History Main / AutomaticCrossbows

* In ''KingdomOfLoathing'', most of the 1-handed Crossbows [[http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Clockwork_crossbow describe themselves as automatic]]. All the other crossbows are typically two-handed. It also has a GatlingGood version called the Repeating Crossbow, which is advertised as "Firing up to ONE ROUND PER SECOND! Devastating!" This troper doesn't know if they were trying to be funny, or they were referencing the fact that crossbows are ridiculously slow to fire, and a one-round-per-second ROF crossbow is actually quite impressive.

** This troper would say that these are aversions, because the first game takes place in the present day, and ''{{Half-Life}} 2'''s crossbow is powered by a lantern battery.

* In "Strife", the crossbow automatically loads the next shot. Despite this, the fire rate isn't faster than other FPS crossbows this troper has played.

* ''DeusEx'' has miniature automatic crossbows that are loaded with box-shaped magazines of darts, and strapped to the back of the wrist.

[[caption-width-right:200:Because a regular crossbow really wouldn't be [[RuleOfCool cool enough]].]]

* Varric's crossbow [[ICallItVera Bianca]] in DragonAgeII has a much, much faster rate of fire than any real crossbow, plus its double bow arms. However, it doesn't become truly automatic until Varric's attack speed is upgraded, though at that point Bianca is devastating.

* Oddly used in ''TeamFortress2'' by the Medic, who, in a setting full of shotguns, rifles, and machine guns, gets access to a crossbow that loads from the back.

* ''{{Civilization}} IV'' has the Chinese Cho-Ku-Nu specialty unit. While not stronger then a normal crossbow, it has the added advantage of causing collateral damage to a stack of units.

*** And in ''{{Civilization}} IV''.

* Edgar's Auto Crossbow tool in ''FinalFantasyVI''.
* Varric's crossbow [[ICallItVera Bianca]] in DragonAgeII has a much, much faster rate of fire than any real crossbow, plus its double bow arms. However, it doesn't become truly automatic until Varric's attack speed is upgraded, though at that point Bianca is devastating.
* The PC RPG ''{{Albion}}'' tells the story of an Earth astronaut who crash lands on an alien planet that's part alien jungle and part fantasy land. The local civilization hasn't developed guns, but later in the game repeating AutomaticCrossbows (referred to as bolt guns) become available as weapons.
* Interestingly, the official lightgun attachment for the Nintendo Wii, known as the Wii Zapper, comes with ''[[TheLegendOfZelda Link's Crossbow Training]]''. It remains to be seen whether the next Zelda game will feature one of these. Link's Crossbow never needs to be reloaded, and can be powered up with 100 bolts of automatic rapid-fire.
* Kai's primary weapon from ''HeavenlySword'' is a repeating crossbow that shoots bolts whose flight path the player can control.
* ''DwarfFortress'' [[{{nerf}} used to]] have crossbows that fire absurdly fast and are known for one-shotting the lungs and heart of targets in plate and chain. Nowadays, they're much slower.
* ''{{Fable}} 2'' features repeating crossbows, which fire much faster than a normal crossbow, but are inferior in terms of speed to pistols, and in terms of power to rifles. And nothing beats a good clockwork or turret rifle.
** Completely subverted in the original. Those crossbows were anything but automatic...
*** Actually, the repeating crossbows were in the game's coding, but were dummied out in the end. If you download the developers toolkit, you can find them and even put them into the game. They weren't super fast, but faster than the normal crossbow. There was even a legendary version.
* In ''KingdomOfLoathing'', most of the 1-handed Crossbows [[http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Clockwork_crossbow describe themselves as automatic]]. All the other crossbows are typically two-handed. It also has a GatlingGood version called the Repeating Crossbow, which is advertised as "Firing up to ONE ROUND PER SECOND! Devastating!" This troper doesn't know if they were trying to be funny, or they were referencing the fact that crossbows are ridiculously slow to fire, and a one-round-per-second ROF crossbow is actually quite impressive.
** Trying to be funny, or referencing the RL slow fire rate? [[MathematiciansAnswer Yes]].

** The crossbow in ''Half-Life 2'' is no longer automatic, and you can only carry twelve shots, but becomes the most damaging non-explosive weapon in the game.

* While neither is very accurate to life, in ''WorldOfWarcraft'', guns and crossbows function exactly the same. They reload with one hand in a couple seconds and fire the same distance at the same speed with the same accuracy.
** Probably [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in that the guns in this game are most likely primitive and jury-rigged enough that they're barely, if ever, better than a crossbow.
*** Actually, most of the higher level guns look pretty well put-together, and some are just [[http://www.wowhead.com/item=44504# modelviewer downright]] [[http://www.wowhead.com/item=29115# modelviewer crazy-advanced]].
* Badrach and Janus from ''ValkyrieProfile'' both use "crossbows" that seem to have more in common with guns from ''{{Contra}}'' than actual medieval weaponry. Badrach's in particularly is clearly a gun based on the game's art. It's likely they just gave him the crossbow weapon set so they wouldn't have to make entirely new equipment for just one character.
* Fairy queen Mercedes from ''OdinSphere'' wields a magic crossbow called Tasla (later reforged into Riblam). Being a magical weapon it rapid-fires bolts of flaming energy rather than arrows and can charge up and release a powerful homing spread shot. Despite this, she still needs to reload it when she runs out of energy (the point where other characters would run out of breath) although she can absorb phozons instead to recharge it.
* The Crossbow in ''Medievil'' actually has rapid fire listed as one of its abilities by its original owner. Justified since every weapon you get in the Hall of Heroes is at least somewhat magical in nature.
* ''{{Civilization}} IV'' has the Chinese Cho-Ku-Nu specialty unit. While not stronger then a normal crossbow, it has the added advantage of causing collateral damage to a stack of units.
* Similarly, in ''AgeOfEmpires II'', the Chinese use Chu-Ko-Nus as their special unit. Despite having shorter range, it could fire several bolts at once.
* ''DeusEx'' has miniature automatic crossbows that are loaded with box-shaped magazines of darts, and strapped to the back of the wrist.
* The Orc monsters in ''{{Castlevania}}: Curse of Darkness'' have these.
* DungeonFighterOnline features the Gunner class, who can use this type of weapon. Like all the other gun types, he holds one in each hand.
* The Princess from the "Princess 30" game in ''HalfMinuteHero'' inherits a crossbow from her dying father (the King), and it can shoot hundreds of arrows per ''second''.

* ''PerfectDark'' has a crossbow with five bolts and a fairly fast rate of fire. The reload animation did take a while, but luckily it could be interrupted in a pinch, which left you with fewer bolts but allowed you to keep firing. It also doubled as a tranquilizer gun, and it has a useful instant kill function.

* ''{{Resident Evil 2}}'' features a bowgun which can fire in 3-round bursts, and can hold 18 arrows at a time. Later games feature bowguns that can hold every arrow in your inventory at once, though are not capable of automatic fire.

* Ranulf wields one after losing an arm in ''HawkTheSlayer''.

* ''{{Resident Evil 2}}'' features a bowgun which can fire in 3-round bursts, and can hold 18 arrows at a time. Later games feature bowguns that can hold every arrow in your inventory at once, though are not capable of automatic fire.

This doesn't imply that crossbows are portrayed inaccurately (although that can happen), just that, as a pre-industrial form of point-and-shoot weapons, it can take the place of modern firearms in most Guns and Gunplay Tropes. Interestingly enough, [[MoreDakka repeating crossbows]] actually existed, as did bullet-firing crossbows.

* These are commonly used by the Haslanti League and the Mountain Folk in the tabletop RPG ''{{Exalted}}''. The Mountain Folk have a version that can fire ''energy arrows'' with such speed that it's basically a laser assault rifle.

** This troper would say that these are aversions, because the first game takes place in the present day, and HL2's crossbow is powered by a lantern battery.

* China actually did develop a repeating crossbow called a chu-ko-nu sometime in the third century, complete with an ammo magazine. It was used in combat as a serious weapon during the China-Japan war of 1894-1895. One hand had to hold the chu-ko-nu while the other cranked an arm back and forth to cock and fire, not nearly as easy or accurate as the fictional semi-auto or full-auto versions. It didn't even have a trigger in the usual sense.

** An artillery version was developed by the Roman Empire, while some Roman auxillaries carried bullet-firing crossbows. However, the repeating variants were much weaker than the regular crossbows and it was necessary to tip the bolts with poison to make them more lethal.
*** Those make a showing in DavidDrake's ''Ranks of Bronze'', used by the defenders during a siege since they had the height advantage on their walls.
*** Also in his fantasy short story "Dragon's Teeth," in the mid-fourth century AD.
** The MythBusters actually made one. It tended to jam often, but it worked.
** This crossbow was one of the weapons improved upon on the Military Channel show ''Weapon Masters''. Chad made a pneumatic steel-framed crossbow that was deadly accurate and powerful at all ranges tested, and could quickly reload itself in seconds from a top-mounted magazine.
** When ''ScrapheapChallenge'' did an episode on repeater bows, they showed a full-size but down-powered model of an original Roman or Chinese (forget which) design. It essentially had an ammo hopper on top which was gravity-fed, and a wheel on the side which pulled the string back once with each rotation. It could fire pretty much as fast as you could turn the wheel, getting through maybe 40 shots per minute.
*** Historic repeating crossbows all had the same problem, they lacked the range and penetrating power of their slower firing brethren. Great for volume of fire, less then spectacular when it comes to precision marksmanship, long range target shooting, and armor penetration.
**** Which is why the bolts were often poisoned.

* The Sniper Crossbow in WillRock can shot up to 6 ArrowsOnFire in a row. The fire rate however is slightly slower than the usual Automatic Crossbow.

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* Maybe with a little nod tuned UpToEleven to the Chinese chu-ko-nu in the RealLife section below, ''DynastyWarriors 7'' players have access to highly-accurate ballistas in some missions. Its {{gatling good}}ness and [[ImprobableAimingSkills never-miss accuracy]] makes for some [[CurbStompBattle easy army leveling]].