Skyrim - Bows

Bows are a ranged weapon used by archers in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Bows come in various types across Skyrim, each differing in damage, arrow speed, weight, how quickly you can shoot, and their value. They are always held with both hands while in use. Below you can compare a list of all the standard and unique bow locations in Skyrim to help you find the best bow for your character build.

The overall damage a bow does is based on the base damage of the bow, the players archery perks and skill level and the base damage of the arrows being used. Arrows can also critical hit the target increasing the damage even further. When sneak attacks are taken into consideration faster attacking bows like Zephyr are capable of outputting more damage than others.

Name	Image	Damage	Speed	Weight	Value	Enchantment	Item ID	Level	Upgrade Material	Crafting Perk	Skill	Unique	DLC
Ancient Nord Bow		8	0.875	12	45	Enchantable	000302CA	1+	Steel Ingot	Steel Smithing	Archery	-	Skyrim
Angi's Bow		7	0.937	7	50	Cannot be enchanted	000CC392	1+	Steel Ingot	Steel Smithing	Archery	Yes	Skyrim
Auriel's Bow		13	1	11	1000	21 points of sun damage. Undead targets take triple damage	XX000800	1+	Refined Moonstone	Elven Smithing	Archery	Yes	Dawnguard
Bow of the Hunt		10	0.937	7	434	Animals take 20 points of extra damage	000AB705	1+	Steel Ingot	Steel Smithing	Archery	Yes	Skyrim
Daedric Bow		19	0.5	18	2500	Enchantable	000139B5	47+	Ebony Ingot	Daedric Smithing	Archery	-	Skyrim
Dragonbone Bow		20	0.75	20	2725	Enchantable	XX0176F1	47+	Dragon Bone	Dragon Smithing	Archery	-	Dawnguard
Drainspell Bow		14	0.875	6	458	Absorb Magicka 15 points	000F82FC	1+	Cannot be Upgraded	None	Archery	Yes	Skyrim
Dravin's Bow		7	0.937	7	50	Cannot be enchanted	0006B9AD	1+	Leather Strips	Steel Smithing	Archery	Yes	Skyrim
Dwarven Bow		12	0.75	10	270	Enchantable	00013995	12+	Dwarven Metal Ingot	Dwarven Smithing	Archery	-	Skyrim
Dwarven Black Bow of Fate		13	0.75	10	1446	50% chance for each attribute to absorb 25 pts. of Health, Stamina, and/or Magicka	XX02C01A	1+	Ebony Ingot	Dwarven Smithing	Archery	Yes	Dragonborn
Ebony Bow		17	0.562	16	1440	Enchantable	000139AD	36+	Ebony Ingot	Ebony Smithing	Archery	-	Skyrim
Elven Bow		13	0.687	12	470	Enchantable	0001399D	19+	Refined Moonstone	Elven Smithing	Archery	-	Skyrim
Falmer Bow		12	0.75	15	135	Enchantable	00038340	1+	Chaurus Chitin	None	Archery	-	Skyrim
Falmer Supple Bow		15	0.75	20	410	Enchantable	00083167	1+	Cannot be Upgraded	None	Archery	-	Skyrim
Firiniel's End		13	0.687	12	785	Target takes 20 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina	00017059	1+	Refined Moonstone	Elven Smithing	Archery	Yes	Skyrim
Forsworn Bow		12	0.875	11	145	Enchantable	000CEE9B	1+	Steel Ingot	Steel Smithing	Archery	-	Skyrim
Froki's Bow		6	1	5	307	Does 10 points of Stamina damage	000C0186	1+	Iron Ingot	None	Archery	Yes	Skyrim
Gauldur Blackbow		14	0.875	18	972	Absorb 30 points of magicka	000F5D22	36+	Steel Ingot	Dwarven Smithing	Archery	Yes	Skyrim
Glass Bow		15	0.625	14	820	Enchantable	000139A5	27+	Refined Malachite	Glass Smithing	Archery	-	Skyrim
Glass Bow of the Stag Prince		16	0.625	14	375	Wielder receives an increasingly powerful blessing for every 20 animals killed by the bow	XX018ED5	1+	Refined Malachite	Glass Smithing	Archery	Yes	Dragonborn
Hunting Bow		7	0.937	7	50	Enchantable	0010E2DD	1+	Leather Strips	Steel Smithing	Archery	-	Skyrim
Imperial Bow		9	0.75	8	90	Enchantable	00013841	1+	Steel Ingot	None	Archery	-	Skyrim
Karliah's Bow		25	0.625	9	5	Cannot be enchanted	000DEED8	1+	Cannot be Upgraded	None	Archery	Yes	Skyrim
Long Bow		6	1	5	30	Enchantable	0003B562	1+	Firewood	None	Archery	-	Skyrim
Nord Hero Bow		11	0.875	7	200	Enchantable	00068C57	1+	Steel Ingot	None	Archery	-	Skyrim
Nordic Bow		13	0.6875	11	580	Enchantable	XX026232	26+	Quicksilver Ingot	Advanced Armors	Archery	-	Dragonborn
Orcish Bow		10	0.812	9	150	Enchantable	0001398D	7+	Orichalcum Ingot	Orcish Smithing	Archery	-	Skyrim
Stalhrim Bow		17	0.5625	15	1800	Frost Enchants are 25% stronger	XX026231	35+	Stalhrim	Ebony Smithing	Archery	-	Dragonborn
Supple Ancient Nord Bow		14	0.875	18	235	Enchantable	0005D179	1+	Cannot be Upgraded	None	Archery	-	Skyrim
Nightingale Bow		19	0.5	18	3405	Freezes the target for 30 points and shocks the target for 15 points	000F652C	46+	Ebony Ingot	None	Archery	Yes	Skyrim
Zephyr		12	1	10	670	Fires 30% faster than a standard bow	XX00CFB6	1+	Dwarven Metal Ingot	Dwarven Smithing	Archery	Yes	Dawnguard
Bow of Shadows		19		18	2500	Weapon draw is 20% faster and casts invisibility for 30 seconds.	XX000807	1+	Ebony Ingot	Arcane Blacksmith	Archery	Yes	Creation Club
Ruin's Edge		12	0.875	7	750	Randomly applies one of these effects to the target: - Demoralize, 100 pts for 20 seconds - Drain Magicka, 1000 pts for 20 seconds - Frenzy, 100 pts for 20 seconds Frost Damage, 25 pts - Paralyze, for 15 seconds Paralyze, for 1 second	FEXXXD63	1+	Daedra Heart	Daedric Smithing	Archery	Yes	Creation Club
Madness Bow		21	0.5	21	3050	Enchantable	XX000BE5	1+	Madness Ingot	Quest	Archery	-	Creation Club
Amber Bow		20	0.5	14	2925	Enchantable	XX000BDC	1+	Amber Ingot	Quest	Archery	-	Creation Club
Dark Bow		13	0.5	10	495	Enchantable	XX000802	1+	Quicksilver Ingot	Daedric Smithing	Archery	-	Creation Club
Golden Bow		11	1	10	495	Enchantable	XX00080F	1+	Gold Ingot	Daedric Smithing	Archery	-	Creation Club