Your adventures in the Lands Between are fraught with danger around every corner. Maybe instead of worrying about blocking melee weapons with that shield you have, you want to fight from a distance. Bows are a very viable option and there are some interesting choices to be found all across Elden Ring. Here are five of the best bows, from worst to best, and how you can obtain them.
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Erdtree Greatbow
This Faith-scaling Greatbow is a prime choice for builds favoring Holy Damage that want to deal hefty amounts of ranged damage without casting a spell. Most builds that are built toward Faith and Strength will see the most benefit from this heavyweight weapon. Paired best with Golden Great Arrows and Lightning Greatbolts, you’ll feel like a Tree Sentinel slinging Holy damage down range. However, a big drawback with this weapon is that it is locked into only Holy damage, and some areas feature enemies resistant to the damage type. It also cannot be infused with a different Ash of War, and the Through and Through skill is not the greatest for this weapon type.
To obtain the Erdtree Greatbow, you will need to destroy the roaming giant mechanical chariot inside the Fringefolk Heroes’ Grave. Follow the same path where you obtain the Erdtree’s Favor talisman, but fall off the edge before the bridge. You will see a platform that you can jump to. Proceed up the elevator and head to the next level. Beware of the Dragon Knight shade on your far left, but it can be easily dealt with. After killing the shade, go to where it was originally standing and look right. You will see three large pots suspended by ropes that are above the path occupied by the roaming mechanical chariot. You have to carefully time dropping one pot onto the machine to destroy it, so you have three chances to do so. Use a ranged weapon such as a basic crossbow or bow to cut the rope. A tip to time it right is to wait for when the chariot makes contact with the wall closest to where you are below, count one second, and then fire your bow. The pot should drop directly onto the chariot and destroy it, and you will get the bow into your inventory automatically.
Lion Greatbow and Golem Greatbow (tie)
The Lion Greatbow holds the honor of being one of the better-ranged weapons obtainable from a boss. It offers decent Strength scaling at higher levels and possesses a passive effect that grants 20% additional damage when using Radahn’s Spears as ammunition. Most Strength builds will favor this weapon well up until extremely high levels as it scales better than most. An interesting tip to maximize this bow to its fullest is that the 20% buff to Radahn’s Spears is passive, so long as the weapon is equipped. It also comes with the unique skill, Radahn’s Rain, which launches a stream of arrows down on an area over several seconds for steady damage. However, clever players have discovered a second use for the Lion Greatbow. For the absolute most damage, you can equip the Lion Greatbow in your off-hand and equip the Golem Greatbow as your main weapon and use Radahn’s Spears as ammo in the Golem Greatbow, which has a slightly higher Attack rating than the Lion Greatbow.
To obtain the Lion Greatbow, the player must defeat Starscourge Radahn in the far reaches of Caelid and present the Remembrance of the Starscourge item to Finger Reader Enya in the Roundtable Hold. To find the Golem Greatbow, players must kill a Golem Archer which has a chance to drop the weapon at random. One of the best sources is on the path to the Colosseum in Caelid, which will have two Golem Archers guarding the main path. You can easily make the fight easier by getting into melee range and damaging the Golems’ ankles. This will knock them down, making their chest cavity vulnerable to a critical attacks.
Pulley Crossbow
A mechanical marvel and the only burst-fire ranged weapon in Elden Ring, the Pulley Crossbow is an even fancier weapon as you do not need to use two hands to use this weapon. Players can wield a weapon in one hand and this crossbow in the other for ranged chip damage or for harassing targets before closing the gap to use their main weapon. This weapon is unique to other crossbows as it shoots three arrows in short bursts rather than just one. One small disadvantage is that its aim is less accurate, but if it is used correctly, players can use this as a way to apply debuffs from elemental arrows like Crimson Rot or Deadly Poison.
To find the Pulley Crossbow, head to the Craftsman’s Shack Site of Grace and look for a corpse nearby.
Pulley Bow
This brother to the Pulley Crossbow is an excellent choice for lightweight or medium armor builds that favor dexterity over raw power. Scaling from Dexterity and Strength stats allows for lots of versatility and low requirements mean this bow can fit in a very large array of builds either as a primary source of damage or a way to chip at something from safe distances. The Pulley Bow also holds the distinction of being one of the longest-range weapons in the game as its arrows fly further and without an arc for much further than any ranged weapon in Elden Ring. Equip the Arrow’s Sting and Arrow’s Reach talismans for even more power and range for sniping builds or just having fun in invasions where you can’t be seen.
To find the Pulley Bow, look for a corpse at the top of a wooden tower to the north of the Gelmir Heroes’ Grave Site of Grace. If you see a very long ladder at the base of the tower, climb all the way up to the top and loot the corpse at the ledge overlooking the area below.
Jar Cannon
Okay, it’s not exactly a bow, but it fires a projectile. This borderline comedic weapon is a mainstay of cheesy tactics from invading players due to the massive damage and flinch that’s inflicted when being hit by the projectile. As it does not scale with any particular stat, it favors any build and any Great Arrow or Great Bolt can be used as ammunition for this weapon. The Jar Cannon’s damage can be buffed by a wide range of sources besides arrow talismans due to its exotic classification. Spells such as Flame Grant Me Strength or Lord of Blood’s Exultation provide flat Attack Power buffs and will affect weapon damage in general, so use these spells as you please for the most effective hits.
The Jar Cannon can be obtained by defeating the boss Demi-Human Queen Margot deep inside Mt. Gelmir. The Volcano Cave can be found due northwest of the Minor Erdtree on Mt. Gelmir on the side of the mountain wall. Make your way through the cave after activating the Site of Grace and Margot will be found in the innermost room of the cave system.
