Bows or Crossbows

[Princosse]

Do these have pros and cons or is one of them considered the superior option? From my own trying i feel like i hit my target with more ease using a bow, but maybe it's just subjective i wanted to know, because both are affected with the same perks and all so i find it hard to make a choice.

[yogisgoat]

Everything is a trade-off. The crossbow is a little easier for most people to aim and it hits harder than the other bows but it's also noisier and it takes longer to nock a bolt than an arrow.

[wubbelflup]

crossbow.
you need cover or get easily sniped.
long range.
very slow fire rate.
garbage in close combat or medium range.

longbow.
medium speed.
long range, but harder to aim
garbage in close range. decent in medium.

horsebow.
short range.
fast.
little lighter.
good in close range. garbage in medium or long.

[JPSGT40]

+ crossbow: you can aim it forever and not get tired and have to let off your draw like a bow.
+ crossbow: has a scope with zoom and 3-pin.
+ crossbow: the bolts shoot much faster than any bow and go so fast they are barely affected by cross-wind.
+ crossbow: more deadly than even the 70lb bow even with the Pumping Iron perk.

- crossbow: forget about getting a good follow-up shot because it take too long to re-load.
- crossbow: might have a SLIGHTLY larger "spook radius" than the bows, but it's not worth worrying about.

[TangOscar]

Crossbow is a DLC, you need to buy, but it isn't much affected by bow skills. If have to do a mission with a bow, but don't want to invest skillpoint, to be sucessfull, then crossbow is an option.

[Throttle Kitty]

Crossbow is WAY easier to jump too from guns, better range, no exhaustion, etc
They pair very nice with stands. All around a very good way to hunt.
I hate the scope **shrug**

Bows can be one of the best things in the game if you get good with em
You basically need to be a super patient stalker to get the best from them

[Humpenstilzchen]

Depends. Bow is faster and lighter but the crossbow allows you to aim infinitely as well as lay on the ground without having that perk which you need to shoot from prone with the bow and it has a lot more power and I mean much much more power.

Just look at these two pictures and see what it does to charging wisents, I find that quite impressive.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2158499743
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2158499554
I have tons of experience with the compound bows in the game and countless harvests with it and I have to say the crossbow is just insane in terms of power compared to the bow.

But it has drawbacks. It´s huge and blocks a lot of your view, it´s heavy and reloading takes more time than with a bow, but it is still possible to deal with charging wiesents or Bisons if you use sidesteps, so they don´t hit you.

[Humpenstilzchen]

Originally posted by wubbelflup 077:

crossbow.
you need cover or get easily sniped.

Do animals shoot back in your game?

[Sparky862]

Originally posted by Humpenstilzchen:

Originally posted by wubbelflup 077:

crossbow.
you need cover or get easily sniped.

Do animals shoot back in your game?

[Cederic]

Crossbows are heavy and slow, but are better for longer range shots.
The recurve and longbows are easier to aim at 50m or so and have perfectly capable stopping power; with them it's all about the aim.
The compound bows are quiet, quick to aim and with the new rangefinder bow scope easy to get vitals with between 20-80m.

Comically I find all three harder to use in-game than in RL. At 40m with a sight on a compound bow in real life I'm choosing which eyeball to hit, not trying to score a lung shot.

Ultimately the crossbows are viable but I've discarded them now. The recurve and longbow need a lot of practice but offer rewarding hunting once you've reached a level of expertise. For general use I'd recommend the compound bows; one of those is almost always with me, for silent takedown of any animal with rating appropriate ammo.

That includes taking the 60 or 65lb compound rather than the 70lb one, to save that half a pound in inventory weight. These bows use the same arrows, the only difference in trajectory and possibly wind. The arrows themselves may not instakill unless you get the heart, but they'll bleed out anything you shoot even with a fleshwound.

So no need to buy DLC to enjoy bow hunting, but the perks are definitely worth the investment.