Bow or Crossbow for PC?

[anoddhermit]

Wondering which is stronger for a PC, or more specifically, how much strength/power draw would I need to invest in to make a bow a better choice?


Right now a hunting crossbow with steel bolts does a lot more damage than a bow, and is still usable on horseback. Of course it's slower, but is also easier to use/aim with.

With them doing cutting instead of piercing I'm wondering if it's worth going the bow route, or if I'll just end up being useless once I start facing more heavily armored enemies(started with no allegiance so just dealing with outlaws currently).

And since I'm new to this mod, any general suggestions are welcome too, coming from mainly playing Floris.

 

[sifis172]

Crossbows may give you a small advantage in the beginnigng, but after the that it's only
the bow that counts.After you hit 3 to 5 proficiency with the bow you'll be able to take down
even armored opponents.And with 150 you hit way faster than crossbows.
The only drawback is that crossbows weren't used by knights so i prefer tha crossbows.

 

[anoddhermit]

Crossbows may give you a small advantage in the beginnigng, but after the that it's only
the bow that counts.After you hit 3 to 5 proficiency with the bow you'll be able to take down
even armored opponents.And with 150 you hit way faster than crossbows.
The only drawback is that crossbows weren't used by knights so i prefer tha crossbows.

Proficiency?

There's power draw, then weapon skill, is proficiency a 1257 specific thing?

Glad to hear the bow is good though, already dropped points in power draw and was hoping it wasn't a waste.

 

[sifis172]

Proficiency?

There's power draw, then weapon skill, is proficiency a 1257 specific thing?

Glad to hear the bow is good though, already dropped points in power draw and was hoping it wasn't a waste

Yes i meant power draw

 

[anoddhermit]

Proficiency?

There's power draw, then weapon skill, is proficiency a 1257 specific thing?

Glad to hear the bow is good though, already dropped points in power draw and was hoping it wasn't a waste

Yes i meant power draw

Ah no worries.

I have a new question though: are there any mercenaries with blunt weapons so I can start knocking out outlaws to sell as prisoners? I took prisoner management but I have to knock everything out myself currently. And if so where do I find them?

Or, is there somewhere I can view troop trees?

 

[zig_zac]

I've always played Horse Archer, so maybe I'm biased, but as far as I know, bow is the way to go. It's OP as hell generally, and then some in this mod.
No, you won't face problems with heavily armored troops. You will kill them with one shot. In this mod you will break most of shields with one shot, and kill horses, too.
You will reach the point, where more damage is a waste, and all what matters is a rate of fire.

You can do some pretty heroic stuff with just a little of practice. In native I killed 100+ Sea Riders single handedly, lv 27 or something about that, and then did it again. In this mod I just didn't encounter so many bandits at once, but once I killed 70 Piratae.  Not because I'm good, but because if you ride around them they can't take good aim at you, and always shoot at the point you've just left. And than they are out of ammo and helpless like a bunch of babies.

Better - when you defend a castle in this mod you are never out of ammo. This means high rate of fire is important and good, and bows are the way to go.

Theoretically attacking settlement is harder, because you will run out of arrows, but: quivers are bigger, and you can collect arrows from the ground.
In some castles in this mod you must destroy gate to enter, and defenders can't rush out before you do that. It is possible to kill every single defender with a bow there. In other places just around 200, before they rush out.

Yes, that you can do this with a crossbow, but it would take at least twice the time.

The drawback is you must invest. Once you start investing in PD go for maximum. Horse Archery of 7 is for sure enough, good riding also is needed to stay out of trouble. Many points, but it's worth it.
Also, more powerful bows are harder to aim. But: skill rises with hits, and you will shoot more often with bow = more skill. Also, that means you should go for Masterwork versions of less powerful bows, which isn't any news, BTW.

And you will earn XP like Wall Street banker, so soon you will regret you can't put any more points in PD, and must spend it on stupid PS you almost never use, or surgery, or something.

Just go Archers' way bravely, don't regret any invested point. Your Kingdom awaits you in the end of the road.