Figuring out what bows to use is a challenge because there are a lot of good options.
Bow characters are some of the most fun to play with. Some of them play a more supportive role while others can literally delete enemies with just a charged shot. Because the role that bow characters play vary by a lot, knowing what bow to equip them can make or break your team.
In this article, I will be showing you the top 10 best bows that are powerful! A bow isn’t powerful just because it lets you directly defeat enemies. Some of the bows in this list instead indirectly help your DPS characters dish out greater damage. That is also a powerful asset that buffs your supports and makes them more … well, support-like.
Curious about what sort of bow to give to your characters? Read on to see what best suits them!
10. Sacrificial Bow
The Sacrificial Bow lets you do your elemental skill twice.
When it comes to casting elemental skills, you definitely want to have as much uptime on them. Elemental skills usually generate energy for your team.
The Sacrificial Bow does exactly that. This is a cool-looking weapon that’s good, especially for your support characters. The Sacrificial Bow is powerful because:
- It allows your bow character to use their elemental skill twice. When a character’s elemental skill damages an opponent, it has a certain chance to reset that skill’s cooldown.
- At higher refinements, the Sacrificial Bow increases the chance to reset the cooldown.
- Because its substat is Energy Recharge, the Sacrificial Bow provides energy particles to bring your team’s elemental bursts back.
- Note that this effect doesn’t work on all bow characters. For example, this bow’s effect doesn’t work on Tartaglia.
- The bow is generally good for support characters, like Diona. This is especially true when Diona is paired with Ganyu.
The Sacrificial Bow (4-star) details:
- Base ATK stat: Level 1 value is 44 ATK while Level 90 value is 565
- Energy Recharge (ER) substat: Level 1 value is 6.7% ER while Level 90 value is 30.6%
The Sacrificial Bow is obtained through gacha. It’s available on the permanent/standard wish banner. Check out this guide here!
9. The Viridescent Hunt
Grouping enemies is a lot easier with The Viridescent Hunt
Some enemies are very flighty and move a lot. It would be a great idea if there was a way to group them together without having to switch characters a lot.
Well, that’s what The Viridescent Hunt is for! This meadow-green bow is useful for DPS characters. Its effect works well especially in the Spiral Abyss.
You should consider getting The Viridescent Hunt because:
- Its passive effect has a certain chance of generating a cyclone. This cyclone has a small AoE that pulls enemies together. With this effect, it becomes easier to attack enemies since they are grouped up.
- The cyclone also damages the enemies a total of 8 times. Such damage scales off of the bow character’s ATK.
- This bow has Crit Rate as its substat, making it easier to build a character, especially your archer DPS.
- The Viridescent Hunt works really well for Tartaglia thanks to his quadratic scaling on grouped enemies. Support characters can use the bow but the Crit Rate substat might be wasted on them.
- Unlike other bows, refining The Viridescent Hunt doesn’t provide bigger buffs. That’s why it’s generally a waste to have this weapon refined.
The Viridescent Hunt (4-star) details:
- Base ATK stat: Level 1 value is 42 ATK and Level 90 value is 510
- Crit Rate substat: Level 1 value is 6% Crit Rate and Level 90 value is 27.6% Crit Rate
This weapon is unlocked by buying the Battle Pass. If you want this bow, here’s how you can get it:
8. Rust
Rust is one of Aloy’s best bows
Geared towards normal attacks, Rust is a bow that’s for DPS bow characters. It has an interesting mechanic that can seem like a nerf. But in the hands of the right character, this bow will work wonders.
Here’s why Rust is our 8th powerful bow in this list:
- Basically, Rust buffs normal attacks. It provides a damage bonus when your character does a normal attack string.
- At the same time, Rust nerfs charged attacks. When using this weapon, you definitely should avoid entering aim mode and charging your arrows. This bow will decrease your charged attack damage.
- At higher refinements, Rust will give an even higher normal attack damage bonus. It won’t further nerf your charged attacks though.
- Rust also increases your ATK stat. Rust provides a certain percentage of ATK% bonus that’s sure to make your attacks hit much harder.
- Because normal attacks have an edge, this bow works best with Yoimiya, Tartaglia, Aloy, and DPS Fischl. You should not give this bow to Ganyu because most of her damage comes from her charged attacks.
Rust (4-star) details:
- Base ATK stat: Level 1 value is 42 ATK and Level 90 value is 510
- ATK substat: Level 1 value is 9% ATK and Level 90 value is 41.3% ATK
This weapon can only be obtained through gacha. It’s also available in the permanent/standard wish banner.
7. Hamayumi
Fireworks queen Yoimiya wielding the Hamayumi
Hamayumi is one of the best free-to-play options that players can use for their DPS bow characters. While getting this weapon can be pretty tricky, it provides an overall boost to your DPS’ damage output.
If you have no other good options, the Hamayumi works pretty well because of the following:
- Hamayumi is a straight-up buff to your DPS. This weapon will increase your character’s normal attack damage by 16%.
- Unlike Rust, the Hamayumi won’t punish your character’s charged attack damage though. Instead, the Hamayumi will also buff your DPS’ charged attack damage by 12%.
- At higher refinements, this will be even more worthwhile and powerful. With Refinement 5, normal attack damage is increased by 32%. In the same way, charged attack damage is increased by 24%.
- If you can afford not using your character’s elemental burst, the Hamayumi will be even more powerful. When your character’s elemental burst energy is full, the damage bonus for the normal and charged attacks will be doubled.
- This bow is great for DPS characters. Yoimiya, Ganyu, and Tartaglia are some of the characters who can benefit a lot from this weapon. But be mindful of the caveat I pointed out above.
Hamayumi (4-star) details:
- Base ATK stat: Level 1 value is 41 ATK and Level 90 value is 454 ATK
- ATK substat: Level 1 value is 12% ATK while Level 90 value is 55.1% ATK
Hamayumi is a craftable bow. But getting it is a bit tricky because it’s a “secret”. Here’s a guide for you to get your hands on this amazing weapon:
6. Prototype Crescent
Prototype Crescent is one of the best free-to-play bows
Next on our list is another craftable weapon that’s very good for DPS characters. It has an interesting gimmick that provides a bigger boost when activated. For the most powerful weapon among the four-star bows, here’s the Prototype Crescent.
Why? Because:
- This bow emphasizes ATK a lot. It also encourages a charged shot play style that suits DPS characters.
- When a character hits an enemy’s weak spot, they gain an additional ATK buff and a faster movement speed. This means that the next attacks will hit much harder. When things get tough, the faster movement speed can save your skin.
- Where is the weak spot anyway? On humanoid mobs, it’s the head. For ruin enemies, it’s the eyes.
- Be careful though, because some enemies don’t have weak spots. Bosses are an example and they increasingly become part of the monster lineup in the Spiral Abyss.
- At higher refinements, that ATK buff increases. With Refinement 5, the ATK buff goes up to 72%.
- The buff lasts for a decent 10 seconds. You can always refresh its duration each time you aim for an enemy’s weak spot.
- This bow is a good free-to-play option for Ganyu. Since her damage comes mostly from her charged attacks, she will benefit from the ATK buff. A similar playstyle would work for other bow DPS characters even if their damage isn’t from charged attacks.
Prototype Crescent (4-star) details:
- Base ATK: Level 1 value is 42 ATK. Level 90 value is 510 ATK.
- ATK substat: Level 1 value is 9% ATK while the Level 90 value is 41.3% ATK
As I said, the Prototype Crescent is craftable. But unlike the Hamayumi, it doesn’t need any fancy tricks and gimmicks.
Here’s a YouTube guide on getting this weapon:
5. Skyward Harp
The Skyward Harp will be right at home with your DPS
And we’ve reached the tier of the five-star bows. Because they’re five-star weapons, their high stats will be good even if they’re not the BiS. Five-star bows however have often complicated passives, but I’ll break it down for you.
The Skyward Harp was the top-tier bow during Genshin’s early days. It’s a general bow that you can give to your archers and they’d go to town with the damage. But newer bows that filled more specific niches power crept the Skyward Harp.
Still, thanks to its good stats and decent passive effect, the Skyward Harp is a pretty solid choice for bow characters. Here’s why this bow is still a powerful choice today:
- The Skyward Harp has one of the highest base ATK stats in the game. Thanks to this alone, you can comfortably give it to one of your DPS archers.
- Aside from that, it also slightly increases your Crit Damage stat. This increase is 20%, and this is very helpful when building your DPS.
- It has an interesting passive common to the Skyward weapon series. When hitting opponents, there’s a certain chance to trigger a small AoE attack. This AoE attack deals 125% Physical DMG and has a 60% chance to trigger.
- Essentially, this provides an additional source of damage that complements your DPS’ own damage. Clearing mobs becomes slightly easier to do.
- The Skyward Harp has Crit Rate as its substat. It provides a decent amount that would also make it easier to build DPS characters.
Skyward Harp (5-star) details:
- Base ATK: 48 ATK at Level 1 and 674 ATK at Level 90
- Crit Rate substat: 4.8% Crit Rate at Level 1 and 22.1% Crit Rate at Level 90
The Skyward Harp is permanently available in the permanent/standard wish banner. Players need to use the blue Acquaint Fates to try their luck at getting this weapon.
4. Amos' Bow
This bow is ideal for DPS archers
This bow is a gorgeous combination of purple and white. It’s also one of the most powerful bows for DPS characters, especially with Ganyu. Like its lore description, Amos’ Bow becomes much more powerful the farther you are from your target.
Consider equipping your DPS with the Amos’ Bow for the following reasons:
- This bow is designed to be a DPS weapon. Its two passives work together to help your DPS deal the highest damage possible.
- The first is that like the Hamayumi, Amos’ Bow provides a direct buff to your archer’s normal and charged attacks. This buff is a 12% damage increase that translates to higher damage output.
- The second passive works as long as an arrow is shot in the air. When you execute a normal or charged attack with your character, that damage will further be buffed.
- For every 0.1 seconds that the arrow is in the air, the damage increases by 8%. At Refinement 1, this increased damage caps at 40%. The farther you are from the target, the more powerful you become.
- While it sounds straightforward, this is one of the reasons why it’s so powerful. Ganyu is the character who benefits the most from this weapon. The Amos’ Bow is considered to be her BiS.
- Other DPS archers can still use this weapon. Yoimiya’s normal attacks benefit from the two passives. Tartaglia, however, can’t use the second passive in his melee stance.
Amos’ Bow (5-star) details:
- Base ATK: 46 ATK at Level 1 and 608 ATK at Level 90
- ATK substat: 10.8% ATK at Level 1 and 49.6% ATK at Level 90
The Amos’ Bow is one of the five-star weapons that are permanently available in the standard wish banner. Players who are lucky enough can get their hands on the Amos’ Bow with enough Acquaint Fates.
3. Polar Star
Polar Star is Tartaglia’s signature weapon
Icy blue like Snezhnaya and sharp like its glaciers. The Polar Star is cold like its ability to quickly clear enemies and buff its wielder to ridiculous levels.
This weapon also has an interesting gimmick that you’d need to master so you can use it to its full potential. But thanks to its substat, it’s a great weapon to use overall for your DPS.
Here’s why Polar Star is a powerful bow:
- It has two passives that buff your DPS archer. The first directly provides a damage increase to the character’s elemental skill and burst. This buff is a direct 12% additional damage.
- The second passive gives an additional ATK buff depending on the number of stacks of a certain effect. This effect is called “Ashen Nightstar.”
- One stack of “Ashen Nightstar” is gained for every normal attack, charged attack, elemental skill damage, and elemental burst damage. Each stack lasts for 12 seconds and each stack’s duration is independent of other stacks.
- Depending on the number of stacks, the DPS archer will gain an ATK bonus. For 1 stack, it’s 10%, and at 2 stacks, this goes up to 20%. With 3 stacks, a 30% ATK bonus is gained and at max 4 stacks, the ATK bonus is 48%.
- Because of the duration of each stack and the way they’re gained, Tartaglia is the archer who can consistently gain max stacks. Tartaglia can do this by first casting ranged burst, then switching to melee stance, and alternating between normal and charged attacks.
- Other DPS archers can reliably maintain 1 to 3 stacks. It can be very difficult to achieve max stacks with any of them.
- Polar Star’s substat is the very important Crit Rate. With a reliable Crit Rate, you can choose to build your DPS archer with a Crit Damage circlet instead.
Polar Star (5-star) details:
- Base ATK: 46 ATK at Level 1 and 608 ATK at Level 90
- Crit Rate substat: 7.2% Crit Rate at Level 1, and up to 33.1% Crit Rate at Level 90
Polar Star is a limited five-star bow and can only be obtained when it gets featured again.
2. Elegy for the End
In the hands of Venti, the Elegy for the End becomes deadly
Our second most powerful bow is none other than the Elegy for the End. This deep blue bow turns a bright shade of neon when ascended to a high level. It’s a great bow for your supports, especially in reaction-based teams.
The Elegy for the End is a powerful bow because:
- Its emphasis is on Elemental Mastery (EM). EM stat buffs reaction-based damage such as Melt and Vaporize, the two most powerful elemental reactions in the game.
- Every time you do an elemental skill or an elemental burst, the character will gain 1 stack of an effect called “Sigil of Remembrance.” That’s why it’s best to give this weapon to characters with a short skill cooldown or low burst energy cost.
- When 4 stacks of “Sigil of Remembrance” are gained, your characters will gain 100 EM and 20% ATK. This effect will last for a decent 12 seconds.
- For the next 20 seconds after the 4 stacks are gained, the character won’t be able to gain new stacks.
- Because of its ability to add EM to your other characters, this is a good support bow. It also has Energy Recharge (ER) as its substat so it becomes easier to spam your elemental bursts and gain stacks.
- This bow is good for Venti, Amber, and Diona. You should pair a character holding this weapon with reaction-heavy teams. An example of reaction-heavy teams is the Hu Tao-Xingqiu Vaporize duo.
- This is primarily a support bow. It’s usually not a good idea to give this to your DPS.
Elegy for the End (5-star) details:
- Base ATK: Level 1 value is 46 ATK and Level 90 value is 608 ATK
- ER substat: 12% ER at Level 1 while 55.1% ER at Level 90
This bow is a limited-time weapon. You won’t be able to get it until it’s featured again.
1. Thundering Pulse
Tartaglia, archon of bows
Electric violet and glowing with the power of the Raiden Shogun. This is how badass the Thundering Pulse’s design looks. The sleek bow lands our top spot for this list of the most powerful bows.
And for very good reason. The Thundering Pulse boasts its great substat and decent passive to best all other bows available in the game.
Thundering Pulse is the most powerful bow because:
- Primarily thanks to its substat. Crit Damage is an important stat for your DPS characters. And Thundering Pulse has a lot of it at 66.2%.
- This is a little higher than the maximum Crit Damage you can get from an artifact circlet. Thanks to this, it becomes quite easier to build your DPS archer because you wouldn’t need to focus on Crit Damage as much.
- Thundering Pulse’s passive also gives a 20% ATK increase to your character. A higher ATK stat translates to higher damage output. And it’s also just as important as Crit.
- This bow’s second passive is more niche. It basically buffs your normal attack damage based on the number of “Thunder Emblem” stacks.
- One stack of “Thunder Emblem” is gained in three instances. One, when a normal attack hits an opponent. Two, when elemental skill is cast, and finally, when the elemental burst’s energy is not full.
- With 1 stack, normal attack damage is increased by 12%. At 2, this is increased by 24%. And finally, at the max 3 stacks, normal attack damage is increased by 40%.
Thundering Pulse (5-star) details:
- Base ATK: 46 ATK at Level 1 and 608 ATK at Level 90
- Crit DMG substat: 14.4% Crit DMG at Level 1 and 66.2% Crit DMG at Level 90
This bow is also a limited weapon. Pay attention to when it gets featured again for a chance to get it!
Conclusion
Weapons are said to be an extension of our character’s skills. It’s no wonder why many players want to get only the most powerful bows for their beloved archers. Whether it’s for your DPS or support, having the right weapon can make clearing the game content a lot faster.
