This Minecraft tutorial explains how to craft a bow with screenshots and step-by-step instructions.
In Minecraft, a bow is one of the many weapons that you can make. You use your bow to shoot arrows in Minecraft.
Let’s explore how to make a bow.
Supported Platforms
A bow is available in the following versions of Minecraft:
PlatformSupported (Version*) Java Edition (PC/Mac)Yes Pocket Edition (PE)Yes Xbox 360Yes Xbox OneYes PS3Yes PS4Yes Wii UYes Nintendo SwitchYes Windows 10 EditionYes Education EditionYes
* The version that it was added or removed, if applicable. NOTE: Pocket Edition (PE), Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows 10 Edition are now called Bedrock Edition. We will continue to show them individually for version history.
Where to find a Bow in Creative Mode
Required Materials to make a Bow
In Minecraft, these are the materials you can use to craft a bow:
How to craft a Bow in Survival Mode
1. Open the Crafting Menu
First, open your crafting table so that you have the 3×3 crafting grid that looks like this:
2. Add Items to make a Bow
In the crafting menu, you should see a crafting area that is made up of a 3×3 crafting grid. To make a bow, place 3 strings and 3 sticks in the 3×3 crafting grid.
When making a bow, it is important that the strings and the sticks are placed in the exact pattern as the image below. In the first row, there should be 1 stick in the second box and 1 string in the third box. In the second row, there should be 1 stick in the first box and 1 string in the third box. In the third row, there should be 1 stick in the second box and 1 string in the third box. This is the Minecraft crafting recipe for a bow.
Now that you have filled the crafting area with the correct pattern, the bow will appear in the box to the right.
3. Move the Bow to Inventory
Once you have crafted a bow, you need to move the new item to your inventory.
Congratulations, you have made a bow in Minecraft!
Item ID and Name
Give Command for Bow
Attack Damage and Durability
Attack damage is the amount of damage the item will deal when attacking a mob.
Durability represents how long the item will last. For tools, weapons and transportation, durability is the number of useful actions before the item is destroyed. For armor items, durability is the number of hits (that can be blocked by armor) before the item is destroyed. So the higher the durability number, the longer the item will last.
The following table shows the attack damage and durability for each weapon in Minecraft:
Item Name Attack Damage Durability Netherite Sword 8 2031 Diamond Sword 7 1561 Bow <varies> 384 Crossbow <varies> 326 Iron Sword 6 250 Trident 9 250 Stone Sword 5 131 Wooden Sword 4 59 Golden Sword 4 32
Enchantments for Bow
In Minecraft, you can enchant a bow with the following enchantments:
Enchantment Description Curse of Vanishing Cursed item will disappear after player dies Flame Turns arrows into flaming arrows Infinity Shoots an infinite amount of arrows Mending Uses xp to mend your tools, weapons and armor Power Increases damage dealt by bow Punch Increases knockback dealt (enemies repel backwards) Unbreaking Increases durability of item, in effect, by decreasing the chance of the tool, weapon, or armor taking durability damage when used
See a complete list of Minecraft Enchantments that is interactive and searchable.
Things to Make with Bows
You can use bows to make items in Minecraft such as:
Things to Do with Bows
Here are some activities that you can do with bows in Minecraft:
