Wherever you go in Minecraft, dangerous creatures are always lurking around the corner, ready to pounce. If they manage to close in on you, even a few hits can prove fatal. At least, unless you kill them before they even touch you. Enter the crossbow, one of the game's most potent weapons, capable of decimating hordes of enemies from a safe distance. If you want to take over the leaderboards in Minecraft survival servers, crossbows are your finest choice. So, without hesitation, let's delve in to learn how to make a crossbow in Minecraft and master the art of precise and devastating attacks.

How to Make a Crossbow in Minecraft (2024)

We are first going over the basics of the crossbow and various methods to obtain it before moving on to the crafting process. If you are already familiar with the weapon, feel free to directly skip to its creation.

What is a Crossbow in Minecraft

Crossbows are a powerful long-range weapon in Minecraft. You can use them to shoot arrows and fireworks at your enemies from a distance. Their accuracy increases as the distance between you and your enemy decrease. They are the closest weapon you can get to a gun in Minecraft.

Is a Crossbow Better Than a Bow

Fundamentally, crossbows and bows have the same function and similar crafting recipes. However, you can differentiate them in the following ways:

• The bows last longer than crossbows because they lose durability at a much slower pace.
• While you can use bows almost instantly with a short 1.1-second reload time. But, the crossbows take 1.25 seconds to reload which can be life-threatening in some situations.
• Every shot of a crossbow deals at least 6 points of damage which is 6 times the minimum damage of a bow.
• The arrows shot by a crossbow, unlike bows, don't lose their speed over time.
• If you want to launch or shoot explosive fireworks in Minecraft then crossbows are your only option. They deal more damage than regular arrow shots.

How to Get Crossbow in Minecraft

There are a bunch of options when it comes to obtaining crossbows in the game. So, let's go over some of them before exploring how to make a crossbow in Minecraft.

Where Do Crossbow Spawn

Naturally, the crossbows only spawn in the chests of Bastion Remnant and Pillager Outposts. The outposts have a much higher chance of generating a chest with this weapon, while Bastion Remnants offer the possibility of obtaining enchanted crossbows.

With the release of the Minecraft 1.21 update, you will also find crossbows within Trail Chambers. They spawn inside the loot chests within the corridors of this new structure. You can use our guide on how to find Trial Chambers in Minecraft to get an extra option to obtain a crossbow. 

Which Mob Drops Crossbow

You can obtain a crossbow in Minecraft by killing Pillagers and Piglins that are wielding one. Both of these mobs have a modest 8.5% chance of dropping a crossbow with random durability. However, stealing this weapon comes with certain challenges. You have to deal with an array of arrows and the support of these mobs while attacking them.

Therefore, unless you have a diamond sword or something similar, it may be wiser to learn how to craft a crossbow in Minecraft instead of resorting to violence. Though, inviting your friends to Minecraft SMP servers can make things a bit easier.

Trading

One of the most reliable ways to get a crossbow in Minecraft is by trading with Fletcher villagers. They offer the following trades:

• Unenchanted crossbow for 3 emeralds at Journeyman-level
• Enchanted crossbow for 8 emeralds at Master-level (Bedrock only)
• Enchanted crossbow for 7-22 emeralds at Master-level (Java only)

If your village doesn't have a Fletcher in it, you can create a Fletching Table in Minecraft to assign this job to any villager. But, you will still have to search thoroughly to find emeralds in Minecraft.

Items Required to Make a Crossbow in Minecraft

You need the following items to craft a crossbow in Minecraft:

• 3 Sticks
• 2 Strings
• 1 Iron Ingot
• 1 Tripwire Hook

Sticks are one of the easiest items to obtain in Minecraft. To craft them, you have to place two planks vertically next to each other on the crafting grid. The recipe works with all types of wood in the game including the new bamboo wood.

Meanwhile, to get iron ingots, you have to mine iron ore to collect raw iron. Once you have this raw material, it can be smelted into ingots with the help of a furnace and any fuel. As for locating the iron ore, you can use our Minecraft 1.20 ore distribution guide to find it in no time.

How to Get Strings in Minecraft

Strings are versatile utility items that spiders and caves spiders drop upon death. To obtain a piece of string, you have to fight and kill any of these mobs. We suggest you stick with regular spiders as they are not hostile during the day and are much easier to find in the overworld.

Alternatively, you can also kill cats in villages or Striders in Nether Dimension. Both of them are neutral towards players and much easier to kill. Moreover, the Striders can drop up to 5 strings upon death, which is the highest of all the mob options.

How to Make a Tripwire Hook in Minecraft

To make a tripwire hook in Minecraft, you have to arrange an iron ingot, a stick, and a plank in a single column of the crafting grid. The crafting recipe works with all types of planks in the game. But if you don't have the required ingredients, you can also look for the tripwire hooks in jungle temples and chests of Pillager outposts.

Crafting Recipe of Crossbow in Minecraft

After collecting all the required ingredients, it's time to make a crossbow in Minecraft. Here's how:

1. To begin, open your crafting table by right-clicking or using the secondary action key on it.

2. Then, place one iron ingot in the middle of the topmost row of the crafting grid and put one stick on each side of the ingot.

3. Next, place your last stick in the middle cell of the bottommost row. With this, your crossbow is halfway done.

4. Finally, place a tripwire hook in the center of the crafting grid and surround it with strings on either side. As soon as you place the last string, your crossbow will be ready.

How to Use a Crossbow in Minecraft

Follow these simple steps to use a crossbow in Minecraft:

1. First, create arrows for your crossbow by combining a piece of flint with a stick and a feather in the crafting grid.

2. Next, equip your crossbow in Minecraft by holding it in your hand.

3. Then, press right-click to load your crossbow with an arrow. It takes around 1-2 seconds.

4. Finally, aim your crossbow at your target and press the right-click key again to shoot arrows. The accuracy of the shot will increase as you move closer to the enemy.

How to Make a Crossbow in Minecraft Shoot Fireworks

Crossbows are the only weapon that can shoot explosive fireworks rockets in Minecraft. You just have to craft a firework rocket by merging a firework star with a piece of paper and gunpowder. It is perfect for dealing with a large group of enemies.

The game also allows you to make a firework rocket made without a firework star. However, a rocket crafted without fireworks doesn't explode and thus, doesn't deal any damage. Once your firework rocket is ready, equip it in your off-hand and your crossbow in your main hand. Then, load your crossbow to insert the firework rocket into it.

How to Repair a Crossbow in Minecraft

Much like all the other tools and weapons in Minecraft, crossbows have limited durability that decreases with every use. Once it ruins out of durability, the crossbow breaks down and disappears. However, you can combine two damaged crossbows on a grindstone or an anvil in Minecraft to restore the lost durability. Doing so gets rid of any ammo that's loaded into the weapon.

Best Crossbow Enchantments in Minecraft

Now that you know how to make a crossbow in Minecraft, it's time to take it to the next level. Here are all the amazing enchantments you can apply to it:

• Quick Charge: Decreases the time it takes to reload a crossbow by 0.25 seconds at every level. It has three levels in the survival game mode.
• Multishot: Shoots three projectiles at once
• Piercing: Makes the arrow continue moving after piercing through the target. It has four levels and each level allows you to pierce an additional mob.
• Unbreaking: Reduces the chance of reduction in durability.
• Mending: Uses experience orbs to repair damaged crossbow.
• Curse of Vanishing: Makes the crossbow disappear when its owner dies.

You can use an Enchanting Table to apply all of these enchantments, except mending and the curse of vanishing, which require enchanted books. But, keep in mind that piercing and multishot enchantments are mutually exclusive and cannot be on the same crossbow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you put Power V on a crossbow?

The power enchantment can only be applied to bows in Minecraft. But, you can use piercing to get a similar effect on the crossbow.

Can crossbows get infinity?

Crossbows don't support the infinity enchantment, which is exclusive to bows in Minecraft.

Is bow or crossbow better?

Crossbows are great for taking down enemies from a distance and even taking down stronger mobs. But, arrows are more reliable in fights involving quick combat and multiple enemies. Most players prefer bows over crossbows on the best Minecraft PvP servers.

Can a pillager crossbow break?

Every crossbow in Minecraft has a durability of 326 points. So, a Pillager or a player has to use their weapon 326 times to break it.

Make and Use Crossbow in Minecraft

Now that you know how to make a crossbow in Minecraft, your inventory has one of the strongest weapons in the game. But, a crossbow is only as powerful as the ammo it shoots. So, don't forget to upgrade your arrows by combining them with various potions in Minecraft. The Potion of Weakness is an excellent choice as it reduces the attack power of your enemies, giving you a strategic advantage. Furthermore, you also need to ensure that you are shooting arrows from a safe location. One effective method is to ride a camel in Minecraft, which provides you with a height advantage and a better vantage point. Having said that, it's time to load your weapon and start your next big adventure!