Half Sword Crossbow Guide: How To Use The Crossbow Effectively
The crossbow in Half Sword is a rare ranged weapon that can instantly end fights when used correctly. To use the crossbow effectively, fire the single loaded bolt at close to mid range for a center mass hit, then immediately drop the crossbow and switch to melee combat. It is strongest early on, risky to reload mid fight, and best treated as a one shot opener rather than a main weapon.
How To Get The Crossbow
The crossbow spawns on the Forest map inside the large crate next to the broken carriage. It does not appear every run, so you may need multiple attempts.
The spawn chance appears consistent regardless of rank. If you leave the map while holding the crossbow, it is added to your progression chest and can be insured or used later.
Basic Crossbow Controls
You always start a round with one bolt already loaded.
Right click to aim
Left click to fire
Press R to reload
If unloaded, left click performs a weak bash
There is no reticle or sight. You must learn the natural center of the weapon through practice.
How To Aim And Where To Shoot
Aim center mass whenever possible. Hits anywhere between the thighs and the upper chest often result in instant kills or immediate surrender on lightly armored enemies.
Arm hits frequently cripple or sever arms, causing disarms. Headshots are inconsistent but can stun through helmets due to blunt impact.
You will miss often. When you hit, the fight usually ends.
Reloading And Ammunition
Reloading requires a bolt bag or quiver, which can spawn near the crossbow crate or in certain barrels. Quivers do not reliably persist between matches and only hold a few bolts.
Reloading is slow and locks your movement. In most fights, reloading will get you killed.
In rare cases, fired bolts can be recovered from bodies or the ground, but they often vanish or pass through enemies.
When Reloading Is Worth It
Reloading is only practical when you have distance, allies, or downtime. Carnage, Buhurt, or Doubles modes offer slightly safer reload windows.
In most duels, ignore reloading entirely.
Crossbow Combat Strategy
The safest approach is to treat the crossbow as an opener.
Equip the crossbow in your right hand
Fire immediately at the start of the round
Drop the crossbow
Finish the fight with a secondary weapon
You can also equip a melee weapon in the left hand, drop it at the start, fire the crossbow, then pick it back up. This is faster but riskier.
Some players run two crossbows. This is hilarious and impractical but sometimes works.
Melee Use And Surrenders
A loaded crossbow has a bolt hitbox and can be used to poke or press into a downed enemy’s neck to force surrender. This works even if the bolt has already been fired.
Aiming while using the crossbow in melee slightly improves control and knockdown potential.
When The Crossbow Falls Off
Once enemies start wearing breastplates, cuisses, bevors, and full leg armor, the crossbow loses most of its lethality. At that point, shots are best used to knock enemies over rather than kill them.
Upper leg shots remain viable if the legs are unarmored.
Final Blurb
The crossbow in Half Sword is powerful, awkward, and absolutely not balanced. Use it once, use it well, and do not get greedy trying to reload. Fire, drop, and fight like normal. If you treat it as a one shot advantage instead of a primary weapon, it can carry early progression hard.
FAQ
Where does the crossbow spawn
On the Forest map, inside the large crate near the broken carriage.
Can you reload the crossbow
Yes, but only with a quiver, and reloading mid fight is usually unsafe.
Is the crossbow good late game
No, it falls off once enemies are heavily armored.
Can bolts be reused
Sometimes, if you can find the bolt after firing, but this is inconsistent.
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