

[Ultra Smurf]

The Bow has the extra skill slot dedicated to it providing a extra 7% damage per level, the crossbow has only proficiency. Proficiency does'nt raise damage by that much, its more for speed so your total damage wont really go behond 66, their armor also plays a factor in total damage. Thats why the early hunting crossbow is so effective against the un-armored looters, the only way sharpshooters gain lots of kills is the constant barrage they give off.

[kaiyl_kariashi]

That does seem a bit odd.

It takes a huge amount of power draw to get bows anywhere near Heavy and Seige crossbow numbers. The best bow is 25 damage unmoded. The best Xbow is 63 unmodded. 10 PD only gets you up to 59-ish (but due to the way PD works, you actually MUST have a strong or Masterwork in order to benefit from higher then 8 PD.

Assuming best case scenerio, a Masterwork Seige Crossbow with steel bolts will deal 69 base damage, while a Masterwork War-bow with 10 PD and +3 ammo will deal ~78. Before armor, but since they're both peircing, they have the same armor reduction and should be dealling consistent damage numbers. At the highest possible levels, bows should be dealling a little bit more, but it takes A LOT of levels to get there.

30 str, 10 PD, modifier bow to equal a siege crossbow that merely needs 10 str to use.

And if anything, the Crossbows should be dealing more damage overall, since unlike bows, crossbows (excluding hunting/light) can by-pass shields.

Bows can fire faster which might account for the apparent discrepencies in kills, but they're much more of an investement to get to those numbers in the first place, and are actually pretty badly stymied by shield-walls.

On the other hand, Crossbows just need a tiny bit of minimum str and you can spend the rest of your skills/stats where ever you please. (which is largely why Rhodok sharpshooters are basically tier 3 infantry when forced into melee)

[Ultra Smurf]

Would momentum play a factor on the total damage?

It applies for both melee and throwing attacks, so would the enemy walking directly into the flight path of the missile take extra damage?

[satayagraha]

Just some examples: Hitting an armored war horse with the siege crossbow only deals 30 dam. at best, whereas making the same hit with a strong war bow deals out 55+ dam., usually 65+. / In sieges, when I stand below and fire at the defenders (that hardly move at all) at the wall from a medium distance, the siege crossbow also deal out very little dage. I have to make a confirmed head shot just to get it beyond 45.

And to get just that, so as to test the whole thing, I had to max my stats by way of cheating. Obviously I got enough strength to use the hardest crossbow available, and my specific crossbow skill is 504.

[satayagraha]

And thanks for replying everyone : )