The analysis that I seem to recall was that their primary benefit came from treating them the way pirates (Yarrr!) used to handle handguns: carry a bunch of them. If your opponent is carrying two single-shot guns and a cutlass and a dirk, and you're carrying six single-shot guns and a cutlass and a dagger, odds are good you can get off more shots than your opponent(s).

Try carrying three (or more) loaded crossbows. Set up your macro keys to put away This one/get That one, put away That one/get the Other, put away the Other/get the Last, and so on. When you're done with one creature, you start with This one and load it, stow to get That one and load it, stow to get the Other and load it, stow and get the Last to load it.
(For me, this would probably be F9-F12. Plain key by itself is 'get'; Shift+F# is 'put'; Alt+F# is 'load'; Ctrl+F# is 'get specific type of bolt' [if I care, like in an Undead or fire-vulnerable area or whatnot].)

You didn't say what character class and race you are. Both make a difference. There are cmans out there that rogues have the use of that make crossbow hunting better for them than any other class. Also certain races get benefits from using crossbows. I know when ranged was first rolled in I used a heavy crossbow almost exclusively as a human ranger. I found it a lot of fun and I still break the bad boy out from time to time just for kicks.

General Radeek Andoran
Drakes Vanguard
Defender of Wehnimer's Landing
Black Raider of the Mir'Sheq




Only the dead have seen the end of war - Plato

Off the top of my head I can think of 2 very good cmans that rogues get that rangers do not. Weapon spec for bolts or arrows ( a potential +10 to AS right there) , and combat mobility..this is awesome for Crossbow users because it lets you stand up if you're kneeling to fire BEFORE the attack against you is calculated. There are probably a few more, but I didn't feel like digging that deep, sorry.

General Radeek Andoran
Drakes Vanguard
Defender of Wehnimer's Landing
Black Raider of the Mir'Sheq




Only the dead have seen the end of war - Plato

I use a crossbow as the main weapon for both my ranged characters, its a bit slower but the bonus to aiming is nice if you are a profession that can't 2x ambush or hide very well(I fired from the open on my bard). I found heavy crossbows too slow when it came to cocking and firing, light crossbows are what I use on both now its much faster and they still hit hard.

On my gnomish rogue I get a racial bonus to cocking rt, and use a light crossbow it has plenty of stopping power if I hit my target, especially as a small race archer its much better than using a composite or short bow for me at the moment, even if it is a second or two slower. The biggest challenge for me was getting enough stalk and hide bonus to stay hidden while cocking the crossbow, he's now 53 trains and has stealth mastery at 5 ranks, and staying hidden is not an issue on most like level foes.

For cmans stealth mastery is a must have, vanish is also really handy if you do fail a hiding check, and combat mobility is nice cause it auto stands you up if you get swung at while kneeling, and I have 2 ranks of divert for giggles.

The guild skills rogues have would likely make using the crossbow even better, but I haven't gotten far enough in rogue gambits to learn "stealth get" yet, which would allow him to stay hidden and collect bolts.

Archales & Gargamish

Is it rogue gambits that allow you to kneel and stand while hiding?

Also I'm curious about how switching to a composite bow will effect my sniping. With random crits, I'd imagine it would not differ from a longbow. Any info?

Also it really only works with a partner, if the partner is (or has been) a crossbow user. Thats the reason I dumped crossbow use, because I was always getting left behind in cock RT.