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 is likely the best weapon in Heretic. It 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 advantage of the crossbow over other weapons is that it allows the player to strafe and dodge out of the way of incoming projectiles while aiming at and hitting the monsters without taking damage. The Ethereal Crossbow also has a mild repulsive effect, which allows the player to throw enemies back out of melee range.