Dwarf multicannon
| Dwarf multicannon | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Released | 27 May 2003 (Update) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Members | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Quest | Dwarf cannon | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||
| League region |  & | ||||||||||||||||||
| Options | Fire, Pick-up, Empty | ||||||||||||||||||
| Examine | A powerful ranging device that fires metal balls. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Advanced data | |||||||||||||||||||
| Object ID | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
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The Dwarf multicannon (or simply Cannon) is a unique type of Ranged weapon that acts as a deployable turret using cannonballs or granite cannonballs as ammunition. Once deployed and loaded with ammunition, the cannon will fire at targets within its line-of-sight and range. The cannon acts as a supplemental source of damage alongside the player, and is commonly used to speed up Slayer tasks. Damage with the cannon gives reduced experience. The cannon's accuracy depends heavily on the player's current equipment, attack style and levels.
The cannon has four parts which it can be assembled from. A player may only have one cannon assembled at a time. There are many locations where setting up a cannon will be automatically prevented, as well as bosses which will destroy the cannon. If a cannon is destroyed, Nulodion will provide a free replacement.
Parts
| Item | GE Price | |
|---|---|---|
|
Cannon barrels | 184,409 |
|
Cannon base | 188,135 |
|
Cannon furnace | 187,107 |
|
Cannon stand | 183,487 |
| Total | 743,138 | |
|
Dwarf cannon set | 762,876 |
| Difference | 19,738 | |
| Item | GE Price | |
|---|---|---|
|
Cannonball | 213 |
|
Granite cannonball | N/A |
Note that the cannon parts are rather heavy, and carrying them will make a player's weight extremely high. Bringing a few Super energy or Stamina potions can compensate for the more rapid energy loss.
Assembly
To assemble a cannon the Dwarf Cannon quest must first be completed and you must have four pieces of the cannon in your inventory: the base, the stand, the furnace, and the barrels. The full set is purchasable from Nulodion, when entering dialogue, south of Ice Mountain, for 750,000 coins. This includes the four parts, an ammo mould for use in the creation of cannonballs, and the cannon's instruction manual. If buying through the trade screen, each piece can be bought separately for 200,625 coins, costing more than buying a full set.
Place the cannon base on a vacant square surrounded by eight more vacant squares, and the other pieces will be automatically assembled alongside the base. Then load the cannon with ammunition by clicking the deployed cannon with the ammunition in your inventory. If players have both regular and granite cannonballs in their inventory, granite cannonballs will be inserted first. The cannon may hold a maximum of 30 cannonballs and can be reloaded at any time by clicking on the cannon again. This capacity can be increased by completing tasks from the Combat Achievements system, reaching a maximum of 60 for the elite tier. The cannon will also require repair after 25 minutes of use.
If the cannon runs out of cannonballs, the player will need to reload the cannon in order for it to begin firing again. If the player loads cannonballs onto an empty cannon and moves away a tick later, they will be forced to run to the cannon's southwest tile to "push" the cannon to begin firing.
Mechanics
These are the mechanical aspects of the cannon. This section includes the rotation, targets, and decay of the cannon's parts.
Damage and experience
The cannon has a static max hit of 30 with cannonballs and 35 with granite cannonballs, regardless of the player's Ranged level or any other bonuses to the player's ranged damage.
Damage with the cannon yields 2 Ranged experience per damage rather than the standard 4, and does not yield any Hitpoints experience.
Accuracy
The cannon's accuracy is affected by the player's accuracy bonus,[1] which can be boosted[2] and is calculated differently depending on weapon type and attack styles.
- When using ranged weapons, the cannon uses the player's ranged accuracy, taking into account their ranged bonus. This includes ranged accuracy boosting prayers, such as Rigour.
- When using melee weapons, the cannon uses the player's melee accuracy, taking into account their stab, slash, or crush bonus depending on their currently selected attack style, as well as their Attack level and other melee accuracy bonuses. This includes melee accuracy boosting prayers, such as Piety.[3]
- Note that the cannon uses the player's crush bonus when no weapon is equipped, as all unarmed attack styles are crush.
- When using Powered staves, such as the trident of the seas, the cannon uses either the player's ranged or melee accuracy, whichever is higher.[4]
- Note that other magical staves, such as the staff of air, are treated as melee weapons even when autocast is on.[5]
The cannon's accuracy, while derived from the accuracy of the player's selected attack style, will always roll against the target's range defence.[1]
With the new combat update, the cannon will use the target's heavy ranged defence[6], which, at time of writing just after the update, only affects the ranged defence of the Corporeal beast and dragons, as all other creatures affected are not cannonable, because of either immunity or location.[7]
Revolutions
After the cannon has been set up, loaded, and fired, the barrel will rotate and fire at targets within its line-of-sight and range. The cannon barrel rotates in discrete intervals; there are eight directions the barrel may face, and the barrel makes a 45-degree turn every 0.6 seconds (one game tick), completing a full revolution in 4.8 seconds. The cannon fires up to one cannonball while facing each direction, so it fires up to eight cannonballs per revolution. The cannon may fire up to 6000 cannonballs per hour.
In a single-combat zone, the cannon fires at the monster the player is being attacked by. If the player is not being attacked by any monster – not being hit by any monsters – the cannon fires at multiple monsters. This means that a player can range, mage, or halberd from a "safespot" in a single-combat zone and have the cannon shoot at multiple monsters, as long as the player is never attacked by a monster, in which case that monster will be the only target the cannon attacks. However, the player may need to regularly come out of cover to reload the cannon if it is unreachable from the safespot.
Targets
For each direction the cannon faces during its rotation, there is a specific set of squares relative to the cannon's location that a cannonball may be shot into at that time. This target region can be visualised by a triangle emanating from the cannon barrel. Squares may be cut off from the target region by an obstacle.
Target regions for different directions overlap slightly. This may result in shooting multiple cannonballs at one monster in one cannon revolution, even one that is standing still. Up to two cannonballs may be shot at a monster that takes up a single square per rotation. If it is not in the proper location however, only one, or even zero cannonballs may be shot per rotation.
Target standing adjacent to, or one non-diagonal space away from the corner of the 3x3 area the cannon is set up in will be shot twice. Players should aim to lure targets to this space.
For monsters larger than 1x1, only the south-western tile is shot. That being said against 1x1 - 2x2 targets, the worst possible spot to stand is in the middle of the cannon or any corner under the cannon. The best way to slay those is to lure them into a multi-hit spot, or stand far from the cannon. For 3x3 monsters (e.g. Black demons), one should stand under the cannon in the north-east tile (1,1).
Players cannot control what target is chosen, thus it may fire at anything around it. However, if a player is already engaged in single combat, the cannon will only fire at the current opponent and targets between player's cannon and target may prevent the cannon from shooting your target.
Breaking/Decay
Once a cannon has been continually set up for 25 minutes, a message will appear that the cannon has broken; regardless of how many cannonballs had been fired. Players can simply click on the cannon to repair it and restore functionality. If an additional 10 minutes pass without repairing the cannon, it will disappear.
Cannons that disappear are not lost forever, but rather may be re-obtained for free from Nulodion, even if the cannon was bought from another player. Replaced cannons come loaded with cannonballs equal to the amount loaded in the cannon when the cannon was lost.
Otherwise, cannons will remain set up until the player retrieves it. Even if the player switches worlds, it will remain on the previous world until decay occurs. This doesn't prevent the player from going to reclaim a cannon from the vendor after swapping worlds, but the original cannon cannot be picked up after reclaiming in this way. If a player dies, even to another player in the wilderness; the cannon will remain in place and can be safely reclaimed after it has decayed.
Most bosses, such as the King Black Dragon, destroy dwarf multicannons; though cannons destroyed this way can still be reclaimed from Nulodion at no cost.
If a player logs out or switches worlds, they will need to reclaim their cannon from Nulodion.
Prohibited areas
Within the following areas, a cannon cannot be placed down. A message will often appear in the player's chatbox explaining why it cannot be done. A non-exhaustive list of these prohibited areas are:
- Abyssal Area - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Abyssal Nexus - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Ancient Cavern - It's far too damp for you to set up a cannon here.
- Barbarian Assault
- Black Knights' Fortress (in and around) - It is not permitted to set up a cannon this close to the Dwarf Black Guard.
- Callisto's Den - It doesn't seem safe to set up a cannon here.
- Catacombs of Kourend - An ancient power won't let you set up a cannon here.
- Castle Wars
- Cerberus' Lair - Your cannon would melt if you set it up here.
- Chambers of Xeric - An ancient power won't let you set up a cannon here.
- Clan Hall - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Dwarven Mine - The dwarves won't be happy if you set up a cannon here.
- Enchanted Valley - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Entrana
- Fremennik Slayer Dungeon - The air is too dank for you to set up a cannon here.
- Feldip Hills jungle hunter area - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Fight Arena interior - The dwarves won't be happy if you set up a cannon here.
- Forthos Dungeon - A mysterious presence won't let you set up a cannon here.
- Fossil Island bank chest island - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Near Gilbert, south-east of Barbarian Village - A colourful magical force won't let you set up a cannon here.
- Grand Exchange - The Grand Exchange staff prefer not to have heavy artillery operated around their premises.
- Hair of the Dog - Roavar won't be happy if you set up a cannon here.
- Hespori - It's far too damp down here to set up a cannon.
- Ice Mountain (except on the western tiles of the mountain) - The dwarves won't be happy if you set up a cannon here.
- Jiggig - The ogres won't be happy if you set up a cannon here.
- Jormungand's Prison basilisk areas - The ground is too soft for you to set up a cannon here.
- Karuulm Slayer Dungeon (wyrm and Alchemical Hydra areas) - The electricity bursting through this part of the cavern would render the cannon useless.
- Killerwatt Plane - The electricity is too powerful for you to set up a cannon here.
- Kraken Cove
- Lair of Tarn Razorlor - This temple is ancient and would probably collapse if you started firing a cannon.
- Lizardman Caves - The ground is too marshy here.
- Lizardman Temple - This ancient structure is too unstable to handle the idea of a cannon firing at its walls.
- Mogre Camp - It's just a little too damp for you to set up a cannon here.
- Nightmare Zone - Dominic won't be happy if you set up a cannon here.
- Ourania Cave bank area - Eniola won't be happy if you set up a cannon here.
- Pest Control - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Player-owned houses - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Realm of Memories - The creatures of this realm are neither truly canonical nor cannonable.
- Revenant Caves - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Scurrius' Lair - It's far too damp for you to set up a cannon here.
- Sorceress's Garden - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Mort'ton and Shades of Mort'ton (you can however set up a cannon in the Shade catacombs, but beware of the fact that the shades heal themselves to full health if they are not in combat anymore) - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Silk Chasm - It doesn't seem safe to set up a cannon here.
- Slayer Tower - A strange magical force won't let you set up a cannon here.
- Smoke Dungeon (task-only area) - Dusty Aliv won't be happy if you set up a cannon here.
- Theatre of Blood - The vampyres won't be happy if you set up a cannon here.
- Tombs of Amascut - An ancient power won't let you set up a cannon here.
- Tower of Magic (during quest only)
- Mor Ul Rek, TzHaar Fight Cave and TzHaar Fight Pit - The TzHaar won't be happy if you set up a cannon here.
- Ungael (Vorkath area) - The intense cold threatens to crack the metal of your cannon. You probably shouldn't put it down here.
- Vanstrom Klause (Boss fight area in the Sins of the Father quest) - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Vet'ion's Rest - It doesn't seem safe to set up a cannon here.
- Water Mill Cellar (Death to the Dorgeshuun area) - It is too damp for the cannon to function here.
- Warriors' Guild - You can't set up a cannon here.
- Wintertodt - It's far too cold for you to set up a cannon here.
- Wyvern Cave - Fungi start eating into the legs of your cannon; you quickly decide not to set it up here.
- Zemouregal's Base - A strange magical force won't let you set up a cannon here.
- Zogre cave - The ground is too soft for you to set up a cannon here.
- Zulrah's Shrine - The ground is too damp to support a cannon.
In other locations, the cannon may be set up but may be destroyed by an NPC almost instantly, or is almost useless due to limitations:
- Certain quest bosses: For example, the Giant Roc will destroy a cannon if the player sets it up within its attack range
- The Kalphite Queen, King Black Dragon, Thermonuclear smoke devil, and inhabitants of the God Wars Dungeon may also destroy a cannon if a player attempts to use it
- Ammonite crabs on Fossil Island
- Demonic gorillas, immune to cannon damage
- Emir's Arena, it can be set up, though it will not fire on players and may be lost if not picked up
- Sand Crabs on the beach, south of Hosidius
- Iorwerth Dungeon in the kurask area because they are immune to cannon damage
Usage
Cannons are commonly used by players training Slayer to speed up tasks. With the average price of cannonballs, the use of a cannon is often considered to be quite expensive. However, the cost is often considered to be justified by the bonuses of using a cannon. A player doing a Slayer task can melee almost the entire time getting nearly as much Melee experience as they would without using a cannon. The cannon will also attack several targets even in a single-way combat area as long as the player is not under attack (e.g. in a safespot).
Players should be diligent when using a cannon in multicombat areas, as the cannon can attract large numbers of monsters to attack the player, and continual reloading of the cannon will likely be required due to the number of cannonballs used.
Outside of Slayer, using the cannon can speed up kills on lizardman shamans and Wilderness bosses. Ironman mode accounts may also find it useful when taking on Corporeal Beast, as the dark energy core will not return for the rest of the kill if the cannon kills it while it is midair. Players may also use a cannon to obtain champion's scrolls faster, one of which is required to obtain a music cape, while players that complete the full champions' challenge are awarded with a champion's cape.
Common cannon spots
- Generally, players prefer to use their cannons in multicombat areas, due to the mechanics of the cannon. If the player can safespot the monsters they are attacking, they can treat single combat areas as multicombat areas for the cannon, but if the player is actively being attacked in a single combat area the cannon will only fire at the NPC the player is currently fighting.
- Green dragons in the Wilderness is a common cannon area, as they yield significant profit. Once the cannon is placed, the only risks are losing the cannonballs the player has brought, as the cannon can be recovered from Nulodion without further risk.
- The Combat Training Camp is the most common low risk spot for cannoning, but is significantly busier than other common spots. Players set their cannon up facing the caged Ogres, and are free to do other tasks like Fletching as they cannot be damaged. These spots are extremely hard to get at peak hours, as players generally will stay at these spots for hours to train ranged and other skills simultaneously.
- Hill Giants in the Edgeville Dungeon are a less common target, due to the lack of rare drops other than the Giant key. They can be easily safespotted, and have a large amount of health, allowing the cannon to hit hard enough per cannonball to justify training here. Moss giants are also common cannon targets.
- Rock Crabs are a very common cannon target, due to their low attack and the multicombat areas they inhabit. These spots are also extremely busy at peak hours, with it not being uncommon to see multiple cannons within the same area. Sand Crabs cannot be targeted by cannons and as such are not suitable for cannon training.
Ornament kit
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The cannon parts can be ornamented using the shattered cannon ornament kit which converts it into a cannon resembling one from RuneScape Classic. All four parts must be ornamented to allow the cannon to actually be set up; ornamented and non-ornamented parts cannot be mixed and matched.
Comparison between other ranged weapons
| Name |  level required
|
Ranged attack | Ranged strength (Max ammo) |
Price | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Twisted bow | 85
|
+70 | +20 (+80) |
1,668,548,042 |
|
 |
Bow of Faerdhinen | 80
|
+128 | +106 | 162,505,219 |
|
 |
Zaryte crossbow | 80
|
+110 | (+122) | 358,799,399 |
|
 |
Venator bow | 80
|
+90 | +25 (+85) |
85,933,214 |
|
 |
Scorching bow | 77
|
+124 | +40 (+100) |
54,843,710[n 1] |
|
 |
Toxic blowpipe | 75
|
+30 | +20 (+55) |
6,212,774 |
|
 |
Heavy ballista | 75
|
+125 | +15 (+165) |
1,533,361 |
|
 |
Eclipse atlatl | 75
|
+87 | +40 (Melee) | 2,167,041 |
|
 |
Dragon hunter crossbow | 70
|
+95 | (+122) | 58,213,298 |
|
 |
Armadyl crossbow | 70
|
+100 | (+122) | 54,824,589 |
|
 |
Crystal bow | 70
|
+100 | +78 | 480,608[n 2] |
|
 |
Webweaver bow | 70
|
+85 | +65 | 19,143,072 |
|
 |
Karil's crossbow | 70
|
+84 | (+55) | 103,163 |
|
 |
Hunters' sunlight crossbow | 66  50
|
+79 | (+60) | 5,462 |
|
 |
Dragon crossbow | 64
|
+94 | (+122) | 1,220,988 |
|
 |
Rune crossbow | 61
|
+90 | (+115) | 10,105 |
|
 |
Craw's bow | 60
|
+75 | +60 | 19,008,294 |
|
 |
Dark bow | 60
|
+95 | (+60) | 1,368,936 |
|
 |
Magic shortbow | 50
|
+69 | (+55) | 830 |
|
|
Magic shortbow (i) | +75 | 37,074 | |||
 |
Magic comp bow | 50
|
+71 | (+55) | 3,144 |
|
 |
Seercull | 50
|
+69 | (+55) | 44,793 |
|
 |
Magic longbow | 50
|
+69 | (+55) | 1,312 |
|
 |
Adamant crossbow | 46
|
+78 | (+100) | 2,801 |
|
|
Chinchompas | 45 (Grey) |
+45 | N/A | Varies[n 3] |
|
|
55 (Red) |
+70 | +15 | |||
|
65 (Black) |
+80 | +30 | |||
    
|
Salamanders |   30 (Green) |
+20 | (+16) | 137 |
|
| 50 (Orange) |
+29 | (+22) | 170 | |||
| 60 (Red) |
+47 | (+31) | 66 | |||
| 70 (Black) |
+69 | (+49) | 435 | |||
| 80 (Tecu) |
+87 | (+60) | 283,360 | |||
 |
Dorgeshuun crossbow | 28
|
+42 | (+49) | 2,222 |
|
|
Throwing knives | 40 (Rune) |
+25 | +24 | Varies[n 3] |
|
|
Shortbows | 40 (Yew) |
+47 | (+49) | 359 |
|
|
Darts | 30 (Adamant) |
N/A | +17 | Varies[n 3] |
|
|
|
Dwarf multicannon | N/A | N/A | N/A | 743,138 |
|
Changes
| Date | Changes |
|---|---|
| [[{{#explode:12 July 2023| |0}} {{#explode:12 July 2023| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:12 July 2023| |2}}]] (update) |
The cannon will also now automatically decay if a Forestry event spawns where it is placed. |
| [[{{#explode:30 November 2022| |0}} {{#explode:30 November 2022| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:30 November 2022| |2}}]] (update) |
|
| [[{{#explode:4 April 2019| |0}} {{#explode:4 April 2019| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:4 April 2019| |2}}]] (update) |
Firing a cannon with an extremely low accuracy bonus will now have a chance to deal 1 point of damage instead of hitting 0. |
| [[{{#explode:31 March 2016| |0}} {{#explode:31 March 2016| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:31 March 2016| |2}}]] (update) |
Cannons can no longer be set up in the Blast furnace. |
| [[{{#explode:24 March 2016| |0}} {{#explode:24 March 2016| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:24 March 2016| |2}}]] (update | poll) |
Cannons which decay no longer suddenly disappear. Instead, they are now given a repair option which allows you to reset your cannon timer without having to pick it up and put it back down! |
| [[{{#explode:24 September 2015| |0}} {{#explode:24 September 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:24 September 2015| |2}}]] (update) |
The cannon should no longer produce the message "Someone else is fighting that". |
| [[{{#explode:10 September 2015| |0}} {{#explode:10 September 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:10 September 2015| |2}}]] (update) |
NPC's will no longer sometimes turn invisible on the south-west tile of a Dwarf Cannon. |
| [[{{#explode:20 August 2015| |0}} {{#explode:20 August 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:20 August 2015| |2}}]] (update) |
The dwarf cannon now checks ownership correctly when firing. |
| [[{{#explode:11 June 2015| |0}} {{#explode:11 June 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:11 June 2015| |2}}]] (update) |
|
| [[{{#explode:15 January 2015| |0}} {{#explode:15 January 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:15 January 2015| |2}}]] (update) |
The cannon no longer works on the Mage Arena mages and Kolodion. |
| [[{{#explode:20 November 2014| |0}} {{#explode:20 November 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:20 November 2014| |2}}]] (update) |
Nulodion will now return your cannon if someone else has one setup on the same tile where yours decayed. |
| [[{{#explode:26 June 2014| |0}} {{#explode:26 June 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:26 June 2014| |2}}]] (update) |
The dwarf multicannon no longer always hits zero when wielding a trident of the seas. |
| [[{{#explode:15 May 2014| |0}} {{#explode:15 May 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:15 May 2014| |2}}]] (update) |
Cannons can no longer be set up on PvP worlds due to griefing issues. |
| [[{{#explode:1 May 2014| |0}} {{#explode:1 May 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:1 May 2014| |2}}]] (update) |
Cannons can no longer be setup within the Party room and can now be placed where the Party room used to be. |
| [[{{#explode:20 February 2014| |0}} {{#explode:20 February 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:20 February 2014| |2}}]] (update | poll) |
Left-clicking on your cannon will now let you reload it, even if it isn't currently firing. |
| [[{{#explode:3 October 2013| |0}} {{#explode:3 October 2013| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:3 October 2013| |2}}]] (update) |
The message notifying you that your cannon has decayed no longer appears five minutes too early. |
| [[{{#explode:11 July 2013| |0}} {{#explode:11 July 2013| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:11 July 2013| |2}}]] (update | poll) |
The dwarf multicannon can now be constructed and reloaded with a single click, instead of requiring you to use items on it repeatedly. Also, its decay warning message has been made more visible. |
| [[{{#explode:4 April 2013| |0}} {{#explode:4 April 2013| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:4 April 2013| |2}}]] (update) |
The cannon ownership system has been improved to be more robust. |
| [[{{#explode:22 February 2013| |0}} {{#explode:22 February 2013| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:22 February 2013| |2}}]] (update) |
This content was included when the Old School RuneScape servers officially launched. |
Trivia
- The only ammunition for cannons that players can use is cannonballs made from steel and granite. However, Dondakan from the quest Between a Rock... fires adamantite, runite, and gold cannonballs from his cannon.
- If the cannon is fired in a single-combat area the chat will say, "I'm currently under attack" along with an occasional, "Someone else is fighting that" depending on the combat status of the player-character.
- If a player drops the components of the cannon set, they will discover that the items are 1x1 size, despite the cannon being 3x3.
- The cannon may sometimes shoot through walls.
- Despite being called a multicannon, it only has one barrel to fire cannonballs. The name comes from the dwarf cannon in RuneScape Classic, which had 8 barrels and would fire in all directions instead of spinning.
References
| NPCs | |||||
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| Items |
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| Locations | |||||
| Related | |||||
| Parts | |
|---|---|
| Shattered ornament | |
| Ammunition | |
| Bows |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crossbows |
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| Thrown |
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