Arrow

An **arrow** serves as ammunition for bows, crossbows, and dispensers. Arrows can be modified to give status effects to players and mobs.

## Obtaining

### Picking up arrows

Arrows shot by players can always be picked up in Creative mode.

An arrow *cannot* be picked up by a player in Survival or Adventure mode if:

* It is shot by a player in Creative mode.
* It is shot by any mob able to shoot arrows, such as skeletons, strays, pillagers, or piglins. This includes mobs that do not shoot arrows in normal gameplay, such as illusioners and bow-wielding wither skeletons.
	+ This is the case even in Creative mode.
* It is shot with an Infinity-enchanted bow.
* It is one of the two extra arrows shot with a Multishot-enchanted crossbow.

### Mob loot

Skeletons and strays drop 0-2 arrows upon death. The maximum drop is increased by 1 per level of Looting, for a maximum of 0–5 arrows with Looting III.

Strays have a 50% chance of dropping 1 arrow of Slowness when killed by a player. Each level of Looting increases the chance of this drop by 50% of the previous chance. This results in a maximum of 93.75% with Looting III.

In *Bedrock Edition*, pillagers also drop 0–2 arrows upon death. The maximum drop is increased by 1 per level of Looting, for a maximum of 0-5 arrows with Looting III.

### Trading

Novice-level fletcher villagers have a 50% chance in *Bedrock Edition*, or a 2⁄3 chance in *Java Edition*, to sell 16 arrows for one emerald as part of their trades.

In *Bedrock Edition*, master-level fletcher villagers have a 1⁄2 chance to sell 5 tipped arrows for 2 emeralds and 5 arrows. In *Java Edition*, they have a 2⁄3 chance to sell 5 tipped arrows for 2 emeralds and 5 arrows. Trades in *Java Edition* can be the base effect, level II, or extended; in *Bedrock Edition*, only the arrow of decay is level II.

* Arrow of Fire Resistance
* Arrow of Harming
* Arrow of Healing
* Arrow of Invisibility
* Arrow of Leaping
* Arrow of Night Vision
* Arrow of Poison
* Arrow of Regeneration
* Arrow of Slowness
* Arrow of Strength
* Arrow of Swiftness
* Arrow of the Turtle Master
* Arrow of Water Breathing
* Arrow of Weakness
* Arrow of Slow Falling‌[*Java Edition only*]
* Arrow of Decay‌[*Bedrock Edition only*]

These are all potion effects except Slow Falling in *Bedrock Edition* and Luck in *Java Edition*. Trading is the only legitimate way to obtain arrows of Decay in Survival mode.

### Bartering

Spectral arrows‌[*Java Edition only*]/normal arrows‌[*Bedrock Edition only*] can be obtained through bartering with piglins, and have a ~8.71% chance to give the player 6-12 arrows.

### Villager gifts

In *Java Edition*, any regular or tipped arrow (except for luck and Bad Luck arrows) can be obtained as a reward item from fletcher villagers when the player has the Hero of the Village status effect.

### Chest loot

 Generic chest
 Treasure chest

### Retrieving

Arrows stuck in a block that were originally shot by dispensers or by players in Survival without the Infinity enchantment may be collected. Arrows originally shot by skeletons, strays, illusioners, pillagers, piglins, players in Creative, players using the Infinity enchantment, or duplicate arrows created by Crossbows with the Multishot enchantment cannot be collected. Arrows cannot be retrieved when they are stuck in a player or mob, and players or mobs do not drop them when killed. Retrievable arrows have a despawn timer of 60 seconds.

### Cauldrons

Main article: Cauldron § Potions
In *Bedrock Edition*, tipped arrows can also be obtained by using arrows on cauldrons that contain potions. The number of tipped arrows created depends on the potion inside the cauldron. When the cauldron is 1⁄3 full, 16 arrows can be tipped. When the cauldron is 2⁄3 full, up to 32 arrows can be tipped and when the cauldron is full, an entire stack of 64 arrows can be tipped. This is more efficient than using lingering potions as up to 21.33 arrows can be tipped per potion.

## Usage

See also: Bow

When fired, arrows fly in a ballistic trajectory affected by gravity and drag in air, water, and lava. The arrow's velocity is multiplied by 0.99 every game tick, and it also experiences 20 block/s2 of downward acceleration induced by gravity.

Arrows travel approximately 3 blocks when fired parallel to a flat plane with no charge, 15 blocks average with medium charge, and 24 blocks average with maximum charge. When fired from a fully charged bow, arrows can travel 120 blocks if fired from an optimal angle. The maximum height an arrow fired by a bow can reach is around 66 blocks.

An arrow fired in water experiences much more drag than in air: it moves less than 8 blocks before completely losing horizontal speed and falling straight down, although the knockback of the arrow remains unaffected. It also leaves a trail of bubbles in its wake.

There is a random variable to the trajectory of an arrow, given by `this.rand.nextGaussian() * 0.0075 * (double)inaccuracy` for the x, y and z coordinate. The inaccuracy is relatively small, becoming noticeable over larger distances. The inaccuracy of different arrow delivery devices may differ. Dispensers fire with an inaccuracy of 6, while bows fire with an inaccuracy of 1.

An arrow's speed determine the damage it inflicts. The damage inflicted is calculated by multiplying the arrow's damage value with its velocity in blocks per game tick. When fired from a fully-charged unenchanted bow, arrows do 6 of damage, with a smaller chance to damage for up to 11 × 5.5 via critical hits. They inflict up to 5 damage from a medium-charged bow, and 1 from a bow with no charge. Arrows fired from dispensers always do 3 of damage unless their velocity is modified by an external source. Arrows fired from crossbows do 6 to 11 × 5.5 of damage.

Arrows trigger damage immunity on hit. However, unlike other methods of damage that may bypass invulnerability under certain conditions, arrows hitting the mob while it is invulnerable lose all speed and drop to the ground, dealing no damage unless they contact another mob.

Arrows also stick into objects they come in contact with and remain there for one minute before disappearing; the distance from the object and the angle determine how far into the target the arrow penetrates. Such arrows may be retrieved.

If the arrow has any custom potion effects (NBT tag `CustomPotionEffects`), all potion effects, including vanilla potion effects (NBT tag `Potion`) are removed 30 seconds after the arrow stops moving.

If an arrow is stuck in a block, and that block is broken or disappears (e.g., leaves upon decay), then the arrow falls straight down and damages entities below, but never deals a critical hit. The 1-minute despawn timer is then refreshed, meaning it will take another minute for the arrow to despawn.

Arrows bounce off players and mobs immune to damage, like a player in Creative mode, a wither under the "wither armor" effect, and a perching ender dragon.

Arrows shot through lava or (if there's at least a 2 block gap) fire catch on fire and show an appropriate animation until they pass through water. Like arrows shot from a bow with the Flame enchantment, they can set other entities they hit on fire for 5 seconds as well as ignite TNT and campfires.

An arrow shot at any kind of boat‌[*JE only*] or minecart causes the vehicle to break, dropping any components (including container contents).

Arrows can get visually stuck in players in *Java Edition*, although not any mobs. They appear as regular arrows regardless of type.

* Steve got shot.
* Alex got shot.

### Redstone circuits

An arrow can activate a wooden button, wooden pressure plate, a tripwire, or a target. An arrow will continue to power these blocks until it is removed, either due to despawning, or being picked up. Target blocks emit a redstone pulse for one second, as opposed to the static depressed state of the other switches. Non-wooden switches are not affected by arrows.

When arrows are fired into the sides of blocks, they change their orientation to point more downward than their original flight path might indicate. This can cause them to intersect and thus trigger switches above them that they didn't actually hit, or block rails above them.

### Explosions

Arrows are affected by explosions while they are in flight. Since explosions can increase the speed of an arrow, they can also increase the damage dealt by them. ‌[*Java Edition only*]

## Variants

### Tipped arrows

See also: § Crafting

Tipped arrows are arrows that imbue a potion effect when hitting a mob or player. The duration of the effect is 1⁄8 that of the corresponding potion, if applicable, and is not affected by the power of the arrow. The status effect is the same as the regular power effect for the potion. If a bow is enchanted with Infinity, tipped arrows are still consumed.

The types of arrows are:

* Arrow of Regeneration
* Arrow of Swiftness
* Arrow of Fire Resistance
* Arrow of Healing
* Arrow of Night Vision
* Arrow of Strength
* Arrow of Leaping
* Arrow of Invisibility
* Arrow of Poison
* Arrow of Weakness
* Arrow of Slowness
* Arrow of Harming
* Arrow of Water Breathing
* Arrow of Luck‌[*JE only*]
* Arrow of Decay‌[*BE only*]
* Arrow of the Turtle Master
* Arrow of Slow Falling

Arrows of Harming (and arrows of Healing when used against undead mobs) do not add a static amount of damage to the arrow. Instead, the arrow's damage is first calculated, then checked to see if it is below 12 × 6. If the arrow's damage is less than 12, the Harming effect of the arrow makes up the difference, to ensure the arrow does exactly 12 × 6. Therefore, an unenchanted bow cannot deal more than 12 damage using Harming (or Healing) arrows, as it can deal a maximum of 11 × 5.5 damage on level ground. However, if the arrow would deal more than 12 damage, the harming effect is entirely neutralized. This means that bows enchanted with Power I through Power III has a chance to not utilize the arrow at full charge, and any Power level above III never utilizes Arrows of Harming effectively at full charge when against unarmored mobs/players.

#### No-effect tipped arrows

It is possible to craft tipped arrows using Lingering Water Bottles as well as Awkward, Thick, and Mundane Lingering potions. If crafted with a water bottle, the arrow is called an arrow of Splashing. If crafted with Mundane, Awkward, or Thick potions, it is called a tipped arrow. Tipped arrows crafted from different potions do not stack, as resultant tipped arrows all have different potion tags.

In Bedrock Edition, all four kinds as well as the long mundane tipped arrow aren't obtainable either in creative, by cauldrons, by crafting, or by commands.

All four kinds generate blue particles in flight and upon landing, but otherwise behave like regular arrows. In particular, arrow of Splashing has no effect on fire and campfires and when shot from a bow with the Flame enchantment, can light campfires and TNT just like regular arrows on fire.

#### Uncraftable tipped arrows

In *Java Edition*, the uncraftable tipped arrow is a tipped arrow with no effect that is unobtainable in regular gameplay. It is available in two variants that don't stack together:

* `/give @s minecraft:tipped_arrow{Potion:"minecraft:empty"}` - arrow assigned an effect placeholder "empty"
* `/give @s minecraft:tipped_arrow` - arrow not assigned any effect.

The uncraftable arrow doesn't differ from regular arrows in behavior when used as a projectile.

### Spectral arrows

**This feature is exclusive to  *Java Edition*.**

A spectral arrow confers the Glowing status effect for 10 seconds. The Glowing effect creates an outline of the target, which is visible through blocks, and colored based on the target's team (white by default). Even if a bow is enchanted with Infinity, spectral arrows are still consumed. Spectral arrows can be acquired through bartering or crafted by combining 4 glowstone dust with one arrow, yielding 2 spectral arrows.

## Sounds

*Java Edition*:

Arrows and spectral arrows use the Friendly Creatures sound category for entity-dependent sound events.

1. ↑ Depends on how long the bow is charged for, around 1.2 with a fully charged bow. The exact formula is

1

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×
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1.2

progress
2

{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\operatorname{randomFloat()}\times 4+1.2}+\frac{\text{progress}}{2}}

*Bedrock Edition*:

## Data values

### ID

*Java Edition*:

*Bedrock Edition*:

### Metadata

In *Bedrock Edition*, arrows use the following item data values:

### Entity data

#### Normal and tipped arrows

Arrows have entity data that define various properties of the entity.

*Java Edition*:

Main article: Entity format

* Entity data
	+ Tags common to all arrows
	+ Tags common to all entities
	+ Tags common to all projectiles
	+ Note: An arrow entity is a tipped arrow if it has either the `Potion` or `CustomPotionEffects` tag.
	+ Tags common to all potion effects
	+ Color: Used by the arrow entity, for displaying the custom potion color of a fired arrow item that had a `CustomPotionColor` tag. The numeric color code are calculated from the Red, Green and Blue components using this formula: **Red<<16 + Green<<8 + Blue**. For positive values larger than 0x00FFFFFF, the top byte is ignored. All negative values remove the particles.

*Bedrock Edition*:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

#### Spectral arrows

Spectral arrows also have entity data that define various properties of the entity.

*Java Edition*:

Main article: Entity format

* Entity data
	+ Tags common to all arrows
	+ Tags common to all entities
	+ Tags common to all projectiles
	+ Duration: The time in ticks that the Glowing effect persists.

*Bedrock Edition*

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

## Issues

Issues relating to "Arrow" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

## Trivia

* By default, arrows fly slightly offset to the right. If the player stands close to a wall and fires several arrows without moving the crosshair, the arrows cluster around a point slightly to the right of the crosshair. If the player switches their main hand to be the left hand in options, the arrows instead cluster to the left.
* Arrows fired at Nether Portals often skip through the portal block completely and fail to collide, thus continuing through to the opposite side of the block.
* Arrows stuck in blocks vibrate upon a world reload.
* Although endermen teleport when hit by any tipped arrow, they are still given the said effects while avoiding arrow damage.
* In *Bedrock Edition*, even if a tipped arrow is blocked with a shield, while the direct damage from the arrows is negated, the player still gets the effect from the tipped arrow.

## Gallery

### Renders

* Arrow
* Spectral Arrow

Tipped Arrows
* Splashing
* Night Vision
* Invisibility
* Leaping
* Fire Resistance
* Swiftness
* Slowness
* Turtle Master
* Water Breathing
* Healing
* Harming
* Poison
* Regeneration
* Strength
* Weakness
* Slow Falling
* Luck
* Decay
* Uncraftable

### Other Media

* Teaser image from Searge showing tipped arrows.
* All the arrow types present in Minecraft.
* Examples of custom arrow types using `/give`.
* Some arrows stick into sugar canes. This no longer works since Java Edition Beta 1.6.
* An arrow caught on fire.
* A flaming spectral arrow stuck in a tree.
* Many arrows stuck in the player, seen through the inventory screen.
* Searge with a bunch of arrows summoned above him.
* Tipped arrows in the inventory.
* Tipped arrows in the inventory.
* Tipped arrows in the inventory.
* Tipped arrows in the inventory.
* Unused old texture file for an empty tipped arrow on *Bedrock Edition*.

## References

1. ↑ MC-128845 — resolved as "Works As Intended".
2. ↑ MC-83933 — resolved as "Works As Intended".
3. ↑ MC-107856 — Arrows of harming/healing do not stack with bow damage
4. ↑ MC-158539
5. ↑ MC-84253
6. ↑ MC-82809
7. ↑ https://bugs.mojang.com/browse/MC-92139
8. ↑  `/asset/minecraft/textures/entity/arrow.png`
9. ↑ MC-93992 – "Arrow shakes when world loads" resolved as "Won't Fix"
10. ↑ MCPE-52904