The Crossbow arrives with the Dawnguard add-on and is the favoured weapon of the Dawnguard, the vampire hunters of Fort Dawnguard. With 19 base damage it hits about as hard as a Daedric Bow straight out of the box, at 14 weight.
It plays differently from bows. Bolts are loaded rather than drawn, so a loaded crossbow is always ready to fire and does not slow you while you walk. It also has a built-in 50% chance to stagger a target. The trade-off is a slower reload, a shorter range arc, and bolts that are harder to come by than arrows.
Stats
| Type | Crossbow |
|---|---|
| Skill | Archery |
| Material | Dawnguard |
| Damage | 19 |
| Weight | 14 |
| Value | 120 gold |
| Speed | 1 |
| Stagger | 0.75 |
| Critical damage | 9 |
| Add-on | Dawnguard |
| Item ID | 02000801 |
Where to find
- Bought at Fort Dawnguard, which is the only place selling crossbows.
- Forged at the Dawnguard forge in Fort Dawnguard, using
steel ingots and 
firewood. - Members of the Dawnguard carry them, so you will see plenty around the fort.
- Bolts can also only be bought at Fort Dawnguard, so stock up while you are there.
Crafting and upgrading
Crafting at a forge: 3 × Steel Ingot, 3 × Firewood. Requires the Steel Smithing Smithing perk.
Improving at a grindstone: 1 × Steel Ingot. The Arcane Blacksmith perk doubles the improvement.
Compared with other crossbows
Base stats of all regular (unenchanted) crossbows in Skyrim, weakest first:
| Weapon | Damage | Weight | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crossbow | 19 | 14 | 120 |
| Enhanced Crossbow | 19 | 15 | 200 |
| Dwarven Crossbow | 22 | 20 | 350 |
| Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow | 22 | 21 | 550 |
Tips and notes
- Improve it at a grindstone with a steel ingot; Steel Smithing doubles the improvement.
- Power Shot raises the stagger chance to 75%, and bashing with a crossbow staggers harder than with a bow.
- After joining the Dawnguard you can buy bolts cheaply at the fort, but that dries up if you later side with the Volkihar Clan.
- Upgrade to the Enhanced Crossbow or the Dwarven Crossbow.
Stats from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (Dawnguard.esm, record DLC1CrossBow). Values are base values before perks, smithing improvements and enchantments.