Crossbow

The Crossbow is a special weapon that is featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It is a silent, high-powered weapon, and takes up the Secondary slot under the category of Special. It uses explosive and regular bolts for ammunition which are affected by gravity over range.

Campaign
The Crossbow appears in the third of the five weapon swaps in the mission "Executive Order" as well as the third and last part of the mission "WMD". It can fire two different types of bolts, normal or explosive. It also has an attached Variable Zoom scope, which the player can steady and also zoom in further. The Crossbow has fairly high accuracy from the hip, and although it is fairly strong, the bolt needs to hit an enemy's head or chest to score a one-shot kill. Unlike other scoped weapons, the crossbow can be reloaded while aiming down the scope.

In Executive Order, a zipline attachment is available on the second use of it, similar to the grappling hook attachment on a KS-23 in Vorkuta. Also, the Wii version of Vorkuta replaces the flaming explosive catapult with a Crossbow with a flaming tip.

Multiplayer
The Crossbow also appears in multiplayer, available at level 33. It has no attachments, and always fires explosive bolts. Unlike its Campaign counterpart, the multiplayer crossbow fires projectiles that do drop over a certain distance and do not hit instantly. It is one of the weapons used in the Sticks and Stones Wager Match playlist, along with the Ballistic Knife and Tomahawk. It is also the 19th weapon in Gun Game. When a player is hit by the bolt, the screen flashes red and an indicator comes up in the shape of an arrow with the word "Stuck!" on it, indicating the player has been hit with an explosive bolt. At this point, there is nothing the player can do to save themselves, and will be killed along with any teammates within the blast radius by the explosion after 1.5 seconds. One of the few things a "Stuck" player can do in this situation is attempt to take his attacker out with him by rushing towards them in the hope the blast kills them as well, although this is less than reliable and is near impossible if the target has the Flak Jacket perk.

When using this weapon in conjunction with Scavenger Pro, the player gains a total five explosive bolts. As well, the Crossbow is the one of the few non-pistol secondary weapons that refills from Scavenger, the other being the Ballistic Knife. Pair it with Sleight of Hand Pro and the player has a explosive secondary that can receive ammo more regularly and fire faster than the Launchers in Black Ops. When using Sleight of Hand, a good way to get the Fast Hands Kills is to stick enemies with the Crossbow. The player damages the enemy when the bolt hits and reloads quickly before the bolt explodes, which counts for the challenge if the player does not cancel the reload (e.g. by sprinting).

The killfeed icon for a direct impact from a crossbow bolt is the same as that of any other grenade direct impact.

In Hardcore, being hit by a bolt is fatal. In Core and Barebones, a player can be killed by the bolt alone if the player's health is low enough, and a direct impact in any game mode to a player in Second Chance is sufficient enough for the kill. The Crossbow does not have a damage multiplier for the head, but a direct impact kill can still register as a headshot.

The bolts fired by an enemy will have a red tip, while friendly crossbow bolts will have a green tip, similar to Semtex.

Zombies
The crossbow can be obtained in Zombies mode via the Mystery Box on every map except Moon, in Black Ops. The very long reload time makes it difficult to use effectively in Solo, as the player is left vulnerable. Also, its wide splash radius can easily stun the player for a couple of seconds, unless the player has PhD Flopper. Its Pack-A-Punched version, the Awful Lawton, distracts any zombies near where the bolt lands, similar to a Monkey Bomb, though the time the zombies are distracted is shorter than a Monkey Bomb's unless the player as bought Quick Revive, in which case the bolt will last a bit longer. If a Zombie is shot with the Awful Lawton, the zombie will humorously claw at the bolt that is stuck in it. Also, the Pack-a-Punched Crossbow has to be used to earn the Sacrificial Lamb achievement/trophy.

Speed Cola helps with the reload, unless upgraded, when it is not as important, though it is still convenient. Juggernog is not too helpful, but it will help if a zombie is shot when it is too close by and explodes near the player. Double Tap has no effect, as it is a single-shot weapon. PhD Flopper is highly advised, as it effectively allows the player to be near the bolt without being stunned and damaged. This weapon is a great backup weapon when playing with multiple people, especially when upgraded to the Awful Lawton, as the Monkey Bomb addition to the bolts can help when someone needs to be revived or there are too many zombies to handle.

Achievement/Trophy
Sacrificial Lamb (15 / Bronze Trophy ) - Shoot at or be shot by an ally with a Pack-a-Punch crossbow and kill six zombies with the explosion.

Attachments

 * Explosive Tip
 * Variable Zoom (Singleplayer Only)

Call of Duty: Black Ops II
The Crossbow is first seen with Explosive Tip.

Attachments

 * ACOG Scope

Call of Duty: Black Ops

 * This is the first weapon in the Call of Duty series that can be reloaded while aiming down its sight.
 * This is the second weapon that can fire different ammunitions types with the first being the M60 and the third being the SPAS-12.
 * The Crossbow has Siberia Camouflage in "WMD". However, in early game footage released, it had Yukon Camouflage.
 * In Executive Order, it is seen with a Nevada Camouflage.
 * In multiplayer the Crossbow does have camouflage; it uses the same as the player's primary weapon. However the camouflage is only visible when in third person. Golden camouflage does not apply.
 * On the Wii version, it is possible to destroy the Soyuz-2 with the Explosive Tip Crossbow in the mission "Executive Order".
 * In Shi No Numa, bolts from the crossbow will pass through the meteor, rather than sticking to it.
 * Sometimes, when the player fires the Crossbow at the ground in the campaign, enemies will try to pick up the bolt and throw it back like a grenade. (Confirmed on PC, PS3, Xbox and Wii)
 * On the Wii version, the crossbow in Vorkuta is the only one that uses flaming tips, as well as the only one that cannot be aimed down the sights with.
 * The Scavenger reuses the Crossbow's pick up icon.
 * Unlike the other Zombie maps, it is not included in the Zombies map Moon.
 * The Crossbow in campaign, is one of the only two weapons that can be reloaded while aiming down sight, the other being the Scavenger.