Bow – Wiki Guide

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.

Where to find a Bow in Creative Mode

Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

Here is where you can find a bow in the Creative Inventory menu:

Platform	Version(s)	Creative Menu Location
Java Edition (PC/Mac)	1.8 – 1.20	Combat

• Platform is the platform that applies.
• Version(s) is the Minecraft version numbers where the item can be found in the menu location listed (we have tested and confirmed this version number).
• Creative Menu Location is the location of the item in the Creative Inventory menu.

Required Materials to make a Bow

In Minecraft, these are the materials you can use to craft a bow:

3 Sticks
3 Strings

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

Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

In Minecraft, a bow has the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Data Value	Stack Size	Platform	Version(s)
	Bow (minecraft:bow)	0	1	Java	1.8 – 1.12
	Bow (minecraft:bow)		1	Java	1.13 – 1.20

• Description is what the item is called and (Minecraft ID Name) is the string value that is used in game commands.
• Data Value (or damage value) identifies the variation of the block if more than one type exists for the Minecraft ID.
• Stack Size is the maximum stack size for this item. While some items in Minecraft are stackable up to 64, other items can only be stacked up to 16 or 1. (NOTE: These stack sizes are for vanilla Minecraft only. If you are running a mod, some mods may change the stack size for an item.)
• Platform is the platform that applies.
• Version(s) is the Minecraft version numbers that the Minecraft ID and Name are valid for.

Give Command for Bow

Give Command in Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

In Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20, the /give command for Bow is:

/give @p bow 1

In Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11 and 1.12, the /give command for Bow is:

/give @p bow 1 0

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

• Enchantment is what the enchantment is called.
• Description is the description of what the enchantment does.

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:

How to make a Dispenser
How to make an Enchanted Bow

Things to Do with Bows

Here are some activities that you can do with bows in Minecraft:

How to Use a Bow