One of the first range weapons you will have the option to use in 7 Days to Die is the bow. The bow is also one of the first things the game asks you to craft in a new game, along with some arrows as part of the starter quests.
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How to Craft a Bow in 7 Days to Die
The bow is crafted using 8 wood and 3 plant fibres which can be found around the ground in every biome in the game. The stone arrows can be crafted with 1 small stone, 1 feather and 1 wood.
Feathers can be found in bird nests around the world, they are scattered on the floor of every biome so it is only a matter of looking for them, you might also find some eggs in these nests, keep those for making food.
Using the Bow on PC
On PC, once the bow has been crafted it is a simple process to lodge an arrow in some sorry zombies’ head. Holding the weapon, with the arrows (best to craft a lot) in your inventory just left-click and an arrow should load in. Then all you need to do is hold down the left-click and you will nock the arrow.
If you want a bit better aim, hold in the right-click and it will zoom in a little, aim for the head for best results.
Using the Bow on Console
The process is the exact same as PC for using the bow, apart from the controls. Instead of holding right-click to aim you would use LT or L2 and to fire the arrow you would use RT or R2.
How to Upgrade The Bow with Perks
In 7 Days to Die, the skills can greatly change how strong weapons are. The bow is no exception. In the Agility tree, there is a perk called Archery, this park will increase the level of the bow that you are able to craft and the damage it does.
- Archery Level 1: Craft level 2, deal 10% more damage, 10% faster aim.
- Archery Level 2: Craft level 3, deal 20% more damage, 20% faster aim.
- Archery Level 3: Craft level 4, deal 30% more damage, 30% faster aim.
- Archery Level 4: Craft level 5, deal 40% more damage, 40% faster aim.
- Archery Level 5: Deal 50% more damage, 50% faster aim.
Level 6 items can only be found, not crafted.
How to Upgrade The Bow by Crafting
Another way to do more damage with the weapons is to simply get a newer version. There are 3 types of bow, primitive, wooden and compound.
To craft the wooden one, you need to unlock level 1 of the Archery perk in the Agility tree or read a wooden bow schematic. This recipe required 4 bow/crossbow parts, 20 wood, 3 leather, 2 glue and 3 duct tape.
For the parts, iron and arrowheads, you will need a forge and/or a workbench
You can also make different arrows for each weapon;
- iron bolt, 1 iron arrowhead, 1 wood and 1 feather.
- stone bolt, 1 small stone, 1 wood and 1 feather.
- iron arrow, 1 iron arrowhead, 1 wood and 1 feather
How to Craft a Forge
In 7 Days to Die, you will inevitably need a forge, if you haven’t already then making it for a bow or arrowhead is a good start.
The forge is made with 50 small stones, 60 clay, 10 leather, 3 duct tape and 3 short iron pipes.
How to Craft a Workbench
The workbench is required for making the compound bows and crossbows. The workbench requires 25 forged iron, 20 mechanical parts, 1 wrench, 1 claw hammer and 50 wood. This recipe takes 4 minutes and 26 seconds to craft.
