The crossbow in Sons of the Forest is a significant step up from a crafted bow, making it quick work to take down many of the hostile cannibals. While exploring the island, players can find many weapons at random campsites or along the beaches, but there are stronger ones hidden below the surface in the underground bunkers, including the crossbow.
The crossbow is a ranged weapon, not quite as powerful as a firearm, but it will still get the job done. Its bolts are reusable with a smooth interface between using and reloading, so it will become a favorite once found for those who prefer bows to melee or guns. First, however, players must get a few items before they can look for the crossbow and journey deep into the caves around the island. This guide has everything players need to know to find the crossbow in Sons of the Forest.
Preparing to Get the Crossbow
Before going after the crossbow, players must gather a couple of key items, including the following:
- Shovel
- Maintenance Keycard
A shovel is a tool that will come in handy in multiple instances while progressing through the storyline or finding other things, but it can not be crafted, and there is only one on the entire island. The keycard is one of three that unlocks doors found in the contrastingly modern underground bunkers. The shovel will be necessary to get the keycard, which will be used to access the path to the crossbow.
Find the Shovel
The shovel is deep within a cave northwest of the mountain. Players will know they have found the right cave when they see three dead soldiers propped up on spikes outside the entrance. It should also be noted that players must have the rope gun and the rebreather to travel through the cave, so pick them up first.
Cave exploration is dangerous, so gathering supplies for the journey is imperative. Bring food, water or an energy drink, and a reliable weapon such as a pistol or even molotovs. It's also good to have few tarps and sticks to throw up a tent to save the game while inside the caves if things get dicey. It's almost a straight shot to the shovel, but there are multiple rooms with mutants; players should stay alert. The shovel is at the back of the cave in the lap of a dead worker.
Get the Maintenance Keycard
With the shovel in hand, getting the maintenance keycard is the next step to finding the crossbow. There is a digsite just north of the cave where the shovel was found, marked on the GPS with a pulsating green circle. There are two golf carts and zoning equipment surrounding a mound of loose dirt. Start shoveling the loose dirt away, and it will reveal a hatch door. Players should keep an eye out for cannibals, because there are two camps north and south of the digsite.
Go inside the hatch, and take the ladder down to a small enclosure with a hallway leading to a storage room. Before going to the storage room, there is an open door on the right to a fully furnished apartment. There is a bed, lots of food, a 3D printer, and the Maintenance keycard belonging to Carl Planter. After grabbing the keycard, players can go into the storage room at the back for the fireman's axe.
Crossbow Location in Sons of the Forest
The crossbow is in an unmarked cave entrance on the island's northwest side. Even though the cave isn't on the GPS, there is still a green marker from one of the golf cart trackers that players can use to find it. The entrance is nestled in a rock in front of two broken-down carts. Go inside the cave and follow it down to a hatch, just like the one for the maintenance room. The only difference is that this one says "Food and Dining" on it.
The hatch leads down to an abandoned kitchen with lots of food and other supplies. There is an open door to a room with multiple workers strung along the ceiling, but go to the closed door on the right side of the space that needs keycard access.
Use Carl's card to open the door, revealing a large hydroponic garden room. There is another set of doors to a second hydroponic garden, except there are several baby mutants inside this room and a "finger" mutant that must be taken out. The finger mutant is much more durable than the babies, but hitting it with a Molotov or explosive is the easiest way to kill it.
With the mutants gone, players are free to keep searching for the crossbow. There are bolts spread around, signifying its closeness. Go to the second to last row of plants in the back garden room, and the crossbow will be next to a dead person, a health mix, and more bolts. Players can hold up to 15 bolts, which can be picked back up after use. From here, the player can backtrack and leave or keep exploring the food and dining area.
Sons of the Forest is available now in early access for PC.