Cold War players call for change to frustrating R1 Shadowhunter crossbow issue

Liam Mackay
BOCW crossbow gameplay

While the R1 Shadowhunter crossbow can be a fun challenge to give yourself in Cold War’s hectic multiplayer, Trophy Systems intercepting the bolts make it extremely frustrating to use.

The Trophy System is a defensive tool that has been around since Modern Warfare 3, designed to block incoming explosives such as grenades and rockets. When playing objective modes in Black Ops Cold War, you’ll often see the hills stacked with these Field Upgrades to protect those on the point.

However, now that the R1 Shadowhunter crossbow has arrived, players have discovered that the Trophy System blocks its bolts, making them all-the-more frustrating to come up against.

Reddit user ‘justicedeliverer1‘ shared their thoughts on why “Crossbow bolts should not be intercepted by Trophy Systems.”

“[The crossbow] has only a few bolts and it requires skill to use,” they explained. “And currently there’s no way to counter a camper with a Trophy System using it.”

The majority of users in the comments section agreed with their reasoning, with cjpack explaining that players “already pay a steep price choosing to use this weapon over any other weapon with all the draw backs, this is so unnecessary.”

The R1 Shadowhunter is tough to use by design, but players passively unlocking Trophies and throwing them down can render the Season 2 weapon useless.

BOCW R1 Shadowhunter crossbow gameplay

The Trophy’s in-game description is as follows: “Destroys thrown enemy equipment and launcher missiles within 10 meters.” As the crossbow bolt is fired from a weapon, therefore neither equipment nor a launcher missile, it’s unclear whether this feature was intentional.

This also dug up an older frustration with the Cold War community where Tomahawks and Molotovs are intercepted by Trophy Systems. These pieces of equipment aren’t explosive, so it’s especially frustrating when your well-aimed Tomahawk, which is sure to be clip-worthy, just disappears after being hit by a Trophy System.

If Treyarch responds or gives any update to this mechanic, we’ll be sure to let you know. If you’re looking to find your new favorite gun in the meantime, you can check out our Cold War weapons tier list.

Image Credit: Treyarch

About The Author

Liam is CharlieIntel's Editor who focuses on Call of Duty but also plays lots of fantasy RPGs or anything else in his massive gaming backlog. After graduating in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University, Liam freelanced in games journalism before joining CharlieIntel in November 2020. You can contact Liam at [email protected].