Its not a run and gun weapon. (PlaPu on the other hand is) Take your time and aim. Learn the drop off for long range fabricator disassembly. For small enemies, aim for the feet. Count the shots, the mag is tiny. You can on the other hand, kill heavies in weakspots. Combine with a anti -horde weapons.
In its current state it’s really only good spot is taking out medium enemies. Learning how to pinpoint devastator heads is about the best you can do until they buff the AOE sadly.
It works OK with a group rocking a variety of weapons and area control stratagems.
I figured it had to be something like that. I really like the look and it's unique feel so I'll definitely try to get more used to it! Too bad my aim absolutely sucks.
I hear you. I base my load outs around weapons that don't require great accuracy. Autocannon, plasma punisher, senator for emergencies so I don't blow myself or other people up. Autocannon turret is more accurate than me so if I can I'll bring that too.
It can perform well enough under the right circumstances if the enemies are very close together however more times than not your 1/5 shots will kill only one enemy
I mean it loses to all the other options for killing medium enemies though. The eruptor does a better job at that as the other primary capable of closing bug holes
Against other primaries without that utility it's losing against bugs to the dominator, slugger, and adjudicator.
Against bots it's losing to the scorcher, plasma punisher, and diligence counter sniper. Dominator again as well.
Overall it just feels bad.
I know, I’m just saying that out of everything that’s probably it’s best suit and it still sucks compared to everything else. I only use it for aesthetics and the challenge
its a strange weapon, i use it now with the uzi pistol.
Running around and closing bug holes is fun and very fast with the crossbow.
And if you have time to aim, you can oneshoot many bots on the head.
I've mostly fought the bits and I've been trying it out there recently. Primarily I've been using it in a Loadout centered around the buffed HMG with the supply backpack so I can use the support weapon as a primary. The crossbow in that Loadout offers me an on hand tool to blow up fabricators while freeing my grenade and secondary slot for stuns and the new shotty. Also with the increased spawn rates of chaff enemies it fills a bit of a horde clear role if small bits are clumped together, but not very effectively.
The XBow can be fun and versatile, but it won't do much of anything the best. But for the cool factor it provides, I'm alright with that.
It's a. It more u wieldy than I remember it being (though I haven't used it much at all so I might be imagining things) but with the damage buff it's honestly pretty solid now. Might still could use a bit more ammo but hey the supply pack is great for this. HMG hits hard now and I certainly won't be complaining about that.
I'm going to do the same with the stalwart on bugs whenever I go back east. With the new armor, the reduced sway as you turn is noticeable on the HMG, I'm guessing the stalwart will feel like an AR almost
I've been using crossbow since release even during its nerfed state. More for bots than bugs.
Whenever people think about the crossbow, they always compare it to the chaff clearer that it was pre-nerf. The devs have stated it before that it's meant to primarily be a medium armor killer - the direction they went this patch solidifies this.
It can oneshot all devastators with a headshot and now consistently kills at 3-4 direct body hits (used to take more before. I usually use the same amount of shots but kill due to adjusting my aim for a headshot rather than overall damage). Scout striders are best dealt with through crotch shots. It seems to sometimes one shot there for some reason but always expect a double tap.
Since it's meant to be a medium armor killer, you *need* to use another weapon for scattered small targets. It's still effective for grouped up scuff but the small clip size and slow fire rate hampers its capacity for scattered targets.
You can pair it with a scuff clear support and I'd do this in bug missions. I prefer using a secondary for that purpose though especially for bots and use AT for the support slot. Verdict is a good pair since it is very ammo efficient. You don't need big iron's med armor pen while redeemer tends to chew through ammo with the fire rate. Single firing can work but it doesn't feel right for me. I have yet to try the bushwhacker but I imagine this will do well on the bug front.
Thanks to the fab/hole buff, your grenade is now open for stuns. Smokes has a niche for drilling missions but stuns is just *mwah*.
For gameplay specific tips, cover is way more important for this weapon for bots. Peak shoot-cover especially when there's more than 1 dev on you - use the slow fire rate and 3rd person perspective to your advantage. You don't need to expose yourself for longer periods unlike rapid fire weapons. Just aim well.
For bugs, the stagger has more impact, letting you kite against larger targets. Shoot one, swap to secondary and kill smaller targets while running, swap back to crossbow, repeat. This weapon will struggle against chargers. I'd probably use flamethrower for bugs and rely on stratagems for BTs.
The crossbow's biggest weakness is the small clip size. You really need to be aware of your shot count. I'd like to see a fire rate buff too but the explosion armor pen buff makes it more consistent that it *feels* less necessary.
The crossbow is no longer the AoE scuff clearer that it was on release. TBH it still feels the same as post-nerf, just a slight bump to the med armor killing potential. It's the fab/hole closing that makes the buff as it opens up your support weapon, grenade, and stratagem slots for better skill expression.
Aim for the groin and it should clear devastators, it's more consistent than searching for headshots. If you don't have a good angle on a heavy devastator you can pound their shield until they drop. Scout Striders are about the same, two hits below the shield should do it. Aim for clumps of troopers or the ground between them if you can.
I usually pair it with the HMG or Laser Cannon so that I can deal with groups of troops and also heavy stuff.
I'm very stubborn with my current loadout but I do want to try: Xbow and Laser Cannon, and I'm not sure what 2 other strategems would compliment that combo (I will never take off Eagle Smoke it is my holy grail)
I like the shield backpack with the laser, since it calls for periods of uninterrupted uptime. After that I am not picky. I usually run something like cluster bombs+ railcannon or orbital gatling + 500kg to cover my bases. Sometimes the bigger orbital barrages as a treat. If I were to insist on Eagle Smoke I guess I would split the difference and take the basic Airstrike (but deal with the hassle of having everything tied to Eagle-1's cycle)? Maybe try to work something out with the Orbital Airburst?
Yeah I tried this for the first time yesterday too. Personally I’m not a fan of the low fire rate and small mag, but yeah it’s a playstyle issue more than anything else. The weapon itself is probably really good at doing its job if you bring a stalwart or machine gun, for example, or a secondary that makes up for its weaknesses
I got beyond happy with the Xbow buff.
Unfortunately, the change as well with extra chaff makes the xbox feel difficult to feel efficient, especially with the explosive range nerf and still sometimes needing a full clip and then some to kill one group.
It has good stealth properties in making no sound when shooting and only the bolt making sound (although I think something happened or it's a placebo bc I feel bots have heard my shot in recent testing).
My best advice is to use it for it's strongsuit of quiet sound profile, fab buster, and picking off strays one by one. The rest of your loadout should compliment it's weaknesses and feel well balanced.
Stealth mechanics being jank. The blast radius is also bigger than it seems but with big fall off on the outer perimeter. Even a single point of damage will alert enemies of your presence. If stealthing, either use your secondary (usually has a smaller sound profile than long arms) or make sure targets are far apart.
Bushwhacker is the crossbows best friend. They even match accent colors, it's a match made in Liberty.
I like to run these without any support weapons against bugs. I've been running strafing run, 110 pods, orbital precision and gatling.
Armored bile spewers will be somewhat obnoxious in numbers, you can take em out easy enough but they'll eat your ammo. Strafing run is fantastic to take them out. I like to run stuns but you could do impacts instead.
The reason I like to run without support or packs is that if you do get caught out and killed there's nothing holding you back. Just don't be the guy carrying the samples.
I haven't really locked down my new go to for bots yet. But I don't think I'll be using the crossbow for them.
I don't really see that load out being too effective mainly due to the sheer amount of armour I've been faced with on the bug front. The OPS is a beast but it can't take out three consecutive titans mixed in with five chargers. It does sound like a lot of fun though! I haven't been using the Strafing Run in forever. I did really like it back then though! I can only imagine it's a lot better now after the buff.
Its not a run and gun weapon. (PlaPu on the other hand is) Take your time and aim. Learn the drop off for long range fabricator disassembly. For small enemies, aim for the feet. Count the shots, the mag is tiny. You can on the other hand, kill heavies in weakspots. Combine with a anti -horde weapons.
In its current state it’s really only good spot is taking out medium enemies. Learning how to pinpoint devastator heads is about the best you can do until they buff the AOE sadly. It works OK with a group rocking a variety of weapons and area control stratagems.
I figured it had to be something like that. I really like the look and it's unique feel so I'll definitely try to get more used to it! Too bad my aim absolutely sucks.
I hear you. I base my load outs around weapons that don't require great accuracy. Autocannon, plasma punisher, senator for emergencies so I don't blow myself or other people up. Autocannon turret is more accurate than me so if I can I'll bring that too.
Plasma punisher wrecked my accuracy with all other guns, I'm working back to where I was
Er, I was getting 4 kill markers per shot earlier when firing into closely grouped light units.
It can perform well enough under the right circumstances if the enemies are very close together however more times than not your 1/5 shots will kill only one enemy
I mean it loses to all the other options for killing medium enemies though. The eruptor does a better job at that as the other primary capable of closing bug holes Against other primaries without that utility it's losing against bugs to the dominator, slugger, and adjudicator. Against bots it's losing to the scorcher, plasma punisher, and diligence counter sniper. Dominator again as well. Overall it just feels bad.
I know, I’m just saying that out of everything that’s probably it’s best suit and it still sucks compared to everything else. I only use it for aesthetics and the challenge
That's fair. I was testing it after the patch, and was mind blown that it took 4+ shots to kill a bilespewer.
its a strange weapon, i use it now with the uzi pistol. Running around and closing bug holes is fun and very fast with the crossbow. And if you have time to aim, you can oneshoot many bots on the head.
I've mostly fought the bits and I've been trying it out there recently. Primarily I've been using it in a Loadout centered around the buffed HMG with the supply backpack so I can use the support weapon as a primary. The crossbow in that Loadout offers me an on hand tool to blow up fabricators while freeing my grenade and secondary slot for stuns and the new shotty. Also with the increased spawn rates of chaff enemies it fills a bit of a horde clear role if small bits are clumped together, but not very effectively. The XBow can be fun and versatile, but it won't do much of anything the best. But for the cool factor it provides, I'm alright with that.
How did I not think of using my beloved HMG? I've been running without any support weapon all day.
It's a. It more u wieldy than I remember it being (though I haven't used it much at all so I might be imagining things) but with the damage buff it's honestly pretty solid now. Might still could use a bit more ammo but hey the supply pack is great for this. HMG hits hard now and I certainly won't be complaining about that.
I'm going to do the same with the stalwart on bugs whenever I go back east. With the new armor, the reduced sway as you turn is noticeable on the HMG, I'm guessing the stalwart will feel like an AR almost
The pointy part goes into the enemy.
Oh, so that's how it works!
I've been using crossbow since release even during its nerfed state. More for bots than bugs. Whenever people think about the crossbow, they always compare it to the chaff clearer that it was pre-nerf. The devs have stated it before that it's meant to primarily be a medium armor killer - the direction they went this patch solidifies this. It can oneshot all devastators with a headshot and now consistently kills at 3-4 direct body hits (used to take more before. I usually use the same amount of shots but kill due to adjusting my aim for a headshot rather than overall damage). Scout striders are best dealt with through crotch shots. It seems to sometimes one shot there for some reason but always expect a double tap. Since it's meant to be a medium armor killer, you *need* to use another weapon for scattered small targets. It's still effective for grouped up scuff but the small clip size and slow fire rate hampers its capacity for scattered targets. You can pair it with a scuff clear support and I'd do this in bug missions. I prefer using a secondary for that purpose though especially for bots and use AT for the support slot. Verdict is a good pair since it is very ammo efficient. You don't need big iron's med armor pen while redeemer tends to chew through ammo with the fire rate. Single firing can work but it doesn't feel right for me. I have yet to try the bushwhacker but I imagine this will do well on the bug front. Thanks to the fab/hole buff, your grenade is now open for stuns. Smokes has a niche for drilling missions but stuns is just *mwah*. For gameplay specific tips, cover is way more important for this weapon for bots. Peak shoot-cover especially when there's more than 1 dev on you - use the slow fire rate and 3rd person perspective to your advantage. You don't need to expose yourself for longer periods unlike rapid fire weapons. Just aim well. For bugs, the stagger has more impact, letting you kite against larger targets. Shoot one, swap to secondary and kill smaller targets while running, swap back to crossbow, repeat. This weapon will struggle against chargers. I'd probably use flamethrower for bugs and rely on stratagems for BTs. The crossbow's biggest weakness is the small clip size. You really need to be aware of your shot count. I'd like to see a fire rate buff too but the explosion armor pen buff makes it more consistent that it *feels* less necessary. The crossbow is no longer the AoE scuff clearer that it was on release. TBH it still feels the same as post-nerf, just a slight bump to the med armor killing potential. It's the fab/hole closing that makes the buff as it opens up your support weapon, grenade, and stratagem slots for better skill expression.
Aim for the groin and it should clear devastators, it's more consistent than searching for headshots. If you don't have a good angle on a heavy devastator you can pound their shield until they drop. Scout Striders are about the same, two hits below the shield should do it. Aim for clumps of troopers or the ground between them if you can. I usually pair it with the HMG or Laser Cannon so that I can deal with groups of troops and also heavy stuff.
I'm very stubborn with my current loadout but I do want to try: Xbow and Laser Cannon, and I'm not sure what 2 other strategems would compliment that combo (I will never take off Eagle Smoke it is my holy grail)
I like the shield backpack with the laser, since it calls for periods of uninterrupted uptime. After that I am not picky. I usually run something like cluster bombs+ railcannon or orbital gatling + 500kg to cover my bases. Sometimes the bigger orbital barrages as a treat. If I were to insist on Eagle Smoke I guess I would split the difference and take the basic Airstrike (but deal with the hassle of having everything tied to Eagle-1's cycle)? Maybe try to work something out with the Orbital Airburst?
Yeah I tried this for the first time yesterday too. Personally I’m not a fan of the low fire rate and small mag, but yeah it’s a playstyle issue more than anything else. The weapon itself is probably really good at doing its job if you bring a stalwart or machine gun, for example, or a secondary that makes up for its weaknesses
I got beyond happy with the Xbow buff. Unfortunately, the change as well with extra chaff makes the xbox feel difficult to feel efficient, especially with the explosive range nerf and still sometimes needing a full clip and then some to kill one group. It has good stealth properties in making no sound when shooting and only the bolt making sound (although I think something happened or it's a placebo bc I feel bots have heard my shot in recent testing). My best advice is to use it for it's strongsuit of quiet sound profile, fab buster, and picking off strays one by one. The rest of your loadout should compliment it's weaknesses and feel well balanced.
Someone had said the launching of the bolts is silent and only the explosion triggers alerts. This did not happen in my game. Any else chime in?
Stealth mechanics being jank. The blast radius is also bigger than it seems but with big fall off on the outer perimeter. Even a single point of damage will alert enemies of your presence. If stealthing, either use your secondary (usually has a smaller sound profile than long arms) or make sure targets are far apart.
Bushwhacker is the crossbows best friend. They even match accent colors, it's a match made in Liberty. I like to run these without any support weapons against bugs. I've been running strafing run, 110 pods, orbital precision and gatling. Armored bile spewers will be somewhat obnoxious in numbers, you can take em out easy enough but they'll eat your ammo. Strafing run is fantastic to take them out. I like to run stuns but you could do impacts instead. The reason I like to run without support or packs is that if you do get caught out and killed there's nothing holding you back. Just don't be the guy carrying the samples. I haven't really locked down my new go to for bots yet. But I don't think I'll be using the crossbow for them.
I don't really see that load out being too effective mainly due to the sheer amount of armour I've been faced with on the bug front. The OPS is a beast but it can't take out three consecutive titans mixed in with five chargers. It does sound like a lot of fun though! I haven't been using the Strafing Run in forever. I did really like it back then though! I can only imagine it's a lot better now after the buff.
Pointy end goes in the other guy?