There are different types of Bows in Elden Ring. Light Bows and Crossbows are extremely quick but don’t deal much damage. Then, you have Greatbows. These offer a good range and can deal massive damage with each hit. However, they are slow. And finally, you have the regular Bow. This one falls between the other types as it’s neither strong nor weak.
Key Takeaways
Here’s a summary of some notable bows and their requirements:
Short Bow: Requires no specific stats. It’s an easily accessible and user-friendly choice.
Composite Bow: Offers more damage potential than the Short Bow.
Great Bow: Offers long-range firepower and can be found in the Highway Lookout Tower.
Erdtree Bow: Found in a chest in Leyndell, Royal Capital. Scales with Faith.
Black Bow: Found on the rooftop northeast of the Avenue Balcony Site of Grace.
Serpent Bow: Requires 15 Dexterity, 8 Strength, and 11 Arcane. Found in the Abandoned Cave.
Crepus Black Key Crossbow: Obtained by opening the first sealed door at Roundtable Hold.
Red Branch Shortbow: Found in Leyndell, Royal Capital.
Erdtree Greatbow: Acquired by defeating Chariot in the Fringefolks Hero’s Grave.
Before I begin, here is the stat comparison between some of the Best Elden Ring Bows:
Bows
Type
Physical(ATK)
Range(ATK)
Skills
Short Bow
Light Bow
65.0
29.0
Barrage
Composite Bow
Light Bow
65.0
29.0
Mighty shot
Great Bow
Greatbow
125.0
50.0
Through and Through
Erdtree Bow
Bow
40.0
50.0
Mighty shot
Black Bow
Bow
70.0
50.0
Barrage
Serpent Bow
Bow
75.0
50.0
Mighty shot
Crepus Black Key Crossbow
Crossbow
68.0
47.0
Kick
Red Branch Shortbow
Light Bow
65.0
29.0
Barrage
Erdtree Greatbow
Greatbow
60.0
50.0
Through and Through
Arbalest
Crossbow
69.0
42.0
Kick
1. Shortbow
Shortbow [Image Taken by eXputer]
Type
Attack type
Skills
FP Cost
Weight
Sell Price
Light Bow
None
Barrage
-(2 2)
2.5
100
Attack Power
Physical
Magic
Fire
Lightning
Range
Critical
65
0
0
0
29
100
Shortbow has the lightest weight in Elden Ring.
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The first bow I would like to mention in my list is the Shortbow, which is a Lightbow. For those who don’t know, Light Bows in Elden Ring are meant to be ranged weapons that can fire an arrow quickly. You don’t have to worry about charging your shots, as this type of bow can immediately fire an arrow towards your target.
2. Composite Bow
Composite Bow [Image Credit: eXputer]
Type
Attack type
Skills
FP Cost
Weight
Sell Price
Light Bow
None
Mighty shot
-(6 6)
3.0
200
Attack Power
Physical
Magic
Fire
Lightning
Range
Critical
65
0
0
0
29
100
Composite Bow is one of the easiest bows to obtain in Elden Ring.
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Next up, I have the Composite Bow. Just like the bow mentioned above, this one is a Light Bow, meaning that you can fire shots quickly through it. It also happens to be a weapon that offers a good range and can help you get some stealth kills.
The Composite Bow has a price tag of 3,500 Runes, and you can purchase it from the Nomadic Merchant in the Liurnia of the Lakes. He can be found near the Bellum Church.
3. Greatbow
Greatbow [Image Captured by eXputer]
Type
Attack type
Skills
FP Cost
Weight
Sell Price
Greatbow
None
Through and Through
-(9 9)
10.0
200
Attack Power
Physical
Magic
Fire
Lightning
Range
Critical
125
0
0
0
50
100
The hardest-hitting bow in Elden Ring.
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The Greatbow offers some of the greatest damage with each hit among all ranged weapons in the game, and this alone is something that makes it one of the best.
4. Erdtree Bow
Erdtree Bow [Image Credit goes to eXputer]
Type
Attack type
Skills
FP Cost
Weight
Sell Price
Bow
None
Mighty shot
-(6 6)
4.0
200
Attack Power
Physical
Magic
Fire
Range
Holy
Critical
40
0
0
50
50
100
The best-looking bow in Elden Ring.
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While Light Bows specialize in firing shots quickly, and Greatbows can deal a massive amount of damage, regular Bows fall somewhere between the two of them. They are neither too powerful nor too weak. These types of Bows serve the basic purpose; that is, to help you deal damage to your enemy while staying at a safe distance.
Unlike the Erdtree Greatshield, the Erdtree Bow can be found inside a chest. To get it, you will need to go to Leyndell, Royal Capital. There, you will need to look around for a building with the Erdtree Sancturacy site. The chest containing the Erdtree Bow can be found inside a room on the second floor of this building.
5. Black Bow
Black Bow [Image Credit: eXputer]
Type
Attack type
Skills
FP Cost
Weight
Sell Price
Bow
None
Barrage
-(2 2)
4.0
200
Attack Power
Physical
Magic
Fire
Lightning
Range
Critical
70
0
0
0
50
100
The Black Bow can function as both the Light and Regular bow.
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For me, the Black Bow is easily one of the coolest-looking Bows in the entire game. A lot of you might disagree with this, but I happen to be someone who loves minimalistic designs.
What makes the Black Bow one of the best is its ability to work as both a regular Bow and a Light Bow. As discussed before, Light Bows are the type of Bows that can fire arrows quickly. But even though the Black Bow is a regular Bow, its speed is similar to the Light Bow, while its damage output is also amazing.
6. Serpent Bow
Serpent Bow [Image Taken by eXputer]
Type
Attack type
Skills
FP Cost
Weight
Sell Price
Bow
None
Mighty shot
-(6 6)
3.5
200
Attack Power
Physical
Magic
Fire
Lightning
Range
Critical
75
0
0
0
50
100
The best bow for Poison builds in Elden Ring.
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The Serpent Arrow in Elden Ring is a special type of arrow that can do much more than just deal damage with each hit. This arrow resembles the shape of a snake, and it can cause heavy poison buildup in the enemies.
And when you pair these arrows with the Serpent Bow, you can create the ultimate combination of a weapon that can deal a good amount of damage to those enemies who are weak against poison.
Crepus’ Black-Key Crossbow [Image Captured by eXputer]
Type
Attack type
Skills
FP Cost
Weight
Sell Price
Crossbow
None
Kick
0
5.0
200
Attack Power
Physical
Magic
Fire
Lightning
Range
Critical
68
0
0
0
47
100
One of the best Crossbows in Elden Ring.
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Instead of arrows, Crossbows use bolts, and there are different types of bolts available in the game. Each one comes with some kind of special effect, such as the Bloodbone bolt having the capability of causing blood loss buildup in the enemy. As for the Crepus’ Black-Key Crossbow, it is easily one of the best ones available.
8. Red Branch Shortbow
Red Branch Shortbow [Image Captured by eXputer]
Type
Attack type
Skills
FP Cost
Weight
Sell Price
Light Bow
None
Barrage
-(2 2)
2.5
100
Attack Power
Physical
Magic
Fire
Lightning
Range
Critical
65
0
0
0
29
100
One of the best Crossbows in Elden Ring.
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The Red Branch Shortbow is yet another Light Bow in my Elden Ring best bows list. Like the ones I mentioned before, this one can also help you quickly put a lot of arrows in your enemy’s body. This makes it an ideal choice against a group of enemies, as you can target all of them instantly.
While the Composite Bow has the Might Shot skill, which lets the user send out a powerful arrow, the Red Branch Shortbow has the Barrage skill.
9. Erdtree Greatbow
Erdtree Greatbow [Image Taken by eXputer]
Type
Attack type
Skills
FP Cost
Weight
Sell Price
Greatbow
None
Through and Through
-(9 9)
11.0
200
Attack Power
Physical
Magic
Fire
Range
Holy
Critical
60
0
0
50
65
100
The only Greatbow that deals Holy Damage in Elden Ring.
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The Erdtree Greatbow is another bow that is capable of dealing a good amount of damage with each hit. But the thing that makes it special is that it can also deal with Holy damage. Therefore, if you’re facing enemies who are weak against this type of damage, you can take them down instantly.
The Erdtree Greatbow has the Through and Through skill attached to it. When you combine the bow range with this skill, you can quickly take down even the toughest opponents, no matter how far they are.
10. Arbalest
Arbalest [Image Captured by eXputer]
Type
Attack type
Skills
FP Cost
Weight
Sell Price
Crossbow
None
Kick
0
6.0
100
Attack Power
Physical
Magic
Fire
Lightning
Range
Critical
69
0
0
0
42
100
Arbalest has one of the best ranges for a Crossbow in Elden Ring.
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Like the Black-Key Crossbow in my list, the Arbalest uses bolts instead of arrows, and you need to reload before firing each shot. Just like most of the other Crossbows, this one also does not scale with any attributes.
While the weapon does not scale with anything, it’s still worth carrying around, as it can deal a decent amount of damage with each shot. Furthermore, its range is amazing, so you can take down your target silently without worrying about getting close to them.
My Experience Using Bows In Elden Ring
When I picked up bows during my third playthrough, my favorite and most used was certainly the Lion Greatbow. In my experience, unfortunately, most bows are fairly boring since they don’t have any fun or interesting Ash of War. However, the Lion Greatbow I got from Radahn was the only exception, and its Ash of War was the main reason I found it the most practical.
My Elden Ring hours (Steam ID: WaterJuice)
Besides fun, this bow is extremely practical, and I used it against several bosses, particularly Malenia, who’s surprisingly weak to it. Larger bosses like Maliketh or the Fire Giant were also vulnerable to the Lion Greatbow, but I really struggled against agile bosses and enemies. As such, if you’re a Strength build looking for a ranged weapon, using a Greatbow could be a refreshing experience, as it was for me.
We Value Your Opinion—Please Share It.
These were some of the best bows in Elden Ring. I hope my guide will help you select the right weapon to take down enemies from a great distance. However, make sure to practice your aim as well after getting a Bow, as the weapon will be useless if you don’t know how to use it properly. Before you leave, make sure to check out my Elden Ring review as well.
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Daniyal is a Guides Writer and Editor at eXputer with over one year of experience in content writing. He's had a passion for tech and gaming for more than 15 years. Ever since his first console, the PS2, he's constantly branching off to different genres, and his go-to at the moment is the Souls experience pioneered by FromSoftware, which is evident by his 1,500+ hours of game time on Elden Ring. You can learn some more about Daniyal's gaming journey on his Steam & Xbox profiles.
Experience: 1+ Years || Mainly Covers Guides || Education: Bachelors in Computer Sciences.
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