Overview

The crossbow is one of the ranged weapons available for the player. It is able to fire both stone and bolts with the highest projectile speed and damage, as well as having the highest projectile falloff range. Its only disadvantage is how long it takes to reload after firing (3 seconds). It tends to be the prime choice for taking out the Volcadon by less experienced players who aren't yet used to (or aware of) the slingshot.

General Combat Tips

• When in combat with any weapon, make sure that you have shiftlock enabled. This gives you more control over your weapon and makes it easier for you to hit your enemy, avoiding the need to constantly readjust your camera as you turn. Do not use first person either as you'll be unable to see what's around you.
• When in combat with a sword, keep in mind that its (large) damaging hitbox does damage on touch to any body part. This means you want to spam your lunge attack at all times in combat while moving your mouse left and right so as to 'cut' through the enemy's body hitbox, ensuring you are hitting the maximum amount of parts possible as the sword goes through. For more tips on this, look into generic swordfighting combat.
• When using a spear, keep in mind that the thrusting animation does not hit your enemy if they are too close to you - this is due to the very small hitbox on the tip. The spear is best used when chasing someone for the longer range or when trying to ward someone off as they chase you, forcing them to relinquish distance so they aren't poked to death while you walk backwards.
• When using ranged weapons in combat, don't. Lag and constant strafing/jumping make it almost impossible for any shot to hit unless you are quite literally breathing down the neck of your enemy, in which case you should be using a melee weapon. Ranged weapons also slow you down when reloading and also while you aim, giving the person distance to run away from you and disengage or to get closer to you as you hopelessly try to hit them.
• Using armor is paramount to your success, as well as shields, together. Never use one or the other separately, as their defense/DR bonuses need to stack to be able to give any meaningful protection. Even Volcadon armor or shield, when worn separately, aren't powerful enough to protect you effectively from someone using a full copper set plus weapons.
• Hiding your armor and shield is a good strategy to test the character of any given person, or just to get them by surprise when they aren't looking because of the 'noob' impression.
• Experienced players will often retreat when they are in a losing fight. It is up to your discretion whether it is worth it to chase or to ambush them somewhere else where you have the advantage. Inspect your surroundings - are there boats they can use to escape, catapults, other enemies, etc.? Look around and pay attention before making a decision.
• In regards to ambushes, it is always best to have the advantage before entering combat. If you must attack someone who is always surrounded by friends and/or takes care not to leave their backs open for attack, lie in wait until an opportunity arises and engage in combat when they least expect it. Such tactics will almost always end up with the person panicking, and if not, with a severe health point disadvantage which you can then exploit in order to win the duel.
• Never go straight up to an experienced player, full armor and weapons in view, expecting to win any fight. They will be prepared to do all it takes to force either a tie, a very close win/loss or retreat, none of which are good for you especially when they have allies around.

Strategy

The crossbow is pretty straightforward as far as weapons go in the game: point at what you want to damage, try to predict where your enemy will go, then shoot. However, to ensure you're always hitting every shot, there are a few things you should consider when using this weapon.

• As simple as it is to use, it is not that simple to wield effectively. Compared to the slingshot or bow, projectiles shot by the crossbow are way faster and go farther, but there is still some level of prediction involved in hitting your target. Try practicing with deer or other animals to get a feel for the projectile arc and how the speed affects its trajectory.
• Like mentioned in the general tips, do not try to use the crossbow for combat. It is next to impossible to reliably hit anyone that's not extremely close to you with it, as they will jump and strafe in all directions once they spot you trying to aim at them. Moreover, stopping to aim means your enemy can retreat and gain distance, or close in on you if you are being chased.
• The crossbow's reload animation lasts 3 seconds and slows you down. Keep this in mind when fighting the Volcadon in the open, as you will be stuck and open to receiving a fireball to your face. This is also another reason why you should not use it in combat, as the downtime is way too long even if you somehow manage to hit your shots against an enemy.
• Using stone with a crossbow is pointless, as the slingshot deals more damage than all crossbow tiers with exception of mithril. Make sure to only use bolts if you wish to use a crossbow, only keeping stones if you absolutely cannot find more iron as backup.
• Keep in mind that the crossbow's bolts are rather expensive (when considering time spent to create). While iron is not hard to find, gathering up enough ammo for anything will take a ton of your time, likely slowing you down depending on what you intend to do with the crossbow. Farming the Volcadon, for example, will be harder if your aim is not true as it will mean even more time wasted getting iron for ammunition.
• Location of resource nodes is also something to consider when getting ammunition. Not every server spawns with a lot of iron locations, and when they do, they may be very far away from each other. Take that into account when deciding whether to use the crossbow instead of a slingshot.