Elden Ring - Greatbows

The stance-break class: 150 stamina damage at max, more than double a Bow's 60, on a weapon that is heavy, slow, and limited to 30 great arrows at a time.

Combat

Pros

• Highest stance pressure of any ranged weapon short of a ballista: 150 stamina damage at max, versus 60 for Bows and 40 for Light Bows. This is the only bow class that opens critical windows on big enemies.
• Highest sustained physical of the bow families: Golem Greatbow 318 and Greatbow 306 at max, against 200 for the best Bow.
• Through and Through fires a great arrow that passes through enemies, so it hits stacked groups and lined-up targets that a normal bow would waste a shot on.
• Great arrows are the heaviest ammunition available to a bow: Golem's Great Arrow 105 physical, Great Arrow 100, Bone Great Arrow 90 and craftable from a single Hefty Beast Bone.

Cons

• Heaviest ranged weapons except the ballistas: 9.5 (Lion Greatbow) to 14.5 (Golem Greatbow). On a Dex archer that is a real equip-load bill.
• Cannot fire mid-jump, unlike the other bow classes, and the firing animation is long, this is a class you use from safety, not while being pressured.
• Ammunition is the bottleneck: great arrows cap at 30 held versus 99 for ordinary arrows, and Great Arrows cost 300 runes each, Golden Great Arrows 500. Craft Bone Great Arrows or you run dry mid-boss.
• Only the Greatbow and Igon's Greatbow accept a different Ash of War; the rest have fixed skills. No greases, spell buffs, or affinities on any of them.

Builds

Strength-leaning quality, but modest.

• Printed requirements are Str 20-24 / Dex 14-20, effectively Str 13-16 two-handed.
• 's Lion Greatbow page makes the useful point that 54 invested Strength reaches the 80 soft cap when two-handed (54 x 1.5 = 81), so a greatbow build's Str ceiling is 54, not 80.
• Faith 14 only for the Erdtree Greatbow.
• Dex is a requirement stat here rather than a damage stat, since the class's Dex scaling never leaves D.

Best Weapons

Weapon	Image	Attack	Weight	Str	Dex	Int	Fai	Arc	Why Take It
Golem Greatbow		130	14.5	24	18	-	-	-	Hardest hitter in the class at +0 and at max: the highest physical attack rating (AR) of any bow-family weapon in the game. Cost: heaviest greatbow at 14.5 and the steepest Str at 24 (effectively 16). Its real advantage is timing, it farms from Golem archers as early as the Limgrave Tower Bridge and outside Castle Morne, so a Str build can carry it from very early.
Greatbow		125	10	20	20	-	-	-	306 physical at max, four points behind the Golem Greatbow, on 4.5 less weight (10.0 vs 14.5) and a lower Str requirement (20 vs 24), and it is one of only two greatbows that will accept a different Ash of War. Chest atop the Highway Lookout Tower in northeastern Altus Plateau. For most builds this is the better pick over the Golem Greatbow despite the lower ceiling.
Lion Greatbow		120	9.5	22	18	-	-	-	Lightest greatbow at 9.5, 294 at max, and it carries Radahn's Rain, a flurry of arrows fired into the sky (32 FP). Its unique value is a multiplier: equipping it grants Radahn's Spear great arrows +20% physical damage, and you can hold a Lion Greatbow in each hand to stack that bonus. also singles it out as performing well against large bosses, which take most of the skill's arrows, that is site guidance, not a measured figure. Costs the Remembrance of the Starscourge.
Igon's Greatbow		120	12.5	23	16	-	-	-	Shadow of the Erdtree. The only greatbow whose scaling ever leaves D: it reaches C Strength at +13 and ends at C(72) Str / E(10) Dex, 294 physical at +25. It is also the most flexible: it takes Through and Through, Rain of Arrows, or Igon's Drake Hunt, and Igon's Harpoon great arrows deal extra damage when fired from it. Reward for completing Igon's questline at the Foot of the Jagged Peak.
Erdtree Greatbow		60 + 65 holy	11	20	14	-	14	-	The only holy greatbow: 60 physical + 65 holy at +0, 147 + 159 at max with D Faith. Half the physical of the class leader, so it is a damage-type answer rather than a damage upgrade. Reqs 20 Str / 14 Dex / 14 Fai. Obtained by destroying the Merciless Chariot in Fringefolk Hero's Grave, which puts it in reach in the first hour if you know the trick.

Notes

• 150 stamina damage at max across the class versus 60 for Bows: the single number that justifies picking this class over a Bow.
• Great Arrows only, and they use their own two equipment slots, capped at 30 held / 600 stored.
• Cannot fire mid-jump, unlike Light Bows and Bows.
• Through and Through pierces through enemies; the Ash drops from an invisible Scarab northwest of Volcano Manor's main entrance.
• Only the Greatbow and Igon's Greatbow can be re-infused with a different Ash; Golem, Lion and Erdtree Greatbows have fixed skills.

All Greatbows

Name	Image	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit. Boost	Range	Weight	Str.	Dex.	Int.	Fai.	Arc.	Sell Price	Skill
Erdtree Greatbow		60 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	65 -	100 -	50	11	E 20	E 14	0	D 14	0	200	Through and Through
Golem Greatbow		130 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	50	14.5	D 24	E 18	0	0	0	200	Through and Through
Greatbow		125 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	50	10	D 20	D 20	0	0	0	200	Through and Through
Lion Greatbow		120 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	50		D 22	D 18	0	0	0	100	Radahn's Rain