Bow

This article is about the ranged weapon. For the emote, see Bow (emote).

Bows are weapons used in ranged combat that require a certain Ranged level to wield. They require ammunition in the form of arrows. Bows can be created by members through the Fletching skill and come in two varieties: longbows and shortbows. Composite bows are also a reward from Treasure Trails, but they can not be fletched.

Shortbows

Shortbows fire arrows at a faster rate than longbows but may not fire from as long of a distance.

Longbows

Longbows can fire arrows at targets from a further distance than shortbows can, but they fire at a slower rate.

Bow vs Crossbow

Many rangers choose the bow style of range weapon for its high fire rate in comparison to the crossbow, although some bows sacrifice damage and accuracy in comparison to their crossbow equivalent. The main disadvantage for bows is the fact they are 2 handed weapons whereas crossbows are only one handed, allowing for use with an off-hand item, be it a shield, a defender or a god book.

Trivia

• The elves taught humans how to make and use bows sometime near the God Wars.
• When Runescape 2 was released, bows had no visible bowstrings. Jagex fixed this together with the RuneScape HD update.
• When firing a bow from a distance, the player appears to be walking in place.

See also

• Ogre bow
• Crossbow
• Composite bow
• Boogie bow
• Firebrand Bow