A bow or crossbow is only as good as your supply of arrows. Arrows let you take down creepers before they get close, snipe skeletons, hit the Ender Dragon’s crystals and defend your base during raids. They are cheap to craft once you know where the three ingredients come from, and there are special arrows that poison, slow, heal or highlight targets. This guide explains how to make arrows in Minecraft, how to make tipped and spectral arrows, and the easiest ways to get large amounts of arrows.
Quick answer: arrow recipe
| Empty | Flint | Empty |
| Empty | Stick | Empty |
| Empty | Feather | Empty |
1 flint, 1 stick and 1 feather in a vertical line make 4 arrows. The column can be in any of the three columns of the crafting table. The recipe is the same on Java Edition, Bedrock Edition and every console.
How to get the ingredients
Flint
Break gravel with a shovel or by hand. Each block of gravel has a chance to drop flint instead of gravel. A shovel with Fortune raises the chance, and Fortune III almost always gives flint. Gravel is common in rivers, beaches, mountains and caves. A quick trick is to place gravel and break it again until you have enough. See how to get flint.
Sticks
Two planks stacked vertically make 4 sticks. Any wood works. See how to make sticks.
Feathers
Chickens drop 0 to 2 feathers when killed. A small chicken farm with eggs and breeding seeds gives you endless feathers. Cats may also bring you feathers as morning gifts, and parrots drop them too. See what chickens eat.
Other ways to get arrows
- Skeletons and strays: they drop 0 to 2 arrows. Strays sometimes drop tipped arrows of Slowness, and bogged drop tipped arrows of Poison.
- Fletcher villagers: a novice fletcher sells arrows for emeralds and buys sticks. Place a fletching table near an unemployed villager to get one.
- Chests: arrows appear in many structure chests, including pillager outposts and trial chambers.
- Picking arrows back up: arrows you shoot can be collected from where they land, unless they were fired from an Infinity bow.
How to make tipped arrows
Tipped arrows apply a potion effect to whatever they hit.
- Brew a potion, turn it into a splash potion with gunpowder, then into a lingering potion with dragon’s breath.
- Place the lingering potion in the center of a crafting table.
- Surround it with 8 arrows.
- You get 8 tipped arrows with that potion’s effect.
Dragon’s breath is collected in glass bottles from the Ender Dragon’s purple breath attack, so tipped arrows are an end-game item for most players. Useful ones include Poison, Slowness, Weakness, Harming and, for allies, Healing and Regeneration. The effect on the arrow lasts one eighth as long as the original potion. Fletcher villagers at the master level also sell tipped arrows, which is the easiest way to get them before you reach the End. For brewing, see the potions guide.
How to make spectral arrows
Place 1 arrow in the center and 4 glowstone dust above, below, left and right of it. You get 2 spectral arrows. A mob or player hit by a spectral arrow glows with a white outline you can see through walls for 10 seconds, which is great for tracking targets in caves and PvP. Glowstone dust comes from glowstone blocks in the Nether.
Which bows and crossbows use arrows
- Bow: uses any arrow from your inventory. Hold the use button to draw it back for more damage. See how to make a bow.
- Crossbow: loads one arrow at a time and can also fire firework rockets. See how to make a crossbow.
- Dispenser: fires arrows when powered by redstone, perfect for base defense traps. See how to make a dispenser.
Infinity: never run out of arrows
The Infinity enchantment on a bow means you never use up regular arrows, as long as you have at least one arrow in your inventory. It does not work on tipped or spectral arrows, and it cannot be combined with Mending. Many players keep one Infinity bow for everyday fighting and a Mending bow for special arrows.
How to farm arrows
Skeleton spawner farm
Dungeons sometimes contain a skeleton spawner. Light the area around it, build a dark room with water channels that push skeletons into a drop, and collect arrows and bones in hoppers. It also gives plenty of XP.
Chicken and gravel farm
An automatic chicken farm, made by dispensing eggs into a small area, gives a steady supply of feathers. Pair it with a pile of gravel and a Fortune shovel for flint, and you can craft arrows in bulk.
Trading
A fletcher villager buys sticks for emeralds and sells arrows, so with a tree farm you can turn wood into arrows without fighting anything.
Arrows in Java vs Bedrock
The arrow, tipped arrow and spectral arrow recipes are the same in both editions. Damage, knockback and the chance of skeletons dropping arrows can vary a little, and on Bedrock tipped arrows can also be made in a cauldron filled with a potion, which is handy before you have dragon’s breath. If you are on Bedrock, dip arrows into a potion-filled cauldron to coat them.
Tips
- Arrows stack to 64. Carry two stacks on long adventures and boss fights.
- Keep flint, sticks and feathers in one chest so you can craft arrows fast.
- Use Power and Punch on your bow for more damage and knockback.
- Shoot the End crystals on the tall towers with arrows before fighting the Ender Dragon. See how to beat the Ender Dragon.
FAQ
What do you need to make arrows in Minecraft?
1 flint, 1 stick and 1 feather, placed in a vertical column on a crafting table. They make 4 arrows.
How do you get flint for arrows?
Break gravel. Each block has a chance to drop flint, and a Fortune shovel raises the chance.
How do you make tipped arrows?
Surround a lingering potion with 8 arrows on a crafting table. On Bedrock you can also dip arrows in a cauldron filled with a potion.
How do you make spectral arrows?
Surround 1 arrow with 4 glowstone dust. You get 2 spectral arrows.
Which villager sells arrows?
The fletcher. Give an unemployed villager a fletching table to make one.
Checked by the Game Respawned editorial team against the current Java and Bedrock versions. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.