Minecraft wiki entry for Combat, associated text: The crossbow is similar to the bow, but more powerful, and shoots arrows with more velocity, though it has a longer charge time. It requires arrows or firework rockets as ammunition. Enchanting a crossbow with Quick Charge can sidestep the reload time problem, as charging crossbows with Quick Charge III is faster than fully charging a bow. Other enchantments which greatly enhance the crossbow are Multishot and Piercing, which are useful for attacking multiple enemies. Although crossbows can't be enchanted with Power, Multishot can help when the player shoots as close as possible, so the opponent will get hit by 3 arrows at once with each arrow dealing 6-11 damage. Even though the crossbow cannot be enchanted with Infinity, Multishot fires 3 arrows, but only one can be picked up, so as long as only two arrows hit enemies, the player can still retrieve the third arrow (it also works for tipped arrows as well). The same goes for the Piercing enchantment: as long as an arrow or tipped arrow passes through mobs, the player may retrieve it from where it lands.