Welcome to my Elden Ring Bow Build Guide, where I’ll share my Magic Archer build. This build is an evolution of my previous Archer build and takes a slightly different approach to address some of the issues with playing a pure Archer in Elden Ring.
Playing as an Archer from around level 50 can be challenging. Early in the game, it takes some time to get going, but it’s manageable. However, in the mid-game, you might hit a lull due to several factors:
- Upgrade Materials: Bows typically cap at around +10 or +11 before you need to explore more advanced areas for upgrade materials. This can disrupt the game’s natural progression, forcing you to venture into higher-level zones prematurely.
- Poor Scaling: Bows have atrocious scaling, meaning most of their damage comes from upgrades rather than stat growth. While this isn’t as noticeable early in the game, it becomes a significant issue as other weapons scale better, making it hard to keep up with damage output.
- Limited Arrows: Early in the game, your arrow supply is limited. While you can craft arrows or buy cheaper ones, it’s not until later in the game that you can purchase unlimited arrows with runes, which are typically better than crafted ones. This restriction can be a hassle, requiring you to find crafting materials and spend time making arrows.
As a result, I designed the Magic Archer build, which utilizes the Horn Bow, a bow that deals both magic and physical damage, with a slight Intelligence requirement. I pair this with the Lazuli Glintstone Swords, which have a small Intelligence requirement but scale well with Strength.
Through extensive testing, I found that some popular talismans don’t work as expected with bows:
- Blue Dancer Charm: Provides a small attack rating boost with lighter equipment, but the increase is minimal, typically around 10–12 attack rating.
- Winged Sword Talisman: Does not boost bow damage, despite its benefits for melee weapons.
- Claw Talisman: Does not affect bow damage, even with jump shots, which would have been a useful 15% increase.
- Lance Talisman: Has no effect on bow damage while on horseback, despite many encounters where using a bow from horseback is advantageous.
Given these limitations, I created the Magic Archer build to offer a more versatile approach, using a mix of magic and physical damage. With this build, you can maintain a consistent damage output and enjoy a more balanced playstyle.
Elden Ring Horn Bow Build Guide – Magic Archer
A bow-based build that focuses on ranged combat, but has the tools to melee in a pinch as well.
We have over 110 Elden Ring builds. Each one is meticulously crafted to offer unique playstyles, strategies, and experiences, ensuring there’s something for every adventurer in the Lands Between. Whether you seek the raw power of heavy weapons, the finesse of spellcasting, or the versatility of hybrid builds, our collection has you covered. Explore the depths of the game’s mechanics and unleash your full potential with our diverse array of builds.
Elden Ring Horn Bow Build Guide – Equipment
In this Elden Ring Horn Bow build, you’ll meet the Intelligence requirements while focusing on Strength, and for the Horn Bow, a bit of Dexterity is also needed. This setup allows you to pick off enemies from a distance with the Horn Bow, especially when using magic arrows. With the Mighty Shot skill, you can deal 400–500 damage per shot, making it an excellent ranged option. The build also provides a melee choice with the Lazuli Glintstone Swords, which is useful when you need to conserve arrows or engage in close combat.
This approach is more versatile than a pure bow build. If you prefer different melee weapons, the Carian Knight’s Sword is a good alternative to the Lazuli Glintstone Swords, though it has a higher Intelligence requirement. If you’re interested in using a larger sword, consider the Troll Knight’s Sword, which also requires a bit more Intelligence but offers a solid melee option.
With this build, you can mix and match weapons based on your preference. You can pair the Horn Bow with the Troll Knight’s Sword, or the Carian Straight Sword with the Lazuli Glintstone Swords. This flexibility allows you to adapt to different situations and enemy types, creating a well-rounded build that’s effective at both range and in close quarters.
Elden Ring Horn Bow Build Guide – Talismans
For this Elden Ring Horn Bow build, the key talismans to consider are the Arrow’s Sting Talisman, Arrow’s Reach Talisman, and a flexible third slot for customization.
The Arrow’s Sting Talisman increases your arrow damage by about 10%, providing a consistent boost to your ranged attacks. You can find it in Caelid by heading toward Redmane Castle. Look for a watchtower near the castle, and you’ll find the talisman at the top. It’s an easy grab without needing to engage in combat—just run past the enemies to collect it.
The Arrow’s Reach Talisman extends the range of your bow, preventing damage drop-off over longer distances. It can be found on a tower above Stormgate, near the trolls and enemies. This talisman is crucial for bow builds, allowing you to maintain higher damage even from a distance. It’s one of the best talismans for any bow-focused build because it ensures you’re always dealing consistent damage, even from farther away.
The third talisman slot is more flexible and depends on your playstyle. The Warrior Jar Shard is a good choice, as it increases skill damage by about 10%. To get it, you need to kill Alexander early in the game, but if you choose to follow his quest line instead, you can eventually earn the Shard of Alexander, which offers a 15% increase in skill damage. If you prefer to keep Alexander alive for the quest, you might consider other options for this slot.
Another suitable talisman for the third slot is the Winged Sword Insignia, which increases damage with successive attacks. This is ideal if you’re dual-wielding melee weapons alongside your bow. If you switch to your bow after a flurry of melee attacks, you’ll still benefit from the damage buff.
Alternatively, the Erdtree’s Favor Talisman can be a solid choice, providing boosts to health, stamina, and equip load. This build can be stamina-intensive, with all the firing, attacking, rolling, and jumping, so having extra stamina can be quite helpful. If you find yourself running out of stamina often, the Erdtree’s Favor Talisman is a great option.
In summary, the Arrow’s Sting and Arrow’s Reach talismans are the core choices for this build, ensuring higher arrow damage and extended range. The third slot offers flexibility based on your preferred playstyle, whether that’s more damage with successive attacks or additional stamina and health for greater survivability.
Elden Ring Horn Bow Build Guide – Recommended Attributes
- 20 Vigor provides a basic level of health, but you might want to increase it as you progress to avoid being one-shot by stronger enemies. A higher Vigor, like 25, offers better survivability.
- 14 Mind grants 81 FP, allowing for four uses of Rain of Arrows if equipped on your short bow. This is useful for crowd control and dealing with multiple enemies.
- 20 Endurance offers sufficient equip load for carrying two bows and two swords, or a combination with a greatsword. This also lets you wear better armor for protection, unless you aim for a very low equip load to benefit from the Blue Dancer Charm.
- 20 Strength boosts the damage of your melee weapons, including the Troll Knight Sword, Carian Sword, or Lazuli Sword. It’s also crucial for the Misbegotten Short Bow, which scales well with Strength and outperforms the basic short bow.
- 14 Dexterity is needed to meet the requirements for the Horn Bow and the Troll Knight Sword, making it a baseline for this build.
- 13 Intelligence is enough for the Horn Bow and Lazuli Glintstone Swords. If you plan to use the Troll Knight Sword or Carian Knight Sword, aim for 18 Intelligence. Avoid raising it more than necessary, as it doesn’t contribute to the primary damage output of this build.
Regarding Arcane, it’s not essential for this build; any Arcane points come from the Bandit class, which I chose as the starting class. If you’re playing a different class with less Arcane, it’s not a problem.
Rain of Arrows is a useful Ash of War for this build, allowing you to apply status effects and target large groups or bosses from a distance. It’s preferable to Barrage in many situations because of its ability to inflict status effects more effectively. To get Rain of Arrows, go to Caelid’s Sellia, Town of Sorcery. Find a painting on the ground, interact with it, then travel to a large Erdtree. Drop over a cliff to touch a spectral figure, and you’ll receive the Rain of Arrows Ash of War. This method avoids combat, making it accessible for most players.
Rain of Arrows is effective against large targets like Dragonkin or in boss fights such as Rennala. It’s also excellent for co-op play, where you can help build bleed or poison with status-inflicting arrows. Keep in mind that Rain of Arrows consumes 20 FP per use, so plan accordingly.
Elden Ring Horn Bow Build Guide – Arrows and Other Tips
Generally, with this build, I use the Horn Bow to pick off enemies from a distance and switch to melee when necessary. If you find yourself surrounded, ambushed, or in a boss fight where using a bow isn’t ideal, you can switch to a short bow or melee weapons.
This flexibility allows you to adapt to different combat situations. I also recommend using somber stones to upgrade the Lazuli Glintstone Sword, the Carian Sword, and the Troll Knight Sword, as this doesn’t interfere with upgrading the Horn Bow and Misbegotten Short Bow, which use regular smithing stones.
Now, let’s talk about arrows, an essential part of any archer build. Crafting and sourcing arrows is crucial to maintain a steady supply throughout the game. Here are some tips to streamline the farming process:
To buy Thin Beast Bones, which are needed for crafting basic arrows, visit the Warmaster’s Shack at night. If you wait for a few in-game hours after setting the time to night, the Bell Bearing Hunter boss will appear. Defeating him gives you a bell bearing to give to the Twin Maiden Husks at Roundtable Hold, allowing you to purchase Thin Beast Bones. This is a much faster way to obtain these materials than farming beasts manually.
For Flight Pinions, which are used to craft arrows with longer range, head to the first site of grace after ascending the lift at the game’s start. There are six birds you can farm. Alternatively, on the beach below this area, you’ll find around 20 penguins. You can farm these easily by respawning at the cave’s site of grace and repeating the run.
If you want Bloodbone Arrows, you need Bloodroses. The best places to farm these are Fort Haight in the southeastern part of Limgrave and the Rose Church in Liurnia of the Lakes. At Fort Haight, grab the Blood Roses and then respawn to collect more. At the Rose Church, touch a Stake of Marika after collecting the Blood Roses to respawn nearby and repeat.
To craft Firebone Arrows, gather Smoldering Butterflies. The easiest place to farm these is just northeast of the Warmaster’s Shack, where you’ll find two fire slugs and plenty of Smoldering Butterflies. Repeat this route to build a large stock of Firebone Arrows.
For Magicbone Arrows, you’ll need Glintstone Fireflies. Find these just north of Laskyar Ruins in Liurnia of the Lakes, where you can quickly collect 20 or 30 by riding around the area and respawning at the nearby site of grace.
If you’re interested in Poisonbone Arrows, collect Poison Blooms. The best place to farm these is Tombsward Cave in Weeping Peninsula. You can run through the cave and gather the blooms while avoiding combat, then respawn to collect more.
Lastly, if you want Stormwing Bone Arrows, you can farm Stormhawk Feathers at Stormveil Castle. The drop rate is low, so these are best used for boss fights where you need extra damage.
It’s also a good idea to buy regular arrows in bulk from merchants. These basic arrows are useful for general combat, allowing you to save your specialty arrows for specific scenarios or boss fights. Remember to pick up crafting books as you progress through the game to unlock different arrow types. You can find the locations of these books using an interactive map or the Elden Ring wiki.
That covers the essentials of my Horn Bow build and where to find and craft the arrows you’ll need. I hope this guide helps you maintain a steady arrow supply while playing as an archer in Elden Ring. The early and middle game can be challenging, but with proper planning and farming, you can keep your bow well-stocked and ready for battle.
As always, let us know if you have questions or other tips in the comments below. We have a ton more builds coming for Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree so stay tuned for those. If you need help finding the spells, items, or equipment in this build, and securing some personal objectives, make sure to check the Elden Ring Map.
