Yeah sensor bolts are less effective then using the holiday fireworks guns -_-. At least those provide a distraction. The explosive tips can be useful with a friend. You only need one other stalker buddy and some map knowledge of pilots to know where they will be landing and resupplying during alerts. Its better to use the explosive bolts to take out ESF or Max Units then actual armor though. 4 explosive crossbow bolts will outright kill an ESF. 2 shots for each infil is very easy to accomplish. I do use the laser to tighten hipfire cone of fire. Its important to know hipfire is decent on the crossbow at closer ranges. However the most accurate way to fire is from an aimed crouched, and stationary position. ADS movement is unkind and will really screw with your shots so getting into a habit of firing then moving quickly helps. If you absolutely have to move, crouch walk sideways for minimal disruption. Just remember your echo on the enemies screen is going to be crouched (hardly) moving when you opened.... this means it is possible for them to score easy hits against you, even if on your screen you have already taken cover. The past you (which they are seeing) is still crouched or in the process of getting up. Yet another reason not to fire at things looking directly at you when at your most vulnerable.
Good read! I've taken a liking to messing around with stalker cloak, and picked up the hunter just a few nights ago. I'l be putting this knowledge to good use against the NC and Vanu. Although, I do have one question. How much damage does the explosive bolt do to an infantry target?
I have always been under the assumption it is identical in damage. If there is any difference it would probably come down to the drop. I noticed when i was using it i kept getting leg shots until I adjusted my aim a bit. Also Flak. It is possible to knife combo with it... Yes splash hurts... but its still really funny to do. I wouldn't seriously run with explosive tips. The loss of that 4th shot in your magazine is just too much of a hit. Cert for explosive bolts if you feel like being trolly. When i first started messing around with explosive bolts I ran into problems confusing the drops. When you put the explosive tips on it becomes a totally new crossbow. This is great for having fun and keeping things fresh... but I would suggest using a different optic or something to remind yourself visually that your using explosive tips. Maybe even think of it as a different weapon in your own mind. I designated my golden crossbow and a yellow nipple sight (instead of red) to remind myself of the difference. You could easily do the same thing with a favorite camo + new optic or loadout. The visual distinction has helped me learn the drops on both setups and not confuse myself or develop bad habits with normal bolts. Another thing to consider is the optics you use. Before the scope update I used the HDS 3.4x (now only a TR scope) because it gave me a better view of enemies in the distance. However higher magnification scopes makes shots on mobile targets difficult closer up, since you have to move your mouse more in order to track them. That and the new 3.4x scopes are kinda crappy for the crossbow. LANS is aligned differently and point of reference gap shooting won't match the HDS. When someone uses the LANS imagine they are wearing high heels. Because they are higher up off the ground visually gap shooting will change. Point of references for drop distances will also change and the person would have to aim differently then using the other 3.4x scopes. While both LANS and the old HDS had a red dot, they are not interchangeable. The other new 3.4x scope has red chevrons. Daybreak did get this one correct and it was a perfect match. However the red chevrons can distract the user from what the target is doing... and makes it harder to anticipate and shoot down moving targets. (However the Chevrons can also be used as additional points of reference. Try it and see how you feel about it.) As my aim improved, and I started feeling more confident taking shots on moving LA's for example... I preferred using 2x reflex (nipple sights) for a couple reasons. The circle and the dot make gap shooting moving targets easier. The extra point of reference the circle provides can be useful when factoring in projectile delay. I like the red one best because the bottom half of the circular brackets can be used to visually "pinch" targets, and you know for certain any enemy between its prongs will be hit at a distance. This makes shooting enemies towards the end of the crossbows effective range (75m) easy and helps you visually define what is going to require 3 body shots instead of 2. You would think that a 2x reflex would make shots at 150 m more difficult, but its nice how q spot and using the Doritos can help you stay on target even when your aiming well above their bodies. Oh yes for someone learning crossbow drop, try using the purple cross sights. Once you have mastered that grab a nipple. The little colored orb attached to the bottom of your crossbow's scope / optics also can be used as a point of reference to help hit targets at a distance. Keep in mind your vision is still subject to zooming in and out based on the magnification of your scope. So you will need to learn the distance this marker represents based on your scope. Normally you would line up so the enemy is standing on the little stick with the orb when gap shooting at longer distances. It helps as a point of reference for quickly making these long range shots. For example if my enemy looks too fat to be standing on this little stick, I need to aim lower towards the center dot. If the enemy is super tiny on his little stick skyscraper well i should probably aim even higher up to compensate for the drop. It would probably look like his legs were part of the stick or the stick was trying to eat him You will find with the stupidly heavy explosive bolts... using this little stick and orb happens more frequently for making shots at more average distances. Without the explosive tips the orb is usually used for making shots around 150 + meters depending on your optics.
2 points i would make about the crossbow. 1 Killing people at terminals is a lot of easy kills. Almost always shoot 2 shots as fast as you can. Trees are your friend. Someone smart will still find you but usually youre best served just shooting everyone you see as long as no one is looking up at you, until you run out of ammo or die. ESF hunting with explosive bolts in towers is fun. Obviously you have to pick your times and know where people tend to land. You might do better in xp camping a terminal but blowing up fighters is fun.
After running around plenty tonight with my hunter, I feel like it could do well with a 2x headshot multiplier instead of a 1.5x multiplier. Although, that would be a bit powerful since its a one shot kill to the head within its closer damage distance. What do you think about the headshot multiplier potentially going up to 2x, Beaver?
If the crossbows headshot multiplier was increased to a 2x it would be unbalanced. Full disclosure I question the crossbows ability to even OHK other infils as being kinda dirty. However don't get the wrong idea.... I would be foolish to give up that kind of advantage. I headshot other infils too. For some reason the developers want infils (of all types) to be executed with one shot to the head via revolvers / NS sidearms. I don't understand the logic behind it, and I accept it as the price we pay for having access to BASRs. Crossbow is a sidearm that carries a very large amount of damage all the way to 35 meters. Effectively since you only need 1000 damage on non nanoweave or heavy you have basically a 75 meter two shot kill range potential. Granted there is a considerable delay between shots but it can be outplayed via cloaking and being sneaky in some cases. If anything I would like to see them increase the projectile velocity. This would help more of our shots connect under stress. I often hover roughly 48% to 54% accuracy with various models. This includes shamelessly taking shots on moving targets like light assaults based on prediction style guesswork as to where they will be. The truth of the matter is beyond about 35 or so meters maybe even sooner depending on the enemies direction of movement, you can't actually lead enemies with the crossbow effectively. The bolt just travels too slowly through the air by the time it reaches the enemy they have already evaded it. Using the crossbow at range becomes a guessing game to shoot where enemies **might** will be. Even the best guesswork is never assured though. Ironically the accuracy of the crossbow has very little to do with player aiming skills. Its not hard to hit a stationary enemy, and hitting a mobile one is not "aiming" in the traditional sense. Ghost: 700 before 10m Crossbow 650 before 35m Spectre: 400 before 8m So if Daybreak ever did decide to buff the crossbow so it could be more effective for range play I would recommend instead of a damage increase, they simply bump the projectile velocity. Frankly I love the drop on the crossbow and I think that should stay as is. Learning to account for the drop on the crossbow probably the most fun part of making ranged shots. You really feel and learn that curve. Its that damn velocity which is very punishing. Essentially crossbow is borderline almost a primary weapon already, and is probably one of the most (if not the most) lethal sidearms a stalker has access to. PS: You might enjoy these notes on the HA Shield Changes on Public Test Server. It is a considerable buff to crossbows lethality against heavies provided the changes actually go through. http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1so58d4 I also did the math for other sidearms as well.
Are explosive bolts any good? I am a PS4 player and we still dont have VR to test things, I have heard they are good against maxes and light vehicles does it impact their anti infantry performance at all?
Hmm... A projectile velocity increase would be pretty nice, but where would it be set? It's still a crossbow and would need some noticable arrow drop so something too high wouldnt work, but right now it is certainly low. Half the time I need to aim very far over anyone's head to get a long range shot to hit.
I respectfully disagree with your guide. The explosive bolts are not inherently weaker or a default 3 body shot kill to infantry at close range. Explosive tips still do 650 dmg to infantry. Important: Testing in the VR against dummies will not cause splash and this removes a considerable chunk of explosive bolts damage. Testing requires two accounts or a friend. I am sure a math wizard out there could figure out the equation more exact. Basically: My general rule is 45 meters (is my personal) cut off and goodluck if the enemy is wearing flak. Id also like to double express that explosive bolts also have more drop so people are prone to hitting legs which do 90% damage. Without any doubt flak turns even point blank chest shots into a 3 shot kills. (Or Bolt + Knife + Bolt kills) I'v had this happen numerous times which is why I don't suggest them unless trolling. However that data would make sense why I can't seem to double body beyond 44ish meters. I had been assuming it was poor aim on my part.
Huh. Done some minor testing on PTS before one of the clients hung up on me. You're right. I wonder where I got the wrong notion of 3 exp. bolts to kill. Checked Wrel's review and it's correct, as you say. I'm gonna fix the mistake in the guide.
I have one questión related to crossbow,the questión is: the explosive darts does same damage as the default ones on a direct hit??? Which ones u recommend Beaver???
Even if both types of ammo CAN do 650 dmg up close I can't recommend using the explosive tips for infantry play. While we can guess explosive bolts do at least 500 dmg at a maximum of 44 meters to non flak wearing targets and you **could** technically get away with using explosive tips for infantry its really not optimal. You would lose 25% of your magazine (going from 4 available bolts down to 3 per reload) for no extra damage. That is a huge loss, one missed shot (2/3) and you cannot kill a target wearing flak unless you EMP them first or knife them at some point. Flak armor is pretty popular among medics and engineers which should be the easier targets for you. However this is not the case when they are wearing flak. There is also no way to test prior to an ambush for flak armor either. Ideally you could try and go for headshots using explosive bolts but honestly goodluck against a moving target. Finally the main reason to run explosive tips is for killing maxes or ESF with a friend. Killing Maxes (or ESF in this manner) isn't really a stalkers job. You **could** do it if you absolutely wanted to troll people....(Just keep in mind you can kill them in other ways too) however.... its also much easier for you to kill the support classes without using explosive bolts... The Maxes cannot use Darklights. So just avoid them. I would say get explosive bolts eventually because they are really fun for shenanigans. However not something to use all the time. They won't make you kill "better" in fact the explosive bolts will probably promote the opposite under normal circumstances. Theoretically you could try some kinda Max hunting loadout. I don't want to stem someones creativity if you want to try doing something like this. Just understand it would require a more conservative approach because you have less bolts to work with, and need to dial back the aggressiveness. Also keep in mind bolt knife at point blank will inflict splash damage on you. Take one target at a time, and understand you have very little room error, or even to make a second kill realistically. Max Hunting loadout I used: Golden Crossbow + Explosive Tips (2x yellow nipple with laser sight) Bando with 4 frags / I also tried EMPs Mines Regeneration The problem I was having is the bolts take a while to wear down a max. I tested in smaller fights (24/48 v 24/48). Started out EMPing the maxes support classes which often had flak or later EMP shield running so it wasn't easy to pick them off without getting returning fire. I had 3 explosive bolts between reloads and in some cases 2 bolts would get used up taking down a single support class (after having EMP'd) leaving the max unscathed or only slightly injured and angry. Worse if there was more then 2 supporting enemies I could only count on being able to take one down at time. If I got both it was lucky and one of them wasn't wearing Flak. I was disappointed (at times) when using explosive tipped bolts and EMP's because Flak armor ruins the synergy the crossbow has going with regular bolts by making it widely inconsistent and didn't permit snappy executions of support classes. In contrast I found you can chuck frag grenade after frag grenade after frag grenade at the enemy group instead of tossing EMPs. My goal was to aim them towards the cover object they were using which kinda stopped the frags and made making kills a bit easier. Granted my aim with frags is lacking but it was yielding some interesting results especially when their backs were turned and they could not see the indicators. This was neat since stalkers can get themselves into very interesting throwing positions and you don't have to pizza delivery up close like you would have to do with mines. This allowed for two approaches once the first couple frags went off. I could cloak / hide and stalk down the max or surviving players as they wondered what the heck had just happened. Or I could *go loud** use the explosive crossbow while seeking cover and bait the survivors with mines. This would appear very desperate taking a shot while running for cover. In most cases the Max give chase and would hit the mines and it would be over at that point. Dead Max and possibly dead support. Sometimes it would take two mines. I found dropping them both for a single chance to kill the Max optimal because tricking them a second time was unlikely. Another option I had not considered (until after the testing) since EMP's were disappointing would have been a more stealthy approach with enhanced targeting implant (possibly more ammo instead) Essentially just waiting and watching for the max to get low in health and then execute them with explosive bolts. The biggest issue I had with this entire experiment was why even bother with the explosive tips? I could clear out support classes with (1-2) mines + emp. Essentially a pizza delivery without giving up all the synergy between regular crossbow bolts and EMP grenades. Or dealing with the explosive splash while knifing. The other classes are better equipped to deal with Max units. I just put down the explosive bolts after a while because it felt like an overall loss in lethality to me. Frankly though if anyone wants to do something like this for fun. Go for it and be creative. Just because I am terrible with frags doesn't mean you will be. I would just encourage people to know the limits and risks for using this ammo type because it really is very inconsistent compared to the other bolts. **shakes fist at flak armor** I should probably also mention that you loose some of the stealth aspects. I am pretty sure you ping on the mini map using the explosive bolts unless this has been patched out. It used to be a faint little dot that quickly disappeared. Thankfully crossbow is not sustained gunfire just something to keep in mind however. I think this entire thing might need a video at some point. Until then we have this:
Cheers for the info on explosive bolts, don't think I will bother with them just yet might get them eventually for trolling and the few times I have killed a max as an infil has led to some fantastic hatemail so I imagine it would be even more spectacular if I used only a crossbow.
Thanks for the explain,so explosive darts only for MAX hunting...but because im going to play HA with the Lasher as primary weapon...do u recommend me to take crossbow as secondary and take sensor darts??? I think that Lasher is made for close to medium-long distances,so if i have that weapon i think that i dont need a secondary for do damage,so sensor darts with the crossbow gonna be a good choice,isnt it????
Sensor darts are pretty uninspiring. The first time you shoot it on a surface its going to to give you a pulse immediately. The dart will last 10 seconds and scan once every 3 seconds to a range of roughly 20 meters. Basically this is a rank one Recon Dart. Iv seen engineers using them with an ammo pack because you only get 20 darts. 4/16 . Just keep in mind spamming them won't increase the scan rate. They are locked to the same 3 second timer. The only benefit you get from placing multiple darts is area coverage. I won't comment on weapon choice but I do see engineers using them from time to time.
Ok thanks again,i test the crossbow with those darts on VR room,and seems that the durability of those darts is ridiculous. But still are useful if u dont use secondary much,also if i want to use normal darts,i always have the default ones unlocked
#1) Crossbow + Knife Ambushing Any crossbow you like, preferably 1x to 2x optics with the laser and normal bolts. I spend most of my time with this loadout. Its pretty versatile. Ability: Stalker Cloak Suit: Bando Grenade: EMP x4 Utility: Mines Implant: Regeneration Rank 1 or higher Knife: Classic Style Tool: Motion Spotter. #2) CROS.S.M.G SMG (1st gen but any will do) + the crossbow I still use the ambushing setup above with 2x and laser. I use this when I miss using my SMGs. Or when the outfit did indoor point holds with very low pop and no chance I would be able to return to them. Sometimes subbing out for EMP shielding implant or FLAK armor instead of Bando if I knew there was no way I could resupply my EMPs. Plays similar to above when it comes to clearing buildings with EMPs and one shotting with crossbow bolts. I would not recommend using crossbow + SMG until player can consistently hit moving targets with the crossbow. You also cannot run your SMG dry on ammo because switching to crossbow takes longer then other sidearms. Crossbow is used for ranged attacks or for synergy with EMP + Knives and Mines. SMG is just something you use on the fly while moving around and spraying moving enemies. Lots of fun worth trying once you get the hang of the xbow. Ability: NAC (Nano Armour Cloak - helps you line up shots with xbow after emp among other benefits) Suit: Bando Grenade: EMP x4 Utility: Mine / Medkit Implant: Regeneration Rank 1 (for mines) / Sensor Sheild R4 (for medkits) Knife: Classic Style Tool: Darts / Motion Spotter (I prefer spotters in most cases for baiting and because they are stealthy at a distance) I also don't like firing darts often since crossbow takes longer to re-equip. #3) TREE "Shenanigans" Non holiday crossbow (less obvious tracers) 2x to 3.4x optics. Laser + your choice of camo to match tree. Climb or ESF drop into tree and enjoy. Ability: Stalker Cloak Suit: Ammo Belt Grenade: EMP x1 Utility: Medkits Implant: Enhanced Targeting Knife: Classic Style Tool: Darts / Motion Spotter. #4) ESF "Fishing" Crossbow of your choice 1x to 2x optics. Laser + lumifiber and as much shiny camo as possible. Explosive tips = 4 shot kills. Less if they are weak or already smoking. Enhanced targeting implant will help you figure out how many shots it will take. I would encourage you to bring a friend so even full health ESF can be killed when they land or fly low to resupply. 2 shots is easy to kill, 3 is pushing it. Best also not to use radar or alert those nearby to your presence. This is most profitable during alerts. Ability: Stalker Cloak Suit: Ammo Belt Grenade: EMP x1 Utility: Medkits Implant: Enhanced Targeting Knife: Classic Style Darts / Motion Spotter. I generally haven't decided on a good max hunting loadout. I kinda gave up on bothering with one. I do find killing ESF with a friend to be much more productive depending on alerts and if I picked the place the pilots are using for resupply.
