The R1 Shadowhunter Crossbow was accidentally added to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War last week before being swiftly pulled from the game moments later. Fortunately, if you managed to survive that whiplash you can now unlock the weapon again as Treyarch has officially released it back into the wild. Below, we’ll take you through how to get the R1 Shadowhunter Crossbow in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
How to get the R1 Shadowhunter Crossbow
There are a couple of ways to obtain the R1 Shadowhunter, depending on if you are willing to drop some cash or work hard in-game. Whether you’re a new player or a seasoned veteran, you can obtain this powerful crossbow with ease if you follow the steps outlined below.
Earn it for free
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War offers multiple ways of obtaining new weapons. Some are available in the game’s Battle Pass and the Marketplace; others can be earned via in-game challenges and found within the Marketplace as a Blueprint. In the M1 Shadowhunter’s case, it is the latter. You can get the M1 Shadowhunter Crossbow in Black Ops Cold War through a specific in-game challenge that’s more time-consuming than challenging.
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To get the R1 Shadowhunter Crossbow in Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War you need to get three “One Shot, One Kill” medals across fifteen different matches. Unfortunately, you will have to finish each game you start to ensure the challenge is tracked correctly. However, this challenge is relatively easy considering there are many weapons that can almost guarantee a one-shot kill, especially in the game’s Hardcore modes.
The most efficient way to get the R1 Shadowhunter is to hop into Black Ops Cold War multiplayer, load into a Hardcore lobby (Nuketown 24/7 is best), and use either the Streetsweeper shotgun or the Pelington 703 sniper rifle. They’re the best options but, realistically, any shotgun or sniper rifle will work in the Hardcore playlist. Use whatever you are comfortable with and you’ll probably have it in the first fifteen matches you play!
Here’s a short breakdown of the requirements and recommended weapons to get the crossbow:
- Earn 3x One Shot, One Kill medals across 15 matches
- Finish every match
- Search for Hardcore lobbies to guarantee one-shot kills (we recommend Hardcore Nuketown 24/7)
- Use shotguns and sniper rifles
- After getting three One Shot, One Kill medals in a match, you can freely switch to another weapon
You can also obtain the R1 Shadowhunter in the Core playlist, but it will be significantly more challenging. If you must play in Black Ops Cold War’s Core modes, we urge you to use the more powerful sniper rifles and shotguns (such as the Pelington and Streetsweeper). Play to their specific strengths in terms of range/maps and you’ll get those kills eventually.
Purchase it from the marketplace
You can also purchase a custom Blueprint of the R1 Shadowhunter from the Black Ops Cold War marketplace and start using the weapon instantly. However, there is a minor drawback.
The Lancehead is currently the only Blueprint of the R1 Shadowhunter available for purchase in Black Ops Cold War. While the R1 Shadowhunter has one attachment slot for optics, the Lancehead Blueprint only uses the crossbow’s iron sights. You won’t be able to equip any optics on this variant until you unlock the R1 Shadowhunter via the in-game challenge and level it up. However, if you don’t mind using iron sights, the Lancehead Blueprint may be for you!
The Lancehead Blueprint comes as part of the Archaic Range bundle and costs 1,200 CoD Points (about $15). The bundle also includes the Stolen Idol Charm, the Medieval Archer Emblem, and the Olde Time Sniper Sticker.
R1 Shadowhunter stats
The R1 Shadowhunter is a Special weapon in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and is also available as a Marksman Rifle in Warzone. Unlike most weapons, you can only equip optics onto the Shadowhunter. The available choices are:
- Iron sights (default)
- Hawksmoor (1.37x)
- Microflex LED (1.25x)
- Millstop Reflex (1.37x)
- Quickdot LED (1.25x)
The R1 Shadowhunter is a devastating crossbow with nine total bolts and an incredibly long one-shot kill range. Your primary source of resupplying will come from the Scavenger perk, but you shouldn’t have a problem finding and killing enemies with this beast.
There are only a couple of ways to get the R1 Shadowhunter in Black Ops Cold War, and both are relatively easy to carry out. Whether you use your saved up CoD Points for the bundle, spend your own money, or tackle the challenge, the R1 Shadowhunter should be obtainable in a day. Even if you have to suffer through fifteen matches of Hardcore to get the Shadowhunter, it is more than worth it, especially when available in both Black Ops Cold War and Warzone.
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Seth Parmer is a freelance writer/editor in the games industry. He’s done Wiki-Guides for IGN and is now a List Writer for The Gamer. In his spare time, he loves talking about games, music, and sports. His favorite games are the Soulsborne titles. You can follow him on Twitter @Parmersan!
