Bows are a recurring type of weapon in the Dragon Quest series, having Recently become far more prominent than in past decades. In the early games, bow are typically featured as late-game, 'vanilla' weapons with no distinguishing features beyond their considerable might.
In more modern games this stance has changed with the proliferation of the family, becoming the tool of choice for nimble characters such as Angelo. Bucking common RPG trends, bows in DQ games are just as potent as other weapon categories, standing alongside swords and axes as the most powerful families of armaments. Furthermore, ammunition never runs out no matter how many attacks are made, nor are their damage outputs affected by being used in the back row in DQIX.
Bows are usually wielded with two hands, thusly usually barring the equipment of a Shield in the other hand, unless special conditions are present.
Appearances[]
Dragon Quest IV[]
- Hunter's bow (replaces the Boomerang in the remakes)
Dragon Quest V[]
Dragon Quest VI[]
Dragon Quest VII[]
Dragon Quest VIII[]
Bows are one of the three weapon types Angelo may equip himself with. All skills in the set are unique, leading to many to recommend them over his sword options. Base critical hit rate is 1/64, and 1/32 after skill point investment. despite being two-handed weapons, this does not prevent the equipment of a Shield in the off hand.
Dragon Quest IX[]
Bows can initially be used by Armamentalists, Rangers, and Sages. By completing the Bow skill set, any character may equip a bow. All bows will deal 10% more damage to enemies in the Bird family.
- List of bow alchemy recipes in Dragon Quest IX
- Short bow
- Longbow
- Hunter's bow
- Fuddle bow
- Potshot bow
- Hotshot bow
- Blowy bow
- Billowing bow
- Blustery bow
- Cheiron's bow
- Great bow
- Purblind bow
- Blinding bow
- Oh-no bow
- Odin's bow
- Angel's bow
- Archangel's bow
- Aeon's bow
- Seraph's bow
Dragon Quest Heroes[]
Bows are the main weapon of Bianca, despite the fact that bows are not usable by her in her original game. Initially, the developers of the game considered giving whips to Bianca as her weapon, but decided against it as they were already usable by Jessica and they wanted more balance in weapon types. Bianca is able to stay far from the fray and fire arrows from a safe distance and can charge up her shots to unleash a powerful attack.
List of bows:
- Tomboy's bow
- Short bow
- Goopid's bow
- Potshot bow
- Eros' bow
- Emerald bow
- Blowy bow
- Cheiron's bow
- Great bow
Dragon Quest Heroes II[]
Angelo has taken over duties as the main archer in the game, as Bianca can only be playable in co-op dungeons in the sequel.
Torneko's Great Adventure[]
Torneko does not equip bows in his first spelunking adventure; rather, he equips specific types of arrows to his default bow instead. The merchant can only hold so many bolts on his person at a time, which must be purchased at shops or scoured off the dungeon floor to replenish his stock. Each type has a different attack boost and flies at a higher range than the predecessor. The silver arrow is particularly effective as it pierces walls and enemies for chain combos.
- Wooden arrow
- Steel arrow
- Silver arrow