Overview
A Crossbow trades rate of fire for a loaded weapon you can carry ready. Loading takes about 1.25 seconds, but once loaded the bolt stays in it indefinitely, so you round a corner already at full power instead of standing still drawing a bow. Damage matches a bow at 6 to 11 per bolt, and durability is higher at 465. The reason to own one is the two enchantments no bow has. Multishot fires three arrows in a spread from a single arrow, which is devastating in a corridor and against groups. Piercing lets a bolt punch through up to five entities in a line, and — because pierced arrows can be picked back up — a Piercing crossbow is the cheapest way to clear a raid wave. Quick Charge III cuts the reload to well under a second, which closes most of the gap with a bow. It also fires firework rockets, and a rocket with a star loaded into a crossbow is one of the highest single-hit damage sources available to a survival player. Crafting needs a tripwire hook and an iron ingot alongside sticks and string.
Carrying a shot ready before you need it, clearing lines of mobs with Piercing, spraying a group with Multishot, and launching firework rockets as an explosive ranged attack.
Crossbow is a tool: it wears out with use and can be enchanted and repaired. Durability is 465. Enchanting it is possible and generally recommended.
It does not stack — each one takes its own slot. The usual source is Piglin and Pillager. Look for it in the loot of Pillager Outpost.
It is crafted from Stick, Iron Ingot, String, and Tripwire Hook. Nothing on the crafting grid is made from it.
How to get it
Craft 1 from 3 Sticks, 2 String, 1 Iron Ingot and 1 Tripwire Hook. Pillagers drop crossbows at an 8.5% chance, frequently enchanted. Both parts are worth carrying spares of on a raid.
Tips
- Load the crossbow before entering a raid or a cave; the whole advantage is that it holds the shot for you.
- Piercing arrows survive and can be picked up again, unlike Multishot's two extra arrows, which vanish.
- A firework rocket with 3 stars fired from a crossbow deals more damage than any melee weapon in the game.
- Multishot and Piercing are mutually exclusive, so build two crossbows if you want both behaviours available.
Properties
Crossbow lasts 465 uses before it breaks. Two worn copies can also be merged, on an anvil or a grindstone. Unbreaking III roughly quadruples the lifespan, and Mending replaces the repair cost with experience. Its enchantability of 1 decides how good the enchanting table's offers are: the higher the number, the more often a level-30 table offers the top-tier enchantment rather than a weak one. Crossbow does not stack — each one occupies an inventory slot of its own.
- Stack size
- 1
- Durability
- 465
- Enchantability
- 1
- Renewable
- Yes
- Category
- Weapons
Crafting recipe
Crafting Table
Crossbow
Dropped by
2 mobs drop Crossbow: Piglin and Pillager. Looting raises the maximum on most of them.
Found in
Crossbow is in the loot tables of Pillager Outpost.
- Pillager Outpost — A dark oak watchtower flying an ominous banner, surrounded by tents, log piles, and often a cage holding an iron golem or, beneath the tower, cages containing allays.
Enchantments it can take
5 enchantments can be applied to Crossbow: Mending, Multishot, Piercing, Quick Charge, and Unbreaking.
Mending is a treasure enchantment and never appears at an enchanting table — they come from loot chests, fishing or villager trades only.
Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do you make Crossbow in Minecraft?
Crossbow is crafted from Stick, Iron Ingot, String, and Tripwire Hook.
What is the stack size of Crossbow?
Crossbow does not stack at all. Every one you carry takes an inventory slot of its own, which is the practical limit on how many you take on a trip.
How much durability does Crossbow have?
Crossbow has 465 durability.
Can Crossbow be enchanted?
Yes — 5 enchantments apply to it, at an enchanting table with fifteen bookshelves, or from an enchanted book on an anvil. Mending is usually the one worth hunting for, because it removes the repair cost entirely.
