Elden Ring - Crossbows

The offhand utility slot: zero stat scaling means any build gets full value the moment it meets the requirement, and it is the only ranged class you can fire without giving up your weapon.

Combat

Pros

• No stat scaling at all, only requirements. A 60 Int sorcerer and a 60 Str brute do identical damage with the same Arbalest, so it costs a pure caster or Faith build nothing to carry one.
• Usable one-handed while your main weapon or shield stays out; it is the only ranged class that does not force you to two-hand. Two-hand only if you want manual aim.
• Keeps its loaded state across weapon swaps and only loses it when unequipped, so a preloaded crossbow fires instantly, faster to a first shot than any bow.
• Highest max physical of any handheld ranged weapon outside the ballistas: Arbalest 308, Heavy Crossbow 288.

Cons

• Zero scaling cuts both ways: past the upgrade ladder there is no way to make a crossbow hit harder with levels. All your growth comes from smithing stones, the bolt, and talismans.
• Cannot take Ashes of War, greases, spell buffs, or affinities, and eight of the nine have the filler Kick skill. The Repeating Crossbow is the only one with a real skill.
• Two presses per shot: ready, then fire, so raw fire rate is slower than a bow's once you are already engaged.
• Held in the offhand, L1 and L2 reload and fire instead of using a skill, so you lose your left-hand weapon art entirely.

Builds

None.

• That is the point.
• Meet 10 Str / 8 Dex for a Soldier's Crossbow, 12/8 for a Light Crossbow, 14/10 for a Heavy Crossbow, or 18/12 for the Arbalest, and every build performs identically.
• Because bows and ballistas count Str at two-thirds but crossbows do not, the Arbalest's 18 Str is a genuine 18.
• If you are already meeting requirements for a melee weapon, the crossbow is free.
• The only stat-gated one is the Full Moon Crossbow at 14 Int.

Best Weapons

Weapon	Image	Attack	Weight	Str	Dex	Int	Fai	Arc	Why Take It
Repeating Crossbow		74	6	13	15	-	-	-	Shadow of the Erdtree, and the only crossbow in the game with a unique skill, Repeating Fire (26 FP) readies a rapid-fire mechanism you crank to fire bolts in succession. Highest base physical in the class at 74 and 259 at Somber +10. it a reliable way to build status at range. Found next to the Ghostflame Dragon in Scadu Altus. Note its base attack when upgrading was raised in Patch 1.13.
Arbalest		69	6	18	12	-	-	-	Highest physical of any crossbow at max, 308 on regular Smithing Stones to +25, and highest non-DLC base at 69. Costs the steepest requirements in the class, 18 Str / 12 Dex, and ties for heaviest at 6.0. 's own page flags the counter-argument: the Pulley and Full Moon Crossbows can out-damage it under the right conditions, at the cost of pricier ammo or higher ammo consumption, so "best" here depends on what you are loading. Found on a Stormveil Castle rampart, available before Godrick.
Crepus's Black-Key Crossbow		68	5	14	16	-	-	-	Longest reach in the class at 47 against 42 for every other crossbow, and it comes out of the first Stonesword Key seal room in Roundtable Hold, so it is available before you have fought a main boss. 238 at max, 14 Str / 16 Dex. Pairs with Black-Key Bolts (30 physical + 60 scarlet rot).
Pulley Crossbow		65	4	16	16	-	-	-	Fires three bolts per trigger pull with a slight spread, which is why its per-bolt figure is the lowest in the class, 146 at Somber +10 versus 308 for the Arbalest. Read as three-bolts-per-shot it is the status applicator of the class: triple buildup per press with Bloodbone, Burred, Sleepbone or Rotbone bolts. Two real caveats from the same page: it fires with an unusually large upward pitch so you must aim low at mid-range, and it burns ammunition three times as fast. 16 Str / 16 Dex, 4.0 weight, Craftsman's Shack in Mt. Gelmir.
Heavy Crossbow		64	5.5	14	10	-	-	-	288 at max, second only to the Arbalest, on much softer requirements (14 Str / 10 Dex against 18/12) and half a point lighter at 5.5. It is a 2% drop from ordinary crossbow soldiers, so it is the near-Arbalest you can get without a detour.

Notes

• No stat scaling whatsoever: requirements only. Damage comes from upgrade level, the bolt, and talismans.
• Two button presses per shot: ready, then fire. But the loaded state persists across weapon swaps and is lost only on unequip, so a preloaded crossbow fires the instant you swap to it.
• Manual aim requires two-handing; in the offhand, L1 and L2 reload and fire, which removes your offhand weapon skill.
• Fired while galloping, a crossbow can be shot mid-air without losing its load, letting you fire again immediately on landing, the Pulley Crossbow excepted.
• No Ashes of War, greases, spell buffs, or affinities; only the Repeating Crossbow has a non-Kick skill.

All Crossbows

Name	Image	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit. Boost	Range	Weight	Str.	Dex.	Int.	Fai.	Arc.	Sell Price	Skill
Arbalest		69 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	42	6	-18	-12	0	0	0	100	Kick
Crepus's Black-Key Crossbow		68 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	47	5	-14	-16	0	0	0	200	Kick
Full Moon Crossbow		50 -	50 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	42	4	-10	-10	-14	0	0	500	Kick
Heavy Crossbow		64 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	42	5.5	-14	-10	0	0	0	100	Kick
Light Crossbow		58 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	42	4	-12	-8	0	0	0	100	Kick
Pulley Crossbow		65 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	42	4	-16	-16	0	0	0	100	Kick
Soldier's Crossbow		54 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	42	3.5	-10	-8	0	0	0	100	Kick