If you have martial weapon proficiency and you get Extra Attack and are a primary ranged focus, you pick a longbow.If you only have simple weapon proficiency, you probably don't get Extra Attack, and therefore the crossbow is worth taking if you need damage and can tolerate the other implications of the Loading property (and if not, you grab a shortbow).If you're pure STR based for combat, you pick javelins (because they actually let you use STR due to being thrown weapons not ranged weapons).

This leads to a rather easy set of decisions to decide on what ranged weapon to pick: The heavy crossbow additionally has a shorter range than it's equivalent bow. The crossbow does better damage in both cases, at the cost of weighing more and only being able to make one attack per turn without taking a specific feat.

The correct comparison here is a shortbow to a light crossbow and a longbow to a heavy crossbow, because then you're comparing stuff with equivalent proficiency requirements (you can't get a longbow or heavy crossbow if you're only proficient with simple weapons, and there's no reason to chose a simple weapon if you're proficient with martial weapons). There are a lot of specific mechanical advantages, and a handful of less concrete potential advantages: Crossbows do more damage than equivalent bows. A heavy weapon’s size and bulk make it too large for a Small creature to use effectively.Īs a result, small characters will not want to use this kind of weapon, and would choose a shortbow or light crossbow (depending on their class, as above) instead. Small creatures have disadvantage on Attack rolls with heavy Weapons. Longbows and heavy crossbows both possess the Heavy property: Even against a target within normal range, the attack roll has disadvantage unless the weapon is a crossbow, a net, or a weapon that is thrown like a javelin (including a spear, trident, or dart). Underwater combatĬrossbows are better weapons than longbows underwater, due to their lack of disadvantage.įrom the rules on underwater combat (PHB p.198):Ī ranged weapon attack automatically misses a target beyond the weapon’s normal range. It's worth noting that a character who does have martial weapon proficiencies will likely be choosing between a heavy crossbow (which does more damage per attack) and a longbow (which works with Extra attack). Since they are a Rogue, they do not get Extra Attack, and so the fact that the shortbow can benefit from Extra Attack while the crossbow cannot (Loading property) does not come into play.

For this character, a light crossbow is one damage die better than a shortbow (which is also a simple weapon). 149)Īs a result, some classes/races will not be able to use longbows effectively due to their lack of proficiency with martial weapons - in particular classes without Extra Attack often lack martial weapon proficiency.Īs an example, a Human Rogue cannot wield a longbow with proficiency (barring feats).

However, longbows are martial weapons, and light crossbows are simple weapons. Just by their stats, a longbow does seem strictly better than a light crossbow.

Crossbow 5e dnd