Crossbow Equivalent to Primitive Bow

[SneakySnacker]

Plainly put, I like playing ranged options outside of just guns in 7 days.
Speed-looting books to be able to craft better bolts and arrows, and be more effective with them is fun.

spark-notes: there should be a crossbow for early-game, it makes sense, fits with the tiers, and would be balanced
However, getting an Iron Crossbow takes a crazy amount of time.
Often, even aiming for a Wooden bow can take a good few days, as in order to get the parts required, some lucky rolls are required, even with dogged speed-looting.
With the addition of Pipe Weapons in A20, I think there should be added in a similarly powered and available crossbow to the Primitive bow.
The reasons are simple:
-The Crossbow type unusually has no early game availability, despite all other ranged weapons having one, aside from Rocket Launchers.
-A number of survivalist channels have created primitive crossbows using basic elements, so it is just as possible to make a pipe gun as to make a simple crossbow.
-And it would not adversely affect the balance of the game to have a crossbow be available a bit earlier in the game. There are already Stone Crossbow Bolts available, so I think this is a clear sign of something around primitive tech level was planned, but hasn't been implemented.

 

spark-notes: how I think they could be designed
The crossbows as they are, are already dependent not only on one's aim, but on the quality of bolt they can afford to load them with, which getting a hold of a consistent supply of ammo to use them with generally requires luck to get the schematic, a considerable dip into Intellect, or some determined speed-looting combined with a little bit of luck to get the drop from the Trader. Or getting a hold of one the new way in A20.

So my suggestion for the design is as follows:
-Make them roughly as slow as the pipe weapons are to load.
The speed them a quite slow, but reliable POI clearing weapon in the same way.
It would be usable in early Standard difficulty Blood Moon's, but would take effort and a particular base design to help it shine.
-The crafting recipe could include things like Cloth, Scrap Polymers, Springs, or Pipes like the Pipe Weapons do already.
All these things would be logically reasonable to use in some capacity in a jerry-rigged crossbow, and allow for early but not immediate access


(TL;DR): Fun Pimps give crossy pls

P.S. If I missed the announcement one is being added sorry 

[meganoth]

Agility already has two ranged primitive weapons, more than any other perk tree. I have no inside knowledge of TFPs plans, but I think they view the primitive bow as the primitive version of the whole ****bow line. There is only one bow perk as well, so bow and crossbow are very closely related.

 

[Weazelsun]

Hm.. I would have to agree on getting a primitive crossbow considering there are stone bolts. It feels awkward in terms of progession to get an iron crossbow but, then at that point you probably would then by now have a forge. Meaning you no longer have or need stone bolts and are instead already able to make iron bolts.

[SneakySnacker]

2 hours ago, meganoth said:

Agility already has two ranged primitive weapons, more than any other perk tree. I have no inside knowledge of TFPs plans, but I think they view the primitive bow as the primitive version of the whole ****bow line. There is only one bow perk as well, so bow and crossbow are very closely related.

 

An extra ranged weapon option wouldn't break the camels back I feel. An early-game variant to a thing the Archery perk already provides won't adversely effect the power value of the perk much.
 

[meganoth]

Not saying they couldn't, but I also don't see a hole here that needs to be filled. 

 

[SheeleMara]

 One would have to consider what a primitive crossbow would look like. Only ideas that come to mind are either a modified slingshot or dart blower that would let you use crossbow bolts. Or maybe scrap the stone bolts and just have the slingshot with stones be the "primitive crossbow". Crafted with Scrap Plastics, Cloth, and Wood.