User blog:Deadpool of the Wastes/A Word on Crossbows.

Around September-ish, I remember reading two or three Skyrim previews in magazines like PC Gamer (I think) and one or two 360 publications, which were all pretty much identical as the writers had only the same press releases, trailers and screenshots upon which to base their piece. But they all said that arrows in Skyrim would be considered a 'rarity'. I remember that word distinctly. The articles are probably still available online. Yet as I open the game and look at my inventory and see many, many arrows of most types, I don't know whether a paucity of arrows throughout Skyrim would have had a pos/neg bearing on gameplay - certainly, it would have meant that my approach to combat or hunting scenarios would require more planning and thought, and I guess there have been situations in my playthroughs that I'd simply have avoided (my Dragonborn is usually an Archer, primarily), and I'd have missed out on some great experiences and levelling opportunites. Necessity would have forced an improvement in my aim!

The news that Bethesda may well be including crossbows in a DLC or add-on interested me and raised many questions, mostly connected to the real-world mechanics of crossbows. The news may turn out to be false, but nevertheless, here are some points to consider:

So how do you feel about the inclusion of crossbows to Skyrim, if indeed it happens? Will it add much to the experience? Will they be realistic? Impractical or otherwise? Will their use carry its own perks, or even a new skill tree? Will Beth attempt to simplify things by having them fire conventional arrows? Will we begin to see them carried by Hunters, Town Guards etc?
 * It's no secret that crossbows do NOT fire arrows - they fire bolts, or quarrels. Players of Morrowind will already know this. The only thing bolts have in common with arrows is that they're pointy, and kept in a quiver! They're shorter, thicker, heavier (often completely metallic) and have no fletchings (feathers), although they do sometimes have stabilising fins. So would the inclusion of crossbows in the game mean that bolts began to appear in merchants' inventories and containers throughout Skyrim? Will they be considered 'rarities'? Would they have weight?
 * It is often said that crossbows are impractical for sustained combat use (i.e for anything other than one-shot assassinations) due to their slow reload time. This is, in part, a myth. Yes, many heavier crossbow types, such as the Arbalest style, require a higher draw strength (crossbows in general require a heavier draw strength than long bows, as they are smaller overall), and so are made with a specially designed tool or mechanism for reloading. This may take the form of a Cranequin (rack & pinion) or windlass, and can effectively almost double the weight carried by the shooter. However, some lighter crossbows feature an integrated push or pull lever, which both simplifies and hastens the reloading process, and facilitates use of the crossbow continuously whilst 'on the move'.
 * Further to the above, the crossbow's frustratingly slow rate of fire is another part-truth. The pump-action, repeating crossbow featured in the movie Van Helsing isn't as far-fetched as you might think. Examples of the Chinese Cho-ko-nu style of crossbow have been excavated which date back hundreds of years before Christ was around. The Cho-ko-nu was an ingenious lever-action design fed from a top-mounted, gravity-feed box magazine, and had an achievable rate of fire of 10 bolts per 15 seconds. By my maths, that's a 'cyclic' rate of fire of 40 BOLTS PER MINUTE! This compares favourably to modern bolt-action rifles, and improves on the usual 6:10 crossbow:long bow r.o.f ratio. I guess it'd make taking down your average Dragon a doddle...

Deadpool of the Wastes (talk) 00:15, April 30, 2012 (UTC)