Elden Ring has a small collection of crossbows that you can use, allowing you to carry out ranged attacks toward opponents and eradicate them. Players might want to know which of the Best Crossbows to use, their stats, upgrades, and how to find them; therefore, a detailed guide might be needed!
- The Best Crossbows in Elden Ring feature from a list of seven available, such as the Crepus’s Black Key, Arbalest, Full Moon, Pulley, Heavy, and Light Crossbow.
- The benefits of using the crossbows are that they provide long-ranged damage, sniping from a distance, excellent damage output, and prevent you from taking close-ranged damage.
- While the Crepus’ Black Key in Elden Ring is excellent for sniping, the Arbalest is excellent for damage output, while the Pulley Crossbow provides high aim.
- Upgrades can further enhance the performance of the crossbows, most can be upgraded to 10, if not more.
- Why Trust Us: After going through Elden Ring for over 700 hours, you will find me plenty knowledgeable when it comes to the best crossbows.
Best Crossbows In Elden Ring
Below listed is a summarized version of the Best Crossbows in Elden Ring:
| Elden Ring Best Crossbows | Best For | Benefits | Magic | Crit | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crepus' Black Key | The Highest Range In Crossbows | Sniping, Long-Ranged, Solid Damage output | 0 | 100 | 47 |
| Arbalest | The Highest Base Attack In Crossbows | Dexterity and Strength scaling, Excellent damage | 0 | 10 | 42 |
| Full Moon Crossbow | The Best Crossbow For Magic Dmg | Magic imbuement, good damage | 50 | 100 | 42 |
| Pulley Crossbow | The Best Crossbow For Multiple Shots | High aim, can launch more bolts. | 0 | 100 | 42 |
| Heavy Crossbow | The Best Early-Game Crossbow | Solid range, good damage output | 0 | 100 | 42 |
| Light Crossbow | The Lowest Dex Requirement In Crossbows | Easy to use, Good damage | 0 | 100 | 42 |
1. Crepus’s Black Key In Elden Ring
| CREPUS’ BLACK KEY STATS | ATTRIBUTES |
| Phy | 68 |
| Magic | 0 |
| Fire | 0 |
| Light | 0 |
| Holy | 0 |
| Crit | 100 |
| Range | 47 |
Kicking things off, the Crepus’s Black Key is known to be one of the Best Crossbows. It is described as a black crossbow with a long stock, and it used to be the weapon of Crepus, who served Two Fingers from the Roundtable by being the head confessor and is of excellent quality build.
- Why I Chose This: Crepus’s Black-Key can be acquired very early and provides the highest range in crossbows, making it an ideal choice for sniping foes.
- Has a high Base DMG and the highest range.
- Can be acquired very easily at the Hub area.
- Requires Somber Smithing Stones to level up.
- Needs a Stonesward Key to obtain.
2. Arbalest
| ARBALEST UPGRADES | PHYSICAL | STAMINA |
|---|---|---|
| +0 | 69 | 34 |
| +1 | 78 | 35 |
| +2 | 88 | 36 |
| +3 | 97 | 38 |
| +4 | 107 | 39 |
| +5 | 117 | 40 |
| +6 | 126 | 42 |
| +7 | 136 | 43 |
| +8 | 145 | 44 |
| +9 | 155 | 46 |
| +10 | 164 | 47 |
Regarding the Arbalest, it is yet another crossbow that can be pretty useful. It is essentially a long crossbow that has been crafted from composite materials.
- Why I Chose This: Arbalest has the highest DMG in crossbows and so can be used to clear many enemies with comparatively lesser ammo.
- Has the highest DMG output in crossbows.
- Lets you save ammo by providing higher DPS.
- Requires great STR as well as DEX to wield.
- Very heavy, and thus requires investment in END as well.
3. Full Moon Crossbow
| FULL MOON CROSSBOW STATS | ATTRIBUTES |
| Phy | 50 |
| Magic | 50 |
| Fire | 0 |
| Light | 0 |
| Holy | 0 |
| Crit | 100 |
| Range | 42 |
Next, I have is the Full Moon Crossbow. It is described to be an enchanted crossbow that has excellent craftsmanship.
- Why I Chose This: The Full Moon Crossbow is your best choice for mage builds as it increases the damage of magic arrows and also has an innate magic DMG.
- Deals extra magic DMG on every arrow.
- Greatly increases the damage of magic arrows.
- Can be quite challenging to acquire.
- Has considerably low physical damage.
4. Pulley Crossbow
| PULLEY CROSSBOW STATS | ATTRIBUTES |
| Phy | 65 |
| Magic | 0 |
| Fire | 0 |
| Light | 0 |
| Holy | 0 |
| Crit | 100 |
| Range | 42 |
As far as the next weapon is concerned, it is essentially the Pulley Crossbow, which is described to have been constructed using power springs as well as pulleys and was known to be insanely difficult to do so.
It is also known to be crafted by a genius who learned Golden Order fundamentalism.
- Why I Chose This: Pulley Crossbow is the most unique crossbow with its rapid shots, which makes status ailments easier to inflict.
- Shoots multiple arrows at once, making it easy to proc statuses.
- Has a high hit rate, making it an ideal choice for ranged DPS.
- The trajectory of the shot may be difficult to aim.
- Consumes a lot of ammo as it shoots rapidly.
5. Heavy Crossbow
| HEAVY CROSSBOW STATS | ATTRIBUTES |
|---|---|
| Phy | 64 |
| Magic | 0 |
| Fire | 0 |
| Light | 0 |
| Holy | 0 |
| Crit | 100 |
| Range | 42 |
As far as the next weapon in the list of Best Crossbows is concerned, it is the Heavy Crossbow, which has been crafted meticulously using iron limbs and was typically used in the Shattering.
- When it comes to scaling, while it doesn’t scale off of any primary attribute, you will require both Dexterities as well as Strength to use it.
- You need to have 14 Strengths and 10 Dex in order to wield and use it during combat.
Heavy Crossbow
- Why I Chose This: Heavy Crossbow, once obtained, remains your main weapon in ranged builds as it provides high DMG as compared to other early crossbows.
- Provides decent DMG and range.
- Has a high base attack and can be further upgraded.
- Requires farming certain enemies to obtain.
- Has high weight and requires investment in STR.
6. Light Crossbow
| LIGHT CROSSBOW STATS | ATTRIBUTES |
|---|---|
| Phy | 58 |
| Magic | 0 |
| Fire | 0 |
| Light | 0 |
| Holy | 0 |
| Crit | 100 |
| Range | 42 |
Last but not least, the Light Crossbow is one you can consider using, too, if you can’t find the others at your disposal. The Light Crossbow is pretty simple to use and crafted using simple materials.
- Why I Chose This: Light Crossbow is one of the first crossbows that you can get and provides high dmg output; very useful for inflicting statuses.
- Requires very low stats and thus can be used easily.
- Is acquired pretty early in the game.
- Has considerably low damage overall.
- Easily replaceable when you get more options.
My Thoughts On Best Crossbows
After experiencing several playthroughs in Elden Ring, I’ve come to the conclusion that Crepus’s Black Key crossbow is one of if not the best crossbows because of its high damage and range, making it ideal for sniping enemies. The Full Moon Crossbow is also worth mentioning as it provides innate magic damage for every arrow. If you just want to use crossbows for status buildup, then the Pulley Crossbow might be the best for that purpose due to its multiple hit count.
And that’s just about it! All that you need to know about the Elden Ring Best Crossbows and with that, let’s wrap up the guide! While you’re here, why not read up on the Elden Ring Twinblade Location guide will showcase the location for the Twinblade! Apart from that, the Elden Ring Best Sacred Seal guide will go into detail about the best sacred seals that are available! Refer to this Reddit post for players wanting to know why crossbows are S-tiered weapons in Elden Ring.
With that, the Elden Ring Best Ashen Remains guide will tell you all you need to know about the best ones available! Why not check out the Elden Ring Weapons Tier List, which would showcase the rankings for all of them!
Up Next:
- Elden Ring: Classes Tier List
- Elden Ring: Rennala Cheese Method
- Elden Ring: Moonveil Katana Build
- Elden Ring: Darth Maul Build
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