Bah! An inelegant weapon. I want a weapon so controversial the Pope outlawed its use several times throughout history!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxhMjljpnQY

I would put them under the survival skill. That is assuming we still have skills in the traditional sense.

For the arrow/bolt vs armor "issue" NV already has the solution, do what they did for hollow points (DT x 3), though I would make it even more then that. You could have improvised explosive, poison, etc. tips to compensate. But the standard ammo would be good against soft targets (If I were designing this).

I don't believe a single Papal ban counts as several times in history. Regardless, the ban was on using it against Christians. Doubt the Genoese had a problem convincing Papa that their enemy was a heretic.

If they were in the game, I imagine arrow crafting to be epic.

AOE Cryo arrow!

I assumed everyone would scan over my post, and keep reading on. Guess I was wrong. What would punch through a sheet of steel easier? A bolt launched 10 meters from a crossbow, or a railroad spike launched from a compressed air gun from the same distance? If you guessed the railroad spike, you would be correct. Now how about an arrow launched 100 meters from a bow, or a .308 bullet launched the same distance from a rifle? If you guess the rifle, you would be correct. Not only are guns more practical, but where the hell are you going to find bows and arrows? I don't know where you would find an archery range in the New England Commonwealth. Craft one? Raiders aren't exactly technological innovators, neither is the protagonist.

Just glossing over the crafting system eh? We can turn a regular old laser pistol into a sniper rifle or a machinegun, but making a crossbow or bow is complicated? A bow is silent, you can also craft a multitude of arrow types... which arrows can be made from wood, plastic, or steel... all of which... are now obtainable in Fallout 4... Melee weapons are as redundant as bows are when compared to a firearm... and yet they are still included? It's up to the player to choose which weapon they intend to use, and the more options the better. You won't kill a power armored person with a bow, or crossbow... but with an electrical bolt you could damage the armor's systems... Plus there are a multitude of other enemy types that are less armored.

I haven;t seen the concept art of the crossbow but could it be the return of the poison dart? Or that could be one of the mods of the crossbow weapon or the weapon itself.

Might as well add in some swords, a dragon, and call it the Elder Scrolls. But as you said, it is up to the player to choose what weapon they use. https://youtu.be/-3nYFn-aIno?t=3m48s But Bethesda ultimately decides what weapons Fallout 4 will have. Until the GECK is released you're stuck with what they made, then you can play with all the bows, and arrows you want. If you've got the knowledge and talent to model, texture, animate, script, and place such weapons.

Yes to bows, yes to crossbows, yes to more options.

And, Fallout already has swords and dragons. Komodo dragons!

Yea they decided to add over 50 weapons to the game... a majority of which are unknown to us. Adding a bow to Fallout won't make it the same as Elder Scrolls.... There's quite a few post apocalyptic games that include bows, but... they don't go nearly as in depth as the crafting system that is implemented in Fallout 4.

I wasn't going to reply, but then you inspired me to count up every weapon we have seen so far. So we can atleast expect to see http://i.imgur.com/840DnEE.png returning or new weapons

I thought the exact number was fifty, not over fifty?

Edit: Yep, just looked it up. Fifty base weapons.

That's a good point, Fallout 3 had the dart gun, which is kind of a one-handed crossbow. So it's not really too far-fetched.

Spears are also a very easy weapon for a poor militia to make. Even if they didn't get into Oblivion or Skyrim, they did get into New Vegas.

https://youtu.be/EiV-t3F0i-Q?t=12m30s and over 700 modifications

idk it would be a wast if they added bows and crosbows i mean in fallout 3 and new vagus they give u a gun right off the bat and never have to worry over ammo i mean if hard core mode was athing and in it ammo was harder to get then ya but the only way a bow could be usefull is if they make it more powufell than bows are irl i mean in skyrim they have like 7 or so bow tirs so if they made a bow it would have to be stuped op or usefull only for low levels and even then u can just use a gun

This isn't Skyrim but from a logical stand point, it would be a realistic thing in a post-apocalypse world. There really wouldn't an abundance of ammo in a post-apocalypse world but there is plenty of wood for arrows.

Ah. I think I must have read a misinformed article some where.

Well, Fallout 3 had 99. If Obsidian were making F4, we'd probably have even more than what Beth will offer us - including tons of modifications.

But, I don't really have anything to argue about in terms of numbers of weapons. I'm sure we'll have even more after all the DLCs are said and done. This is a thread about Bow/Crossbows after all, so I'll get back to that topic.

A tactical compound hunting bow (like the ones you find in modern camp supply stores) wouldn't be too out of place.

Skyrim-style bows made of specific types of wood though... that might be a bit harder to believe, since most Fallout tribals tend to prefer throwing spears.

I'm not really big on crossbows in games. Not that I dislike them, but between a pistol or a crossbow, I choose pistol. I can see a use for a crossbow though in the Post-War world. Easily crafted ammo, silent, precision (if built right) and easy maintenance.

It's just an extra option. I like going up on the rocks in Quarry Junction and chucking throwing spears at deathclaws. Sure, I could use a gun, but that gets boring after awhile. There are melee weapons and throwing weapons in Fallout, there should be bows.

With tribals being a big part of fallout lore, and things like swords and spears being used even still, i can see old world stuff and natural rescources being used to create primitive weapons, bows among them. As a fan of taking a stealthy approach i can see a bow being verry handy against unarmored raiders, or just to hunt for food (granted there is no big ecosystem like before)

So i dont mind bows being present aslong as we dont get a CoD/FarCry kind of high tech bows and crossbows.

Also in the sense of being able to craft ammo for a bow more easily then make bullets, and the fact it may even be cheaper, makes it a viable option for you to save that ammo for bigger enemies. If a hardcoe mode is present again, i can imagine ammo having weight again, arrows might just weigh less then lugging 300 rounds of .44 or 20 rounds of missiles, depending on what you use.

It would be interesting if there are bows and arrows, I would assume they would work really well with on stealth build characters.

/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SW7-8C8kL4

Crossbows have a better armor piercing than pistols They are just... slow.