Archery is a powerful play style in Baldur’s Gate. With the wide variety of environments, ranged attacks are more consistent than melee due to the increased focus on mobility. Combat has far more verticality, obstacles, and difficult terrain than a player coming from tabletop D&D might expect.
To grant archers some extra variety, Baldur’s Gate 3 introduced a swathe of special arrows. These one-time consumables can be used for extra damage as you’d expect, but also for transportation, restoration, and more. Here are the best arrows to fill your quiver.
10 Arrow Of Fire
Causing Burns
Fire arrows are the most common special arrows you’ll find. Enemies and shops will carry them for your use once you retrieve them. An Arrow of Fire, obviously, adds fire damage to your weapon. In addition to dealing your standard weapon damage, your target must pass a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw to take 2d4 fire damage.
In reality, the check isn’t hard to pass, and most of the time your target avoids it, but they can’t avoid the floor hazard. The Arrow of Fire leaves a burning patch of ground where it lands, and enemies walking into it or starting their turn there, will be ignited. You can use it to force enemies to waste movement to go around or take damage by going through.
9 Arrow Of Ice
A Prone Maker
The Arrow of Ice is very similar to the Arrow of Fire, but with a key difference that makes it a little better. It also does 2d4 elemental damage in addition to weapon damage, but its flavor is cold damage. The save DC is also 12.
What the Arrow of Ice does better is the surface it leaves behind. Ice is a slippery kind of difficult terrain that can force anyone on it to fall prone. Your target may immediately fall over when the ice appears, and that will make them slower on their turn. The better effect is when enemies try to move through it on their turn and slip. If someone falls prone during their turn, they lose the remainder of the turn.
8 Arrow Of Transposition
Teleporting Shot
If you’re playing an archer, chances are you’re a weapon-focused class relying on martial prowess over spells. While that is viable and reliable, it does mean you’re lacking a teleport. At least you would be if you didn’t have the Arrow of Transposition.
The Arrow of Transposition is a utility-focused arrow; it won’t do damage. Instead, it makes your archer’s movement radius as long as their bow can shoot. Anywhere you target, the arrow will send you. You can use it in combat to get a better position or escape a bad one. It’s also good for exploration, sending you to places thought out of reach.
7 Arrow Of Salving
Friendly Fire Aid
As an archer, you’re likely in the back line, attacking from a safe distance and out of range from hostile spells and effects. Your other party members are not so lucky. Sometimes, they will need support, and by using the Arrow of Salving, an archer can provide.
This is the one restoring arrow an archer can access. It doesn’t do damage, luckily for your party, and can remove a character’s paralysis, blindness, or poison. It won’t heal any hitpoints, but it will remove any of the debilitating conditions listed from the long range of a bow. Although it’s only one arrow, you can still attack afterward if you have an Extra Attack.
6 Arrow Of Ilmater
Chilling Wounds
Named after the benevolent God of endurance as a sick joke, the Arrow of Ilmater is made for suffering. It’s similar to the elemental arrows in adding some extra damage to your weapon, though necrotic this time. While it only does 1d4, there is no save involved, making it more consistent.
The second, more useful effect is it stops your target from healing. So long as the arrow hits, the enemy is bone-chilled for a round. A lot of enemies will have either potions or spells to heal them when they get low. Now, you can prevent that. Arrows of Ilmater are somewhat common, and you should always take them.
5 Arrow Of Roaring Thunder
Shove, From A Distance
With a ranged playstyle, you don’t quite have to position to shove enemies as often as melee characters. If you use an Arrow of Roaring Thunder, you can push from a distance. The arrow only does your weapon damage to a target it hits, but the arrow explodes on impact with concussion force.
All enemies caught in the blast must succeed a DC 12 strength save, or be thrown five meters back. It’s great for spreading enemies, and knocking them off cliffs, which can be especially helpful against some of the more challenging boss enemies in the game. They are pretty common find too, so keep a few on hand for when you see a foe stray too close to a cliff.
4 Arrow Of Arcane Interference
Silence Magic
Enemy mages bother you incessantly over the game. Whether it’s buffing their allies, or sticking one of yours with an annoying spell, they are consistently a nuisance. Pull an Arrow of Arcane Interference from your quiver of tricks, and silence them for good.
The arrow attaches an anti-magic effect to your next attack. If an enemy was concentrating on a spell, you cut it, no roll necessary. It also inflicts Silence for the rest of the round, preventing any reaction spells, like Shield. Unfortunately, the Silence does expire at the start of the caster’s next turn. Shoot once to disrupt, and then again for the kill.
3 Arrows Of Slaying
Double Damage
There are many different types of Slaying Arrows: Arrows of Undead Slaying, Arrows of Dragon Slaying, Arrows of Humanoid Slaying; there’s an arrow for every type of enemy. They all do the same thing. It’s in their name; they slay.
When an Arrow of Slaying hits its intended target, the arrow doubles the attack’s damage. This is especially good if you’re playing a stealthy Rogue, as Sneak Attack’s damage will make the best use of the double modifier. Arrows of slaying will pop up all over the place during your campaign. Take them all, and use them when you see the corresponding enemy to inflict massive damage.
2 Smokepowder Arrow
Arrow-bound Artillery
Shooting single arrows sometimes isn’t enough. Sometimes, you want to be the party’s artillery and wipe out a group of enemies all at once. What better way to do that than put a bomb on a stick and launch it?
The Smokepower Arrow is exactly that. It’s more potent than most smokepower bombs, dealing 8d6 damage in a mix of fire and force. It’s one of, if not the most damaging arrow of all. It does have one big problem, however: friendly fire. As it’s explosive, your allies can be caught in the blast, and this is not a hit you want them to take, so use it wisely.
1 Arrow Of Many Targets
Trick Shots For High Damage
In films and media, you’ll see a sharpshooter make one shot strike multiple targets in a show of extreme skill. The Arrow of Many Targets lets you do the same in Baldur’s Gate 3. The arrow will seek out three other targets in range after the first shot.
It works extremely well with the Sharpshooter feat. Every target struck will also take an additional 10 damage. Weapon coatings applied to the bow will also apply to each new target as well. If there is no target in direct sight, you can even bounce the arrow off walls, and it will seek out a new target. The arrow knows who its friends are, and will never target an ally. The sheer scope of damage you can inflict on your enemies while not having to worry about any fallout for your party makes the Arrow Of Many Targets easily the best and most useful special arrow available in the game.