Ethereal Crossbow

The Ethereal Crossbow is a weapon from Heretic. It is a stringless wooden crossbow that fires glowing green bolts (Ethereal Arrows) for ammunition. When fired, it launches a spread of three bolts, the central one dealing 10-80 damage and the other two dealing 2-16, for a total of 14-112 damage. The bolt in the centre can damage ghost monsters, but the ones on the sides cannot. All three bolts auto-aim separately, making the weapon more accurate when pointed at an enemy at midrange than when firing at a wall or at long range. Under the influence of a Tome of Power, its rate of fire is slightly faster, and it fires a spread of five bolts, the central three of which are capable of damaging ghosts. The center three deal 6-48 damage each, and the ones at the sides do 2-16 damage, for a total of 22-176 damage. Maximum capacity is 50 shots, or 100 with the Bag of Holding.

The weapon is already available on the first level of the game, E1M1: The Docks, although it is hidden in a secret room there. However, the Crossbow can be found in non-secret areas on each subsequent level of the episode.

Strategy
The Crossbow delivers medium to high damage against all enemies at medium-close combat. The Crossbow is also effective at longer ranges, but not as much as other weapons such as the Dragon Claw and the Hellstaff. The Ethereal Crossbow also has a mild repulsive effect, which allows the player to throw enemies back out of melee range.