Valheim Bows & Arrows (1.0) — Best Bow, Arrow Types & Damage

Quick answer: Bows progress Crude Bow → Finewood → Huntsman → Draugr Fang → Arbalest in 1.0. Arrows scale with the material tier you can smelt — Wood, Flinthead, Bronzehead, Ironhead, Obsidian, then elemental variants (fire, frost, poison, silver, needle) — and every craft batch makes 20 arrows. Higher-tier arrows keep their damage bonus on any bow, so upgrading arrows is cheaper than upgrading the bow.

Confirmed bow values (valheim.wiki, 1.0)

Bows have 2.5 seconds of draw time at Bow skill 0, which decreases to 0.5 seconds by level 100; a bow can only be fired every 0.8 seconds, reached at skill 85. All bows carry a 3x backstab multiplier. The Arbalest loads a bolt in 3.5 seconds (3 stamina) and can only fire every 6 seconds with full animations; bolts travel in a straight line with no drop, and recoil can knock you off ledges.

Confirmed arrow crafting costs (valheim.wiki + competitor cross-check, 1.0)

Every arrow is crafted in batches of 20. Wood is the base for most; only the Needle arrow skips wood.

Bow damage values and draw behaviour are confirmed against valheim.wiki (1.0) — see our verification workflow.

Why ranged matters

A bow is never your only weapon, but it solves problems melee cannot:

• Pull single enemies out of packs so you fight one at a time instead of the whole group.
• Open boss fights safely — chip damage before the boss closes, or finish it while kiting.
• Bow skill carries across bows. Every bow uses the same skill, so investment never resets when you upgrade.

Bow progression

The single most useful bow is Draugr Fang: because it applies poison on its own, it keeps working regardless of which arrows you craft, and most players carry it for several biomes.

Every arrow type and what it is for

Arrows are a damage-type decision, not just a number. Two families:

Piercing (general damage) — the ladder that follows your materials: Wood → Flint → Bronze → Iron → Obsidian → Needle → Carapace → Charred. Use these as your default; craft the best piercing arrow your current materials allow.

Effect arrows (situational) — bring these for the right target:

The rule: carry piercing arrows as your default and a stack of the effect arrow that matches what you are hunting. Frost crafting needs a Freeze Gland; poison arrows need Ooze.

Making ranged work

• Levelling Bow skill is the priority. A mid-tier bow with high skill out-damages a fresh craft with none.
• Light armor pairs with ranged. Troll and Root sets are built for archers — Root even gives a bow skill bonus and pierce resistance. See armor sets.
• Ranged is a stamina game too. Drawing and firing spend stamina, so keep an eye on the bar when you also need to dodge: combat basics.

Related

• Every bow and crossbow ranked by base damage: best bow in Valheim
• The melee that finishes what the bow starts: weapon tier list
• Armor built for archers: armor sets
• Keeping health and stamina up while you kite: food and meals

FAQ

What is the best bow in valheim?

alt=“A Valheim character drawing a bow and shooting an arrow at a target mounted on a tree in the Meadows” Bow damage values and draw behaviour are confirmed against valheim.wiki (1.0) — see our verification workflow.

How to unlock draugr bow valheim?

Crude bow — 4 — 22 / 31 — — — 0 — 35 m/s; Finewood bow — 6 — 32 / 41 — — — 5 — 50 m/s; Huntsman bow — 8 — 42 / 51 — — — 10 — 50 m/s; Draugr Fang — 10 — 47 / 56 — Poison 5 / 20 — 20 — 60 m/s

What bow comes after draugr fang?

Meadows — Crude Bow — First ranged option, cheap wood and core; Black Forest — Finewood Bow — Reliable step up while you learn draw timing; Swamp — Huntsman Bow — Solid damage through the Swamp and Mountain; Mountain — Draugr Fang — The keep-forever bow — innate poison means arrow choice matters less