Talk:Black Bow of Pharis/@comment-68.96.115.101-20131217144940/@comment-6003396-20131219103505

You may know this already, but crossbows cannot be manually aimed, at least in the traditional sense as one aims with bows. If you use the Binoculars, it's possible to aim with a crossbow, although there are no cross hairs while using them so readjustment is often necessary. This is the biggest difference in gameplay between the two. Unless you're sitting back in relative safety, crossbows would be best used in conjunction with locking on at a shorter range. Crossbows are also generally a bit heavier than bows, so if you use light armor and want to stay mobile this may get in the way. Damage wise, crossbows tend to have higher base damage but have no scaling whatsoever. So if you have many points in dexterity, you are going to inflict more damage with bows. I'm honestly not sure about the Avelyn, though, if all bolts hit, you might very well inflict higher damage with it.

If you are already satisfied with bows, I would stick with the Black Bow of Pharis but trying out crossbows for yourself won't hurt either.