Crossbow

BioShock
The Crossbow is the final ranged weapon obtained in BioShock. It is located in Fort Frolic. It fires single bolts with high damage that are effective at any range. Bolts that are fired sometimes do not break on impact, allowing them to be recovered and reused. Its main weaknesses are a slow rate of fire and reload time. The damage can be increased and the chance that a bolt will break can be reduced with upgrades at a Power to the People station, making the Crossbow an efficient weapon with nearly limitless ammo. Head shots with the Crossbow will inflict 1000% damage against Splicers. Especially with the aid of the weapon's zoom function, head shots will kill all Splicers in one hit.

Power to the People Upgrades

 * Bolt Breakage Decrease
 * 25% Damage Increase

Ammunition Types - Crossbow

 * Steel-tip Bolts - standard ammunition for the Crossbow, inflict a very high amount of (piercing) damage.
 * Incendiary Bolts - rare ammunition for the Crossbow, inflict a very high amount of (fire) damage and ignite the target.
 * Trap Bolts - inventable ammunition for the Crossbow, inflict a moderate amount of (piercing) damage upon impact and a very high amount of (electrical) damage when set off, as well as electrify the target. Can be deployed onto the scenery, where it will shock the first enemy or object that trips its wire.

Strategy
The Crossbow is, obviously, the best long-range weapon in the game. However, is it also one of the most powerful single-shot weapons in the game, along with the Grenade Launcher. This means that if the player is getting harassed by a tough Splicer, shooting them with a Bolt without zooming is a viable option, although slightly inefficient due to the rarity of Crossbow ammo.

A single headshot from the Crossbow, even with a simple Steel-tip Bolt, is enough to kill even the toughest of Splicers on any difficulty setting. As such, always try to headshot when possible. If the player possesses sufficient twitch-aim capabilities, they may even attempt to headshot an enemy in the middle of combat.

To headshot effectively (or otherwise shoot enemies from long ranges), aim slightly ahead of the enemy if they're mobile, as Bolts take a certain amount of time to travel. The farther the enemy, the farther ahead the player must aim. It is also recommended to study the enemy's movement patters, so as to know when they move, stop, and where they go to.

Incendiary Bolts are recommended if the player is not very good at headshotting, or when fighting a Big Daddy. This is because, in addition to dealing more damage, it sets the enemy on fire, eventually killing them.

There is a glitch which enables the player to greatly increase the Crossbow's rate of fire. After firing a bolt, switching to Plasmids and then back to the Crossbow will skip the reloading animation, supplying the weapon with ammunition instantly.

After firing a Bolt at an enemy, the player can use Telekinesis to pull it back out and fire it back again with a minimal cost in EVE as well as virtually no reload time.

Incendiary Bolts and Trap Bolts have the same effects on the environment as the Plasmids they share their elemental abilities with. So, for example, Incendiary Bolts can set oil slicks on fire and Trap Bolts can electrify water if correctly deployed. However, this is a rather costly and inefficient strategy, as Crossbow ammunition is very rare while the same effects can be acheived using cheaper forms of ammunition (such as the Chemical Thrower) or Plasmids.

Trap Bolts are a very versatile form of ammunition, and have several uses. Here is the list:


 * They can be used as defensive traps. While an apparently obvious fact, there are many ways to set a trap. One can simply deploy a Trap Bolt in a passage. Or, if faced against tougher Splicers, one may place one on a low cieling under a Cyclone Trap. If the player is feeling more strategic, they may deploy a Trap Bolt in the way of a hotspot (An unhacked Health Station or a body of water if the player is setting Splicers on fire. Hacked Health Stations already poison enemies who try to heal there, so placing a Trap Bolt there would be redundant.).


 * A costly but entertaining strategy involves laying several Trap Bolts in a passage, and provoking a Bouncer into charging through. Usually six or seven Bolts are necessary to kill a Bouncer instantly.


 * Trap Bolts can be fired directly at an enemy for minor damage. Firing the other end of the bolt will deploy it and instantly electrocute the enemy. The player can use this to their advantage: for example, hitting a Splicer with one end of the Bolt and hitting another Splicer with the other end will electrocute both enemies. This is not only very entertaining, but is also a very efficient strategy as the player will literally kill two birds with one stone.

Note: Trap Bolts can only be recovered if shot at a door that can open. Both friendly and enemy Trap Bolts can be moved using Telekinesis.

Trap Bolts, even friendly, will damage the player upon contact. There are several ways to avoid this. Either the player equips Electric Flesh 2, which will make them immune to all electrical damage, either they reposition the Bolt using Telekinesis so that it won't hinder the player, either they use Telekinesis to make a corpse come into contact with the wire, setting it off; either they lure an enemy into the wire.

Bolts deal a high amount of kinetic force upon impact, and can thus be used in conjunction with Winter Blast to shatter any enemy instantly. However, this is a costly strategy, as not only will the player be unable to loot the enemy but it is also possible to shatter the enemy in one shot using cheaper ammunition, or even the Wrench.

Recommended Tonics

 * Natural Camouflage will make it easier for the player to line up a headshot, as they won't be attacked while standing still unless an enemy bumps into them.


 * The Damage Research line of tonics will significantly increase damage against enemies researched using the Research Camera. However, this is only useful for this weapon if the player isn't good at headshotting.


 * The Human Inferno line of tonics, in addition to making the player resistant to fire damage, will significantly increase damage dealt by Incendiary Bolts.


 * The Electric Flesh line of tonics, in addition to making the player resistant and even immune to electrical damage, will significantly increase damage dealt by Trap Bolts.

BioShock 2 Multiplayer
The Crossbow returns as a usable weapon in multiplayer.

Trivia

 * Prior to adding any upgrades, the logo of Le Marquis D'Epoque can be seen on the top of the Crossbow
 * The Crossbow is BioShock's equivalent to the sniper rifle common with most first-person shooters. The idea of a crossbow may also have been inspired from the popular Half-Life series, which also features a crossbow as a long-range weapon.

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