In this Elden Ring Best Light Bows and Ranking Guide, we’ll be taking a look at the 7 Light Bows in Elden Ring and discuss why you might use them in combat. We’ll take a look at attack power, damage type, length, Weapon Skills, and other factors such as how long it takes you to acquire them, to determine if they are best suited for you. We are doing a guide for all Weapon types in Elden Ring, and these will be updated to reflect those added with Shadow of the Erdtree as well.

Light Bows in Elden Ring

1. Misbegotten Shortbow
2. Composite Bow
3. Red Branch Shortbow
4. Shortbow
5. Harp Bow

Elden Ring Light Bows Ranked

Light Bows are one of the 31 Weapon types in Elden Ring, soon to be 39 when Shadow of the Erdtree releases on June 21st. Light Bows have a slightly faster draw speed than Bows. You can jump and shoot, land and shoot, sprint and shoot, and roll and shoot very quickly with Light Bows. Most Light Bows can be found extremely early in the game, which is great if you want to play a Light Bow build. True to its name, it is very light weight. Lastly, it has the highest versatility when it comes to using Ashes of War for all Bow-type weapons.

Light Bows, however, have lower damage per shot than the two other Bow-type weapons. It also has a relatively short range compared to the other two Bow types, and it has poor scaling.

PROS

• Slightly faster draw speed than Bows
• Can jump and shoot, land and shoot, sprint and shoot and roll and shoot very quickly, while Bows and Greatbows cannot
• Most Light Bows can be found extremely early in the game
• Very light weight
• Highest versatility of Ashes of War of all Bow-type weapons

CONS

• Lower damage per shot than all other Bow type weapons
• Shortest range of all Bow type weapons
• Poor scaling

Harp Bow – #5 Best Light Bow in Elden Ring

The Harp Bow does Physical Damage, and is the lightest Light Bow in Elden Ring, weighing 2. It requires 9 Strength and 9 Dexterity in order to use effectively.

Attack Rating with 40 STR & 60 DEX: 151 Base + 55 Scaling (206)

Conclusion: The Harp Bow is the lightest Light Bow and has very low stat requirements, but you won’t get it until a ways into the game in The Shaded Castle, you cannot change its weapon skill: Barrage, and it has the lowest damage of all Light Bows by a lot.

This weapon scales slightly better with DEX than STR, but not by a lot, and has poor scaling in general, so I would avoid worrying about adding damage through scaling with this weapon.

The only real reason to use this weapon is because it makes a harp sound when firing arrows, allowing you to live out your Bardic Archer fantasy.

Shortbow – #4 Best Light Bow in Elden Ring

The Shortbow does Physical Damage, and has an average weight for a Light Bow in Elden Ring, weighing 2.5. It requires 8 Strength and 10 Dexterity in order to use effectively.

Attack Rating with 50 STR & 50 DEX: 159 Base + 61 Scaling (220)

Conclusion: The Shortbow has the second lowest damage of all Light Bows and has terrible scaling, but can be acquired at the very beginning of the game, it has very low requirements, and you can change its Ash of War.

This weapon scales identically with either STR or DEX, meaning you can use it in either a STR or DEX build until you find a better weapon, but has poor scaling in general.

The best reason to use this weapon is its ease of acquisition at the very beginning of the game and the fact that anyone can use it with little stat investment, but you will definitely want to swap this out for a stronger Light Bow when you find one.

Red Branch Shortbow – #3 Best Light Bow in Elden Ring

The Red Branch Shortbow does Physical Damage and has an average weight for a Light Bow in Elden Ring, weighing 2.5. It requires 8 Strength and 16 Dexterity in order to use effectively.

Attack Rating with 30 STR & 70 DEX: 159 Base + 71 Scaling (230)

Conclusion: The Red Branch Shortbow can be acquired in Tombsward Ruins early on, you can change its Ash of War, and it has almost no Strength requirements, making it a good choice if you are going for a pure DEX build. However, it is outclassed by the Black Bow, both damage and range wise, making it a better choice if you don’t mind the extra 1.5 weight.

The Red Branch Shortbow scales slightly better with the DEX than STR making it better on DEX builds than STR, but not by a lot. However, since it has a 16 DEX requirement, it’s a natural choice for early game DEX builds.

Composite Bow – #2 Best Light Bow in Elden Ring

The Composite Bow does Physical Damage, and is tied for the heaviest Light Bow in Elden Ring, weighing 3. It requires 15 Strength and 15 Dexterity in order to use effectively.

Attack Rating with 30 STR & 70 DEX: 159 Base + 77 Scaling (236)

Conclusion: The Composite Bow can be acquired from a merchant in Liurnia of the Lakes, you can change its Ash of War, and it has the second highest Attack Rating of all Light Bows. However, it is the heaviest Light Bow at 3, and has the highest requirements of all Light Bows, though again this is slightly misleading because you really only need 2/3 the listed STR to use any Bow weapon.

The Composite Bow scales slightly better with DEX than STR, making it another good choice for DEX builds, despite its higher STR requirement. However, if you’ve already been upgrading the Red Branch Shortbow, you might want to wait in order to get the Black Bow that is better than both these Light Bows.

Misbegotten Shortbow – #1 Best Light Bow in Elden Ring

The Misbegotten Shortbow does Physical Damage, and is tied for the heaviest Light Bow in Elden Ring, weighing 3. It requires 16 Strength and 8 Dexterity in order to use effectively.

Attack Rating with 55 STR & 45 DEX: 166 Base + 80 Scaling (246)

Conclusion: The Misbegotten Shortbow has the highest damage of all Light Bows, it has better scaling than all Light Bows, you can change its Ash of War, and you can farm it easily in Weeping Peninsula. However, it is tied for the heaviest Light Bow at 3, and it has shorter Range than all other Light Bows.

The Misbegotten Shortbow scales very slightly better with STR than Dex, making it a good choice for STR builds that want a ranged option, at least until you can upgrade to the Black Bow.

Bow Weapon Skills in Elden Ring

• Barrage – 33% Damage penalty per arrow and reduced Status Effect build up, in exchange for a 50% increased fire rate vs. normal arrows (2 FP cost)
• Mighty Shot – 75% more Damage and 75% more Status Effect build up per arrow, as well as adding Range to arrows fired and dealing some damage through Blocks (6 FP)
• Enchanted Shot – Increases Damage by 50% of arrows fired as well as 50% increased Status Effect build up, and homes onto the target, curving to hit them (8 FP)
• Sky Shot – Does 33% more Damage than a regular arrow and arcs very high into the sky coming down on the head of the target, though this cannot be used in places with a ceiling as it blocks the arrow. Head shots typically deal more damage than body shots, depending on the enemy, which can make this skill outperform Mighty Shot in terms of overall damage for less FP. However, hitting the enemy’s head is not guaranteed, and it often hits their upper back, so positioning to the side or front of the enemy is important when using this skill.
• Through and Through – Does +30% Damage with Great Arrows, piercing the target and hitting enemies behind the target (9 FP)
• Rain of Arrows – 50% less damage and Status Effect build up per arrow but can hit with multiple arrows in one use allowing for more overall damage than other Bow Weapon Skills and decent Status Effect build up (20 FP)

Bow Talismans in Elden Ring

• Arrow’s Sting – Increases Arrow damage
• Arrow’s Reach Talisman – Increases Arrow Range. Arrows fired outside their listed Range deal reduced damage the further from the target they go. I find that only Light Bows need this Talisman in general, as Mighty Shot increases the Range for that Arrow. Note that status effect build up is unaffected by Range, and does NOT suffer a penalty from firing outside the weapon’s Range.
• Ritual Sword Talisman – Increases damage when at max HP. This is a good way to boost damage if you can keep from getting hit.
• Shard of Alexander/Warrior Jar Shard – These Talismans boos the damage of your Weapon Skills, which helps a lot.
• Blue Dancer Charm – Increases the damage you deal the lighter equip load you have on a sliding scale. The lighter the better. Good for Bow Builds that sacrifice protection for damage.
• Spear Talisman – Increases the damage of Arrows that hit enemies that are mid attack animation. Great for Light Bows that can bait attacks and then jump or roll and shoot. Keep in mind it only boosts Physical Damage, so make sure to use Arrows that deal Physical Damage when using it.

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If you enjoyed this Light Bows Ranked Guide, be sure to check out our other Weapon Guides, and also our article on how to Prepare for Shadow of the Erdtree!