Crossbows, in every game they make an appearance in, provide simple and powerful ranged options for players in combat. Dark Souls 2 does this weapon type great justice in that they are better to use in many scenarios than their regular bow counterparts. Even the mighty greatbows pale in comparison to the utility of a nice crossbow in most circumstances.
Although crossbows take about the same time to fire as normal bows, they let their bolts fly first and have a reload delay as opposed to the longer aiming time of a bow with less spent on reloading. However, crossbows usually do much better physical damage, and most crucially, can be wielded in a single hand. Players can even equip a crossbow in both hands to power stance them and fire 2 bolts at once.
There are 6 of these mighty armaments in Dark Souls 2, and each possesses a slightly different tactic in taking down foes. Some are clearly more effective than others for their ability to decimate the health bars of common fiends and bosses alike due to better stats or unique effects.
6 Light Crossbow
This is likely the first crossbow that the player will interact with, as it is found pretty early on in the Forest of Fallen Giants upon a dead body. As the most basic of all the crossbows, it is understandably the weakest in most regards. No matter which upgrade path one takes, the Light Crossbow will always pale in comparison to others in this weapon class.
However, that does not mean that the Light Crossbow is a poor choice of weapon. Up until the point where the Bearer of the Curse finds the Heavy Crossbow, this will be a solid sidearm for ranged physical damage. Lacking any kind of physical stat-related scaling, the best choice is to give this crossbow an elemental or Raw infusion; the latter results in 275 physical attack at +10.
5 Shield Crossbow
Acquired by trading the Executioner’s Chariot Soul with Straid of Olaphis, this boss weapon provides both a novel defense and some decent ranged damage. As the Bearer of the Curse holds down the light attack button to fire, the shield will be raised, capable of blocking like other shields.
It has rather low stability for a medium or large shield, at only 30, which makes it quite stamina-thirsty, so be sure to slip on the Cloranthy Ring as well as other stamina-aiding gear if one intends to use this hybrid weapon. The Shield Crossbow, as with all crossbows in DS2, doesn’t have scaling unless it is infused. Adding elemental damage can be a fine strategy if one has the stats to go along with whatever scaling path is chosen. However, this unique crossbow is a great candidate for a Raw infusion, as it attains 308 physical attack at the maximum +5 upgrade; a bit higher than the 290 physical attack at the +5 Regular upgrade.
4 Sanctum Crossbow
Dropped by sanctum knights in the Crown of the Sunken King DLC, this crossbow fires a single, powerful bolt on most occasions, however, when two-handed, its strong attack unleashes a spell identical to the Dark Orb hex. This crossbow can be used as either a simple alternative for hexes and dark damage or a regular crossbow, depending on what the player needs.
Raw infusion would grant the Sanctum Crossbow 242 physical attack at +10 while the Dark infusion gets 154 physical and 65 dark attack, however, its Dark Orb special move gets a nice boost in damage. Having two kinds of attacks in any given situation makes this versatile weapon a great choice as a sidearm.
3 Sanctum Repeating Crossbow
Rapidly firing crossbows are relatively common in the Dark Souls games due to the developers at FromSoftware being huge fans of the same kinds of weapons found in the vastly influential Berserk manga and anime. There are quite a few references to the popular dark fantasy series, however, crossbows are the most obvious for many.
The Sanctum Repeating Crossbow, dropped by sanctum knights in the Crown of the Sunken King DLC, can launch 3 bolts in rapid succession; each is relatively weak, however, if all connect with the target they will do a fair bit more damage than many other crossbows per shot. Raw infusion is not a bad upgrade path that leads to 110 physical attack at +10 (330, if you combine the attack of the 3 separate bolts). Dark infusion is also a decent choice, as when two-handed, this crossbow can fire deep purplish bolts with the strong attack that deal dark damage.
2 Heavy Crossbow
With the highest guaranteed single-shot damage out of any crossbow in the game, the Heavy Crossbow is rightfully many people’s choice when it comes to one-handed ranged weapons. With the same firing speed as other crossbows, with comparable range, the bolts that one will loose with this beast of a weapon will both pierce and potentially stagger enemies.
Like with all crossbows, if one is not after elemental damage, choose the Raw infusion for this armament. At the max upgrade of +10, the Heavy Crossbow obtains a substantial 319 physical attack. This weapon is also pretty easy to find; here are the ways that the player can pick up this crossbow:
- Dropped from hollow royal swordsmen in The Lost Bastile & Sinner’s Rise
- Purchased from Weaponsmith Ornifex for 4000 souls
- A +3 version can be found in a chest at Earthen Peak
- A +5 version is dropped by the NPC invader Roy the Explorer in the Grave of Saints
1 Avelyn
Without a doubt, the deadliest crossbow in Dark Souls 2 is Avelyn. It was created by a merchant from a place called Volgen after he had read of it in an old book. The ornate design grants it an elegant aesthetic, however, this is a devastating tool for battle, not a showpiece.
Avelyn fires 3 bolts in rapid succession, just like the Sanctum Repeating Crossbow, though it does significantly more damage per bolt. When given a Raw infusion and upgraded to +10, it receives 187 physical attack for each of its 3 bolts, meaning that the combined physical attack of the optimal assault is a colossal 561. Easily allowing Avelyn to deal the most physical damage out of all crossbows in the game.
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