Right, we all remember what Tinker's Construct bows and crossbows were like in 1.7.10. Particularly with... certain addon mods to add additional materials to the mix. At the moment, this is no longer the case.
Keep in mind, I'm almost certain we're going to see some... adjustment, let's say, to the numbers, but here's how they look as they first come out.
There are some changes to the mechanics and how numbers are figured, these are going to probably remain consistent, so let's talk about them.
First off, the crossbow now no longer automatically loads after firing. You have to click and hold until it is done reloading to load the bolt after every shot. This is a significant change in 1.10.2, and really limits the usefulness of the crossbow versus the longbow. Mind you, I think this is a bit of balance that needed to happen, but here we are.
Second off, crossbows seem to have a very sharply limited range before they start doing significantly less damage. Mind you, this is initial testing based on the initial release, these numbers may well change, however it appears as though the base range increment is a mere 10 squares, then modified by the Range Modifier as applied by the materials you use to construct the crossbow. This makes it significantly less powerful than its 1.7.10 counterpart, and frequently less powerful than a Longbow would be at any sort of realistic range.
Third off, it seems that for both bows and crossbows, the parts that give the majority of the utility of the weapon is the bow limb. Both bows and crossbows now use the same bow limb. The crossbow uses a tough binding, tough tool rod, binding, and bowstring. The bow uses two bow limbs, a plate, and a bowstring. On a crossbow, however, the binding and rod only seem to add material modifiers and modify durability. They have no effect on the firing states (rate of fire or damage output), unless the material modifier would in some way affect this (Cobalt's Momentum gives a 10% reduction to draw speed).
At the moment, all four bowstring types I had available in my pack (string, slimevine, vine, and hemp twine, have a modifier of 1.0. This may be subject to change later.
Some test examples:
Crossbow: Paper binding, Cobalt tool rod, Steel bow limb, bowstring.
This is your biggest bang for your buck short ranged weapon, with a range of 20 squares before damage starts getting halved. Initial damage is 14.5 with a bolt fashioned from feather fletching, wood arrow shaft, and steel bolt head. Draw speed is a lethargic 4.65, however. With four modifiers of Redstone, you net a draw speed of 3.32, which is still pretty bad.
Crossbow: Paper binding, Cobalt tool rod, Electrum bow limb, bowstring
This is a somewhat more rapid firing crossbow, but it has somewhat less damage and range. Base draw speed is 1.24, with a range of 10 squares before damage drops off. Damage starts off at around 10 damage using the same bolt as before. With four modifiers of Redstone, this brings the draw speed down to 0.89.
Bow: Steel Bow Limb, Electrum Bow Limb, Cobalt Plate, bowstring.
I've found this to be a solid all-round bow. Draw speed is 1.44, which drops down to 1.1 with three modifiers of Redstone. With arrows crafted with steel heads (fletching and shaft do not affect damage at this time) this bow deals a consistent 10 damage. Unsure what the range increment is, it exceeds the draw distance for the test dummy I used in these tests.
Swapping out the Electrum limb for another steel one brings the draw speed all the way up to 3.41 for a normal bow or 2.62 for the fully redstoned one. Damage only goes up to 12 in this case.
Two Electrum limbs gives a draw speed of 0.91 or 0.7 with full redstone for a damage of 9.
So, how does Sharpness affect ammo? I'm glad you asked.
With three modifiers of quartz, the electrum crossbow goes up to around 13 damage a shot and the steel crossbow goes up to 17.
The steel bow goes up to 15 damage, the hybrid bow up to around 13-14 damage, and the electrum bow to 12 damage.
The steel arrow and bolt heads DO have the bleeding effect applied on target.
With Manyullyn arrowheads and full quartz, the hybrid bow does 21 damage, the steel bow does 23, and the electrum bow does 19.
With manyullyn bolts and full quartz, the Steel crossbow does 18 damage whereas the Electrum one only does 14.
Personally, I am finding the hybrid bow with many arrowhead and full quartz to be my optimal setup. It does enough damage to one-shot just about anything I run across, it has a longer range than the crossbows and it does more damage as well, with a decent draw speed.
Now then, to conclude, remember that these are initial numbers that are almost certain to change over time, so there's no telling where the balance point might end up. However, these are the numbers as they currently rest.
Keep in mind, I'm almost certain we're going to see some... adjustment, let's say, to the numbers, but here's how they look as they first come out.
There are some changes to the mechanics and how numbers are figured, these are going to probably remain consistent, so let's talk about them.
First off, the crossbow now no longer automatically loads after firing. You have to click and hold until it is done reloading to load the bolt after every shot. This is a significant change in 1.10.2, and really limits the usefulness of the crossbow versus the longbow. Mind you, I think this is a bit of balance that needed to happen, but here we are.
Second off, crossbows seem to have a very sharply limited range before they start doing significantly less damage. Mind you, this is initial testing based on the initial release, these numbers may well change, however it appears as though the base range increment is a mere 10 squares, then modified by the Range Modifier as applied by the materials you use to construct the crossbow. This makes it significantly less powerful than its 1.7.10 counterpart, and frequently less powerful than a Longbow would be at any sort of realistic range.
Third off, it seems that for both bows and crossbows, the parts that give the majority of the utility of the weapon is the bow limb. Both bows and crossbows now use the same bow limb. The crossbow uses a tough binding, tough tool rod, binding, and bowstring. The bow uses two bow limbs, a plate, and a bowstring. On a crossbow, however, the binding and rod only seem to add material modifiers and modify durability. They have no effect on the firing states (rate of fire or damage output), unless the material modifier would in some way affect this (Cobalt's Momentum gives a 10% reduction to draw speed).
At the moment, all four bowstring types I had available in my pack (string, slimevine, vine, and hemp twine, have a modifier of 1.0. This may be subject to change later.
Some test examples:
Crossbow: Paper binding, Cobalt tool rod, Steel bow limb, bowstring.
This is your biggest bang for your buck short ranged weapon, with a range of 20 squares before damage starts getting halved. Initial damage is 14.5 with a bolt fashioned from feather fletching, wood arrow shaft, and steel bolt head. Draw speed is a lethargic 4.65, however. With four modifiers of Redstone, you net a draw speed of 3.32, which is still pretty bad.
Crossbow: Paper binding, Cobalt tool rod, Electrum bow limb, bowstring
This is a somewhat more rapid firing crossbow, but it has somewhat less damage and range. Base draw speed is 1.24, with a range of 10 squares before damage drops off. Damage starts off at around 10 damage using the same bolt as before. With four modifiers of Redstone, this brings the draw speed down to 0.89.
Bow: Steel Bow Limb, Electrum Bow Limb, Cobalt Plate, bowstring.
I've found this to be a solid all-round bow. Draw speed is 1.44, which drops down to 1.1 with three modifiers of Redstone. With arrows crafted with steel heads (fletching and shaft do not affect damage at this time) this bow deals a consistent 10 damage. Unsure what the range increment is, it exceeds the draw distance for the test dummy I used in these tests.
Swapping out the Electrum limb for another steel one brings the draw speed all the way up to 3.41 for a normal bow or 2.62 for the fully redstoned one. Damage only goes up to 12 in this case.
Two Electrum limbs gives a draw speed of 0.91 or 0.7 with full redstone for a damage of 9.
So, how does Sharpness affect ammo? I'm glad you asked.
With three modifiers of quartz, the electrum crossbow goes up to around 13 damage a shot and the steel crossbow goes up to 17.
The steel bow goes up to 15 damage, the hybrid bow up to around 13-14 damage, and the electrum bow to 12 damage.
The steel arrow and bolt heads DO have the bleeding effect applied on target.
With Manyullyn arrowheads and full quartz, the hybrid bow does 21 damage, the steel bow does 23, and the electrum bow does 19.
With manyullyn bolts and full quartz, the Steel crossbow does 18 damage whereas the Electrum one only does 14.
Personally, I am finding the hybrid bow with many arrowhead and full quartz to be my optimal setup. It does enough damage to one-shot just about anything I run across, it has a longer range than the crossbows and it does more damage as well, with a decent draw speed.
Now then, to conclude, remember that these are initial numbers that are almost certain to change over time, so there's no telling where the balance point might end up. However, these are the numbers as they currently rest.
