Crossbow

"But the Orcs laughed with loud voices; and a hail of darts and arrows whistled over the wall […]."

- The Two Towers, Helm's Deep

The crossbow is a very effective weapon in Middle Earth. However, not unlike most other weapons, there are advantages and disadvantages to using it. The loading time is considerably slower than a regular bow, as it first has to be "locked and loaded" but it can deal an extreme amount of damage per shot, and can be shot instantly once loaded.
 * Bronze Crossbow: deals 12-16 HP damage
 * Iron Crossbow: deals 12-18 HP damage
 * Uruk Crossbow: deals 14-20 HP of damage
 * Mithril Crossbow: deals 16-22 HP of damage

Characteristics
Crossbows are very different from bows. They can be charged by holding right-click for a much longer period of time, and afterwards, it does not fire automatically. Upon clicking a second time, the crossbow fires. This means one can carry a loaded crossbow and shoot it instantly. A useful tactic is to carry several loaded crossbows for rapid fire. As of Beta 21, crossbows have a sound when loading.

The ammunition used for crossbows are bolts, just as arrows are used for bows.

Obtaining One
Crossbows can be made through the recipe shown in the photos on this page, and they can also be found as a semi-rare drop from Uruk-hai crossbowers or some Gundabad Orc Archers. The crossbow doesn't use arrows like the bow, but rather crossbow bolts (crafted similarly to arrows, but with an iron ingot in place of flint). Despite the fact that bolts are more expensive than arrows, they can be retrieved after shooting. Crossbows can be made out of either bronze ingots, iron ingots, mithril ingots, or with Uruk steel ingots, the latter of which has to be on an Uruk crafting table. Otherwise, crossbows are crafted on a regular crafting table. All the aforementioned recipes can be seen in the photos on the right. The recipe requires three sticks, two string, and four of the respective ingot. Crossbow bolts are dropped by Gundabad Orc Archers and Uruk-Hai Crossbowers.