Ammunition

Ammunition covers arrows, bolts, bombs, missiles and the catapult's shot. Its damage is added to the bow or crossbow before every other multiplier, which is why the arrow matters more than the bow.

Combat

Pros

• Ammunition damage lands before skill, quality and the sneak multiplier are applied, so a better arrow scales with all of them instead of being added at the end.
• Ammunition is where a ranged build gets its damage type. A bow deals pierce, and a Fire Arrow is the answer to the creatures that fold to fire.
• It is cheap, and you can craft it in bulk from materials you already gather. A stack weighs little enough that you can carry 2 types at once.
• Bombs and missiles deal area damage with no weapon at all, which makes them the only ranged option before a bow is worth carrying.

Cons

• It is used up when fired, and you cannot pick arrows and bolts back up from the ground the way you can a thrown spear.
• Most kinds deal pierce, the most resisted type in the game, so the default ammunition is the worst type against most armoured things.
• Running out mid-fight turns a ranged build into an unarmoured melee one, and that is the failure the class is known for.
• Weight adds up. A serious raid means several stacks, and those compete with the ore you came to carry home.

Builds

Carry 2 types, not one, and right-click the kind you want in the inventory. The standard pair is a cheap pierce arrow for ordinary work and an elemental one held back for whatever resists it.

Match the type, not the tier. Because the damage is added before the multipliers, the right element from a mediocre bow beats the wrong one from a good bow. Use Fire for the Draugr and the Greydwarves, and frost or lightning for whatever resists fire.

Bombs are a separate build. They need no weapon and deal area damage, so they are the mining and crowd option rather than a shooting one.

Craft in hundreds. Levelling Bows costs arrows, and the skill is worth more than any bow in the list, so the stack you fire into a Boar is an investment, not waste.

Ammunition is made at the Workbench, the Black forge, the Artisan table and the Forge, or by hand.

Best Ammunition

Build	Name	Image	Stats
Hardest hitter	Explosive Payload		500 damage across all types
Cheapest to swing	Basalt Bomb		8 stamina a swing
Most knockback	Black Metal Missile		60 knockback

Notes

• Ammunition damage is added to the weapon's own damage before anything else is worked out, which is why the loaded arrow or bolt, not the bow, decides what type of damage a shot deals.
• Bows shoot arrows and Crossbows shoot bolts, and neither can use the other's ammunition.
• With more than one kind in the inventory, right-click a stack to choose which one is shot.

All Weapon Categories

*stats displayed are item's base values. See upgrades under each item for item stats per level.

All Arrows

All Bolts

Name	Image	Pierce	Crafting Materials	Crafting Station	Spawn ID
Bone Bolt		32	8x Bone fragments 2x Feathers	Black forge	spawn BoltBone
Iron Bolt		42	8x Wood 1x Iron 2x Feathers	Black forge	spawn BoltIron
Black Metal Bolt		62	8x Wood 2x Black metal 2x Feathers	Black forge	spawn BoltBlackmetal
Carapace Bolt		72	8x Wood 2x Carapace 2x Feathers	Black forge	spawn BoltCarapace
Charred Bolt		82	8x Ashwood 2x Charred bone 2x Feathers	Black forge	spawn BoltCharred
Bloodgold Bolt		92	1x Bloodgold 8x Timberwood 2x Feathers	Black Forge	spawn BoltBloodGold

All Bombs

All Payloads

Name	Image	Blunt	Chop	Pickaxe	Weight	Crafting Materials	Crafting Station	Spawn ID
Bloodgold Payload		20	-	-	0.3	2x Ice 2x Bloodgold 3x Proustite Powder	Black Forge	spawn Catapult_Ammo_BloodGold
Explosive Payload		-	100	400	0.3	2x Sulfur 3x Proustite powder 2x Asksvin hide	Workbench	spawn BombSiege
Grausten Payload		25	5	5	0.3	10x Grausten	Workbench	spawn Catapult_ammo

All Missiles

Name	Image	Pierce	Crafting Materials	Crafting Station	Spawn ID
Black Metal Missile		120	10x Wood 1x Black metal	Artisan table	spawn TurretBolt
Bloodgold Missile		200	10x Timberwood 1x Bloodgold	Artisan Table	spawn TurretBoltBloodgold
Flametal Missile		140	10x Ashwood 1x Flametal	Artisan table	spawn TurretBoltFlametal
Wooden Missile		75	5x Corewood 2x Feathers	Artisan table	spawn TurretBoltWood

All Categories