The Bows & Arrows in Runescape for Ranged Skill
Ranged weapons are the best things in the game, you are then able to sit back and chip away at your enemy without taking damage from them (so long as they aren’t a magic dealer). There are many different bows and arrows in the game that you are going to be able to use, all which do different amounts of damage.
Arrows
Training Shortbows will need training arrows. Bronze and Iron arrows will work in any bows, there are no requirements to them at all. Composite Ogre bows can take Bronze Brutal, Iron Brutal, Steel Brutal, Black Brutal, Mithril Brutal, Adamantite Brutal, and Rune Brutal arrows. They are the bows that will take any of the brutal arrows. Willow bows will take regular mithril arrows. Maple bows will require regular Adamantite arrows. Yew bows will need rune arrows. Ogre arrows will only go on an ogre bow. And finally, the Dark bow will take dragon arrows. These are all the arrows that are in the game that will go into various bows in the game.
Starter Bows
Beginner Bows are the training shortbow, the regular shortbow, and the longbow. These will all be able to be used at a skill level of 1 (the starter level) and all will give a ranged attack bonus of 8. After you have raised your skill level a little you can wield an oak shortbow or an oak longbow. These give an attack bonus to ranged of 14 and they can be used at a skill level of 5.
Medium Bows
The Willow shortbow and longbow will be able to be wielded at level 20 and will give an attack bonus of 20 as well. The next step in bow after the willow is the maple shortbow and the maple longbow. They are at a ranged skill level of 30 and will give 29 attack bonus. Then we move on to the members only Ogre bow and Composite ogre bow. These you can get after the Big Chompy Bird Hunting quest and have a 38 attack bonus with a need to have a skill level of 30.
Higher End Bows
All of these are for members and not F2P characters. The Yew shortbow and longbow take a skill level of 40 and have an attack bonus of 47. The Yew composite bow also takes a skill level of 40 but gives 49 in attack bonus. Then there are the Magic shortbow and the Magic longbow. These take a skill level of 50 and give 69 in attack bonus. The Magic composite bow also takes a skill level of 50 but gives 71 in attack bonus. There is the Seercull bow that needs a ranged skill of 50 and gives 69 in attack. Lastly are the Dark bow that needs a skill level 60 and doles out an attack bonus of 95. The crystal bow is special and will be spoken about in its own section.
The Crystal Bow
These are only given after the Roving Elves Quest. When you go to buy them you’ll need 900,000 gp to buy and a 70 in ranged skill to use. It won’t take ammo, it will be “charged” with magic instead. It begins with 2,500 uses and then will deteriorate from there. These are the attack bonuses that will be given depending on the phase of your bow. 10/10 phase will give 100. 9/10 will give 96. 8/10 will give 92. 7/10 will give 88. 6/10 will give 84. 5/10 will give 80. 4/10 will give 76. 3/10 will give 72. 2/10 will give 68. 1/10 will give 64.
Overview
As you can see, there are several different bows and arrow that a ranged weapon user can use. Knowing how the bows are rated will let you know precisely which ones to keep and which ones to sell on the exchange.
This post is part of the series: Runescape Ranged Skill Guide
From crossbows & bolts to bows & arrows and thrown weapons, check out this guide for improving your ranged weapon skills in Runescape.
