Ordinarily, to unlock the Crossbow you need to complete Modern Warfare 2‘s seasonal event. The Path of the Ronin event has seven challenges and completing them all rewards you with the crossbow. However, a bug has been discovered that lets you skip the event, allowing you to get the Crossbow early in MW2 and Warzone 2.
Note: For more information about the game, check out our Modern Warfare 2 guides and features hub.
Steps to get the Crossbow early in MW2 and Warzone 2
Obtaining the crossbow early is easier than you might expect. When you first load up Modern Warfare 2, you need to spam either ‘B’ or ‘Circle’ on a controller or ‘Escape’ if you are using a mouse and keyboard. Doing so will cancel the game’s initialization and give you the option to ‘Go Offline.’
After selecting ‘Go Offline,’ make your way to Local Multiplayer. Create a new class and hover over the Crossbow under Marksman Rifles. Open up the Crossbow’s gunsmith, save it as a custom mod, and then go all the way back to the opening screen. The setup to get the Crossbow early in MW2 is now finished.
Screenshot by PC Invasion
This time, connect to the online servers as you normally would and choose either ‘Multiplayer’ or ‘Warzone.’ Go to your loadouts, locate the Crossbow again, and hold down whatever button or key you use to save custom mods. By default, this will be LT/L2. The crossbow will now appear on your loadout and can be used in game.
Unfortunately, not everyone can get the Crossbow early in MW2 and Warzone 2. This method only works on console, as the ‘Go Offline’ option required to access Local Multiplayer doesn’t exist on PC. However, thanks to cross-progression, PC players can still do this method if they either own the console version of Modern Warfare 2 or have a trusted friend who has access to a console to do it for them.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 can be purchased on both Battle.net and on Steam.
