Crossbows | Skyrim Wiki

The Best Crossbows in Skyrim

As there ae a very limited amount of Crossbows to choose from in Skyrim, the best choice really only comes down to one:

• Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow - A high base damage coupled with the ability to completely ignore 50% of an enemy's armor makes this Crossbow a force to be reckoned.

However, it is worth mentioning that even the very basic Crossbow can rival the damage output of the Daedric Bow.

Skyrim Crossbow Tips

Crossbows are powerhouse ranged weapons when combined with the right perks and if the wielder picks their fights well:

• Benefits from the Deadly Aim perk from the Sneak skill line, allowing them to deal triple the damage while sneaking and allowing for a stealth sniper playstyle.
• The Eagle Eye perk allows you to zoom in while aiming, at the cost of draining Stamina.
• Crossbows have the innate property of staggering opponents 50% of the time. Combined with the Power Shot perk, this can be raised to 75% chance to stagger with every hit.
• Crossbows fire bolts at a much higher velocity than Bows fire arrows. However, their trajectory is also more straight forward where as Bows tend to arc arrows upward on release. As such, Crossbow wielders will typically need to compensate with their aim for longer ranged shots. The faster velocity does make them better at attacking moving targets.
• Crossbows can be loaded with exploding bolts that deal either Fire, Frost or Shock damage. These bolts typically deal more damage than standard bolts but unfortunately do not benefit from the Deadly Aim and other Sneak perks.
• Ensure that you are at a safe distance from an opponent when reloading as you are made vulnerable during the reloading animation which cannot be canceled.