Talk:Chu Ko Nu (Age of Empires II)/@comment-27726014-20180806193654/@comment-27726014-20190629193216

Well, yes to an extent and they are that in the game. High performance bows like the Longbow are quite pricy compared to the average archer line.

However the Chu_Ku_Nu was even cheaper than a standard crossbow. As you didn't even need to aim. It has so little power that shooting at a distance is pointless anyway. Another problem is that the Chu_Ku_Nu was useless against armor. Even scoring a direct hit on the weak points won't do anything as even the soft cover underneath the armor is enough to stop those bolts.

The Crossbow did have a lot of power. However it did require enough practice to aim and hit a target at a fairly decent range. The lack of having to fight the bow made it easier but you still need practice. However you can teach someone to be proficient with a crossbow in just a few months while a longbow takes a few years. The Chu_Ku_Nu takes just a few hours.