Predator Bow

Predator Bow
Production Information
Manufacturer	Nyles Archery Crynet Armories
Type	Bow and arrow
Technical Specifications
Damage Per Hit	8
Magazine Size	1
Maximum Ammunition	Carbon-Impact: 9 (Single Player 20 (Multiplayer) Airburst fragmentation: 3 Stun/Electro: 3 Super-Thermite: 3 Recon: 3
Fire Mode	Single-fire
Rate of Fire	2
Accuracy	7
Range	5
Ammunition Specifications
Ammunition Type	Carbon-Impact Stun/ElectroAirburst FragmentationSuper-ThermiteRecon

The Predator Bow is powerful compound bow that only appears in Crysis 3 and is the game's signature weapon.

Description

The Predator Bow is a highly advanced tactical compound bow, designed specifically for use by Nanosuit wearers. It is equipped with an auto-loading, detachable box magazine; can deploy a variety of compact, extending arrows; has 3 variable draw weights, that can be quickly switched between; collapses into a more compact size for easy storage; and most importantly, it is calibrated to Nanosuits, allowing it to be fired without disrupting their cloaking system. The only way to refill the special arrows is to find arrow cases.

Arrow types and Draw weights

Arrows:

• Carbon-Impact arrow: The basic arrow for the bow. You can carry 9 arrows, but you can retrieve your arrows (provided you haven't sent them over the edge of a guard rail, cliff, etc.).
• Electro/Shock: When shot at an enemy, it electrocutes/stuns them. Has lots of utility against mechanical things. When shot at pools of water, it will discharge and electrocute anyone within a small radius.
• Super-thermite: Very powerful explosive, but with a small area of effect. When shot at an enemy. or wall. or anything for that matter. it'll stick, then a few seconds later detonate. The splash damage is more than enough to kill CELL operatives and unaware ceph infantry. (there will be a small indicator near the bottom of your screen if the arrow has stuck to a living target).
• Airburst Fragmentation: Detonates in proximity to enemies and destructibles, making dislodging defenders trivial, and allowing you to fire at targets that are technically hidden. Fairly big area of effect.

Draw weights:

• Low draw weight: Low potential damage, short range, but very quick draw. Useful for gunning down CELL operatives.
• Medium draw weight: Significantly higher potential damage, and longer range, but a bit slower draw. Flexible.
• Strong draw weight: Highest potential damage and range, but very slow draw. Sends enemies flying when hit, and will nail their corpses to the surroundings.

Stats

Accuracy: 7

Rate of fire: 2

Mobility: 3

Damage: 7

Range: 5

Stability: 5

Tactics

The Predator Bow can be fired while cloaked, without the cost of energy. This makes it the only weapon that can be fired while cloaked without using any energy. (Suppressed weapons can be used without disrupting the cloak, but use energy per shot, in addition to the energy cost of the cloak being active.) The Predator Bow has 4 arrow types: Carbon impact tip, Electro Arrows, Super thermite tip, and airburst fragmentation tip. It also has 3 draw weight options: low, medium, and strong.

In single-player, the Predator Bow is carried at all times and is given its own weapon slot so it cannot be dropped or exchanged for another firearm.

Unique among the various arrows, carbon-tipped arrows will stick out of surfaces and bodies you hit, so can be retrieved. Assuming you retrieve every arrow, the bow essentially has unlimited ammo. Use to visor to tag arrows for easier retrieval. In terms of power , these are superb when backed with strong draw and good accuracy. You can easily destroy a pinger or ceph heavy with these alone.

Damage is dependent on the draw weight, distance to the target, and how far back you pull the arrow. It's almost never a good idea to fire 'half-charged arrows,' and if you find yourself not having enough time to charge properly, switch to a lower draw weight instead. It goes without saying that low draw weight has far less potential damage than strong draw weight. Virtually every human target, no matter how armored, will die to a single low draw arrow even at extreme range, but only if it hits the torso or the head. Up close, a hit anywhere will kill humans. Ceph, including the stalker, can theoretically be killed by single medium draw arrows, but it requires hitting weak spots or their heads, so it's more practical to go strong draw and have every arrow equal a kill.

Against fast targets, like ceph stalkers and groups of CELL recon operatives, rather than stick 'em all with individual carbon arrows, you can simply clear a path with the airburst arrows. These are also great if enemies refuse to leave their cover. Simply angle it so the arrow will detonate above or behind them, and boom. While it rarely comes into play, you can use these to set other flammable and explosive things ablaze, and with strong draw, a lot of the energy will transfer through thin walls. creating even more mayhem.

Electric arrows do a lot of things, from providing a strong counter to turrets, largely one-hit kills on ceph infantry, mess with ceph mechanical units, like the scorcher. deal extra damage to all sorts of machines, and can be fired into pools of water to electrocute groups of enemies, or set off multiple mines, though the discharge range is fairly limited. With strong draw, these can take large chunks out of pingers, proving how powerful they are.

Super-thermite is the dedicated anti-materiel arrow variant, but don't be shy about using them on groups of enemies. While you're only guaranteed to kill the enemy you hit, the panic usually gets a few more killed in the explosion. Like with C4, you'll get the most mileage out of these if you aim at weak points. Note that these are significantly heavier than the other arrow variants, so you'll have to aim slightly above the target to guarantee a hit. When engaging turrets, ask yourself 'can I afford to have it shoot at me and alert all the enemies of my presence?' if 'yes,' use the thermite arrow. If 'no,' use an electric arrow.

Hunter Bow in multiplayer

CELL vehicles are extremely vulnerable to thermite arrows, so might be wise to save one in case there's a helicopter?

Multiplayer: The Predator Bow is a primary weapon that can be used in multiplayer. It allows players to use all the arrows found in multiplayer with the addition of the Recon arrow, which lets you tag your enemies in multiplayer, at the cost of choosing draw weights. In Multiplayer, the bow is set to medium draw weight in order to not over-power the Bow's abilities.

Tactics: The Predator Bow takes a great deal of skill and hand-eye coordination in multiplayer. Unlike in Single-Player, the bow will take away all cloak energy if fired while you are cloaked, which will reveal you. Like using a sniper rifle (The Bow has been put in this category), trying to shoot sprinting enemies for the first time will be difficult. Practice as much as you can, and experiment with different types of arrows. One tactic is to set up in an overwatch location (On the East River map for example, the catwalks are a good area to set up in). Don't move around as much, or it might give away your location, regardless of being cloaked or not. Before firing the bow at your target, uncloak so you don't lose all of your energy, then fire. Whether you hit or you didn't, go into cloak again then move onto a new location. This is a great tactic to use if you prefer a camping play style (Simply, setting up, taking down 1-2 targets [three if you prefer staying awhile], then moving on).

Trivia

In-game weapon information

• Prophet mentions in "The 7 Wonders of Crysis" episode 2, that the bow (in general) was developed independently by every human civilization. He implies that humans not only used it for hunting and wage war, but to also satisfy their instinct to fight.
• The bow gets its name from the Predator series of movies, of which inspired many of the Crysis series' gameplay elements.
• According to Psycho, the bow can deliver enough kinetic energy to stop a rhino. This also implies that the Nanosuit itself can generate enough kinetic energy to stop a rhino.
• The Crysis 3: Hunter edition included a special Predator Bow skin called "Hunter" and allowed for day 1 access to the Predator Bow without need for leveling up in multiplayer.
• There are six achievements for using the Predator Bow: 'Be a Pro, Use a Bow!', 'Hunter- Gatherer', 'Bang For The Buck', 'Stick Around', 'Arrow to the Knee', and 'Who Needs Rockets?'    
• After Psycho gives Prophet the dog tags of some of the fallen Nanosuit wearers from Lingshan , Prophet ties them to his bow. They are the dogtags of Jester (Raptor Team), Aztec (Raptor Team), and Cupcake (Eagle Team).
• Around the end of the game when Prophet shoots the Alpha-Ceph with the Predator Bow, there is a typo as it says: "Hold [fire key] to 'shot' the bow" instead of saying: "Hold [fire key] to 'shoot' the bow".
• The bow follows a compound bow design.
• The bow uses energy while cloaked in multiplayer.
• A normal human can lift around 1000lbs max. When in a fight or flight response, that can reach up to 3000lbs. The nanosuit has double the strength of a normal human. The highest draw weight on the bow is listed as being the highest it can go for a suit wearer to draw it. Therefore, the draw weight could possibly be around 6000lbs.
  • The above information can be questionable, as the nanosuit is often show being able to perform feats that require significantly more strength than twice that of a human, such as picking up and throwing large objects like washing machines and ovens (~100kg) at distances of several dozen meters.
• The Predator Bow first appeared on the leaked box art of Crysis 3, showing the protagonist Prophet wielding it. It then appeared in an official screenshot released by EA on April 16, 2012.
• It was first officially announced during the reveal trailer for Crysis 3. In the trailer, it is shown to be collapsible for easier transport, unfolding on its own during usage.

Gallery

Concept Art

Customization Viewer Featuring Super Thermite Arrow Tip

Entering the Dome with the Predator Bow

Predator Bow in use

Prophet engaging Ceph troops with the Predator Bow.

Fine-turning the predator bow in singleplayer.