In Gothic Remake, bows offer one of the most satisfying and powerful ranged combat options. In this guide, I cover the best early-game bows, including how to obtain the Wolfshredder in Chapter 1, and show you where to find the powerful late-game bows such as the Bow of Death and Demon Bow. With that being said, let’s begin.
What You Will Find Here
Gothic Remake: Best Bows to Get Early (Chapter 1)
Trust me when I say, in Gothic Remake, you need to get a strong bow before entering the main camps in order to survive the Colony’s harsh wilderness. Here are the three early bows you can acquire during Chapter 1 of Gothic Remake.
Rider’s Bow
This is hands down the best bow in terms of stats for the very early game. It deals 24 damage for only 14 Dexterity. You can find it hidden in an underwater cave near the camp where you meet Drax.
Simply swim behind the camp and dive down into the dark cave entrance. From there, there’s just one path that leads to the chest. This chest contains the Rider’s Bow.
Field Bow
It’s a step up from the Rider’s Bow and delivers 28 damage but requires 18 Dexterity to wield. Luckily, you can find a Ring of Lesser Dexterity nearby, which makes that requirement much easier to hit.
When you get to the very bottom of the Free Mine, turn left. Be aware of the Minecrawlers. When you take care of them, go ahead and at the end of the path, climb up the short ladder and turn right. There you can grab the Field Bow.
A little bit ahead, there’s a long ladder at the top of which you find a Ring of Lesser Dexterity on a corpse that gives you +5 Dexterity if you equip it.
Wolfshredder
Update: The Wolfshredder is no longer the best early-game bow in Chapter 1, as its previous location on the ship has been changed. While this bow can still be useful later, players looking for the strongest bow available during Chapter 1 should get the Hedge Bow instead.
The Hedge Bow can be found in the cliff cave above Swamp Camp, inside the cave with two zombies. It’s currently the best bow option you can obtain early in the game. It deals 44 damage and requires 34 Dexterity to wield.
The Wolfshredder is a super duper powerful bow for early stages of the game. It deals 56 damage and at the same time you’re required to reach 43 Dexterity, which is not that easy especially early, but it’s doable. Just invest in Dexterity if you’re going for a ranged build from the get-go.
Now, to get this beast of a bow, first, grab the Telekinesis scroll out of the chest on the shipwreck nearest the northeast stone gates.
From the shore, get within range of the weapon by either climbing directly up or dropping down via the lighthouse path. The lighthouse is located on the cliff above the wreckage. Once you’re in position, cast Telekinesis to pull the bow from the corpse to you. The corpse is on the tallest part of the wreckage.
A word of advice: make sure you have Acrobatics to survive the fall damage if you take the lighthouse route.
Best Mid-to-Late Game Bow Locations
Just like any reasonable RPG, as you progress through the chapters of Gothic Remake, you need weapons that scale with your maximized stats.
Haenno’s Bows
Once you get to the New Camp, talk to Haenno by the falls. Choose the dialogue options “What’s your job around here?” and then “They can come in really handy.” After that, if you’re still untrained with bows, he’ll ask you first to get bow training, which you can get from Wolf.
If you’ve already done that, he gives you By the Hand of a Master side quest.
By the Hand of a Master Quest (Best Wood for Bow)
If you’re wondering which wood for the bow to give Haenno, here are your options. Once you accept his quest, the weapon he crafts will depend entirely on the material you gather for him.
- Ironwood: Buy it from Sharky in the New Camp, available starting in Chapter 2.
- Oak Wood: Buy it from Fisk in the Old Camp.
- Willow: Buy it from Fisk in the Old Camp.
Ironwood is the best wood choice for the bow since it delivers 37 base damage. The next best option is oak wood at 34 damage, while willow trails behind with just 30.
Here are the three Haenno’s bows stats:
| Bow Name | Damage | Dexterity Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Haenno’s Ironwood Bow | 37 | 27 |
| Haenno’s Oak Bow | 34 | 24 |
| Haenno’s Willow Bow | 30 | 20 |
Storm Bow
Once you hit Chapter 5, seek out Cavalorn. He sells the Storm Bow, which boasts a massive 82 damage, which puts it among the top three bows of the game. But make sure to hit 67 Dexterity in order to be able to do that.
Demon Bow
This is easily the second-best bow in Gothic Remake. It deals 85 damage but requires you to have 70 Dexterity. There are two ways to get this. The free way is when you get to the Sleeper Temple. The Demon Bow is located beneath the platform where you obtain Uriziel.
After entering the room behind the single undead orc, go through the short passage. Drop down by the flowing lava and jump across the rocks. You will find the bow in the hands of a petrified human standing near some skeletons.
Or, you purchase it from Wolf in the New Camp in Chapter 6 for 688 Nuggets.
Bow of Death
Without a doubt, the best bow in Gothic Remake is the Bow of Death that annihilates monsters and human foes alike with its 88 damage. However, you should’ve at this point in your run invested in Dexterity, as it requires 73 Dexterity to wield.
Just like the previous bow, you can get this one from Wolf in Chapter 6 for the price of 783 Nuggets.
Bows vs. Crossbows
In Gothic Remake, bows allow you to shoot, move, and reload at the same time, which means greater mobility. Crossbows, on the other hand, deal higher damage per shot but require you to stand still while reloading. Crossbows can be pre-loaded and carried, which gives you one free shot at the start of a fight.
Why Should You Choose Bows?
Bows are generally more advantageous. They let you maintain distance and dodge attacks, such as thrown rocks, while shooting, whereas crossbows reload too slowly. Late-game crossbows also demand very high dexterity, which often conflicts with a strength/melee build. You should choose bows for any ranged playstyle.
Complete Gothic Remake Bow Stats Table
The following table contains a complete list of every bow available in Gothic Remake, sorted by descending damage value. It displays the weapon name, base damage, and the minimum Dexterity requirement needed to equip each bow.
| Bow Name | Damage | Dexterity Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Bow of Death | 88 | 73 |
| Demon Bow | 85 | 70 |
| Storm Bow | 82 | 67 |
| Orcchaser | 79 | 64 |
| War Bow | 76 | 61 |
| Nimrod Bow | 72 | 57 |
| Diego’s Bow | 70 | 55 |
| Horn Bow | 68 | 53 |
| Army Bow | 64 | 49 |
| Windbreaker | 60 | 45 |
| Wolfshredder | 56 | 43 |
| Oak Bow | 52 | 40 |
| Willow Bow | 48 | 38 |
| Hedge Bow | 44 | 34 |
| Longbow | 40 | 30 |
| Haenno’s Ironwood Bow | 37 | 27 |
| Bone Bow | 36 | 26 |
| Wolf’s Bow | 35 | 25 |
| Haenno’s Oak Bow | 34 | 24 |
| Hunting Bow | 32 | 22 |
| Haenno’s Willow Bow | 30 | 20 |
| Field Bow | 28 | 18 |
| Rider’s Bow | 24 | 14 |
| Shortbow | 20 | 10 |
FAQ
What is the best early game bow in Gothic Remake?
For the very start of your run, the Rider’s Bow is the top choice. It deals 24 damage for just 14 Dexterity. However, if you’re able to reach 43 Dexterity right away, the Wolfshredder is a massively powerful Chapter 1 alternative that outputs 56 damage.
Where’s the Bow of Death located?
During Chapter 6, you can purchase this weapon directly from Wolf for exactly 783 Nuggets.
Which wood should I give Haenno?
Ironwood is the superior option that yields a bow with 37 base damage. You can buy this material from Sharky in the New Camp starting in Chapter 2. Oak and willow wood will result in weaker bows.
The bow on the ship is no longer the Wolfshredder. For now the best bow you can get in chapter 1 is Hedge Bow, in the cliff cave above swamp camp (cave with two zombies inside).
Thanks for the heads-up. Looks like the ship Wolfshredder location was changed in a recent update. I’ll update the guide to reflect the current Chapter 1 best bow.