The earthquake-ravaged landscapes in Aftermath aren’t the only things that are a little worse for wear. A complete logistical breakdown has forced soldiers from both sides of the conflict to wage war with what little resources they have at their disposal. The results are some truly inventive, yet crude, implements forged from scavenged weapons, vehicles, and other miscellaneous debris. The improvised weapons and vehicles introduced in this expansion may not look pretty, but they’re more than capable of getting the job done.
Xbows and Bolts
Improvised from a heavily modified M4, the Xbow is a single-shot projectile weapon, much like a bolt-action sniper rifle. The difference lies in how ammunition is handled. The crossbow fires arrow-like bolts instead of bullets. In addition to the default Standard Bolt, there are three other bolts to unlock and choose—you can only select bolts you’ve unlocked by completing specific assignments. Each bolt has its own characteristics that affect range and damage output. This allows you to choose the proper ammo for different tactical situations. For example, the Standard Bolt does nothing to vehicles, but the High-Explosive (HE) Bolt can inflict some serious damage to all units, including tanks. By pressing the fire mode select button, you switch bolt types on the fly—the firing mode icons are replaced by bolt type indicators while wielding the Xbow or Xbow Scoped. Unlike standard firearms, the Xbows aren’t fed through magazines. Instead, bolts must be loaded manually, one at a time. As a result, the Xbows are difficult to use in chaotic close-quarter firefights. It’s best to equip this weapon when engaging single, unsuspecting opponents. Each soldier can carry a maximum of 10 bolts for their Xbow. But new bolts can be acquired from the support class’s ammo box or from the new ammo crates available during Scavenger mode. The best part about the Xbows is that they’re available to all classes and don’t occupy a weapon slot. Instead, they occupy the soldier’s first gadget slot. This gives each soldier the opportunity to carry a pistol and primary weapon in addition to their Xbow. However, it also means you’ll need to leave behind valuable gadgets like medic kits, rocket launchers, and ammo boxes in favor of carrying an Xbow.
Bolts are smaller and heavier than arrows fired by bows. They use similar ballistics as bullets, but travel slightly slower. Cumbersome to load and slow in travel, bolts make up for their drawbacks by packing some serious power. As long as a target is within optimal range, scoring a center mass hit or headshot with a bolt is almost always lethal.
