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Bow

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👁 Image
Not to be confused with Crossbow or Bowl.
👁 Image
For other uses, see Bow (disambiguation).
Bow
Rarity tier
 
Common
Projectile damage 1HP👁 💔
(0.1s)
5HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 💔
(0.2s - 0.8s)
6HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
(0.9s)
6HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
to 11HP👁 ❤️
× 5.5
(1s)
Charge time 0.1s (no charge)
0.2s - 0.8s (medium charge)
0.9s (full charge)
1s (critical charge)[note 1][1]
Inaccuracy 1
Durability JE: 384
BE: 385
Enchantability 1
Renewable Yes
Stackable No
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 "label": "(link to Rarity article, displayed as Rarity tier)"
 },
 {
 "field": "(values exceeds 1000 characters...)",
 "label": "(link to Ranged attack#Projectile damage article, displayed as Projectile damage)"
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 {
 "field": "0.1s (no charge)<br/>0.2s - 0.8s (medium charge)<br/>0.9s (full charge)<br/>1s (critical charge)",
 "label": "(link to Ranged attack#Charge time article, displayed as Charge time)"
 },
 {
 "field": "1",
 "label": "(link to Ranged attack#Inaccuracy article, displayed as Inaccuracy)"
 },
 {
 "field": "'''(link to Java Edition article, displayed as JE):''' 384<br>'''(link to Bedrock Edition article, displayed as BE):''' 385",
 "label": "(link to Durability article, displayed as Durability)"
 },
 {
 "field": "1",
 "label": "(link to Enchantability article, displayed as Enchantability)"
 },
 {
 "field": "Yes",
 "label": "(link to Renewable resource article, displayed as Renewable)"
 },
 {
 "field": "No",
 "label": "Stackable"
 }
 ],
 "invimages": [
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 "images": [
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}

A bow is a ranged weapon that can fire arrows, tipped arrows, and spectral arrows[Java Edition only]. The damage and range of fired arrows depends on the arrow type, enchantments on the bow, and how long the use button was held before releasing.

Obtaining

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Crafting

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Ingredients Crafting recipe
Stick +
String
👁 Invicon Stick.png: Inventory sprite for Stick in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Stick with description: Stick
👁 Invicon String.png: Inventory sprite for String in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to String with description: String
👁 Invicon Stick.png: Inventory sprite for Stick in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Stick with description: Stick
👁 Invicon String.png: Inventory sprite for String in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to String with description: String
👁 Invicon Stick.png: Inventory sprite for Stick in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Stick with description: Stick
👁 Invicon String.png: Inventory sprite for String in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to String with description: String

👁 Invicon Bow.png: Inventory sprite for Bow in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Bow

Generated loot

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Item Structure Container Quantity Chance
Java Edition
👁 Image
[A]
👁 Image
Bonus barrel
Chest 1 10.9%
{ "item": "Enchanted Bow", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.10858740010928214, "structure": "Bonus barrel", "container": "Chest" }
👁 Image
[B]
👁 Image
Trial Chambers
Vault and reward chest 1 10.4%
{ "item": "Enchanted Bow", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.10434782608695647, "structure": "Trial Chambers", "container": "Vault and reward chest" }
Java Edition 26.3
👁 Image
👁 Image
Abandoned Camp
Common chest 1 19%
{ "item": "Bow", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.18999999999999995, "structure": "Abandoned Camp", "container": "Common chest" }
Bedrock Edition
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[B]
👁 Image
Trial Chambers
Vault and reward chest 1 2.6%
{ "item": "Enchanted Bow", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.02608695652173909, "structure": "Trial Chambers", "container": "Vault and reward chest" }
Bedrock Edition 26.40
👁 Image
👁 Image
Abandoned Camp
Common chest 1 19%
{ "item": "Bow", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.18999999999999995, "structure": "Abandoned Camp", "container": "Common chest" }
  1. Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-1 to level-30 enchantment would be on an enchanting table where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.
  2. a b Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-5 to level-15 enchantment would be on an enchanting table that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.

Mob loot

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Skeletons, strays, bogged, parched and illusioners

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Skeletons, strays, bogged, parched and illusioners[JE only] have an 8.5% chance of dropping a normal or enchanted bow on death when killed by a player or a tamed wolf.

The chance of dropping a bow is increased by 1% per level of Looting, allowing up to an 11.5% chance of dropping.

The chance of being enchanted depends on the difficulty level, but the random enchantment level (5–22) does not.

Bows of skeleton horsemen are always enchanted at a random level from 5 to 23. The exact level depends on regional difficulty, as on Easy it is always a level-5 enchantment.

Trading

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VillagerProbabilityVillager wantsPlayer receivesTrades in
stock
Villager
experience
Price
multiplier
JEBE
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Fletcher
👁 Image
Apprentice
100%100%2 × 👁 Image
Emerald
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1250.05

Fishing

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Main article: Fishing

Enchanted bows are obtainable through fishing, with a 0.8% chance per attempt. See fishing for more details. When caught, the bow may be damaged and contain random enchantments equivalent to a level 30 enchantment from an enchanting table, including treasure enchantments like Mending.

Usage

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Attacking

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👁 Image
👁 Image

Bows can be drawn back by using them. The player must have at least one arrow in their inventory or be in Creative mode in order to use a bow. Arrows inside bundles cannot be used. When drawing a bow, the display zooms in slightly. Charging the bow to critical charge causes it to visually bob up and down, and causes the fired arrow to have a trail of critical hit particles. Releasing the button shoots an arrow. Drawing a bow can be canceled by switching to another hotbar slot while holding use. Arrows shot by bows are blocked by shields.

👁 Image
Shooting a bow in Java Edition.

While the bow is being charged or remains fully charged, the player is forced to move at sneaking speed, unless they are riding a mob, minecart or boat, or flying with elytra. When an arrow hits another player, the player that fired the arrow will hear a high-pitched "ding" sound to indicate the successful shot.‌[Java Edition only] Fired arrows are not affected by the Strength or Weakness effects.

Critical charge is achieved by drawing the bow for 1 second or longer, unlike melee critical hits which are dealt by attacking while falling. Shots at critical charge deal damage, where is the damage after any enchantments. The listed values below describe maximum damage from a bow with no Power enchantments, assuming the target is at a distance where drag and gravity are negligible. The average damage of a shot at critical charge is around 9, as damage is dealt at a random value between 6HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
and 11HP👁 ❤️
× 5.5
, using the formula and , and it is rare to have minimum or maximum values. The damage dealt can ultimately be less than the maximum damage if the arrow slows down after being shot. The game stores the damage of arrows even in values with a decimal point. For example, it is possible for a critical arrow shot to cause damage values such as 6.4. In this case, the game can round up or down and store the amount for subsequent damage sources. Holding the bow at maximum charge for more than 72000 ticks (1 hour) results in the charge being reset without shooting an arrow.

A few mobs cannot be shot using an arrow, because the arrow either disappears or it gets deflected. This includes:

Statistics

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Java Edition

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In Java Edition, bows have the following statistics:

Unenchanted
Type Projectile damage Charge time DPS Inaccuracy Lifetime damage inflicted Durability Enchantability
👁 ItemSprite bow.png: Sprite image for bow in Minecraft
(no charge)
1HP👁 💔
0.1s 2 1 384HP👁 ❤️
× 192
384 1
👁 ItemSprite bow.png: Sprite image for bow in Minecraft
(medium charge)
5HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 💔
0.2s - 0.8s 5.5 1920HP👁 ❤️
× 960
👁 ItemSprite bow.png: Sprite image for bow in Minecraft
(full charge)
6HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
0.9s 6 2304HP👁 ❤️
× 1152
👁 ItemSprite bow.png: Sprite image for bow in Minecraft
(critical charge)
6HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
to 11HP👁 ❤️
× 5.5
1s 5.4 to 9.9 2304HP👁 ❤️
× 1152
to 4224HP👁 ❤️
× 2112
Enchanted
Type Power I Power II Power III Power IV Power V
👁 ItemSprite enchanted-bow.png: Sprite image for enchanted-bow in Minecraft
(no charge)
2HP👁 ❤️
2HP👁 ❤️
2HP👁 ❤️
3HP👁 ❤️
👁 💔
3HP👁 ❤️
👁 💔
4 DPS 4 DPS 4 DPS 6 DPS 6 DPS
👁 ItemSprite enchanted-bow.png: Sprite image for enchanted-bow in Minecraft
(medium charge)
8HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
9HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 💔
10HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
12HP👁 ❤️
× 6
13HP👁 ❤️
× 6.5
8.8 DPS 9.9 DPS 11 DPS 13.2 DPS 14.3 DPS
👁 ItemSprite enchanted-bow.png: Sprite image for enchanted-bow in Minecraft
(full charge)
9HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 💔
11HP👁 ❤️
× 5.5
12HP👁 ❤️
× 6
14HP👁 ❤️
× 7
15HP👁 ❤️
× 7.5
9 DPS 11 DPS 12 DPS 14 DPS 15 DPS
👁 ItemSprite enchanted-bow.png: Sprite image for enchanted-bow in Minecraft
(critical charge)
9HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 💔
to 16HP👁 ❤️
× 8
11HP👁 ❤️
× 5.5
to 19HP👁 ❤️
× 9.5
12HP👁 ❤️
× 6
to 20HP👁 ❤️
× 10
14HP👁 ❤️
× 7
to 23HP👁 ❤️
× 11.5
15HP👁 ❤️
× 7.5
to 25HP👁 ❤️
× 12.5
8.1 to 14.4 DPS 9.9 to 17.1 DPS 10.8 to 18 DPS 12.6 to 20.7 DPS 13.5 to 22.5 DPS

Bedrock Edition

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In Bedrock Edition, bows have the following statistics:

Unenchanted
Type Projectile damage Charge time DPS Inaccuracy Lifetime damage inflicted Durability Enchantability
👁 ItemSprite bow.png: Sprite image for bow in Minecraft
(no charge)
1HP👁 💔
0.1s 2 1 385HP👁 ❤️
× 192.5
385 1
👁 ItemSprite bow.png: Sprite image for bow in Minecraft
(medium charge)
5HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 💔
0.2s - 0.8s 5.5 1925HP👁 ❤️
× 962.5
👁 ItemSprite bow.png: Sprite image for bow in Minecraft
(full charge)
6HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
0.9s 6 2310HP👁 ❤️
× 1155
👁 ItemSprite bow.png: Sprite image for bow in Minecraft
(critical charge)
6HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
to 11HP👁 ❤️
× 5.5
1s 5.4 to 9.9 2310HP👁 ❤️
× 1155
to 4235HP👁 ❤️
× 2117.5

Projectile motion

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The projectile motion of an arrow fired from a bow is dependent on the angle the user is facing, as well as the user's movement speed.

Arrow properties
Drag-H 0.99 Gravity -0.05 m/tick2
Drag-Y

0.99

Ticking order 1
Bow level

0 0

1 Critical charge
Launch angle calculator[calcnote 1]
Given a target coordinate and an initial speed, calculate the arrow launch angle to hit the target.
Target is hit after ticks and would deal avg. 6.00 👁 ❤️
× 3
damage.
X 0 – 10 Yaw deg
Y 0 – 10 Pitch

degUnreachable
1 Direct hit

Z 0 – 10 Speed 3 m/tick
  1. Yaw and pitch follow the Minecraft's convention, thus zero yaw is directed at +Z (south) and looking upwards corresponds to negative values of pitch.

Crafting ingredient

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Name Ingredients Crafting recipe Description
Dispenser Cobblestone +
 +
Redstone Dust
👁 Invicon Cobblestone.png: Inventory sprite for Cobblestone in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Cobblestone with description: Cobblestone
👁 Invicon Cobblestone.png: Inventory sprite for Cobblestone in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Cobblestone with description: Cobblestone
👁 Invicon Cobblestone.png: Inventory sprite for Cobblestone in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Cobblestone with description: Cobblestone
👁 Invicon Cobblestone.png: Inventory sprite for Cobblestone in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Cobblestone with description: Cobblestone
👁 Invicon Bow.png: Inventory sprite for Bow in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Bow
👁 Invicon Cobblestone.png: Inventory sprite for Cobblestone in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Cobblestone with description: Cobblestone
👁 Invicon Cobblestone.png: Inventory sprite for Cobblestone in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Cobblestone with description: Cobblestone
👁 Invicon Redstone Dust.png: Inventory sprite for Redstone Dust in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Redstone Dust with description: Redstone Dust
👁 Invicon Cobblestone.png: Inventory sprite for Cobblestone in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Cobblestone with description: Cobblestone

👁 Invicon Dispenser.png: Inventory sprite for Dispenser in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Dispenser with description: Dispenser
The bow can be of any durability.
Enchantments on the bow do not affect the resulting dispenser.

Repairing

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Combining

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Ingredients Crafting recipe Description
2× Damaged Bow The durability of the two bows is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.
Ingredients Grinding recipe Description
2× Damaged Bow The durability of the two bows is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.

Unit repair

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Ingredients Anvil recipe
Damaged

A bow can be combined with another bow in an anvil, preserving the enchantments of both.

Enchantments

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Bows can receive several different enchantments and have a base enchantability of 1. Bow enchantments have no effect on arrow speed or the distance it travels. In Bedrock Edition if a bow is enchanted with any level 1 enchantment, it always gets Power I.

Name Description Max Level Method Weight
Power Increases the damage dealt by bow-shot arrows. V 👁 Image
Enchanting Table

👁 Image
Anvil
10
Punch Increases the knockback dealt by bow-shot arrows. II 👁 Image
Enchanting Table

👁 Image
Anvil
2
Flame Ignites arrows, dealing fire damage to targets hit as well as igniting TNT and campfires. I 👁 Image
Enchanting Table

👁 Image
Anvil
2
Infinity[note 2] Stops the bow from consuming regular arrows when shot. I 👁 Image
Enchanting Table

👁 Image
Anvil
1
Unbreaking Grants a chance to negate durability consumption. III 👁 Image
Enchanting Table

👁 Image
Anvil
5
Mending[note 2] Repairs the bow when obtaining experience. I 👁 Image
Anvil
2
Curse of Vanishing The bow vanishes on death, not dropping as an item. I 👁 Image
Anvil
1

A bow cannot be enchanted with Multishot in survival mode. However, when using commands to apply Multishot, the enchantment behaves as expected, allowing the bow to fire more arrows at once.

  1. Due to a server-client desync bug, bows can occasionally reach critical charge 1 tick earlier than their programmed 1 second charge time.
  2. a b Mending and Infinity are mutually exclusive.

A bow can be used as fuel in furnaces, smelting 1.5 items per bow in Java Edition or 1 item per bow in Bedrock Edition.

Arrows

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Main article: Arrow

As in real life, a flying arrow in Minecraft is affected by gravity. Its vertical speed is modified by one block downward every second, resulting in a parabolic flight path. An arrow slows down if shot through water, reducing its damage to near zero unless brought back into the air or otherwise given momentum.‌[Java Edition only]

Arrows that hit solid blocks become stuck and can be retrieved, unless the arrow was shot by a bow enchanted with Infinity, a player in Creative mode, or a mob.

An arrow shot through lava ignites, giving it the effect of the Flame enchantment, igniting any entity it hits. If not extinguished, the fire inflicts up to 4HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
damage. Although a wither skeleton does not spawn naturally with a bow, it shoots flaming arrows if given a bow using commands.

On impact, an arrow can trigger a wooden pressure plate, target block, wooden button, or tripwire. Arrows cannot trigger stone pressure plates or stone buttons.

The player can choose the type of arrow to shoot based on its location in the inventory. Arrows in the off-hand, or the selected hotbar slot if the bow is in the off-hand, are prioritized first. If there are no arrows in the off-hand or selected hotbar slot then the arrow closest to slot 0 is selected.

Sounds

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Java Edition:

Sounds
SoundClosed captionsSourceDescriptionIdentifierTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Arrow hitsFriendly MobsWhen an arrow impacts somethingentity.arrow.hitsubtitles.entity.arrow.hit1.01211-4316
​Arrow firedPlayersWhen a bow shoots an arrowentity.arrow.shootsubtitles.entity.arrow.shoot1.043-1.125 [sound 1]16
​Player hitPlayersWhen an arrow shot by a player hits another playerentity.arrow.hit_playersubtitles.entity.arrow.hit_player0.180.4516
​Item breaksPlayersWhen a bow's durability is exhaustedentity.item.breaksubtitles.entity.item.break0.80.8–1.216
  1. Depends on how long the bow has been charging. uncharged bows give 56-0.625

Bedrock Edition:

Sounds
SoundClosed captionsSourceDescriptionIdentifierTranslation keyVolumePitch
​ ?PlayersWhen an arrow impacts somethingrandom.bowhit​ ?1.01.09–1.3
​ ?PlayersWhen a bow shoots an arrowrandom.bow​ ?1.00.83–1.25
​ ?PlayersWhen a bow's durability is exhaustedrandom.break​ ?1.00.9

Data values

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Java Edition:

NameIdentifierForm Translation key
👁 ItemSprite bow.png: Sprite image for bow in Minecraft
Bow
bowItem item.minecraft.bow

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID Form Translation key
👁 ItemSprite bow.png: Sprite image for bow in Minecraft
Bow
bow300Item item.bow.name

Achievements

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IconAchievementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)Gamerscore earnedTrophy type (PS)
PS4Other
👁 Image
👁 Image
Dispense With ThisConstruct a Dispenser.20Bronze
👁 Image
👁 Image
ArcherKill a creeper with arrows.10Bronze
👁 Image
👁 Image
BullseyeHit the bullseye of a Target block15Bronze
👁 Image
👁 Image
Sniper DuelKill a Skeleton with an arrow from more than 50 meters.Use a launched arrow to kill a skeleton, wither skeleton, stray, bogged, or parched from 50 or more blocks away, horizontally.30Bronze

Advancements

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IconAdvancementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)
👁 Image
👁 Image
Take AimShoot something with an ArrowUsing a or a crossbow, shoot a mob with an arrow, tipped arrow, or spectral arrow.
👁 Image
👁 Image
Sniper DuelKill a Skeleton from at least 50 meters awayReceive kill credit for a skeleton that is at least 50 blocks away and is killed by a projectile.
👁 Image
👁 Image
BullseyeHit the bullseye of a Target block from at least 30 meters awayBe at least 30 blocks away horizontally when the center of a target is shot with a projectile by the player.

Videos

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History

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Development

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June 14, 2009Notch discussed how bows and arrows would work in Survival mode: "Bows and arrows can be made out of wood. To use it, select the bow from your inventory and make sure you’ve got some arrows. Click in front of you, and an arrow goes flying using real physics. To actually HIT something, aim above it."

Java Edition

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Java Edition Classic
0.24 SURVIVAL TESTThe player did not need a bow to shoot arrows. Instead, was used to fire arrows. However, arrows still had to be collected to shoot. Launching arrows this way was much slower than the bow that now fires them.
Java Edition Indev
0.3120100110👁 Image
Added bow texture to items.png.
20100122-2251👁 Image
Added bows as item with changed texture. The right mouse button can be held down to fire in rapid succession. Each arrow deals 4HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
for each hit. They fly in a ballistic trajectory affected by gravity and drag in air or water. They travel approximately 15 blocks when fired parallel to a flat plane. Arrows also have a maximum range of around 52 blocks when fired at a 38 degree angle on a flat plane.
Bows often fail to interact with objects, but instead shoot. This is due to the fact that shooting arrows is an instantaneous action.
At this point, bows have no durability, and can essentially be used infinitely.
Java Edition Alpha
v1.2.6Interacting with objects (door, chest, etc.) while holding a bow no longer shoots the arrow.
Java Edition Beta
1.2Bows are now used to craft dispensers.
1.8July 8, 2011Notch teased hold-to-charge bows.
July 13, 2011Notch indicated that along with bow charging, he would add an achievement based around shooting a skeleton at 50 meters, eventually to be known as Sniper Duel.
Pre-releaseBow behavior has been overhauled; they now need to be charged to fire.
Java Edition
1.0.0RC1A fully charged arrow from a bow now consistently deals 9HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 💔
damage, with a rare chance of dealing 10HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
.
Bows now have a durability of 385 uses.
Bows no longer need arrows for ammo in Creative mode.
The bow can now be enchanted via console commands, but no enchantment affects it.
1.1releaseBows can now be legitimately enchanted. Four enchantments have been added: Flame, Punch, Power, and Infinity.
1.2.112w06aSkeletons now have a 2.5% chance of dropping a bow. One fifth of the time, this bow is enchanted with Power I (20%).
1.4.612w50aBows can now be enchanted with Unbreaking using an anvil and an appropriate enchanted book.
preWhen a player hits another player from far away with a bow it makes a high pitched "dinging" sound.
1.7.213w36aBows can now be obtained as a "treasure" item from fishing.
Bows can now be enchanted with Unbreaking directly in an enchantment table without the use of an anvil.
1.814w02aFletcher villagers now sell 1 bow for 2–3 emeralds.
14w25aDrawing a bow immediately after hitting no longer continues the swinging animation.[2]
14w30aBow placement when drawing back has been slightly changed.
1.915w31aWhen shooting, the arrows are no longer offset to the right of the crosshair.
The bow in the hotbar now shows an arrow when being drawn.
Bows can now shoot an additional 14 types of arrows, selected based on the arrow type held in the off-hand or closest to slot 0.
Bows cannot be used in the off-hand.
15w37aThe bow can now be used in the off-hand.
Bows now prioritize the selected hotbar slot for arrows if the bow is in the off hand.
When using the bow in the off-hand, the bow does do the animation, but does not aim at the target.
?Momentum now affects the physics of arrows fired from bows.
1.1016w20aBows are now used by strays and can now sometimes be obtained as a rare drop.
1.1116w33aBows can now be used to fuel furnaces.
1.11.116w50aInfinity and Mending are now mutually exclusive for bows.
1.1217w16aBows are now used by illusioners and can now sometimes be obtained as a rare drop, although unenchanted.
1.13.118w30aMC-88356: Fixed a bug: When using the bow in the off-hand, the bow does do the animation, but does not aim at the target.
18w30bThe durability of bows has been decreased by one due to the fix of MC-120664.
1.1419w11aFletcher villagers now sell enchanted bows for 7-21 emeralds, and unenchanted bows for 2 emeralds.
1.1620w12aEnchanted bows can now only be caught when fishing in open water like any other treasure item.
1.20.3
Experiment
Update 1.21
23w45aEnchanted bows now generate in trial chambers in reward chests.
1.20.5
Experiment
Update 1.21
24w05aEnchanted bows can now be ejected as loot from vaults.
1.20.524w09aMultishot and Piercing enchantments now work on bows.
Upcoming Java Edition
26.3snap1Bows can now generate as part of abandoned camps in chests.

Bedrock Edition

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Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.3.3👁 Image
Added bows.
v0.4.0Bows now have a durability of 385 uses.
Bows also now slow down the player while aiming.
v0.5.0Bows are now obtainable after activating the nether reactor.
v0.8.0build 1👁 Image
The texture of bows has been changed.
build 7Bows can now be used as fuel in a furnace.
v0.11.0build 1Bows can now be obtained as a "treasure" item from fishing.
v0.12.1build 1Fully charged bows now cause particles.
Bows can now be enchanted.
Bows obtained by fishing can now be caught enchanted.
Bows are no longer available from the nether reactor.
v0.15.0build 1Added strays, which are equipped with a bow that can rarely be dropped by them.
Bows can now shoot an additional 14 types of arrows, selected based on the arrow type closest to slot 0.
Pocket Edition
1.0.4alpha 1.0.4.0Bows can now be obtained by trading with a fletcher villager.
1.1.0alpha 1.1.0.0Added the Mending enchantment, which can now be applied to bows and is mutually exclusive to the Infinity enchantment.
Arrows can now be placed in the offhand slot and bows now prioritize the arrows in that slot.
Bedrock Edition
?Momentum now affects the physics of arrows fired from bows.
1.8.0beta 1.8.0.10Bows in the hotbar now show an arrow when being drawn.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3 👁 Image
The texture of bows has been reverted to match Java Edition's texture.
1.11.0beta 1.11.0.4Fletcher villagers now sell unenchanted bows for 2 emeralds, and enchanted bows for 8 emeralds.
1.16.210beta 1.16.210.58Bows in first-person view is now held differently.[3]
1.17.0beta 1.17.0.52Bows are now held like it was before 1.16.210.58 beta.[3]
1.20.60
Experiment
Update 1.21
Preview 1.20.60.20Enchanted bows now generate in trial chambers in reward chests.
1.20.70
Experiment
Update 1.21
Preview 1.20.70.21Enchanted bows can now be ejected as loot from vaults.
Upcoming Bedrock Edition
26.40
Experiment
Drop 3 of 2026
Preview 26.40.27Bows can now generate as part of abandoned camps in chests.

Legacy Console Edition

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Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU1CU11.001.001.00Patch 11.0.1👁 Image
Added bows.
TU5Bow behavior is overhauled; they now need to be charged to fire.
TU7Bows can now be enchanted.
TU31CU191.221.221.22Patch 3Bows can now be obtained as a "treasure" item from fishing.
Bows can now be obtained by trading with a fletcher villager.
Drawing a bow immediately after hitting no longer continues the swinging animation.
TU46CU361.381.381.38Patch 15Bows can now shoot an additional 14 types of arrows, selected based on arrow type held closest to slot 0.
Bows are now used by strays and can now sometimes be obtained as a rare drop.
Bows can also be drawn while holding arrows or tipped arrows. The bow is selected based on the closest bow to slot 0.
The bow in the hotbar now shows an arrow when being drawn.
Momentum now affects the physics of arrows fired from bows.
TU53CU431.491.501.49Patch 231.0.3Bows can no longer be drawn while holding an arrow or tipped arrow.
Bows can now be used to fuel furnaces.
TU54CU441.521.521.52Patch 241.0.4Infinity and Mending are now mutually exclusive for bows.

Java Edition Combat Tests

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Java Edition Combat Tests
3Arrows no longer trigger the attack invulnerability timer, allowing multiple bow arrows to connect even if the entity is invulnerable.
4Bow inaccuracy has been lessened from 1 to 0.25, increasing the accuracy of fired arrows.
6Bows now increase inaccuracy and lose critical charge if held drawn for longer than 3 seconds, a mechanic called bow fatigue. This is visually indicated by the bow beginning to shake more violently after 3 seconds.[note 1]
Vertical momentum no longer influences the flight path of arrows fired from bows.
7cBow fatigue has been removed.
8bBow fatigue has been reintroduced once again.

Historical sounds

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Sound From to Pitch
0.31 Sound Update 1.0

Data history

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Java Edition
1.1317w47aPrior to The Flattening, this item's numeral ID was 261.

Issues

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Issues relating to "Bow" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

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  • Bows were left unchanged in the Texture Update.[4]
  • Dinnerbone got the idea for the high-pitched "ding" sound from playing on a former PvP server called Project Ares.[5][6]

Gallery

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Renders

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Screenshots

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In other media

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Notes

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  1. The formula for fatigue is

References

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  1. MC-302165 – Bows/tridents/crossbows are able to be charged earlier than should be possible on a singleplayer world – resolved as "Unresolved".
  2. MC-201394 – Punching animation get cancelled in first person when blocking, eating and aiming, inconsistent with third person behavior – resolved as "Works As Intended".
  3. a b MCPE-116741 – Holding and shooting bow position are incorrect – resolved as "Fixed".
  4. MC-168156 – Bow texture not changed in Texture Update and looks inconsistent with crossbow – resolved as "Works As Intended".
  5. "Also things I learnt from pvping today: Bows need to ding when you hit people (it's so much fun/rewarding!) & arrows don't render far enough"@Dinnerbone (Nathan Adams) on X (formerly Twitter), December 15, 2012
  6. "Minecraft PvP with Dinnerbone & Docm77 - Team DocBone @ 11:52" – docm77 on YouTube, December 7, 2013

External links

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Navigation

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