The Bow is one of the most common weapons in Minecraft, as well as being one of the most popular. In this guide, we’re going to show everything you need to know about the Bow, including crafting, repairing and enchanting it.
One reason for the Bows popularity is that it’s a ranged weapon. Meaning that you can easily take out enemies from great distances, without them ever being able to get close. As you’d expect, it’s also popular in PvP servers, especially when combined with the right arrow types.
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How to Craft a Bow
Thankfully, Bows in Minecraft are cheap and easy to craft. All you require is 3 Sticks and 3 String. Combine these items in a Crafting Table, and you’ll receive a standard bow in return
The easiest way to obtain String would be by clearing Cobwebs, which is most efficiently done using a Sword. Alternatively, you might find it in Loot Chests, or from killing Spiders. Whereas Sticks can be made by combining 2 Wood Planks in a Crafting Table.
How to Craft Arrows
For your bow to work, you’re also going to need some Arrows. These are a bit more expensive to craft, and require more rare materials. Specifically, you’ll need Flint, Sticks and Feathers. Combine these items in a Crafting Table, placing Flint in the top slot, Stick in the middle and Feathers in the bottom to receive 4 normal Arrows.
Flint is collected from Gravel, which you should clear out repeatedly using a Shovel. The easiest way to collect Features would be from Chickens. For each single item, you’ll receive 4 Arrows. So to create a stack of Arrows (64), you’ll need 16 Flint, 16 Sticks and 16 Feathers.
How to Repair a Bow
There are two ways to repair a Bow in Minecraft. If you have an Enchanted Bow and want to keep its Enchantments when repairing, then you should combine your Enchanted Bow and a normal Bow in an Anvil to repair it, though this will have a level cost.
If you don’t have an Enchanted Bow, then you can just place the bow inside your crafting table alongside another damaged bow to receive a repaired version. This method just simply combines the durability into a single item.
Best Bow Enchantments
We’ve already covered the Best Bow Enchantments in a separate guide which goes into much more detail. However, primarily, these are the ones you should focus on obtaining:
- Infinity: Will allow you to have unlimited arrows.
- Flame: Arrows will be set on fire, allowing you to deal additional damage to enemies. Can also ignite blocks from a distance such as TNT.
- Power: Massively increases the damage output of your bow, allowing you to one-shot most enemies in Minecraft. Has a maximum level of 5, but this level isn’t obtainable from an Enchanting Table.
- Punch: Will increase the knockback radius of enemies.
- Unbreaking: Each time your bow is used, the chance for the durability to be decreased will be lower, allowing the bow to last longer without needing to be reapaired.
Obviously the Enchantments above are just a guideline. You should focus on obtaining the ones which suit your style of play.
Best Arrows
There are many different arrow types available with your bow in Minecraft. You can use tipped arrows, which can provide both positive and negative effects to any enemies who are hit. These are the best types of arrows to use:
- Arrow of Harming
- Arrow of Poison
- Arrows of Slowness
