You can't imagine why a quick succession of bolt fire might be more advantageous than a slow reload?

I mean how is it actually faster if the rate limiting step is the same. People are claiming it was 2-3X as fast.

Reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybolos, at least some of these used a windlass to rearm. That may explain part of the speed difference over one using a separate lever or one that’s rearmed purely by hand.

These weapons also may have given up on some firing power for firing frequency.

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eucyclos 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Maybe it's harder to deal with ten projectiles in a minute followed by a nine minute reload than one a minute for ten minutes?

	▲	ithkuil 7 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Even a short surprise can be crucial in an ancient battle, where breaking formation can be fatal
	▲	zadikian 7 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		I'm not even considering the magazine reload time, just the time between shots assuming a full mag. That's 10 recharges either way, as shown in the videos. It's not like a machine gun where the energy is in the powder.
	▲	goodpoint 5 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Very likely.