Taking Inventory: Bow

Nowadays, though, you’ll need to do a bit more work to become an expert marksman. First, assemble the materials for your bow – go collect some sticks and string and pop them in a crafting grid. Next, you’ll want some arrows – either grab them off a dead skeleton or craft them from flint, sticks, and feathers. 

Ok. Time for target practice. Select the bow in your hotbar, and then hold down the use button to nock an arrow and draw back the string. While drawn, you’ll move more slowly and be unable to sprint – so be aware of that and plan accordingly. Aim at a target, and let go of the button to fire the arrow towards it – the longer you draw, the more damage it’ll do, up to a maximum shown by a subtle shake of the bow and a white sparkle effect on the shot.

Like in real life, an arrow shot in Minecraft obeys gravity and you’ll notice that it begins to fall to the ground as it flies. That means that hitting a faraway target usually means aiming above it. Arrows also slow down when shot through water, and catch fire if shot through lava – dealing extra damage.

Bows can be enchanted to deal more damage, more knockback, have infinite arrows, and a few other fancy tricks. And they can be used to craft dispensers, or as fuel in a furnace – if you find yourself with a surfeit of bows.

In the real world, humans have been using bows and arrows for tens of thousands of years. The earliest evidence comes from a South African cave, where arrowheads have been found that date back approximately 70,000 years. Unlike arrowheads, bows are made of organic materials – so their archaeological history is shorter. The oldest ones we’ve found are a set of Danish bows, discovered in a bog, that date back about 11,000 years.

Bows dominated warfare from ancient times up through the middle ages and even into the early modern period. Longbows were a key weapon of English armies for centuries, while Genghis Khan’s hordes used mounted archers, equipped with shortbows, to conquer most of Eurasia.

However, between the 17th and 19th centuries, bows were slowly replaced by the invention of more accurate and reliable firearms. Today they’re only used in a handful of situations – including hunting, stealth warfare, and in the sport of archery.

Luckily there are no guns in Minecraft, which means that the bow still reigns supreme. So if you're tired of swordplay, don't be a sapling – branch out and try using a bow!