crossbow also has an increased hit chance (15%), as well as penalty for range is only 3% per tile (vs bow which with called shot its 2%, reg shot 4%). The biggest bonus, of which some of us discuss on the forumns, is its insane damage on crits (head shots). Because of the 50% dmg to body, a head shot will hit the target for anywhere from 30-55ish damage (and if there is no armor on the head it can easily be a 1 shot kill). For example, if you have a bowman versus orcs, u will be mostly wasting your turn unless they have no armor, vs the crossbow will decimate their armor and actually deal some damage. Additionally, while the crossbow range is shorter, it allows you to use a better helemet (max helmet w/out vision loss is 90, and the lower range alows you to use a helmet that decreases vission. So in summary:
Early game advantages: + hit chance, disadvantages: 1 shot per turn, expensive to reload
Late game advantages: armor penetration, disadvantages: only 1 shot
hope this helps some.
