How to Repair a Bow in Minecraft

In a Nutshell

Bows are repairable in Minecraft and there are several ways to repair them. The easiest way is to place the broken bow together with another bow in a grindstone to craft a bow with higher durability.

To repair an enchanted bow, you have to place the damaged enchanted bow with another normal or enchanted bow in an anvil.

Hostile monsters are a common occurrence in the sandbox world of Minecraft. Unless playing peaceful mode, monsters will always spring up whenever it is dark or in dangerous places and structures.

To survive in the blocky world, players will have to arm themselves with different weapons.

Minecraft has a durability system because of which all usable tools, armors, and weapons have a set amount of durability points.

With every use, an item will lose some durability points. When durability points drop to zero, they will break and become lost forever. Fortunately, there are ways to repair items in Minecraft.

In this article, players can learn how to repair a bow in Minecraft. Bows are one of the most commonly used weapons, and thus players should definitely know how to fix them when their durability is at the bare minimum.

Table of Contents

Can you repair a bow in Minecraft?

Yes, bows are repairable in Minecraft and there are several ways to repair them which you will learn in this article.

Every day many players step into the world of Minecraft for the very first time. While veterans know the game like the back of their hands, beginners have a hard time learning game mechanics.

Many players become worried when their bow’s durability turns alarmingly red. Fortunately, it’s easy to repair it. Read the next section to learn.

How to repair a bow in Minecraft

Depending on the type of bow (enchanted or non-enchanted), the repairing method varies in Minecraft. To repair a non-enchanted bow, you will first need to have another bow.

Follow these steps to craft a bow if you do not already have one, and then use it to repair another bow.

1. Obtain three sticks

While being effective, bows are incredibly cheap to craft.

Firstly, you will need to obtain three sticks. You can craft sticks by placing two wooden planks vertically in a crafting grid. You can also get sticks by breaking leaves on trees or dead bushes commonly found in deserts.

2. Obtain three strings

The next item needed for crafting a bow is strings. Along with three sticks, you will have to get three pieces of string.

You can get strings by killing spiders and cave spiders. Both of these mobs drop strings upon death. You can also get strings by breaking cobwebs using a sword.

Another efficient way to get strings is through bartering with piglins. You can get anywhere between 3-9 strings by giving a gold ingot to a piglin.

3. Crafting a bow

Now that you have obtained the required items, all you need is a crafting table.

Place three sticks in a v-shape alongside three strings, as shown in the above image. Once placed correctly, you will get a bow in Minecraft.

4. Repairing the damaged bow

After crafting a brand new bow, you can repair your old damaged bow by combining it with the old bow.

Place the broken bow together with another bow in a grindstone to craft a bow with higher durability.

You can also repair a bow’s durability by combining it with a broken bow. Doing so will create a bow with higher durability.

This technique is recommended only for non-enchanted bows. Players can use it with enchanted bows, but it will cause them to lose their enchantments.

To repair enchanted bows without losing enchants, you will have to use an anvil.

How to repair an Enchanted Bow in Minecraft

If you try to fix an enchanted bow by simply combining it with another bow, you will lose all the enchantments and get a normal now.

If you want to fix your enchanted bow and retain all its enchantments, follow these steps.

1. Craft an anvil

In order to repair an enchanted bow, you will require an anvil. Crafting one anvil will cost you three iron blocks and four iron ingots.

As shown in the above image, place three blocks and four iron ingots on the crafting table to craft an anvil in Minecraft.

2. Place the damaged enchanted bow and another bow in an anvil

Anvils have two slots in Minecraft. Place the damaged enchanted bow in one slot and a normal or enchanted bow in the other slot. You will have to pay some experience levels to repair an enchanted bow.

If both bows have enchantments, the repairing cost will be high, but the final bow will have all enchantments. However, if a non-enchanted bow is used, it will only cost one XP level, and the final bow will have the same enchantments.

Players can use bows dropped by skeletons to repair their bows for free. This way, players will be able to recycle extra mob drops as well as get their bow repaired.

Moreover, bows dropped by skeletons can also have powerful enchantments. Lucky players may find some useful enchantment on a skeleton’s bow and add it to their bow using an anvil.

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