The hype around Elden Ring is real! It seems as if everyone in the world is talking about it. Even though it was released only three days ago, the so-called successors of Dark Souls seem to be heading on the right path. Gaming enthusiasts from all around the globe are starting their Elden Ring journey, but the game is too complicated. There is just too much going on in the game that mistakes are bound to happen. We at eXputer have covered many of the most asked questions in detailed guides, such as the best starting class, the best talismans, and more. In this guide, we have curated the Best Elden Ring Ranged Weapons.
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Elden Ring Best Ranged Weapons
Ranged weapons may not be the most effective weapons on the battlefield, but they can prove to be extremely lethal with the right planning and decision-making. Before we dive deep into ranged weapons, it is important to know that ranged weapons can be acquired by choosing either Samurai or Bandit class. Otherwise, you’ll need to do some exploring to find ranged weapons and their ammo.
We have listed the basic stats of the weapons’ that you get while acquiring. We understand that as you upgrade weapons, their scaling and level increase, and they become a much better version compared to when you get these weapons.
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Ballistas
Ballistas are ranged weapons that allow you to fire Greatbolts from long distances keeping you away from the battle. You can inflict damage on the enemy without being in danger of getting hit with something else. The great thing about Ballistas is that it is compatible with Ashes of War, which means you can assess the situation and mix it with something different according to the condition. There are two types of Ballistas weapons (as of now); Hand Ballista and Jar Cannon.
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Hand Ballista
The Hand Ballista is a great ranged weapon that can primarily be used in three different situations. Let’s say you’re preparing a counter-attack and need something to disturb the flow of enemy attacks. In this situation, Hand Ballista is very effective. As you begin firing Greatbolts at the enemy, your teammates prepare to start the attack. Even if the enemy forces spot you, they’ll have to target either you or your teammates. The enemy can’t afford to ignore you, or else they’ll deal with constant damage throughout the battle. This will give our forces enough time to start the attack and swiftly beat them.
Hand Ballistas are useful when you’re stranded alone on the battlefield and enemies start surrounding you. It’s a great ranged weapon to open fire and deal maximum damage before our inevitable demise. Raiding enemy castles can become easier if one of you takes a Hand Ballista. This allows us to surprise and gives maximum damage to the enemy before they can mobilize and get ready to attack. Hand Ballista requires 30 Strength and 14 Dexterity. It can be found at the top of the Forest Lookout Tower, west of the bridge of sacrifice on the weeping peninsula. Hand Ballista’s critical and range damage is 100 and 50, respectively. Its weapon skill is Kick.
Jar Cannon
The second Ballista ranged weapon is Jar Cannon. Like Hand Ballista, Jar Cannon does not scale with stat attributes but needs Dexterity and Strength. Jar Cannon requires 34 strength and 12 dexterity. Its range and critical damage are 50 and 100, and its weapon skill is Kick. Players must be mindful of their surroundings before choosing to acquire Jar Cannon. It deals significant damage to the enemy without needing to go into close combat, but it does have a slow reload. That’s why you need to be aware of what’s going around you before you take the risk.
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Bows
Bows are ranged weapons that allow the player to wreak damage on the opponent without entering close combat. Ranged weapons like bows that don’t provide any protection to the player require the player to be present-minded to keep away from the enemies. To use Bows, one must have supplies of arrows to attack. Lastly, bows cannot be infused with Ashes of War.
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LongBow
Starting equipment for those who choose The Samurai Class, the Longbow, as the name suggests is a bow that can be used for attacks from great distances. Longbow can be bought from Enia at the Roundtable Hold for 1200 Runes. Its skill is Mighty Shot. Even though it’s mentioned that Ashes of War is incompatible with bows, Longbow is compatible.
Furthermore, Longbows can be upgraded by using Smithing Stones. Its attacks contain critical, range, and physical attacks, and their stats are 100, 50, and 80. As mentioned before, longbows do not have any defense. Now, on to the Scaling and requirements. Longbow is E-grade and D-grade and requires nine and 14 strength and dexterity respectively.
Horn Bow
Made from animal horns and used by master hunters, the Horn Bow is a magical masterpiece. Its true potential lies when its arrows are magically infused. The Horn Bow can be found on the way to Hallowhorn Grounds under its stairs in Siofra River, where you’ll spot a corpse. Similar to Longbow, Horn Bow’s weapon skill is Mighty Shot; it can be upgraded by Smithing Stones, and it can be infused with Ashes of War.
When it comes to attacking, the Horn bow has 65 physical, 30 magic damage, 100 critical damage, and 50 range damage. The horn bow is E-grade and D-grade in scaling Strength and Dexterity. It requires 10 strength, 14 dexterity, and 12 intelligence.
Black Bow
The black bow is one of the coolest bows the game has to offer. It is a longbow carved from Black wood. Its sleek design is made to resemble that of a blade. Though a Longbow, the Horn Bow can be wielded like a Shortbow. It is a difficult weapon to master, but some dedication to the Bow will give you good control over it. Unlike the other two, the Black Bow cannot be infused with Ashes of War. Black Bow’s weapon skill is different from the other two bows as well i.e. Barrage. Its physical, critical, and range attacks are 70, 100, and 50. The black bow requires nine strengths and 20 Dexterity with the F.P being -(2 2), the Black Bow scales E and D grade in strength and dexterity.
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Crossbows
The Crossbows are ranged weapons with the ability to damage the opponent’s army from afar. Crossbows do more damage than bows but are slower to reload and harder to aim. They also have a smaller range than bows and cannot be infused with Ashes of War. Crossbows require bolts if need to be used. There are four crossbows;
Pulley Crossbow
The Pulley Crossbow does not scale with attributes, but it does require 16 strength and dexterity each. It is made by someone who understands the complex Golden Order Fundamentalism and has put extreme care in crafting such a ranged weapon. Pulley Crossbow’s weapon skill of Kick allows you to push the enemy back to give you breathing space and time to plan. Constant attacks may end up in the running out of Bolts, so be mindful of that. Its physical, critical, and range attack are 65, 100, and 42. The Pulley Crossbow cannot be infused with Ashes of War, and it can be upgraded by Smithing Stones.
Light Crossbow
With the requirement of 12 and eight in strength and dexterity, the light crossbow is made from a bow fixed in a stock. Light Crossbow is an easy weapon to use and deals good damage. The Light Crossbow uses bolts as ammo. It is found in the weeping peninsula where the Nomadic merchant sells for it 1500 Runes. The Light Crossbow deals 58 physical attacks, 100 critical damage, and 42 range damage. Like the Pulley crossbow, the Light Crossbow specializes in Kick and pushes the enemy to a certain extent.
Crepus’ Black-Key Crossbow
Far away, you’re camping to annihilate the enemy one by one. This is what the Crepus’ Black-Key Crossbow is all about. You can kill the enemy forces without even being spotted. The great thing is that your team doesn’t even necessarily need to go on the battlefield to kill. But that doesn’t work for long; Crepus’ Black-Key Crossbow should be used as a head start for your forces to one-up the enemy. It does 68 physical attacks, 100 critical damage, and 47 range damage. It requires 14 strength and 16 dexterity, and the Crepus’ Black-Key Crossbow can be found in the first Gargoyle door in the roundtable hold.
Light bows
A light bow is a fast-ranged weapon In Elden Ring that fires arrows quickly at the enemy to distract or shift the enemy’s concentration. This means that Light bows don’t inflict much damage, instead, they can just be used in desperate situations or to support our teammates from distance. Prior to going into battle, players must ensure they have enough arrows to last the entirety of the fight. Light bows cannot be infused with Ashes of War.
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Short Bow
A short bow is suitable for fighting while riding a horse as it fires in quick succession with great aim. Its physical attacks of 65, critical damage of 100, and range damage of 29 confirms that fighting at rather small distances but still staying away from direct combat should prove useful. It scales E in both strength and dexterity and requires eight and 10 in it. Short bow is a starting equipment for bandit class and weighs as light as 2.5 kg. Situated in the southeast of the coastal cave, the nomadic merchant sells the Short bow for 600 runes. It can also be sold for 100 runes. The short bow can be upgraded by using smithing stones and can also be infused with Ashes of War.
Composite Bow
A slightly heavy bow compared to the short bow, the Composite bow is a much lethal weapon that can be a bit complicated to use. Once mastered, the composite bow can prove useful in many situations. Sold by the nomadic merchant in the Liurnia of the Lakes, the composite bow costs 3500 runes. The composite bow scales primarily with strength (E-grade) and dexterity (D-grade). It also requires 15 strength and dexterity. Its attacks are 65, 100, and 29 for physical, critical, and range correspondingly. Weapon skill; Mighty shot, the composite bow can be upgraded by using smithing stones. The composite bow can be infused by Ashes of war and can also be buffed with magic and consumables.
Red Branch ShortBow
With the physical attacks of 65, 100 critical damage, and 29 range damage, the short bow of polished red wood is a fine ranged weapon made by a master craftsman. The red branch short bow scales primarily with strength(E-Grade) and dexterity (D-Grade). It also requires eight strength and 16 dexterity and has weapon skill Barrage. The red branch short bow can be infused with Ashes of War and can be upgraded with the help of smithing stones.
Greatbows
Greatbows, like others, are most effective if used from distance. You can sneak attack and spread chaos among the enemy army, while the others get ready for a full-scale attack. Compatible with Ash of War, the Greatbows offer no protection from the enemy, so alertness of the players is fully required.
Great Bow
A size bigger than any person, the Great bow is a deadly ranged weapon In Elden Ring that has the capacity to annihilate enemies. With great power comes great arrows, yes, the great bow can only equip great arrows. Its scaling at D-Grade for both strength and dexterity is better than any bow we’ve mentioned above. Its physical attack of 125, critical damage of 100, and 50 ranged damage validates its reputation. The great bow requires 20 strength and dexterity. This extraordinary firepower weapon can not only be upgraded by smithing stones but can also be infused with Ashes of War. The weapon skill of the great bow is Through and Through.
Lion Greatbow
A lighter version of the great bow, the Lion Great bow is primarily scaled with strength(22), dexterity(18), and intelligence. Physical attacks of 120, critical damage of 100, and ranged damage of 50 are what the Lion Great bow has to offer. Though it lacks in physical damage compared to the Great bow, it makes up for it thanks to its unique weapon skill (Radahan’s Rain)that allows it to rain flurry arrows on the enemy dealing a great amount of damage. The lion’s great bow, as the name hints are decorated with a lion mane motif and wielded by General Radahn. When paired with Radahn’s spear, the lion’s great bow, which is imbued with the gravitational power of the Starscourge becomes an unstoppable force.
Summary
These are the best Ranged weapons in Elden Ring. As the game unveils more weapons, we’re sure that weapons far greater than them will come to light and take their place. Now that you know all that is to know about ranged weapons let us know if we’ve missed anything above. If you have any other questions or want to read some other Elden Ring guides, check out some of our other stuff.
Elden Ring is an action, role-playing game released on February 25, 2022, developed by FromSoftware. Written by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin, the story is about exiled warriors returning to Land Between to restore the Elden Ring and ultimately become the Elden Lord. Elden Ring is available on Microsoft Windows, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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