Hand Crossbows

The hand crossbow is a class-specific item that can only be used by the Demon Hunter.

Unlike other crossbows, the hand crossbow is a one-handed item. This means Hand Crossbows may be wielded in combination with a shield or quiver if the player so chooses, but it is likely the best DPS output will come from dual wielding these items. Hand crossbows have the fastest firing rate of any ranged weapon in the game, but they do less damage than other bows or crossbows to compensate.

Hand Crossbows

Normal

	Name	Properties	Rq Lvl
	Initiate's Hand Crossbow	3.0–4.2 Damage Per Second (2–3) to (3–4) Damage 1.20 Attacks Per Second	-
	Simple Hand Crossbow	4.5 Damage Per Second 1 to 4 Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	-
	Light Hand Crossbow	5.4–9.0 Damage Per Second (1–2) to (5–8) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	-
	Stake Thrower	9.0–13.5 Damage Per Second (2–3) to (8–12) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	-
	Hand Crossbow	11.7–17.1 Damage Per Second (2–3) to (11–16) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	5
	Slinglock	14.4–21.6 Damage Per Second (2–4) to (14–20) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	9
	Quillshot	18.9–26.1 Damage Per Second (3–5) to (18–24) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	13
	Nail Spitter	19.8–28.8 Damage Per Second (2–5) to (20–27) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	17
	Heavy Stake Thrower	23.4–34.2 Damage Per Second (2–6) to (24–32) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	21

Nightmare

	Name	Properties	Rq Lvl
	Sling Pistol	25.2–38.7 Damage Per Second (2–7) to (26–36) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	27
	Crosslock	31.5–45.0 Damage Per Second (3–8) to (32–42) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	30
	Siege Lock	36.0–49.5 Damage Per Second (4–9) to (36–46) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	32
	Arcus	45.0–58.5 Damage Per Second (5–10) to (45–55) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	36
	Cranequin	48.6–64.8 Damage Per Second (5–11) to (49–61) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	38
	Spine Thrower	59.4–75.6 Damage Per Second (7–13) to (59–71) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	41
	Heavy Arcus	66.6–82.8 Damage Per Second (8–14) to (66–78) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	43
	Bolt Rack	79.2–95.4 Damage Per Second (10–16) to (78–90) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	45

Hell

	Name	Properties	Rq Lvl
	Runic Sling Pistol	92.7–111.6 Damage Per Second (12–19) to (91–105) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	50
	Splinter Shot	103.5–122.4 Damage Per Second (14–21) to (101–115) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	52
	Windlash	116.1–135.0 Damage Per Second (16–23) to (113–127) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	54
	Blade Spitter	126.9–148.5 Damage Per Second (17–25) to (124–140) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	56
	Heavy Cranequin	143.1–164.7 Damage Per Second (20–28) to (139–155) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	58
	Runic Arcus	150.3–171.9 Damage Per Second (21–29) to (146–162) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	60
	Impellor	160.2–181.8 Damage Per Second (23–31) to (155–171) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	60
	Exorcist	168.3–189.9 Damage Per Second (24–32) to (163–179) Damage 1.80 Attacks Per Second	60

Dual Wield Only?

Just pretend he's a Demon Hunter.

At Blizzcon 2010, hand xbows could only be dual wielded. The bows came in a pair, and looked something like you see in the paperdoll mock-up to the right. A Demon Hunter could only equip both at once, or neither; it was not possible to equip just one hand xbow with a one-handed a weapon or a shield.

This was thought to be a balance issue; the hand xbow was the fastest firing ranged weapon in the game, but as a trade off they had to be used two at a time, trading defense for offense. This may not be the case in the final game though, as Bashiok explained while answering some forum questions in November 2010. [1]

[Can the Demon Hunter use] two separate and unique one hand crossbows w/ different stats on them?

Bashiok: Yes, that is in. A lot of work is being done right now on demon hunter weapons so some things are still up in the air, but dual-wielding one handed crossbows in each hand, each with their own unique enchants and gems, etc. is now in the game.

So, one could now wield a one-handed crossbow in one hand, and a shield in the other?

Bashiok: Potentially, but some things are still up in the air

I do wonder what other classes will be able to use 1 handed crossbows.

Bashiok: No other class is planned to use one-handed crossbows. It’s a demon hunter thing. There are two handed crossbows that the witch doctor and wizard can use.

It's unclear how the developers would balance this out; if a hand crossbow is the fastest firing weapon, AND it can be used with a shield, or two of them can be used at once, that seems like an enormous bonus, since that doubles the item modifiers, gem bonuses, etc. The damage of the hand crossbow would have to be much lower, the item bonuses limited, the number of sockets capped, etc.

Demon Hunter Cinematic

The Demon Hunter makes extensive use of dual hand crossbows in her introductory cinematic, devastating a horde of demons with the weapons.

Demon Hunter using both xbows at once with multishot, in her cinematic.