Best Bows in Conan Exiles: Stab That Guy Way Over There - Conan Fanatics (2024)

The best bows in Conan Exiles will help you utilize some of the game’s greatest assets. Bows give you an advantage over the enemy by letting you take them down before they even see you.

I love daggers and bows alike in Conan Exiles – and most games. But grabbing a Hunting Bow and calling it good will get you killed late game. So it’s a good idea to learn about the best bow you can currently obtain.

Best Conan Bows – My Top Five Picks

Best Bows in Conan Exiles Breakdown

The best bows in Conan Exiles are set, but you can’t get the best bow in the game right away. You also may prefer armor penetration sometimes and pure damage other times.

Bessie’s Bow

• Location – Legendary Chests
• Damage – 23
• Armor Penetration – 9.45%
• Durability – 1500
• Weight – 3.5

Bessie’s Bow has one of the unique stories in the game. It’s a chest exclusive, so you can’t make it. However, the story is that Bessie was a gorgeous woman with men falling all over her.

Bessie was a wild one who even slept with the Priest of Mitra to play “peacemaker” when he came to town to reprimand her for her ways. Eventually, she married that priest, which was marked by shaving her head and using it to make the strings of Bessie’s Bow.

Derketo’s Voice

• Location – Servant of the Priest-King drop (not guaranteed)
• Damage – 28
• Durability – 2200
• Weight – 4.2

Derketo’s Voice has one of the highest base damages in the game. Plus, it grants five Accuracy when it is equipped. The story is quite shallow, as it is a simple religious relic from the Priest-King.

Also read: Conan Exiles Derketo Guide

Dragonbone Bow

• Location – crafted with Sturdy String, Dragonhorn, and Dragonbone in Carpenter’s Bench (requires Dragonhonr Bow knowledge)
• Damage – 20
• Armor Penetration – 9%
• Durability – 800
• Weight – 7

The Dragonbone Bow isn’t the best, but it is good because it’s easy to make and still strong. Go on a dragonslaying trip, and you’ll have enough for this bow and the arrows that go with it, which are tremendous.

The story is decent. It is said that dark necromancers brought dragons back to life and used their bones to create such weapons.

Star Metal Bow

• Location – Crafted in Improved Carpenter’s Bench with Insulated Wood, Thick Leather, Sturdy String, and Star Metal Bars (requires Bows Epic)
• Damage – 20
• Armor Penetration – 7.6%
• Durability – 1300
• Weight – 2.98

The Star Metal Bow’s stats seem average, but its power lies in upgrading it. At Flawless, it gains damage, durability, and armor penetration which makes it rival some of the best bows in the game.

Eye of the Khan

• Location – Found in Legendary Chests
• Damage – 23
• Armor Penetration – 9.4%
• Durability – 1500
• Weight – 3.5

This special legendary bow is balanced in armor pen and base damage. It’s in the middle overall, but a lucky find, no matter what bow you are already wielding. After all, who has infinite repair kits for legendaries?

The story for this bow always entertains. It speaks of the Hykranians, who are excellent hunters. This particular bow was made by a young boy, the son of the khan, who was trampled by bulls at a young age.

The bow is the only thing his father had left of him. The father insisted the bow spoke to him, guiding him in his search for water, enemies, and more. But when the khan’s other sons heard about his tales, they killed him, believing him crazy and unfit to be khan.

Frostshot

• Location – Found in Legendary Chests
• Damage – 22
• Armor Penetration – 9.9%
• Durability – 1500
• Weight – 3.5

Another amazing Legendary bow that isn’t the absolute best is the Frostshot. The tale is that a Hyperborean Witch-man captures a skald long ago who was taken to an ice cavern.

As the prisoner lay there dying, he prayed to Ymir to save him. That’s when lightning struck, and he found the bow hidden in the ice. He used the bow to kill his captors and escape.

Hollowbone Bow

• Location – Nest Mother drop
• Damage – 28
• Armor Penetration – 9.9%
• Durability – 1500
• Weight – 3.5

The Hollowbone Bow is one of the best in the game. However, you can only use Hollowbone Arrows on it the normal way. Otherwise, you have to consume them to use them rather than just drag them to load the bow.

Khari Bow

• Location – Crafted in Improved Carpenter’s Bench with Sturdy String and Khari Steel (Pristine version with similar stats found in legendary chests)
• Damage – 25
• Armor Penetration – 8.55%
• Durability – 1500
• Weight – 2.45

The Khari Bow is one of the most popular because it isn’t difficult to make but is still insanely good compared to other bows. Thankfully, to make the bow, there is no level requirement.

The dark history of the bow includes the slave trade the Khari people were involved in. They learned a lot through the slaves they held captive, gaining knowledge about making exquisite bows like the Khari Bow.

Reach of the Red Mother

• Location – The Red Mother in the Unnamed City
• Damage – 30
• Armor Penetration – 30%
• Durability – 1500
• Weight – 3.5

The Reach of the Red Mother is the single best bow in Conan Exiles. You can only get it by looting the Red Mother boss, the mother of all dragons. But there’s only a 30% chance it will drop a Legendary weapon.

Since there are eight legendaries it can drop, the chances are quite low that the bow will drop. But this makes sense, considering it’s a dragon mother bow. Make sure you save a Legendary Weapon Kit (which you will likely get from the Red Mother) for it.

The Huntress

• Location – Legendary Chests
• Damage – 23
• Armor Penetration – 9.45%
• Durability – 1500
• Weight – 3.5

The Huntress is a good bow designed and created by the Lemurian women known as Dagon’s Daughters. They were expert craftswomen who knew what they had to do to survive.

Best Arrows in Conan Exiles

Honorable mentions include unique effect arrows, such as the Healing Arrows, Smoke Arrows, and Blunted Arrows. But right now, I want to talk about the arrows that are the best pure combat arrows.

Acid Arrows

• Location – crafted with Branches, Volatile Glands, Black Blood, and Feathers in Carpenter’s Bench (requires Specialist Ammunition IV knowledge)
• Damage – 2 damage per tick of poison
• Stack – 100

The Acid Arrows poof a cloud of acid smoke when shot, affecting enemies inside, including the undead, but will not hurt your followers. They do no initial damage but will do DoT to anyone inside.

I’m a huge fan of DoT, choosing bleed damage whenever possible, and I prefer to stack that with acid and poison for maximum DoT. These arrows are even better because the Sandstorm Mask doesn’t work against it.

Poison Arrows

• Location – Crafted in Carpenter’s Bench with Ironhead Arrows, Gaseous Orb, and Feathers (requires Specialist Ammunition II)
• Damage – 7
• Armor Penetration – 16.2%
• Stack – 100

Poison Arrows are similar to Acid Arrows but do initial damage and poison everyone in the AoE, including allies, thralls, and pets. However, because of that initial damage, they rival the Acid Arrows.

Black Ice Arrows

• Location – Crafted at Frost Temple Smith with Hardened Steel Arrows and Black Ice (requires Frost Smithing knowledge)
• Damage – 21
• Armor Penetration – 19.8%
• Stack – 100

The Black Ice arrows are expensive but more than worth it. They do incredible damage and armor penetration. They aren’t the single best arrows in the game, but they are still amazing.

Dragonbone Arrows

• Location – Crafted in Carpenter’s Bench with Dragonbone and Feathers (requires Dragonhorn Bow knowledge)
• Damage – 20
• Armor Penetration – 18%
• Stack – 100

Dragonbone Arrows are insanely good. They are usually what I go for (along with Obsidian Arrows) and are super easy to make if you like to farm dragons. And let’s be honest, everyone likes to think of themself as a dragon slayer.

Snake Arrows

• Location – Crafted in Set’s altars with Brancehs and Manifestation of Zeal (requires Priest of Set knowledge)
• Damage – 1 (read below)
• Armor Penetration – 16.2%
• Stack – 100

The Snake Arrows are so unique, deriving inspiration from the 1982 movie Conan the Barbarian. In the movie, Thulsa Doom uses these arrows to kill Valeria. This info blew my mind.

As for in-game, they do single damage on hit but apply poison up to ten. This does major damage, especially if you use a different arrow while it’s stacked to max.

Firespark Arrows

• Location – Crafted in Carpenter’s Bench with Branches, Witchfire Powder, Black Blood, and Feathers (requires Specialist Ammunition IV knowledge)
• Damage – unknown DoT
• Stack – 81

Firespark Arrows don’t do initial damage. Instead, they latch onto the target and do bleed damage. I haven’t tested the exact bleed damage they do but it is significant and I love bleed damage. But making them is no simple task.

I prefer to start with one of these and then fight with another arrow, rotating to keep the bleed on. You can do the same with poison and acid.

Star Metal Arrows

• Location – Crafted in Carpenter’s Bench with Branches, Star Metal Bars, and Feathers (requires Star Metal Arrow knowledge)
• Damage – 20
• Armor Penetration – 15.3%
• Stack – 100

Star Metal Gear is just good, it’s as simple as that. So you can expect to do well with Star Metal Arrows. Like most other arrows but unlike some top-tier ones, they craft in stacks of ten, so you need fewer materials than you might think. Two bars for 10 arrows is pretty good.

Serpent-Man Arrows

• Location – Crafted in Carpenter’s Bench with Branches, Iron Bars, Feathers, and Demon Blood (requires Serpent-Man Arrow knowledge)
• Damage – 19
• Armor Penetration – 17.5%
• Stack – 100

These are average arrows that require good resources. But if you happen to farm Demon Blood and have a ton extra, I recommend them. The snake lore in this game never ceases.

I blame Set. He even took in one of my star players with the Set worshipping roleplay. The dude spent his free time with his Set worshipping emotes and glammed up with the Set armor even late game.

Quivering Arrows

• Location – Winged Death drop
• Damage – 18
• Armor Penetration – 13%
• Stack – 100

There’s not much to say about these arrows considering you don’t have to craft them and instead find them upon defeating the Winged Death boss in the Unnamed City. He may even drop 100 arrows, which is super lucky.

Obsidian Arrows

• Location – Crafted in Carpenter’s Bench with Branches, Composite Obsidian, and Feathers (requires Obsidian Arrow knowledge)
• Damage – 20
• Armor Penetration – 20.7%
• Stack – 100

Obsidian Arrows are the arrows I use most often with any bow aside from the Hollowbone ones. But this is for a personal reason. I often farm obsidian in the mountain for goldstone and get a ton of obsidian while I do so.

Hollowbone Arrows

• Location – dropped from Children of Jhil
• Damage – 15
• Armor Penetration – 54%
• Stack – 100

The Hollowbone Arrows are popular for me as they work well with the Hollowbone Bow, making me believe they are the only ones that are meant to work with it. Not to mention that armor penetration, which is difficult to believe. Paired with the bow, that’s nearly 65% armor pen. Insane.

FAQs

The Necessity of Bows in Conan Exiles

Bows are a necessity for me in Conan Exiles. But you may not find a use for them. If you’re constantly finding yourself sheathing ranged weapons in favor of getting up close and personal, I wouldn’t try too hard to get a perfect bow.

But it never hurts to have a decent one in your inventory or keep an Archer thrall with you. Archers with Star Metal Arrows and a good bow can dos serious damage at a range, allowing you to hack and slash to your heart’s content.

Related read

• Conan Exiles The Barrow King Guide
• Conan Exiles Razmas Quarters Guide: Finding the Shemite Princess
• Conan Exiles Crimes Guide: DND Meets Conan
• Conan Exiles Best Fighter Thralls: Bring Me Your Strongest Warriors