You’re freezing, starving, and there’s a naked cannibal breathing down your neck. Standard Tuesday in the world of Endnight Games. While the modern axe is great for splitting skulls and the shotgun is basically a delete button for mutants, there’s something special about the Sons of the Forest crossbow. It’s quiet. It’s precise. Most importantly, you can recover the bolts, which is a massive deal when you’re low on resources and miles away from your base.
Most players treat it like a secondary tool. Big mistake.
If you’ve played the prequel, The Forest, you know the drill. High-tier loot isn't just sitting in a chest on the beach. You have to work for it. This isn't just about walking into a cave and picking up a shiny new toy. You need specific gear before you even think about heading toward the crossbow's location. If you show up without the Maintenance Keycard, you’re just going to be staring at a locked door while a Fingers mutant tries to turn your ribcage into a xylophone.
Why the Sons of the Forest Crossbow is Actually Better Than the Compound Bow
Let’s be real for a second. The compound bow looks cooler. It’s got that modern, tactical vibe that makes you feel like Daryl Dixon. But in actual gameplay? The crossbow wins on raw utility almost every single time.
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First off, the damage. It hits like a freight train. Unlike the standard bow where you’re fiddling with draw strength and arc, the crossbow is point-and-click. You don't have to hold your breath or worry about your stamina draining while you aim. You just aim and fire. It’s the perfect weapon for players who aren’t exactly Robin Hood under pressure.
There’s also the iron sights. They are incredibly clean.
When you’re trying to headshot a masked cannibal from twenty yards away, that clarity matters. Also, let’s talk about the bolts. You can find them scattered around bunkers, sure, but the fact that they don’t break as often as carbon fiber arrows is a literal life-saver. You shoot, you kill, you walk over to the corpse, and you take your ammo back. Efficiency is king when the island is trying to eat you.
Getting Your Hands on the Maintenance Keycard First
You can’t just walk up and grab the weapon. Endnight loves their progression locks. To get the Sons of the Forest crossbow, you need the Maintenance Keycard. No exceptions.
To get that card, you’ll need the shovel. To get the shovel, you need the rebreather and the rope gun. See the pattern? This game is a giant chain of "go here to get the thing to go there."
The Maintenance Keycard is located in Maintenance Tunnel A. Look for the tripod and the golf carts on your GPS. You’ll have to dig—a lot. Once you uncover the hatch and head down, the card is sitting on a desk next to a 3D printer. Don’t get distracted by the resin; grab the card and get out. You’ve got a long trek ahead of you to the northwestern part of the map where the actual crossbow is hiding.
The Journey to the Food and Drink Bunker
The Sons of the Forest crossbow is tucked away in the Food and Drink Bunker. On your map, this looks like a green circle near a small lake. It’s tucked into some greenery, and honestly, if you aren't looking closely at the GPS, you might walk right past the entrance. It’s a narrow crack in the rocks that leads down into a surprisingly clean facility.
Well, clean-ish. Aside from the mutants.
Once you’re inside, use the Maintenance Keycard on the door at the back of the kitchen area. This opens up the hydroponics farm. This place is eerie. Rows of glowing plants, flickering lights, and that low humming sound that usually means something bad is about to happen. You’ll find the crossbow nestled between two shelves in the second grow room. It’s usually lying on the floor next to a dead guy who clearly didn't use it well enough.
Take a second to look around while you’re there. There are often bolts nearby. Grab every single one.
Mastering the Reload and the Arc
The biggest downside? The reload speed is sluggish. You’re not going to be a machine gun with this thing. If you miss your first shot against a charging Brute, you’re going to have a very bad time.
The trick is to use the environment.
Climb on a rock. Put a fence between you and the enemy. Use the crossbow for the opening move, not the finishing blow in a crowded fight. It’s a sniper’s tool. I’ve found that it’s most effective when you’re clearing out camps from a distance. You can pick off the lookouts without alerting the entire village.
And remember, there is a slight drop-off. It’s not a laser beam. If you’re shooting across a clearing, aim just a tiny bit above the head. It takes a few practice shots to get the muscle memory down, but once it clicks, you’ll be popping heads like bubble wrap.
Customizing Your Loadout
Can you put a laser sight on it? Yes. Should you? Absolutely.
The Sons of the Forest crossbow can be modified with the rail system. Adding a laser sight makes it the ultimate "no-scope" weapon for close-quarters panic moments. While the iron sights are great, having that little red dot tells you exactly where that bolt is going to land. In the dark caves, that extra bit of visual aid is worth its weight in gold.
Don't forget the weapon light attachment either. Holding a flashlight in one hand and a crossbow in the other isn't an option, so mounting a light directly to the rail is the only way to stay accurate in the deep bunkers where the creepy-crawlies live.
Common Mistakes New Players Make
Stop trying to use it against bird-men. They move too fast. You’ll waste your bolts and get frustrated.
Also, don't forget to check your inventory regularly. Sometimes the game likes to unequip your bolts if you’ve been switching between the slingshot or the regular bow. There’s nothing worse than lining up the perfect shot on a sleeping mutant only to realize you’re dry.
Another thing: the weight. It feels "heavier" in terms of movement. You don't move quite as fast when you’re ADS (aiming down sights) with the crossbow compared to the crafted bow. If a cannibal starts swinging a club at you, stop aiming and run.
Technical Stats and Damage Output
While Endnight doesn't give us a nice little stat bar in the UI, community testing and data mining have shown that the crossbow consistently out-damages the compound bow with standard arrows. We are talking about a significant gap. A headshot with a crossbow bolt will drop most standard cannibals instantly. Even the "Puffy" mutants in the caves take a serious beating from this thing.
The bolts themselves are heavy. They have high staggering potential. If you hit an enemy in the leg, they usually stumble, giving you that precious second or two to reload or swap to your katana. It’s all about crowd control.
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Where to Find More Bolts
Eventually, you’re going to lose some. It happens. You fire a shot, the cannibal falls off a cliff, and your bolt is gone forever.
Bunkers are your best friend. Specifically, the maintenance bunkers and the final luxury bunker have high spawn rates for crossbow bolts. They often appear in yellow crates or on shelves near weapon racks. If you’re really desperate, you can "cheese" the spawns by saving your game at a bed, exiting to the main menu, and reloading. The items on the shelves will respawn. It’s a bit of a meta-tactic, but hey, survival is survival.
Is it Worth the Trip?
In the current state of the game, the crossbow is a top-tier weapon. It bridges the gap between the primitive early-game tools and the late-game firearms that rely on non-renewable ammo. It’s the ultimate middle-ground weapon for a player who wants to be quiet but deadly.
If you’re planning on exploring the deeper caves or tackling the end-game bunkers, you need this in your hotbar. The silence is your biggest advantage. In Sons of the Forest, noise is a magnet for trouble. The more you can kill without making a sound, the longer you’re going to stay alive.
Your Tactical Checklist for the Crossbow
- Secure the Gear: You cannot get the crossbow without the Maintenance Keycard. Don't waste the trip to the northwest bunker until you have it.
- Locate the Entrance: Find the Food and Drink bunker tucked in the forest near the coast. Look for the small rock opening.
- Clear the Room: Be prepared for mutants in the hydroponics area. They love to hide between the plant rows.
- Scavenge the Bolts: Check every shelf in the room where you find the crossbow; there are usually 3-5 bolts hidden in the immediate vicinity.
- Upgrade Immediately: Attach a laser sight as soon as you find a spare rail. It transforms the weapon's usability in high-stress situations.
- Recover Ammo: Always walk over the bodies of your enemies. Those bolts are too valuable to leave behind.