Regarding the debate " Slings are simpler to use than crossbows" well...they are not indeed. There's a reason we dropped slings for crossbows and crossbows for guns.
Historically when crossbows were becoming more and more popular people seen them as " a weapon without honor". Cause you had a guy who since he was 6 learned how to wield a sword and shield, he devoted his entire life to be a guy in shiny armor. And then BUM, crossbows could pierce armor with ease. All you needed was a crossbow, a peasant, and a few days of training max.
You compare that to a sling and yeah, it's not easy to use at all. You need training to don't kill yourself with it and to aim properly. It got to a point where romans imported their slingers. A sling is a deadly weapon but if you want to kill a grown up men with it before he rushes at you with a javelin then you better be good at it.
https://youtu.be/3uDtrwNY0Zk?t=234 Very interesting documentary btw, recommend watching it all ^^
