RuneScape: Dragonwilds Ranged Weapons: Bows, Crossbows and Which to Pick

Ranged is a full weapon family here, sitting alongside melee and magic. It has one requirement: every bow is two-handed and needs arrows.

What the three types do

Type	Character	When it fits
Shortbow	Faster draw, quickfire mechanic	Moving targets, frequent shots
Longbow	Longer range, more damage	Standing damage, opening a fight
Crossbow	Shorter range than a shortbow, but faster repeat shots	Mid-to-close range pressure

The official wiki puts it plainly. Shortbows trade damage, reach and kick for rate of fire. Longbows do the reverse, trading draw speed for range and damage. Crossbows get close and fire fast.

Shortbows: published values

Weapon	Damage	Power Level	Special
Ash Shortbow	14	1	None
Oak Shortbow	20	2	None
Wild Scout’s Shortbow	18	3	Draw time reduction
Crystal Bow	22	3	Scattershot
Blightwood Shortbow	28	4	None
Willow Shortbow	38	5	None
Undead Ranger’s Bow	43	5	+15% damage, -25% durability
Maple Shortbow	48	6	None
Yew Shortbow	59	7	None
Magic Shortbow	78	8	None

Longbows: published values

Weapon	Damage	Power Level	Special
Adventurer’s Longbow	24	1	None
Oak Longbow	34	3	None
Blightwood Longbow	48	4	None
Hunter Stagbow	52	4	-10% draw time
Willow Longbow	65	5	None
Ulv’s Longbow	65	5	More damage to unaware targets
Maple Longbow	82	6	None
Yew Longbow	101	7	None
Magic Longbow	118	8	None

Four things worth noting:

At the same Power Level, longbows hit much harder (Willow at PL5 is 38 versus 65). You pay for it with a slower draw.
Ulv’s Longbow rewards opening from stealth, since it hits harder on unaware targets.
Undead Ranger’s Bow is a trade-off: more damage, faster durability loss, so bring a spare for long raids.
The magic longbow and magic shortbow are 1.0 additions, and sit at the top of the published range.

Getting your first bow

The low-friction starting point is the Ash Shortbow. Going up from there needs the right crafting station and materials, and the Crystal Bow recipe shows how mid-game ranged is built:

Result	Station	XP	Materials
Crystal Bow	Fletching Bench	Artisan 300	18 Opal, 4 Wool Thread, 4 Bronze Bar, 4 Anima-Infused Bark, 8 Vault Shard, 1 Vault Core

So what actually gates the mid-game ranged line is materials: opal, wool thread, bronze bars, plus Anima-infused bark and Vault materials. Where those come from is on the materials page.

Arrows and crafting stations

Bows are tied to arrows, so ranged play runs on two tracks at once: upgrading the bow, and keeping arrows stocked. The official wiki treats arrows as their own entries, which tells you it is a consumable you have to maintain.

Practical notes:

Check your arrow count before leaving. Empty quiver in a long raid means you brought no weapon.
For boss fights that need ranged damage, crossbows are steadier than shortbows, because the shorter range stops mattering in an arena.
Shortbows for moving trash, longbows for opening at distance.

Limits

The tables above come from the official wiki’s ranged weapon entries. Jagex has not published these numbers in its own announcements, and later patches can change them.
The full crossbow list and its values are not reproduced here. Use the official wiki entry.
Melee and magic are covered elsewhere: see weapons and magic.

Sources

Jagex, “Our 1.0 Release is live!”: https://dragonwilds.runescape.com/news/launch (15 September 2026)
Jagex, “Dragonwilds’ Price Isn’t Changing.”: https://dragonwilds.runescape.com/news/ea-pricing (2 September 2026)
Official 1.0 update video, “Our Early Access Journey Is Coming to an End”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuEqe0JigCM (15 September 2026)
Steam store page (editions, price, system requirements, review counts): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374490/RuneScape_Dragonwilds/
Jagex, “The RuneScape Company Expands RuneScape: Dragonwilds In Asia”: https://www.jagex.com/news/jagex-the-runescape-company-expands-runescape-dragonwilds-in-asia-through-landmark-publishing-partnerships (23 June 2026)