Nightingale Bow

Base Damage	19
Speed	0.5
Weight	18
Value	3405
Level	46+
Category	Bow
Class	-
Variants	Karliah's Bow
Skill	Archery
Unique	Yes
Item ID	000F652C
Game/DLC	Skyrim

One of the best bows in Skyrim is the unique Nightingale Bow due to its enchantment which deals a combination of shock and frost damage, slowing the target and making them easier to hit with additional sneak attacks.

Weapon Enchantment

The Nightingale Bow has a levelled enchantment that deals between 5-15 points of shock damage 10-30 points of Frost Damage while slowing the target by 50% for 3 seconds, making subsequent sneak attacks easier to hit.
The Enchantment can be used 44 times before the weapon needs to be recharged again.
You can find full breakdown and information of all Weapon Enchantment Effects Here.

Level	Enchantment
1-18	Freezes the target for 10 points and shocks the target for 5 points
19-26	Freezes the target for 15 points and shocks the target for 7 points
27-35	Freezes the target for 20 points and shocks the target for 10 points
36-45	Freezes the target for 25 points and shocks the target for 12 points
46+	Freezes the target for 30 points and shocks the target for 15 points

How to Get the Nightingale Bow?

Where to find the Nightingale Bow Location?

You can get the Nightingale Bow by starting the Thieves Guild Questline. During the quest Hard Answers, Karliah will give the Nightingale Bow to the Dragonborn as a reward for finishing the Thieves Guild Questline. The weapon is obtained after getting the Nightingale Armor Set.

Gameplay Tips

It can be worth delaying the completion of the Thieves Guild Questline until the Dragonborn is level 46+ so you can obtain the best version of the Nightingale Bow which deals the most damage and has the most powerful enchantment. If you get the Nightingale Bow too early it will be out levelled by other weapons which deal more damage. The same logic can be applied to only obtaining the Nightingale Armor Set after level 32+. This way you ensure that you have the best version of these unique weapons and armor pieces.
The best version of the Nightingale Bow deals a total of 64 damage (19 base damage, 15 shock damage and 30 frost damage).
Even though the Nightingales Bow has the same 19 base damage as a Daedric Bow, but its unique encahntment is epsically good for Stealth Archer Builds because it slows the target by 50% with each hit, allowing you more time to hit the enemy with additional 3x damage sneak attacks before they detect you.

Smithing Guide

Strangely the Nightingale Bow is not affected by any smithing perks. This weas addressed in the Unofficial Skyrim Patch to make the bow benefit from the Daedric smithing perk.

Enchanted weapons require the Arcane Blacksmith Perk to upgrade.

Level	Upgrade Material	Smithing Level	Smithing Perk
1-18	Ebony Ingot	-	-
19-26	Ebony Ingot	-	-
27-35	Ebony Ingot	-	-
36-45	Ebony Ingot	-	-
46+	Ebony Ingot	-	-

Weapon Levels

Some weapons in Skyrim are Levelled. The power of a levelled weapon is based on your charcters level when you get them. Some get stronger in both physical and magical aspects, while others only improve their enchantments. These items don't get better as your character levels up.

The Nightingale Bow is a leveled weapon. You can obtain the best version of the Nightingale Bow at level 46+.

Level	Damage	Weight	Value	Enchantment	Level ID
1-18	12	9	493	Freezes the target for 10 points and shocks the target for 5 points	0007E5C3
19-26	13	11	838	Freezes the target for 15 points and shocks the target for 7 points	000F6529
27-35	15	13	1409	Freezes the target for 20 points and shocks the target for 10 points	000F652A
36-45	17	15	2240	Freezes the target for 25 points and shocks the target for 12 points	000F652B
46+	19	18	3405	Freezes the target for 30 points and shocks the target for 15 points	000F652C

Ranged Weapon Categories

All Unique Bows

Name	Damage	Speed	Weight	Value	Enchantment	Item ID	Level	Upgrade Material	Crafting Perk	Skill	DLC
Angi's Bow	7	0.937	7	50	Cannot be enchanted	000CC392	1+	Steel Ingot	Steel Smithing	Archery	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	Dawnguard
Bow of the Hunt	10	0.937	7	434	Animals take 20 points of extra damage	000AB705	1+	Steel Ingot	Steel Smithing	Archery	Skyrim
Drainspell Bow	14	0.875	6	458	Absorb Magicka 15 points	000F82FC	1+	Cannot be Upgraded	None	Archery	Skyrim
Dravin's Bow	7	0.937	7	50	Cannot be enchanted	0006B9AD	1+	Leather Strips	Steel 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	Dragonborn
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	Skyrim
Froki's Bow	6	1	5	307	Does 10 points of Stamina damage	000C0186	1+	Iron Ingot	None	Archery	Skyrim
Gauldur Blackbow	14	0.875	18	972	Absorb 30 points of magicka	000F5D22	36+	Steel Ingot	Dwarven 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	Dragonborn
Karliah's Bow	25	0.625	9	5	Cannot be enchanted	000DEED8	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	Skyrim
Zephyr	12	1	10	670	Fires 30% faster than a standard bow	XX00CFB6	1+	Dwarven Metal Ingot	Dwarven Smithing	Archery	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	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	Creation Club