Below we’ll break down how to unlock it as easily as possible.
How to unlock the Crossbow in Modern Warfare and Warzone
With the Crossbow, you’ll have the ability to deal ludicrous amounts of damage to your foes, with various special tips you can put on the end of your bolts. From explosives to thermite, you’ve got a whole lot of options with the Crossbow - just follow these steps to unlock it!
Step 1: Unlock a Marksman Rifle’s Reflex Optic. You’ll need to level one up - we recommend the SKS for a high fire-rate one, or the Kar98k or MK2 Carbine if you fancy yourself a crack shot. Step 2: Equip the Reflex Optic and head into Multiplayer. This is important - you’ll take absolutely ages to unlock this in Warzone. Step 3: Using a Marksman Rifle with a Reflex Optic get 5 Kills in 25 different matches. These matches have to be joined from the very start, and you have to finish each match for the unlock to work. Step 4: We’d recommend using a Kar98K. As we’ve mentioned, give it a reflex and equip it with some ADS speed increases and you’ll have yourself a dependable one-shot capable machine. Jump into a playlist like “Shoot the Ship” or “X 24/7” and go for those kills.
It is possible to unlock the Crossbow with only Warzone, but the same requirements are in play - you have to get 5 kills in 25 different matches with a Marksman Rifle with a Reflex Optic attachment. It’s pretty challenging for free-to-play players.
What’s the best bolt for the Crossbow?
There are four types of bolt available for the Crossbow. You can attach them as you level the weapon up - and you can even recover standard bolts after firing them. Here’s our ranking of the best Crossbow bolts.
1 - Thermite: The Thermite Crossbow bolts are brilliant in several game modes. Firstly, they can shoot down enemy killstreaks and vehicles. You’re also more likely to get the one-shot kill on enemies since the damage from the thermite continues hurting them over time. Finally, it deals larger amounts of damage to foes during games of Warzone, required thanks to their Armor. 2 - Gas: The FTAC Venom 20" Bolts kill reliably with one shot and detonate with tear gas when they hit. This is great for disrupting enemy advances, especially if you’re up against a crowd. However, the bolts don’t emit gas unless you hit an enemy, so you’ll have to be careful to place your shots. 3 - Standard: Normal bolts can be difficult to use when you first unlock the Crossbow, but put a decent scope on this thing and it becomes a massively satisfying Sniper-type weapon. You can also save an attachment slot for another piece of kit to improve damage range or ADS time. 4 - Explosive: Explosive Crossbow bolts detonate after a short delay, and deal solid damage to a surrounding area. You don’t have to hit the enemy to trigger it either. It works really well for taking down grouped-up foes, but takes a frustratingly long time to detonate.
It’s also worth remembering when you use the Crossbow - the bolt travel time is slower than any gun you’ve experienced in this game before. It’ll drop off a lot too, so be sure to compensate for this when leading your shots. Get some practice - you won’t be able to get any follow-up shots with this weapon’s excruciatingly slow reload time. Once you’ve unlocked the Crossbow, why not take it into Warzone? We’ve got the lowdown on all kinds of features, including how Supply Choppers work in Warzone and unlocking new Blueprints with Contraband Contracts.
