Originally posted by DredSilent:

The cross bow is far less superior than the bow. Its long load time, cant load on the move, and randomly unloads itself makes it far worse than the bows.

A carapace bolt to the weak point of a Gjall can take off half of its health in one sneak attack. The arbalest does lack the bow's mobility, but I think that's a feature - otherwise bows would be completely overshadowed by the arbalest. As is, both are viable and encourage different play styles.