The 10 Best Bows in Elden Ring (Ranked)

What are the best bows in Elden Ring?

Despite not being a main weapon for most players, bows are incredibly useful in Elden Ring.

They can be a great way of damaging enemies without getting too close, and some come with impressive status effects.

If you’re having trouble finding the perfect bow for your character, keep reading to learn about the best ones in the game!

The 10 Best Bows In Elden Ring

These bows have been chosen based on their usefulness, power, and status effects which make them excellent in combat.

We’ve tried to add a little something for everyone, with bows that can complement every class and playstyle!

So, if you’re ready to find your next favorite bow, here’s our list of the 10 best bows in Elden Ring:

10. Misbegotten Shortbow

Elden Ring is one of the best multiplayer PS5 games, and with this bow, you can really show off to your friends! 

Kicking off our list, we have the Misbegotten Shortbow, which serves as a slightly better version of the standard short bow.

While it is slightly heavier than the standard short bow, it deals more damage and scales better overall.

The Misbegotten Shortbow does 68 damage output, though it does have a slightly shorter range.

Fortunately, this lack of range can be negated by wearing the Arrow’s Reach Talisman, which can be found in a tower near the Stormhill Shack Site of Grace.

It also comes equipped with the Barrage skill as its default, and it can be infused with Ashes of War.

To use the Misbegotten Shortbow, you will need to have 16 strength and eight dexterity, which makes it good for certain builds.

If your build is focused on strength, in particular, you’ll want his bow because it’s the only one outside of great bows that scales well with strength.

That said, getting this bow can be a bit difficult, though it is still available fairly early in the game if you know where to search.

The Misbegotten Shortbow is a potential drop from Misbegotten enemies at Castle Morne and the Morne Tunnel.

It can also sometimes be dropped by Misbegotten enemies north of the Haligtree Town Plaza Site of Grace.

9. Horn Bow

Up next, we have the Horn Bow, which is a favorite of many Elden Ring players because of a few reasons.

First off, it is one of the few bows that you can infuse with Ashes of War, allowing it to become more versatile.

This bow has higher damage output than any other long bow in Elden Ring, making it incredibly desirable.

The Horn Bow is also the only bow in the game that requires an intelligence stat in order to use.

Overall, you will need 10 strength, 14 dexterity, and 12 intelligence to wield and use the Horn Bow.

In terms of damage, this bow has 65 physical damage and 30 magic damage, which can be incredibly useful against some enemies.

If you use this bow with the Rain of Arrows infusion, it can do a serious amount of damage against groups of enemies.

Furthermore, this bow will be affected by any talisman that improves magic damage, and it can be especially powerful with Dwelling Arrows.

To find this bow, search the corpse found below the Hallowhorn Grounds in the Siofra River area.

Elden Ring is one of the best PS5 RPG games, and if you’re roleplaying a character with high intelligence, this is the bow for you!

8. Serpent Bow

Since Elden Ring is one of the best third-person PS5 games, having good-looking equipment is as important as having effective equipment.

The Serpent Bow certainly ticks both of these boxes, as it has a gorgeous design and properties that make it one of the most unique weapons in the game.

What makes this bow special is that it scales with arcane, dexterity, and strength while inflicting 15 points of poison damage on enemies.

Although it isn’t the best weapon for applying poison damage immediately, poison buildup increases as your arcane skill does.

While poison will be applied to any arrows fired, serpent arrows work the best and speed up the accumulation of poison.

To wield this bow, you will need eight strength, 15 dexterity, and 11 arcane, meaning it isn’t a great early game grab for everyone.

However, it does do a base physical damage of 75, making it rather powerful when combined with its inherent poison ability.

If you want to grab this bow for yourself, it can be found inside the Abandoned Cave in the Caelid region.

7. Longbow

Familiar to fans who play with the best ranged weapons in Skyrim, the Longbow is a classic staple in fantasy games. 

While it isn’t the flashiest weapon in Elden Ring, it is effective and a good choice for players who like to keep things simple.

One of the hardest-hitting regular bows in the game, the Longbow acts as the perfect upgrade from the standard shortbow.

Requiring a nine strength and 14 dexterity, the Longbow boasts 80 physical attack damage per shot.

It can also be infused with Ashes of War to give it even more versatility and a leg up on many other bows.

What’s more, is that the Longbow comes with the Mighty Shot weapon skill, which can make shots incredibly powerful.

We would recommend grabbing this bow if you’re not sure whether you want to focus on ranged or melee weapons, as it is good for starting out.

You can also buy the Longbow fairly early on from the Roundtable Hold for only 1,200 runes, which is very affordable.

However, if you don’t want to spend runes on it, this bow is also often dropped by Skeletal Archers, which can be found in almost any dungeon.

6. Albinauric Bow

The Albinauric Bow is a solid all-rounder when it comes to ranged combat, providing slightly more damage than the Longbow.

This bow does 82 damage per shot, and, like the Longbow, it comes with the Mighty Shot weapon skill.

While it does require seven strength and 18 dexterity to wield, it can be found fairly early in the game.

If used correctly and customized with Ashes of War, the Albinauric Bow has the potential to be one of the hardest-hitting bows in Elden Ring.

Surpassed only by great bows in terms of physical damage, this bow is definitely worth grabbing if you want to invest in ranged weapons.

If you want to grab this weapon for yourself, it can be dropped from Albinauric Wolfback Archers found around the Consecrated Snowfield.

Four of these archers can be found southwest of the Liturgical Town Cite of Grace here, one on a wolf and the others seated beside each other.

This bow can also sometimes be dropped by the Albinauric archers found on the rooftop of the Ordina Evergaol.

5. Composite Bow

The Composite Bow is an interesting one that has quickly gained a lot of popularity with players.

While Elden Ring is one of the best video games of all time, it can be very difficult, which is where this bow comes in.

What makes the Composite Bow stand out is that, while it only does 65 base damage, it fires much faster than many other ranged weapons.

This increases the DPS that players can do, making it easy to quickly dispatch foes while keeping a safe distance.

Furthermore, this is the only light bow to have the Mighty Shot skill, which helps make it even more powerful.

It can also be infused with Ashes of War to grant it more abilities to increase its overall effectiveness.

The Composite Bow is also easy to obtain early in the game, as it can be purchased from the merchant near Bellum Church.

Although it will cost you 3,500 runes, this bow is well worth the price once you see how fast it is compared to other bows.

Just make sure you have 15 strength and dexterity because that is what you will need in order to wield it!

4. Golem Greatbow

The first great bow on our list is this beauty, and it stands out as an incredibly powerful ranged weapon.

While it isn’t the most stylish bow in Elden Ring, it deals a massive 130 damage per shot, the most of any ranged weapon in the game.

However, despite being able to deal a lot of damage, there are some downsides to the Golem Greatbow you’ll need to consider.

For one, it is one of the heaviest bows in the game, weighing three to four times more than smaller alternatives.

It also fires fairly slowly, though this can be mitigated when weapon art is active at the cost of damage and FP.

You will also have to have 24 strength and 18 dexterity just to use it, which is pretty steep for most players, especially early on.

Additionally, the Golem Greatbow can’t be infused with Ashes of War, which limits how much you can customize it.

All of that being said, if you’re looking to deal as much damage as possible, the Golem Greatbow is definitely worth grabbing!

This bow has a chance to drop from any Golem archer, and there are a few places where they can be found.

The best places to look are at the Limgrave Tower Bridge and on the path leading to the Colosseum in Caelid.

3. Pulley Bow

Although Elden Ring is one of the best games like Skyrim, the Elder Scrolls title has nothing as cool as the Pulley Bow.

There are many fans who would argue this is the best bow in Elden Ring, thanks to the fact that it has the longest range.

For taking foes out while staying as far away as possible, the Pulley Bow is essential, and we highly recommend it.

Not only can it help you get a lot of shots off before an enemy can close in, but it can allow you to stealthily pick off enemies without raising the alarm.

Best of all, it only requires 11 strength and dexterity to wield, making it fairly accessible to players at a low level.

It also does a respectable 77 physical damage per shot, which while not the best, still makes it one of the most powerful ranged weapons in Elden Ring.

The Pulley Bow also comes with Mighty Shot to give your arrows a little extra power when fired, and it can be improved with Ashes of War.

Overall, the pulley bow is perfect for players who want to be as stealthy as possible and take out their enemies at long range.

2. Black Bow

The Black Bow is so good that you can continue using it throughout the entire game without needing to upgrade.

Although it is a full-size bow, it behaves more like a light bow, using the Barrage ability as opposed to Mighty Shot.

While it can’t be infused with Ashes of War, it does 70 base damage and can be fired while jumping.

You can also shoot while sprinting or rolling, which makes this bow great for taking on some of the toughest bosses.

However, unlike a light bow, you can’t fire the Black Bow while galloping, which is a minor downside.

To use this bow, you will need to have nine strength and 20 dexterity, which you will often have by the time it becomes available.

While it would be great to have this bow early on, it only appears fairly late in the game, making it more of an end game and New Game+ weapon.

The Black Bow can be found on a corpse located on the rooftops of the Leyndell, Royal Capital, before it turns to ash.

Unfortunately, if you miss this bow, you will have to get it during your next playthrough because that is the only place it can be found.

1. Lion Greatbow

Taking our number one spot is the Lion Greatbow, the only bow in Elden Ring to come with its very own special skill.

The Lion Greatbow requires 22 strength and 18 dexterity to wield, but it does a massive 120 damage per shot.

It also boasts a good amount of range, which makes it almost as good as the pulley bow for keeping a wide distance from enemies.

As for its unique ability, this bow has Radahn’s Rain, which allows players to fire into the sky and call down a rain of arrows around their character.

Although it is similar to Rain of Arrows, because it is an intrinsic part of this bow, it is pretty cool.

This ability is also decently powerful and can take out lesser enemies or greatly wound more powerful ones.

Additionally, it is possible to keep this bow in your off-hand and trigger this effect using a different bow, for instance, the Golem Greatbow.

The Lion Greatbow is also the lightest great bow in the game, though it is still twice as heavy as a standard bow.

To get the Lion Greatbow for yourself, you will need to defeat Starscourge Radahn and give the Remembrance of the Starscourge to Enia.

Once traded to Enia, players can choose to receive either this bow or the Starscourge Greatsword, which is also a great melee weapon.

Summary

We hope you’ve enjoyed our list of the 10 best bows in Elden Ring and learned which one you should use during your next playthrough.

While all of these bows are powerful, the one you decide to use will depend on the stats you’ve specialized in and your play style.

You really can’t go wrong with any of the bows on this list, and we highly encourage you to try them all!

Here’s a quick recap of the 10 best bows in Elden Ring:

1. Lion Greatbow
2. Black Bow
3. Pulley Bow
4. Golem Greatbow
5. Composite Bow
6. Albinauric Bow
7. Longbow
8. Serpent Bow
9. Horn Bow
10. Misbegotten Shortbow

Which of these bows are you going to use first? Leave a comment below.