How to Make a Crossbow in Minecraft: Recipe and Enchants
A crossbow is 3 sticks, 2 string, 1 iron ingot and 1 tripwire hook. How to make a crossbow in Minecraft, load it with fireworks, and pick its enchantments.
A crossbow needs 3 sticks, 2 string, 1 iron ingot and 1 tripwire hook. On a crafting table, the top row is stick, iron ingot, stick; the middle row is string, tripwire hook, string; and the bottom row has a single stick in the center. The result is one crossbow, in both Java and Bedrock.
Getting each part
- Tripwire hook: stack an iron ingot on top of a stick on top of a plank. That makes two hooks. Our tripwire hook guide explains what to do with the spare.
- String: spiders drop 0-2 each, and cobwebs in mineshafts drop string if you break them with a sword.
- Iron ingot: two in total, one for the crossbow and one inside the hook.
- Sticks: two planks stacked vertically give four.
The full shopping list works out to 2 iron ingots, 2 string, 4 sticks and a plank. That is more than a bow costs (3 sticks and 3 string, no iron), so most players make a bow first and add a crossbow later.
How it plays differently from a bow
You draw a crossbow once and it stays loaded in your hand or hotbar until you fire. That means you can load it while walking, put it away, and open a fight with a full-damage shot without any charge-up. The trade-off is the reload, which is slower than drawing a bow, so it falls behind in long fights.
Some other differences that matter:
- It can fire firework rockets. Load one from your off-hand and the rocket flies straight and explodes on impact. Rockets with firework stars deal explosion damage, which makes this one of the strongest ranged attacks in survival.
- It has more durability than a bow (465 vs 384).
- Arrows from a crossbow fly flatter, so aiming at medium range is easier.
Enchantments worth putting on it
Crossbows have three exclusive enchantments: Quick Charge (faster reload), Multishot (three arrows at once) and Piercing (arrows go through several mobs). Multishot and Piercing can’t be on the same crossbow, so pick one. Multishot with fireworks is the classic crowd-control setup for raids. Our crossbow enchantment rankings compare the combinations.
If you raid an outpost, pillagers drop crossbows fairly often, sometimes already enchanted. Check what they leave before spending iron on your own.
Common questions
Is a crossbow better than a bow?
For burst damage and fireworks, yes. For sustained fire and long range, a bow with Power and Infinity is better, because crossbows cannot take Infinity and reload slowly.
Can you get a crossbow without crafting it?
Yes. Pillagers and piglins sometimes drop them, and fletcher villagers sell them.
How do you load fireworks into a crossbow?
Hold the firework rocket in your off-hand, then draw the crossbow. It loads the rocket instead of an arrow.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.
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