Crossbow Reload Speed

I've been working on a Marvelous Chester cosplay and so I've been using the sniper crossbow a lot, but the time it takes to use it is hardly practical. I can pretty much only use it in co-op when the enemy is distracted by the phantom/host because of the amount of time the crossbow leaves me defenseless.

I realize I could just use another crossbow and get past the problem, but I was wondering if anyone has ever found a way to increase the speed at which a crossbow reloads, much like casting speeds increase with higher dex. I've heard you can't increase bow speeds, so I'm assuming you can't lower the crossbow reload either, but I'd still be curious if anyone has ever conducted any tests

resistance makes them fire three times as fast.............jk, wouldnt that be awesome though?
anyway, the trick is to time it right and attack when your opponent attacks since if you miss youre gonna have time to roll out, i find it to be more of a counter weapon or sneak attack weapon.

I think I was wrong about the reload speed being the problem. I was just experimenting with it to try and find out how long I had until I could roll after the shot fired, and the reload speed seems to be about the same as every other crossbow, the thing that makes the sniper crossbow so slow is that you have to put it up to your eye and pull it back down, where as the others are all just fired from where you hold it

yeah, that definately makes it slower, which is why ii never use it and the str and dex that you need to use it just doesnt make it worth it, i always have alight or heavy xbow on my off hand, theyre so useful.

The heavy crossbow is actually pretty devastating in PvE when upgraded and used with heavy bolts despite the lack of scaling. The timing is tricky but if you manage your distances properly it's great.

It made certain boss fights (e.g. Sif) incredibly easy and when you're doing co-op it's great for shooting invaders in the back if they run past you to get to the summoner

The crossbows are under appreciated.

Sometimes Lightning Bolts do more damage than Heavy Bolts and they have a stun affect as well.

My Avelyn+15 sometimes does more damage than my Fire Heavy Crossbow+10 and the Avelyn will have a high probability of scoring a hit on a moving target.

Crossbows are great for low-level characters because the stat requirements are so low.

I use the light crossbow instead of the heavy crossbow, simply because the heavy crossbow looks stupidly large, lol.

.....ahhh, the lengths I go to just to look awesome.

Truth comes here: best crossbow is light crossbow, I have been used it for ages after I realised it is the lightest in weight and it has the smallest recovery time. Sniper crossbow is pretty....well, unusable in PvP, if it would pack insanely more dmg or if you could do rapidfire with it (as Chester does it) it would make up for the insane recovery time, but right now there is just no reason to pick sniper crossbow over others.
Avelyn is a nice choice if you decide to go with leo ring, because it can deal easier counters at times and does pretty juicy damage when doing so too.

Dual wielding a crossbow in the left, and sword in the right, can be useful at times. If nothing else, it keeps your opponent on his/her toes. Most times people watch for your sword attacks, but having a crossbow in the offhand can make people worry about a quick shot.