Best Bows in AC Shadows, Ranked

Summary

Traditional samurai weapons like the Yumi Bow in AC Shadows are ideal for stealth, unlike the deadly but loud and slow Teppo firearms for Yasuke.
Epic Bows can rival Legendary ones in specific areas, offering superior base stats like Headshot DPS or Ability Damage.
Legendary Bows like Last Breath, Blush of the Earth, and Dragon's Wrath feature powerful engravings, and players can combine two of them on a single Bow.

Given its 1579 Feudal Japan setting, Assassin's Creed Shadows gives players access to Yumi Bow weapons, wielded by Yasuke alongside Teppo firearms as ranged options. The Yumi Bow is an asymmetrical longbow about two meters in length, serving as a traditional samurai ranged weapon of the era. Despite its massive size, the Bow is relatively lightweight, allowing for speed and versatility, making it an ideal choice for close to medium range.

Assassin's Creed Games With The Best Side Activities, Ranked

7 Assassin's Creed Games With The Best Optional Content, Ranked

These Assassin's Creed games are the best for spending time outside of the main story.

Posts

By Vlad Mazanko

In AC Shadows, the Bow is a natural fit for players seeking silent and reliable ranged weaponry, well-suited for clearing castles and forts through stealth. While Teppo offers greater damage, accuracy, and range, the Bow is a reliable and fast weapon, allowing for quick arrow shots without alerting nearby enemies. It's also more forgiving of mistakes — missed shots can be followed up quickly by adjusting aim or landing a second arrow. The below list entries take a look at the best Bow weapons in AC Shadows, each featuring a unique Legendary engraving.

Only Bow weapons obtainable in-game will be listed, excluding special Bow variants with powerful perks purchased from the Helix Store or unlocked via Animus Battle Pass (Shadows Projects) rewards. Additionally, all Bows listed are fully upgraded and at the max level 60 for the ultimate stat comparison.

6 Epic Bow With Highlighted Base Stats

Engraving: Random Ranged Engraving

Weapon DPS: 4,744
Headshot DPS: 12,320
Ability Damage: 25,576

Some players believe that Legendary weapons are superior in every aspect compared to Epic gear, but this isn't entirely true. At times, rare Epic weapons can roll with better base stats (highlighted in gold) than any Legendary armament — even if the difference isn't particularly game-changing. However, since any Legendary engraving can be unlocked and applied to any Bow in the game, certain Epic gear can rival the rarest Legendary weapons, occasionally delivering slightly better results in specific areas.

8 Best PS5 Games Like Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed fans should check out these PS5 games that emphasize stealth gameplay, historical settings, and open-world environments.

Posts 2

By Vlad Mazanko

To offer a quick comparison, here are two random Epic Bows that players can obtain in Assassin's Creed Shadows. First, the Silent Bow of Grace boasts the highest Weapon DPS of any Bow in the game — 4,744 compared to 4,570 on the Legendary Heartspiller. Another example, the Elegant Bow of Plenty, stands out with an Ability Damage value of 25,576 at max level 60, surpassing the 24,376 offered by the Blush of the Earth. While these differences may not be dramatic, certain ranged builds can benefit from the extra damage, so players should always evaluate the Epic gear they acquire.

5 Last Breath

Engraving: Special Ammo Instantly Triggers Its Affliction On A Headshot

Weapon DPS: 4,155
Headshot DPS: 12,188
Ability Damage: 19,944

The Last Breath is the best Bow in AC Shadows for players who rely on affliction status effects (bleed, poison, or daze) and use special unlockable arrows to enhance their potential. When raw damage isn't enough, afflictions can finish the job, and the Last Breath's perk, which instantly triggers the affliction of special ammo on a headshot, is hard to overstate. More often than not, it means Yasuke's target will fall from a single arrow — even if not immediately.

Unlike many other missable Legendary weapons in AC Shadows, the Last Breath Bow is a guaranteed reward for completing the main story quest Requiem for Rokkaku, where players are tasked with assassinating Akechi Kagemitsu.

4 Blush Of The Earth

Engraving: Extend Clear Mind Duration By Five Seconds

Weapon DPS: 4,155
Headshot DPS: 9,972
Ability Damage: 24,376

The Blush of the Earth could rank as the strongest Bow in Assassin's Creed Shadows if players master the Clear Mind ability in Yasuke's Bow progression. The Legendary engraving on this Bow extends the duration of that ability by five additional seconds — on top of passive abilities that further increase its length. Clear Mind is a key skill that slows time while aiming, and it also boosts damage by 5%, and by 15% with each kill during its activation. A bit of quick math shows that players can raise their Bow damage by 50% after just three quick kills, which is easy to achieve against weaker enemies. On top of that, the Bow's very high Ability Damage base stat further enhances its potential.

AC Shadows Best Teppo Weapons For Yasuke, Ranked

Assassin's Creed Shadows: Best Teppo Weapons, Ranked

For ranged samurai Yasuke builds in AC Shadows, these Teppo rifles are the most powerful and deadly.

Posts

By Vlad Mazanko

Players can obtain the Blush of the Earth as soon as Yasuke is unlocked in AC Shadows. The Bow is stored in the Makino Kurumazuka Kofun, located in the game's first region, Izumi Settsu. The Kofun (tomb) lies east of Takatsuki.

3 Dragon's Wrath

Engraving: Instantly Charge Arrows

Weapon DPS: 3,947
Headshot DPS: 12,188
Ability Damage: 21,052

For seasoned archers who don't rely on tricks like slowing time, the Dragon's Wrath is a solid Bow choice in AC Shadows. Its engraving allows arrows to charge instantly, boosting both damage and rate of fire in Yasuke's hands. To balance this powerful perk, the Dragon's Wrath comes with a slightly lower Weapon DPS compared to other Legendary Bows, but this isn't a major drawback, as many perks and engravings tied to charged arrows can pair extremely well with this Bow.

Players can acquire the Dragon's Wrath Bow after killing the Tsutsui Agent from the Kurai Eikyou quest board, who hides in Koriyama Castle in northwestern Yamato.

2 Heartspiller

Engraving: Charged Arrows Automatically Become Posture Shots

Weapon DPS: 4,570
Headshot DPS: 9,972
Ability Damage: 22,160

Combining the Heartspiller's engraving with the Dragon's Wrath perk can be a winning combo in AC Shadows, allowing players to take full advantage of instantly charged arrows that automatically become posture shots. Posture attacks are among the most devastating moves in the game, so gaining access to them through ranged attacks is something no archer build would want to pass up. With the Heartspiller, Yasuke's shots deal extra damage, shred vulnerable targets, and can easily break through enemy defense stances.

Assassin's Creed Shadows: Best Abilities In Yasuke's Bow Mastery Path

Players who really want to take advantage of Yasuke's bow in Assassin's Creed Shadows should focus on the following abilities.

Posts

By Christopher Condry

The Heartspiller Legendary Bow is obtained by looting the chest inside the Azuchi Hyontanyama Kofun in Omi, located southeast of the Azuchi province.

1 Falcon's Eye

Engraving: Fire Multiple Arrows In A Single Shot

Weapon DPS: 3,740
Headshot DPS: 12,188
Ability Damage: 22,160

Easily one of the most powerful Bows in AC Shadows, the Falcon's Eye stands out as a unique ranged weapon that can fire multiple arrows in a single shot — somewhat reminiscent of Bow types from earlier Assassin's Creed games like Origins and Valhalla. Naturally, such an ability could be overpowered, which is why the Falcon's Eye has the lowest raw Weapon DPS in its category. Fortunately, the Bow's other stats are more than solid, and if players master its perk, it becomes one of the most lethal and enjoyable Bows to use in AC Shadows.

The Falcon's Eye is also one of the hardest Legendary Bows to unlock in Assassin's Creed Shadows, which speaks to its power. It requires dedication and extensive castle clearing, serving as a reward for completing the full Kamon Crests collection quest board (collect all nine). This quest is given to Yasuke by Ota Gyuichi in Kyoto City, Yamashiro.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image