Summary
When it comes to ranged attacks inDark Souls 3, players have quite a few options. They can utilizethe vast arsenal of powerful spells, throwable consumables, or one of three classes of physical weapons. These three are the regularbows, thegreatbows, and thecrossbows. Each of the latter groups is widely considered to be the best for ranged offensives on builds that don’t intend to dish out sorceries, pyromancies, or miracles.
However, each has different usage strategies that dictate which situations they will be the most effective in. Bows are the best for fast, all-purpose combat, greatbows are ideal for long-range devastation, and crossbows are the most suited to be close-range implements of rapid destruction. The best of each of these classes all have a balance between power, speed, and range that sets them apart from their less effective brethren.
Updated on June 23, 2025, by Ritwik Mitra:Dark Souls 3 is one of the most beloved action RPGs of all time. After Miyazaki’s absence was palpable for many in the second game, the legendary game director came back to give Dark Souls a worthy send-off with a title that was full to the brim with callbacks to the series, epic boss encounters, and a story that was perfectly in line with the dark, depressing nature of the series. There are many ways players can approach combat in Dark Souls 3, with one particular class of weapons that are ignored for the most part coming in the form of ranged armaments like bows, greatbows, and crossbows. These weapons can be tricky to use, but players who spend the time required to master these ranged weapons can have a blast using them against the many tough enemies and boss encounters in Dark Souls 3.
Scaling (Fully Upgraded)
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It’s really hard to recommend weapons to players that don’t scale with their stats. Unless players are going out of their way to pursue a low-level build, these weapons are a hard sell. Most people would prefer to use ranged weapons that reward their skill investment, which is why the Knight’s Crossbow may be ignored by players who get put off by the lack of scaling.
However, players who decide to give this weapon a shot will be more than pleased by what it brings to the table. With innate lightning damage, it’s one of the best weapons to shoot out Lightning Bolts with to maximize the effectiveness of this weapon. It may not be the greatest ranged weapon in Dark Souls, but players who decide to give this crossbow a shot will be more than pleased by what it has to offer.
Strength (E), Dexterity (D)
This bow makes most people rue the fact that these ranged weapons can’t be infused. The Short Bow was a blast to use in the past two games, and the weak nature of this weapon inDark Souls 3makes it clear once again that FromSoftware nerfed these weapons quite a bit in the final game of the trilogy. Still, this doesn’t mean that players can’t use the Short Bow to make quick work of most enemies and bosses as long as they know what they’re doing.
A golden rule with this bow is to roll and attack at regular intervals, keeping players mobile while unleashing some decent damage along the way. It may not be the most exciting way to play the game, but this technique ensures that even the strongest bosses will be walloped to kingdom come by the simple Short Bow.
Another ranged weapon that doesn’t scale with any stat; most people would write off the Light Crossbow as nothing more than a weak ranged weapon that isn’t worth the time and effort. This would be a huge mistake since players pursuing a low-level build who want to use a light weapon will love what this crossbow has to offer.
Quick shots and low stamina usage help this crossbow stand out as one of the more underrated weapons in the game. Sure, an argument can be made that the other ranged weapons in the game are more useful with the right build, but the Light Crossbow can still take out most enemies with ease as long as players know how to make the most of it.
If players keep themselves stacked with a wealth of arrows, then the Longbow is potentially their best friend in any combat scenario. Even pesky shield wielders won’t be able to weather the player’s onslaught for too long with the useful Puncture skill breaking through enemy guards to deal damage directly.
It may not be the most remarkable or memorable bow in the game, but it gets the job done. AnyDark Soulsplayer will attest to the fact that function beats style any day, which is why the Longbow is such a coveted bow for manySoulsfans.
This bow can be found near the first bonfire of the High Wall of Lothric. Players need to traverse across the bridge to find this loot on a body near a bunch of hollow cultists.
Strength (D), Dexterity (D)
This Bow is a reference to theDark Souls 2boss who fans of the franchise are likely familiar with. In one of the later boss fights in that game, the Bearer of the Curse will have to fight two Dragonriders: one with a polearm and another with one of these devastating ranged armaments.
With 200 physical attack at the maximum upgrade level of +5, the Dragonrider Bow packs the most punch out of all the regular Bows. This power comes at a cost, however, as its Range stat is a middling 50 and is the heaviest normal Bow in the game. Furthermore, its scaling maxes out at D-tier for both Strength and Dexterity, making it only useful forQuality buildsthat can stand to be weighed down a bit.
This Bow can be found in theSmouldering Lake areanear where the giant ballista can be found high up above the lake proper. The Dragonrider Bow is on a shriveled corpse near the ledge next to a couple of ladders leading up.
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Those who enjoy the range of a bow but want something that hits a little harder may want to consider the Sniper Crossbow. This crossbow has perhaps the best range of any other in the group, although it is pretty heavy to wield and has a slower attack animation than other ranged weapons. Still, those who enjoy getting up close and personal and want to dish out some decent damage should consider taking the hulking two-handed crossbow for a spin.
It’s visually appealing, with a sniper scope and a rather imposing-looking shape when players aim it to fire. It provides solid range and even allows for free aiming so players can whittle away headshots. Body shots are considerably faster when not aimed in, but headshots (although they take longer) will do considerably more damage to non-helmeted foes. The crossbow even crits and does some pretty solid damage when that happens. It also comes with a Tackle Weapon Art, which will allow players to shoulder-tackle enemies and send them reeling backward to create distance should they get too close.
Those who want to try the Sniper Crossbow will need to head to the top of the gatehouse in Lothric Castle. This area is just before the dragons, and the bow itself can be looted from a corpse nearby.
The Arbalest is a hefty Crossbow that is the most powerful of its kind which lets loose a single, devastating bolt at a time. When fully upgraded to +10, it gets a huge 273 physical attack. It takes 18 Strength to even be wielded in one hand though, which makes it more ideal for Strength builds that need a solid option for short-ranged attacks.
With no scaling to speak of, however, its usability will pale in comparison to other Crossbows later in the game. Its weapon skill, Tackle, is a handy one that shoves enemies backward, giving the wielder some space to fire off a bolt.
The best place to find the Arbalest is theCathedral of the Deep, which can be located near the rafters, somewhat close to Rosaria’s chamber. Additionally, there is a small chance that an Arbalest will drop when one kills the enemies upon the cathedral’s roof that use them against the Ashen One.
Crossbows can be pretty tricky to use inDark Souls 3. They’re slow to load and the damage may not seem all that worthwhile unless players have a wealth of crossbow bolts and stats invested in the right departments to maximize the damage dealt by this long-range weapon.
With the Heavy Crossbow, players don’t even need to worry about the points they’ve invested in the Ashen One’s stats. All they need is a bunch of bolts and a lot of luck to even get this weapon to drop in the first place.
Players must farm this weapon from the Cathedral Knight situated in the rafters above the Cathedral of the Deep. It’s a very rare drop, so players should be ready to spend a lot of time killing this one enemy over and over again.
Dexterity (E), Intelligence (B)
Longbows are a bit slower than their Shortbow counterparts, though, accordingly, offer more range. The Darkmoon Longbow stands out as one of those capable of the most damage, as it possesses both a physical attack of 66 and a Magic attack stat of 80 when fully upgraded to +5.
With that being said, it requires 10 Intelligence to wield and eventually gets B-tier scaling when maxed out, meaning that it is more ideal for a sorcery build than one favoring Dexterity or Strength. It is ideal for such playstyles because its Range stat of 50 has a fair bit more reach than most sorceries, allowing magic users to defeat foes from even safer distances.
Players desiring this Longbow will need todefeat Aldrich, Devourer of Gods, and then transpose their soul, the Soul of Aldrich. The process will cost 5,000 souls, but the product is worth the price unless one has other plans for Aldrich’s dark soul.
As opposed to most other Crossbows, like the Arbalest, the Avelyn fires multiple bolts at once for rapid-fire decimation of a foe’s health bar. Although each bolt does not deal much damage on its own, if the three that are loosed together all connect, it can do the most damage out of any Crossbow in the game save one.
It attains 128 physical attack at the maximum upgrade of +10, though this is the stat for each bolt of its three-shot volleys, meaning that the total physical attack of the triple-firing action can be considered to be a massive 384.
Located in theGrand Archives, players will have to do a bit of parkour to get this Crossbow. Proceed upward as if one were heading to the exposed roof area of this location, but before one gets to the opening that leads outside, players can spot an item on a bookshelf on their right, which is a Titanite Scale. Ascend the staircase on the left and drop down to where the Titanite Scale is found before jumping down onto the bookshelves below. Adjacent to these new bookshelves will be a railed platform with another item, which, this time will be the prized Avelyn.
