Bow

“

There are a number of different types of bows available for use, each varying slightly in range, attack speed, and accuracy. The longbow offers a fair attack speeds, a long range, and fair accuracy. The shortbow has a good attack speed, poor range, and good accuracy. The flatbow provides a good attack speed, a good range, and poor accuracy. The recurve bow has a fair attack speed, a fair range, and good accuracy. The hornbow provides a poor attack speed, a fair range, and fair accuracy, but has armor penetration.

— Tablet of Wisdom

“

There are five types of bows, and each has different advantages and disadvantages. The longbow has a medium attack speed, long range, and medium accuracy. The flatbow has a fast attack speed, long range, but poor accuracy. The horn bow has a slow attack speed, medium range, medium accuracy, and 10% armor penetration. The recurve bow has a medium attack speed, medium range and good accuracy. The short bow has a quick attack speed, short range, and good accuracy.

— Rakanja, Expert Ranger

A Bow is a two-handed projectile weapon, preferred by Rangers, that requires a minimum marksmanship rank to deliver its maximum of 15 to 28 piercing damage. There are five primary classes of bows, each with properties that suit specific situations. Bows are also used to pull enemies away from well defended positions.

Properties

• Base:
  • Maximum damage range¹: 15 - 28.
  • Damage type: Piercing damage.
  • Attack rate/interval: Depends on bow class, see below.
  • Range: Depends on bow class, see below.
  • Projectile flight time and arc size: Depends on bow class. This influences how high the bow's arrows fly, determining accuracy on moving targets and for interrupts, as well as the steepness of hills that will obscure shots.
• Modifiers:
  • Unsalvageable inherent in Prophecies, Factions and the Realms of the Gods or salvagable inscription in Nightfall, Eye of the North, the Bonus Mission pack and the Battle Isles.
  • Bowstring (name prefix)
  • Bow Grip (suffix).

The following table shows the different inherent properties of the bow classes:

Bow class	Attack interval	Range2	Flight time3	Arc size	Other properties	Advantages	Disadvantages
Flatbow	2.025 seconds	1.35	0.88 seconds	High		Maximum firing rate and maximum firing range	Arrows easily dodged and slow to interrupt
Longbow	2.475 seconds	1.35	0.59 seconds	Medium		Well balanced and maximum firing range
Hornbow	2.700 seconds	1.2	0.59 seconds	Medium	10% armor penetration	More damage based on enemy's Armor rating	Slow firing when not using Attack skills
Recurve Bow	2.475 seconds	1.2	0.40 seconds	Low		Well balanced and fastest arrows
Shortbow	2.025 seconds	1.0	0.59 seconds	Medium		Maximum firing rate	Shortest range

¹ Projectile weapons inflict more damage against foes at lower elevation and less damage against foes at higher elevation.

• Testing has yielded attacks that can do up to 200% of the listed maximum damage (not including modifiers)
• Critical hits are not affected by elevation. If the elevation bonus is higher than a critical can achieve, then that value is used instead.

² Range is approximate, and is measured in aggro circle / danger zone radii. Range is also affected by elevation: arrows fly further from higher elevations (relative to target) and shorter from lower elevations.
³ Flight time is at Shortbow range.

Although most bows in Guild Wars are named "(skin) (type)", as in "Jade Longbow" or "Ancient Recurve Bow", many Core and Prophecies bows have names which do not specify their type.

Bow styles

Note: This is a list of all the different appearances a bow may have. It is completely independent of its stats and modifiers; for example a Composite Bow may be as effective as an Eternal Bow if they share the same inscription and modifiers.

By campaign

Campaign	Flatbow	Hornbow	Longbow	Recurve Bow	Shortbow
Core	Flatbow	Hornbow Ivory Bow Shadow Bow	Feathered Longbow Longbow Storm Bow	Composite Bow Dead Bow Eternal Bow Grinning Recurve Bow Recurve Bow Starter Bow3	Shortbow Half Moon
Prophecies3	Ascalon Flatbow Deldrimor Flatbow	Ascalon Hornbow Deldrimor Hornbow	Ascalon Longbow Deldrimor Longbow	Ascalon Recurve Bow Deldrimor Recurve Bow	Ascalon Shortbow Deldrimor Shortbow
Factions	Amber Bow Bramble Flatbow Ironwing Flatbow2	Bramble Hornbow Plagueborn Hornbow	Amber Longbow Bramble Longbow Celestial Longbow Jade Longbow Platinum Longbow Naga Longbow Zodiac Longbow	Bramble Recurve Bow Plagueborn Recurve Bow	Bramble Shortbow Naga Shortbow
Nightfall	Ancient Flatbow Bramble Flatbow Feathered Flatbow Skull Flatbow Starter Flatbow3 Tormented Flatbow3 Vabbian Flatbow	Ancient Hornbow Bramble Hornbow Dragon Hornbow Skull Hornbow Stoneshard Hornbow Tormented Hornbow3 Vabbian Hornbow	Aureate Longbow Ancient Longbow Bramble Longbow Skull Longbow Tormented Longbow3 Vabbian Longbow Wooden Longbow	Ancient Recurve Bow Azure Recurve Bow Bladed Recurve Bow Bramble Recurve Bow Skull Recurve Bow Spiked Recurve Bow Sturdy Recurve Bow Tormented Recurve Bow3 Vabbian Recurve Bow	Ancient Shortbow Azure Shortbow Bramble Shortbow Caged Shortbow Composite Shortbow Skull Shortbow Tormented Shortbow3 Vabbian Shortbow Zehtuka's Shortbow4
Eye of the North	Asuran Flatbow3 Charrslayer Flatbow3 Destroyer Flatbow3 Norn Flatbow3	Asuran Hornbow3 Charrslayer Hornbow3 Destroyer Hornbow3 Forked Hornbow Norn Hornbow3	Asuran Longbow3 Charrslayer Longbow3 Destroyer Longbow3 Maplewood Longbow Norn Longbow3 Turtle Shell Longbow	Asuran Recurve Bow3 Charrslayer Recurve Bow3 Destroyer Recurve Bow3 Norn Recurve Bow3 Oaken Recurve Bow Silverwing Recurve Bow Dryad Bow	Asuran Shortbow3 Charrslayer Shortbow3 Destroyer Shortbow3 Norn Shortbow3
Beyond3	Imperial Flatbow Oppressor's Flatbow Flatbow of Purity	Imperial Horbow Oppressor's Hornbow Hornbow of Purity	Imperial Longbow Oppressor's Longbow Longbow of Purity	Imperial Recurve Bow Oppressor's Recurve Bow Recurve Bow of Purity	Imperial Shortbow Oppressor's Shortbow Shortbow of Purity
Promotional3	Ithas Bow Nevermore Flatbow		Candy Cane Bow1 Darksteel Longbow Wintergreen Bow1
	Black Hawk's Lust5 Scorpion Bow5 Scorpion's Lust5
Bonus Mission Pack3	Charr Flatbow Mursaat Flatbow Tengu Flatbow Undead Flatbow	Charr Hornbow Mursaat Hornbow Tengu Hornbow Undead Hornbow	Charr Longbow Mursaat Longbow Tengu Longbow Undead Longbow	Charr Recurve Bow Mursaat Recurve Bow Tengu Recurve Bow Undead Recurve Bow	Charr Shortbow Mursaat Shortbow Tengu Shortbow Undead Shortbow

1. The Candy Cane Bow and Wintergreen Bow can only be obtained during special in-game events.
2. The Ironwing Flatbow is only available in Factions elite missions.
3. Not available as a drop.
4. Zehtuka's Shortbow can be found lying on the ground in various explorable areas of the Desolation.
5. The official English names of the Black Hawk's Lust bow, the Scorpion Bow and Scorpion's Lust Bow are currently unknown. They are promotional items exclusive to Taiwan, Korea and Japan respectively.

By model type

Bow types (excluding promotional items) by model:

Campaign	Model name	Flatbow	Hornbow	Longbow	Recurve Bow	Shortbow
Core	(plain)	Flatbow	Hornbow	Longbow	Recurve Bow	Shortbow
Core	Composite	-	-	-	Composite Bow	-
Core	Dead	-	-	-	Dead Bow	-
Core	Eternal	-	-	-	Eternal Bow	-
Core	Feathered	Feathered Flatbow	-	Feathered Longbow	-	-
Core	Grinning	-	-	-	Grinning Recurve Bow	-
Core	Half Moon	-	-	-	-	Half Moon
Core	Ivory	-	Ivory Bow	-	-	-
Core	Shadow	-	Shadow Bow	-	-	-
Core	Starter	-	-	-	Starter Bow2	-
Core	Storm	-	-	Storm Bow	-	-
Prophecies	Ascalon2	Ascalon Flatbow	Ascalon Hornbow	Ascalon Longbow	Ascalon Recurve Bow	Ascalon Shortbow
Prophecies	Deldrimor2	Deldrimor Flatbow	Deldrimor Hornbow	Deldrimor Longbow	Deldrimor Recurve Bow	Deldrimor Shortbow
Factions	Amber	Amber Bow	-	Amber Longbow	-	-
Factions	Bramble	Bramble Flatbow	Bramble Hornbow	Bramble Longbow	Bramble Recurve Bow	Bramble Shortbow
Factions	Celestial	-	-	Celestial Longbow	-	-
Factions	Ironwing	Ironwing Flatbow	-	-	-	-
Factions	Jade	-	-	Jade Longbow	-	-
Factions	Naga	-	-	Naga Longbow	-	Naga Shortbow
Factions	Plagueborn	-	Plagueborn Hornbow	-	Plagueborn Recurve Bow	-
Factions	Platinum	-	-	Platinum Longbow	-	-
Factions	Zodiac	-	-	Zodiac Longbow	-	-
Nightfall	Ancient	Ancient Flatbow	Ancient Hornbow	Ancient Longbow	Ancient Recurve Bow	Ancient Shortbow
Nightfall	Aureate	-	-	Aureate Longbow	-	-
Nightfall	Azure	-	-	-	Azure Recurve Bow	Azure Shortbow
Nightfall	Bladed	-	-	-	Bladed Recurve Bow	-
Nightfall	Bramble	Bramble Flatbow	Bramble Hornbow	Bramble Longbow	Bramble Recurve Bow	Bramble Shortbow
Nightfall	Caged	-	-	-	-	Caged Shortbow
Nightfall	Composite	-	-	-	-	Composite Shortbow
Nightfall	Dragon	-	Dragon Hornbow	-	-	-
Nightfall	Feathered	Feathered Flatbow	-	-	-	-
Nightfall	Skull	Skull Flatbow	Skull Hornbow	Skull Longbow	Skull Recurve Bow	Skull Shortbow
Nightfall	Spiked	-	-	-	Spiked Recurve Bow	-
Nightfall	Starter	Starter Flatbow2	-	-	-	-
Nightfall	Stoneshard	-	Stoneshard Hornbow	-	-	-
Nightfall	Sturdy	-	-	-	Sturdy Recurve Bow	-
Nightfall	Tormented	Tormented Flatbow2	Tormented Hornbow2	Tormented Longbow2	Tormented Recurve Bow2	Tormented Shortbow2
Nightfall	Vabbian	Vabbian Flatbow	Vabbian Hornbow	Vabbian Longbow	Vabbian Recurve Bow	Vabbian Shortbow
Nightfall	Wooden	-	-	Wooden Longbow	-	-
Nightfall	Zehtuka's	-	-	-	-	Zehtuka's Shortbow3
Eye of the North	Asuran2	Asuran Flatbow	Asuran Hornbow	Asuran Longbow	Asuran Recurve Bow	Asuran Shortbow
Eye of the North	Charrslayer2	Charrslayer Flatbow	Charrslayer Hornbow	Charrslayer Longbow	Charrslayer Recurve Bow	Charrslayer Shortbow
Eye of the North	Destroyer2	Destroyer Flatbow	Destroyer Hornbow	Destroyer Longbow	Destroyer Recurve Bow	Destroyer Shortbow
Eye of the North	Dryad	-	-	-	Dryad Bow	-
Eye of the North	Forked	-	Forked Hornbow	-	-	-
Eye of the North	Maplewood	-	-	Maplewood Longbow	-	-
Eye of the North	Norn2	Norn Flatbow	Norn Hornbow	Norn Longbow	Norn Recurve Bow	Norn Shortbow
Eye of the North	Oaken	-	-	-	Oaken Recurve Bow	-
Eye of the North	Silverwing	-	-	-	Silverwing Recurve Bow	-
Eye of the North	Turtle Shell	-	-	Turtle Shell Longbow	-	-
Beyond2	Purity	Flatbow of Purity	Hornbow of Purity	Longbow of Purity	Recurve Bow of Purity	Shortbow of Purity
Beyond2	Imperial	Imperial Flatbow	Imperial Hornbow	Imperial Longbow	Imperial Recurve Bow	Imperial Shortbow
Beyond2	Oppressor	Oppressor's Flatbow	Oppressor's Hornbow	Oppressor's Longbow	Oppressor's Recurve Bow	Oppressor's Shortbow
Bonus Mission Pack2	Charr	Charr Flatbow	Charr Hornbow	Charr Longbow	Charr Recurve Bow	Charr Shortbow
Bonus Mission Pack2	Mursaat	Mursaat Flatbow	Mursaat Hornbow	Mursaat Longbow	Mursaat Recurve Bow	Mursaat Shortbow
Bonus Mission Pack2	Tengu	Tengu Flatbow	Tengu Hornbow	Tengu Longbow	Tengu Recurve Bow	Tengu Shortbow
Bonus Mission Pack2	Undead	Undead Flatbow	Undead Hornbow	Undead Longbow	Undead Recurve Bow	Undead Shortbow

¹ The Ironwing Flatbow is only available in elite missions.

² Not available as a drop.

³ Zehtuka's Shortbow can be found lying on the ground in various explorable areas in the Desolation.

Notes

• Some bows have two seperate skins for bows; e.g. Tormented Bows have one skin for Flatbows, Hornbows and Longbows and another skin for Recurve Bows and Shortbows.
• Archer's Signet and Favorable Winds are the only non-bow attack or preparation skills that require a bow.

Bug.Bows frequently fail to work properly on bridges, stairs and balustrades. It's possible to use a touch skill on an enemy, then attempt to shoot it with a bow, and get the "obstructed" message.

See also

• Gallery of bows
• Gallery of unique bows