Bow

The Old School RuneScape Wiki also has an article on: osrsw:BowThe RuneScape Classic Wiki also has an article on: classicrsw:Bow

This article is about the ranged weapon. For the emote, see Bow (emote).

Bows are weapons used in ranged combat that require a certain Ranged level to wield. They require ammunition in the form of arrows. Bows can be created through the Fletching skill and come in two varieties: shieldbows and shortbows. Some bows, such as composite bows and the dark bow, cannot be fletched, and are instead a possible reward from Treasure Trails and monster drops. Bows are distinct from crossbows, in that all bows are two-handed weapons, but not all crossbows are.

Shortbows

Main article: Shortbow (bow type)

Slot	2-handed
Style	Arrow
Speed	Fast (3.0s)

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Shortbows fire at a faster rate than shieldbows and hit harder, but restrict the access of most defensive abilities and have a smaller attack range.

Item		Level	Main-hand			Off-hand			Attributes			Style bonus			Price
			Style	Dmg	Acc	Style	Dmg	Acc
	Shortbow	1	Arrow	43	150	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	1,646
	Oak shortbow	10	Arrow	87	202	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	1,188
	Willow shortbow	20	Arrow	175	316	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	879
	Maple shortbow	30	Arrow	263	454	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	924
	Yew shortbow	40	Arrow	351	628	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	1,077
	Magic shortbow	50	Arrow	438	850	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	1,520
	Elder shortbow	60	Arrow	526	1132	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	2,922
	Crystal bow	70	Arrow	1286	1486	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	65,156 + 200,000 - 1,000,000
	Zaryte bow	80	Arrow	1470	1924	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	10,475,782
	Hexhunter bow	80	Arrow	384	1924	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	469,580,393
	Attuned crystal bow	80	Arrow	1470	1924	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	200,000 - 1,000,000
	Decimation	87	Arrow	1598	2287	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	98,419,295
	Noxious longbow	90	Arrow	1147	2458	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	152,147,731
	Seren godbow	92	Arrow	2056	2577	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	1,623,485,582

Shieldbows

Main article: Shieldbow (bow type)

Slot	2-handed
Style	Arrows
Speed	Average (3.6s)

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Effectively, a shieldbow is similar to a one-handed crossbow wielded alongside a shield, although it fires a bit slower, its damage is the same. Its damage is about 33% lower than a shortbow's. They have the unique aspect of being both a two-handed weapon and a shield at the same time.

Item		Level	Main-hand			Off-hand			Attributes			Style bonus			Price
			Style	Dmg	Acc	Style	Dmg	Acc
	Shieldbow	1	Arrow	26	150	-	-	-	30	0	0	-	-	-	1,691
	Oak shieldbow	10	Arrow	53	202	-	-	-	40	0	0	-	-	-	955
	Willow shieldbow	20	Arrow	106	316	-	-	-	63	0	0	-	-	-	646
	Maple shieldbow	30	Arrow	159	454	-	-	-	90	0	0	-	-	-	836
	Yew shieldbow	40	Arrow	212	628	-	-	-	125	0	0	-	-	-	1,017
	Maple shieldbow (sighted)	45	Arrow	238	732	-	-	-	146	0	0	-	-	-	836 + 10,000 Dungeoneering tokens
	Magic shieldbow	50	Arrow	265	850	-	-	-	170	0	0	-	-	-	1,390
	Magic shieldbow (sighted)	55	Arrow	291	983	-	-	-	196	0	0	-	-	-	1,390 + 10,000 Dungeoneering tokens
	Elder shieldbow	60	Arrow	318	1132	-	-	-	226	0	0	-	-	-	2,496
	Elder shieldbow (sighted)	65	Arrow	344	1299	-	-	-	259	0	0	-	-	-	2,496 + 10,000 Dungeoneering tokens
	Dark bow	70	Arrow	371	1486	-	-	-	297	0	0	-	-	-	392,169
	Strykebow	85	Arrow	450	2178	-	-	-	435	560	0	-	-	-	10,490,116 + 392,169

Composite bows

Main article: Composite bow

Composite bows are identical to shieldbows (except for the composite ogre bow), but they have a longer attack range. Only the ogre composite bow can be fletched, other composite bows must be obtained via Treasure Trails.

Item		Level	Main-hand			Off-hand			Attributes			Style bonus			Price
			Style	Dmg	Acc	Style	Dmg	Acc
	Willow composite bow	20	Arrow	106	316	-	-	-	63	0	0	-	-	-	1,221,014
	Comp ogre bow	30	Arrow	382	454	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	6,270
	Yew composite bow	40	Arrow	212	628	-	-	-	125	0	0	-	-	-	1,156,595
	Magic composite bow	50	Arrow	265	850	-	-	-	170	0	0	-	-	-	1,155,809

Bow vs crossbow or thrown weapons

Many rangers choose the bow style of range weapon for its higher damage in comparison to crossbows and throwing weapons, and to fight monsters that are weak to arrows. Most bows sacrifice speed in comparison to their crossbow and thrown equivalents. The main disadvantage for bows is the fact they are two handed weapons whereas most crossbows and throwing weapons are only one handed, giving the flexibility to use them with any suitable off-hand weapon or shield. To make up for this, however, bows are able to use two-handed combat abilities that cannot be used with one-handed ranged weapons. Shieldbows are also able to use shield abilities in addition to two-handed abilities, a unique aspect which no other weapon type in the game offers besides the respective combat style defenders.

Trivia

• When RuneScape 2 was released, bows had no visible bowstrings. Jagex fixed this together with the RuneScape HD update.
• Bows were formerly held in the player's right hand, implying that they were left-handed archers. This has been changed since the Evolution of Combat update. However, it also caused bows to be incorrectly held like two-handed crossbows when in combat stance (but not actively shooting).

See also

• Ogre bow
• Crossbow (weapon type)
• Composite bow
• Boogie bow
• Firebrand Bow
• Hellfire bow