Minecraft Wiki
Minecraft Wiki
Advertisement
For other uses, see Crossbow (disambiguation).


A crossbow is a ranged weapon similar to a bow that uses arrows or fireworks as ammunition.

Obtaining[]

Crafting[]

Ingredients Crafting recipe
Stick +
Iron Ingot +
String +
Tripwire Hook

Repairing[]

Ingredients Grinding recipe Description
2× Damaged Crossbow or
2× Damaged Arrow Loaded Crossbow or
2× Damaged Firework Loaded Crossbow
The durability of the two crossbows is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.‌
Ingredients Crafting recipe Description
Damaged Crossbow or
Damaged Arrow Loaded Crossbow or
Damaged Firework Loaded Crossbow


The durability of the two crossbows is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.‌ Any loaded ammunition is lost.

Mob loot[]

Pillagers[]

When killed, a pillager has a small chance (8.5%) of dropping a loaded or unloaded crossbow with random durability; the drop rate increases by 1% per level of Looting: 9.5% with Looting I, 10.5% with Looting II and 11.5% with Looting III. The dropped crossbow can rarely (10% chance) be enchanted at level 5–19 regardless of being enchanted when it spawned.

Crossbows dropped by pillagers may have multiple enchantments, including duplicate enchantments on the same weapon.

Piglins[]

Piglins have a chance of wielding a crossbow upon spawning, and they also have a small chance (8.5%) of dropping a loaded or unloaded crossbow of random durability when killed; this rate increases by 1% per level of Looting: 9.5% with Looting I, 10.5% with Looting II and 11.5% with Looting III. It can rarely (10% chance) be enchanted at level 5–19 regardless of being enchanted when spawned.

Chest loot[]

Item Structure Container Quantity Chance
Java Edition
Crossbow Bastion remnant Generic chest 1 9.8%
Pillager Outpost Chest 1 50%
Damaged Enchanted Crossbow[A][B] Bastion remnant Bridge chest 1 11.2%
Damaged Enchanted Crossbow[A][C] Bastion remnant Generic chest 1 6.7%
Bedrock Edition
Crossbow Bastion remnant Generic chest 1 9.8%
Pillager Outpost Chest 1 50%
Damaged Enchanted Crossbow[A][B] Bastion remnant Bridge chest 1 11.2%
Damaged Enchanted Crossbow[A][C] Bastion remnant Generic chest 1 6.7%
  1. a b c d All enchantments are equally probable, including treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, and Swift Sneak), and any level of the enchantment is equally probable.
  2. a b The item has between 10% and 50% of its total durability.
  3. a b The item has between 10% and 90% of its total durability.

Trading[]

Journeyman-level Fletcher villagers offer to sell an unenchanted crossbow for 3 emeralds.

Master-level Fletcher villagers have a 116 (6.25%) chance of selling an enchanted crossbow for 8 emeralds.‌[Bedrock Edition only]

Master-level Fletcher villagers have 23 chance of selling an enchanted crossbow for 7-22 emeralds.‌[Java Edition only]

Usage[]

Despite using iron ingots in their crafting recipe, crossbows cannot be smelted into iron nuggets.[1]

Weapon[]

Crossbowcooldown

Charging and shooting the crossbow in Bedrock Edition.

Crossbows are similar to bows, but take longer to load and are slightly more powerful, shooting farther with slightly higher accuracy. Alternatively, they can be loaded with a firework rocket, which flies in a straight trajectory.

Load them by using them, which makes the player move at sneak speed. Unlike bows, the arrow or firework rocket can be fired only if the player releases the use button after the crossbow is loaded‌[Java Edition only] or if the crossbow finishes its loading animation ‌[Bedrock Edition only]. At this point, it must be used a second time to fire its bolt.

Once it has reached full charge, the player's speed returns to normal. After that, shooting a charged crossbow does not delay any of the player's current action like sprinting or swimming.

The crossbow can even be placed in another inventory slot or into an item frame without the arrow or firework rocket being unloaded or fired. A charged crossbow also remains charged after enchanting it with an enchantment table or with an anvil.

In order to use the crossbow, at least one arrow or firework rocket must be present in the inventory. The player can choose the type of arrow to fire based on its location in their inventory:

  • Arrows in the off-hand, or the selected hotbar slot if the crossbow is in the off-hand, are prioritized first.
  • If there are no arrows in the off-hand or selected hotbar slot, the arrow closest to slot 0 is selected.
  • Firework Rockets must always be placed in the off-hand or selected hotbar slot, even if the player has no arrows of any type in their inventory.
    • This makes it much more difficult to unintentionally shoot uncharged firework rockets (such as the type a player would use for Elytra propulsion), therefore dealing 0 damage.

Crossbows take 1.25 seconds (25 ticks) to load.

The player can load either an arrow, spectral arrow, tipped arrow (of any effect) or a firework (of any color/type).

Bedrock Edition first-person loading animation for crossbows.

Endermen teleport away from projectile paths, so they cannot be hit with crossbow arrows. They can still get harmed by firework rocket explosions, either by direct hits or being in the blast radius of one on the ground.

Attack strength:

Java Edition:

Damage Arrow Max firework
Minimum 7♥♥♥♥ 11♥ × 5.5
Average 9♥♥♥♥♥ 14.5♥ × 7.25
Maximum 11♥ × 5.5 18♥ × 9

Bedrock Edition

  • Always 9♥♥♥♥♥

Fireworks[]

Firework rockets can be fired by loading the crossbow only while holding the rockets in the off-hand. They fly at 32 m/s. Firework rockets with higher flight duration have a longer time before they explode and therefore travel farther; commands can be used to increase the flight time and range of the rocket outside the normal window. Firing a firework rocket uses 3 durability points per shot.

Firework rocket range
Minimum Average Maximum Gunpowder
32m (20 ticks) 40.8m (25.5 ticks) 49.6m (31 ticks) 1 (Gunpowder JE2 BE2)
48m (30 ticks) 56.8m (35.5 ticks) 65.6m (41 ticks) 2 (Gunpowder JE2 BE2Gunpowder JE2 BE2)
64m (40 ticks) 72.8m (45.5 ticks) 81.6m (51 ticks) 3 (Gunpowder JE2 BE2Gunpowder JE2 BE2Gunpowder JE2 BE2)

Firework rockets also work with the Multishot enchantment, enabling the player to shoot 3 firework rockets at a time. The increased durability usage stacks, resulting in 9 durability being consumed with each shot.

A shot firework rocket explodes instantly when it hits a mob or block.‌[Java Edition only] If the firework rocket has no explosion effect, it deals no damage. The explosion of a firework rocket deals 5♥♥♥ to 6♥♥♥ points of damage, with one firework star. The explosion has a radius of roughly 4 blocks, which is unaffected by the firework star's effect. Each additional firework star on the rocket deals an additional 1♥ to 2♥ points of damage, for a maximum of 11♥ × 5.5 to 18♥ × 9 with 7 firework stars. The flight duration of the firework increases the maximum range the firework can travel before exploding, but does not affect the damage output. Likewise, the damage remains the same regardless of any dyes used. Unlike an arrow shot from a bow, the firework does not slow down under water.

Fireworks crafted without firework stars shot from crossbows upon contact with terrains, slide on them. They continue their original trajectories as soon as they break contact from the blocks they slid on.

Repair[]

Crossbows can be repaired in an anvil or grindstone by combining two crossbows. Any loaded ammunition is retained from the crossbow in the first slot but sacrificed from the crossbow in the second slot.

Enchantments[]

Name Description Max Level
Quick Charge Decreases the reloading time of the crossbow by level * 0.25 seconds. Crossbows with Quick Charge III fire slightly faster than bows. If commands are used to enchant a crossbow with Quick Charge V, the crossbow charges instantaneously. A crossbow enchanted with Quick Charge VI is effectively impossible to charge, which renders it useless. This can be done only in Java Edition. III
Multishot Makes the crossbow fire a spread of 3 projectiles at once instead of a single projectile, which is useful for targeting mobs spread out in a small area. This works for both arrows and firework rockets. Firing with this enchantment still uses only one projectile, and because of that, it is possible to recover only one of the three arrows shot from a Multishot crossbow. Multishot crossbows use 3 durability points per shot, unless using fireworks for ammunition, in which case 9 durability is consumed. Mutually exclusive with Piercing. I
Piercing Makes arrows shot from the crossbow pierce entities they hit and continue their flight, which allows each arrow to hit up to level + 1 entities. This is useful for targeting mobs closely packed together, and for conserving arrows, as they can be picked up after piercing entities. Arrows fired in this manner also ignore shields. Mutually exclusive with Multishot. IV
Unbreaking Causes a (Level /(Level+1)) * 100% chance a shot fired does not reduce the durability of the crossbow. III
Mending Allows a certain proportion of experience orbs collected to contribute toward repairing the crossbow, rather than raising the player's experience. I
Curse of Vanishing Causes the crossbow to disappear instead of dropping on the ground when the player dies. The /gamerule keepInventory overrides this. I

Multishot and Piercing are mutually exclusive. Normal methods of enchanting allow only one of them to be applied to a crossbow.

Crossbows have a base enchantability of 1. Enchantments specific to crossbows include Quick Charge, Multishot and Piercing.

Fuel[]

Crossbows can be used as fuel in furnaces, smelting 1.5 items per crossbow.

Sounds[]

Java Edition:

SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
File:Crossbow loading start.oggCrossbow charges upPlayersWhen a crossbow starts to loaditem.crossbow.loading_startsubtitles.item.crossbow.charge0.151.016
File:Crossbow quick charge one1.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge one2.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge one3.oggCrossbow charges upPlayersWhen a Quick Charge I crossbow starts to load [sound 1]item.crossbow.quick_charge_1subtitles.item.crossbow.chargevaries [sound 2]varies [sound 3]16
File:Crossbow quick charge two1.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge two2.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge two3.oggCrossbow charges upPlayersWhen a Quick Charge II crossbow starts to load [sound 4]item.crossbow.quick_charge_2subtitles.item.crossbow.chargevaries [sound 6]varies [sound 5]16
File:Crossbow quick charge three1.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge three2.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge three3.oggCrossbow charges upPlayersWhen a Quick Charge III crossbow starts to load [sound 4]item.crossbow.quick_charge_3subtitles.item.crossbow.chargevaries [sound 5]varies [sound 6]16
File:Crossbow loading middle1.oggFile:Crossbow loading middle2.oggFile:Crossbow loading middle3.oggFile:Crossbow loading middle4.oggNone[sound 9]PlayersWhile a crossbow is loading [sound 7]item.crossbow.loading_middleNone[sound 9]0.325varies [sound 8]16
File:Crossbow loading end.oggCrossbow loadsEntity-DependentWhen a crossbow stops loadingitem.crossbow.loading_endsubtitles.item.crossbow.load1.01315-1.216
File:Crossbow shoot1.oggFile:Crossbow shoot2.oggFile:Crossbow shoot3.oggCrossbow firesEntity-DependentWhen a crossbow firesitem.crossbow.shootsubtitles.item.crossbow.shoot0.8/0.9/0.91.0/1.0/0.9 [sound 10]16
File:Arrow hit1.oggFile:Arrow hit2.oggFile:Arrow hit3.oggFile:Arrow hit4.oggArrow hitsFriendly CreaturesWhen an arrow hits a block or entityitem.crossbow.hitsubtitles.item.crossbow.hit1.01211-4316
File:Succesfull Hit.oggPlayer hitPlayersWhen an arrow shot by a player hits another playerentity.arrow.hit_playersubtitles.entity.arrow.hit_player0.180.4516
File:Firework launch.oggFirework launchesAmbient/EnvironmentWhen a crossbow fires a firework rocketentity.firework_rocket.launchsubtitles.entity.firework_rocket.launch3.01.016
File:Random break.oggItem breaksEntity-DependentWhen a crossbow's durability is exhaustedentity.item.breaksubtitles.entity.item.break0.80.8-1.216
  1. quick1_3 occurs at half the frequency as the other sounds
  2. 0.325 for all except quick1_1 (pitch=0.9), which is 0.25
  3. quick1_1 can be 1.0 or 0.9; quick1_2 can be 1.0 or 0.95; quick1_3 can be 1.0
  4. a b _1 occurs at 23 the frequency as the other sounds
  5. a b 0.325 for all except _1 (pitch=0.95), which is 0.25
  6. a b _1 can be 1.0 or 0.95; _2 can be 1.0, 0.95, or 1.05; _3 can be 1.0, 0.9, or 1.05
  7. loading_middle4 occurs at 14 the frequency as the other sounds
  8. loading_middle1 can be 1.0, 0.95, or 1.2; loading_middle2 and loading_middle3 can be 1.0, 0.9, or 1.05; loading_middle4 can be 1.0
  9. a b MC-203146
  10. Multiplied by the loading percentage of the crossbow

Bedrock Edition:

SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
File:Crossbow loading start.oggPlayersWhen a crossbow starts to loadcrossbow.loading.start1.01.0
File:Crossbow loading middle1.oggFile:Crossbow loading middle2.oggFile:Crossbow loading middle3.oggFile:Crossbow loading middle4.oggPlayersWhile a crossbow is loading and when a crossbow stops loadingcrossbow.loading.middle1.01.0
File:Crossbow loading end.oggPlayersUnused sound eventcrossbow.loading.end1.01.0
File:Crossbow quick charge one1.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge two1.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge three1.oggPlayersWhen a crossbow with Quick Charge starts to loadcrossbow.quick_charge.start1.01.0
File:Crossbow quick charge one2.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge two2.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge three2.oggPlayersWhile a crossbow with Quick Charge is loadingcrossbow.quick_charge.middle1.01.0
File:Crossbow quick charge one3.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge two3.oggFile:Crossbow quick charge three3.oggPlayersWhen a crossbow with Quick Charge stops loadingcrossbow.quick_charge.end1.01.0
File:Crossbow shoot1.oggFile:Crossbow shoot2.oggFile:Crossbow shoot3.oggPlayersWhen a crossbow firescrossbow.shoot1.01.0
File:Arrow hit1.oggFile:Arrow hit2.oggFile:Arrow hit3.oggFile:Arrow hit4.oggPlayersWhen an arrow hits a block or entityrandom.bowhit1.01.09-1.3
File:Firework launch.oggAmbient/EnvironmentWhen a crossbow fires a firework rocketfirework.launch1.01.0
File:Random break.oggPlayersWhen a crossbow's durability is exhaustedrandom.break1.00.9

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierFormTranslation key
CrossbowcrossbowItemitem.minecraft.crossbow

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID FormTranslation key
Crossbowcrossbow575Itemitem.crossbow.name

Item data[]

Java Edition:

Main article: Player.dat format
  •  tag: The tag tag.
    •  ChargedProjectiles: The items this crossbow has charged, normally one entry (three if enchanted with multishot)
      • : A charged item.
        • Tags common to all items
    •  Charged: If the crossbow is charged.

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Item format.

Achievements[]

Icon Achievement In-game description Actual requirements (if different) Gamerscore earned Trophy type (PS4)
PS4 Other
Sniper DuelKill a Skeleton with an arrow from more than 50 meters.Use a launched arrow to kill a skeleton, spider jockey, wither skeleton, or a stray from 50 or more blocks away, horizontally.30GBronze
ArcherKill a creeper with arrows.10GBronze
BullseyeHit the bullseye of a Target block15GBronze

Advancements[]

Icon Advancement In-game description Parent Actual requirements (if different) Resource location
Advancement-plain-rawOl' Betsy
Shoot a Crossbow Adventureadventure/ol_betsy
Advancement-plain-rawTake Aim
Shoot something with an Arrow Monster HunterUsing a bow or a crossbow, shoot an entity with an arrow, tipped arrow, or spectral arrow.adventure/shoot_arrow
Advancement-fancy-rawTwo Birds, One Arrow
Kill two Phantoms with a piercing Arrow Ol' BetsyUse a crossbow enchanted with Piercing to kill two phantoms with a single arrow shot.adventure/two_birds_one_arrow
Advancement-plain-rawWho's the Pillager Now?
Give a Pillager a taste of their own medicine Ol' BetsyKill a pillager with a crossbow.adventure/whos_the_pillager_now
Advancement-fancy-rawArbalistic
Kill five unique mobs with one crossbow shot Ol' Betsy
This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless of if its child advancement(s), if any, have been completed.
adventure/arbalistic
Advancement-fancy-rawSniper Duel
Kill a Skeleton from at least 50 meters away Take AimBe at least 50 blocks away horizontally when a skeleton is killed by an arrow after the player has attacked it once.adventure/sniper_duel
Advancement-fancy-rawBullseye
Hit the bullseye of a Target block from at least 30 meters away Take AimBe at least 30 blocks away horizontally when the center of a target is shot with a projectile by the player.adventure/bullseye

History[]

September 29, 2018Crossbows are announced at MINECON Earth 2018.
Java Edition
1.1418w43aCrossbow Crossbow Pull 0 Crossbow Pull 1 Crossbow Pull 2 Arrow Loaded Crossbow Crossbow Crossbow Pull 0 Crossbow Pull 1 Crossbow Pull 2 Firework Loaded Crossbow Crossbow Added crossbows.
Crossbows can be enchanted with either the Quick Charge (Highest Level III), Piercing (Highest Level IV) or Multishot (Highest Level I).
18w47aCrossbows can now be found inside loot chests at the top of pillager outposts.
19w11aFletcher villagers now sell crossbows and enchanted crossbows.
1.1620w07aPiglin with Crossbow Piglin left handed with Crossbow Piglin using one hand to hold a loaded crossbow JE1 Added piglins, which can spawn with and drop crossbows.
20w16aCrossbows now generate randomly enchanted in bastion remnants chests.
1.1821w37aCrossbow durability is increased to 465 to match Bedrock Edition.
1.19.423w07aThe crossbow recipes are no longer unlocked by sticks.
Upcoming Java Edition
Villager Trade Rebalance
(Experimental)
23w31aEnchantments exclusive to crossbows are no longer obtainable from villager trading.
Bedrock Edition
1.8.0beta 1.8.0.10Crossbow Crossbow Pull 0 Crossbow Pull 1 Crossbow Pull 2 Arrow Loaded Crossbow Crossbow Crossbow Pull 0 Crossbow Pull 1 Crossbow Pull 2 Firework Loaded Crossbow Crossbow Added crossbows.
Crossbows are currently apart of Experimental Gameplay.
1.9.0beta 1.9.0.0Added pillagers, which use and drop crossbows.
beta 1.9.0.3Crossbows now appear bigger in a pillager's hand.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3Crossbows are now fully implemented and separate from Experimental Gameplay.
Crossbows can now be found in pillager outpost chests.
1.11.0beta 1.11.0.4Unenchanted and enchanted crossbows can now be bought from fletcher villagers.
1.12.0beta 1.12.0.3Journeyman-level fletcher villagers now have 100% chance to sell unenchanted crossbow, rather than 50% chance.
1.16.0beta 1.16.0.51Piglin with Crossbow BE Added piglins, which can spawn with and drop crossbows.
beta 1.16.0.57Crossbows now generate randomly enchanted in bastion remnants chests.
PlayStation 4 Edition
1.90Crossbow Crossbow Pull 0 Crossbow Pull 1 Crossbow Pull 2 Arrow Loaded Crossbow Crossbow Crossbow Pull 0 Crossbow Pull 1 Crossbow Pull 2 Firework Loaded Crossbow Crossbow Added crossbows.

Issues[]

Issues relating to "Crossbow" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia[]

  • Alongside pillagers, crossbows were inspired by Minecraft Dungeons, even though they were added in the base game first.[2]
  • Crossbows enchanted with Quick Charge VI and above get stuck on the first frame on the recharging animation because the resulting charge time is negative, and the game never reaches the time markers that tell it to advance the animation or the reloading procedure itself. It is technically possible to charge such crossbows, but this would require overflowing the value that determines how long the crossbow has been charged. This takes such an amount of time that this is practically impossible: for example, charging a crossbow with Quick Charge VI would take 69.4 years to complete.
  • Although Piercing allows arrows to bypass shields, they can't get through the wither armor.
  • The crossbow's first-person loading animation in Bedrock Edition is different from Java Edition.
  • Even if a crossbow is already wound with a projectile, when it drops on the ground, it always looks uncharged.[3]
  • In real life, crossbows don't shoot the same arrows as bows, rather they shoot shorter, thicker, and oftentimes fletchless arrows (usually called "bolts") made to withstand the crossbow's increased power, which can shatter conventional arrows.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. MC-111738
  2. "March 2021 developper Q&A" – discord.com, March 11, 2021.
  3. MC-137552

External Links[]

Advertisement