Gleason's Gielinor Guide

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Crystal bow

Released							25 July 2019 (Update)
Members							Yes
Quest item							Roving Elves
Properties
Tradeable							No
Equipable							Yes
Stackable							No
Noteable							No
Options							Wield, Check, Revert, Drop
Worn options							Check
Examine							A nice sturdy magical bow.
Values
Value							300,000 coins
Alchemy							Not alchemisable
Weight							1.814 kg
Advanced data
Item ID							23983
Link							MOID

The crystal bow is a powerful degradable bow available after a player completes the Roving Elves quest, and a possible reward from this quest along with the crystal shield. The crystal bow may be made from enchanted elven crystals. To wield the crystal bow, a player must have 70 Ranged, 50 Agility and have completed the Roving Elves quest. The crystal bow benefits from damage and accuracy boosts when crystal armour is equipped.

A crystal bow is created when an elf sings to a crystal weapon seed and enchants it into a bow. The most prominent elf with this talent is Ilfeen, who will perform this service for players for a price. However, she can only do this with a weapon seed; partially charged bows should be reverted to their seed form (using the right-click menu in the inventory) to be converted back into a bow.

A player attacks a target with a crystal bow.

Because it is blessed by the elven goddess Seren, the crystal bow does not require any arrows to use, as it generates its own when fired. The bow's fired shots are coated in a green aura, similar to Craw's bow, and rolls damage against an NPC's standard ranged defence.

The crystal bow can be considered the penultimate bow in the composite bow family, before the bow of Faerdhinen. It shares the same 10-square attack range on any style as well as a 4-tick attack speed on rapid, placing it between popular ranged weapons like the shortbow (3-tick) and crossbow (5-tick).

The crystal bow is required to complete the Hard Western Provinces Diary. It is also used for two master clue steps: an emote step and as a possible item to show Falo the Bard.

Combat stats


Attack bonuses
+0	+0	+0	+0	+100
Defence bonuses

+0	+0	+0	+0	+0
Other bonuses				Slot

+0	+78	+0%	+0	List

	Attack type	Weapon style	Attack speed	Range	Level boost
Accurate	Standard	Accurate	5 ticks (3.0s)	10 tiles	+3 Ranged
Rapid	Standard	Rapid	4 ticks (2.4s)	10 tiles	None
Longrange	Standard	Longrange	5 ticks (3.0s)	10 tiles	+3 Defence

Uses

Along with being extremely accurate and providing a Ranged bonus of +100, the crystal bow also has one of the longest attack ranges in the game, the same as a longbow, able to hit targets up to 10 tiles away. This makes it ideal for battles which require long-range attacks, such as Dagannoth Kings or the TzHaar Fight Cave. The long range can also be advantageous in destroying the respiratory system of Abyssal Sire.

Providing its own ammo, the crystal bow allows the use of a blessing, effectively giving the bow a +1 or +2 prayer bonus compared to other ranged weapons, and can be used effectively without an Ava's device or ranging cape. This can make for simpler switching in situations requiring multiple combat styles, such as fighting Demonic gorillas. Furthermore, the bow can be brought to Wilderness without having to risk losing any ammo.

While the accuracy and damage bonuses provided by crystal armour can make the bow a very powerful weapon suitable for many high-level situations requiring ranging, it is not very popular to do so due to the armour's high maintenance cost.

Analysis and strategy

Although crystal bows do not require any ammunition, they still have a cost associated with their use, in the form of their recharge cost. When the recharge price is 900,000 coins, the cost per shot (at 2,500 shots) is 360 coins. However, when the recharge price decreases to 180,000 coins, the cost per shot is 72 coins. Compare this to rune arrows, (44 coins), with a +49 bonus to Ranged Strength, whereas the crystal bow has a Ranged Strength of +78. To take attack speed into account, simply divide the cost per arrow by the attack speed to get a comparable number. Using this, the cost per tick of usage with the crystal bow is 14.4 coins, while a magic shortbow with rune arrows (and an Ava's device) is 5.1 coins.

The chief disadvantages that crystal bows have, compared to other bows, are the requirements for using them. Crystal equipment has the second shortest lifespan of any equipment in the game (ahead of Iban's staff). One crystal bow will last for 1 hour and 40 minutes of continuous shooting on Rapid, or 2 hours and 5 minutes on Accurate or Longrange. Players who plan to use crystal bows on extended trips may wish to bring more than one bow. Additionally, players who would normally pick up their ammunition (either manually or through an Ava's device) may not save money by using a crystal bow, which requires no ammunition and therefore leaves behind no arrows to pick up.

Creation

Requirements
Skill		Level	XP
Smithing		78 ^(b)	2,000
Crafting		78 ^(b)	2,000
Completion of Song of the Elves
Members		Ticks	3 (1.8s)^{[r 1]}
Tools	None	Facilities	Singing bowl

Materials
Item		Quantity	Cost
	Crystal weapon seed	1	314,813
	Crystal shard^{[r 2]}	40	832,172
Total cost			1,146,985
	Crystal bow	1	N/A

^ Takes 3 ticks to create an entire inventory
^ Value based on the cost of obtaining by exchanging enhanced crystal teleport seeds with Amrod

Requirements
Completion of Roving Elves
Members		Ticks	0 (0s)
Tools	None	Facilities	Ilfeen

Materials
Item		Quantity	Cost
	Crystal weapon seed	1	314,813
	Coins	180,000^{[r 1]}	180,000
Total cost			494,813
	Crystal bow	1	N/A

^ Cost from fifth re-enchantment onwards. Initial enchantment is 900,000 coins, decreasing with each re-enchantment.

Degradation and charging

The crystal bow degrades over time. Upon degrading, it reverts into an inactive version of itself, which can then be recharged at a singing bowl, by using crystal shards, or by having Ilfeen recharge it for a fee. When uncharged, it can also be converted back into a crystal weapon seed, which can then either be turned back into a bow, a halberd or a shield. This may also be done at a singing bowl or with the assistance of Ilfeen. Ilfeen can either be found inside Prifddinas (after completing Song of the Elves), or teleporting back and forth between two clearings in Isafdar.

Initially, Ilfeen charges 900,000 coins to re-enchant a crystal seed into a crystal bow. However, the price is decreased by 180,000 coins each time Ilfeen re-enchants a seed for a player, in the following manner, until reaching the minimum recharge cost of 180,000 coins:

Enchantment	Cost for re-enchantment	Cost per charge
1st	900,000	360
2nd	720,000	288
3rd	540,000	216
4th	360,000	144
5+	180,000	72

The amount that Ilfeen charges is dependent on the total number of crystal seeds she has re-enchanted, not the number of crystal bows she has recharged. For example, a player who has previously paid Ilfeen to re-enchant a crystal seed into a crystal shield would only have to pay her 720,000 coins to re-enchant a seed into a crystal bow.

For players who have completed Song of the Elves, an alternative way of making crystal weapons is using a crystal weapon seed and 40 crystal shards along with 78 Smithing and 78 Crafting on a singing bowl in Prifddinas. Players who do not meet the skill requirements can pay a nearby elf to create the weapon for an additional 20 shards. Crystal shards can be used to recharge the weapon to a maximum of 20,000 charges, with each shard providing 100 charges.

However, it can be more cost efficient in the long term to instead use the crystal shards on potions and use the money from selling them to re-enchant your crystal equipment, as 40 shards can provide 578,400 coins in profit when making divine super combat potions.

Obtaining crystal bows

A crystal bow is a possible reward for completion of Roving Elves. However, when obtained through this quest reward, the crystal bow will only begin with 500 charges. Players who chose a crystal shield can choose to let the shield revert into a seed, then re-enchant that seed into a crystal bow. When the seed is re-enchanted by Ilfeen, it will have 2,500 charges. This will still cost 900,000 coins.

Additionally, players can buy new crystal bows from Islwyn just north of the south-east Prifddinas bank for 900,000 coins each. Unlike Ilfeen's recharge price, the price of a new crystal bow does not decrease.

As crystal weapon seeds are tradeable, players can buy them from other players and pay Ilfeen to re-enchant them into crystal bows. Ilfeen's possible locations are below.

Isafdar (before Song of the Elves).
- The clearing just south of the quest start point for Roving Elves.
- South of the Iorwerth Camp (just north-east of the leaf trap).
During the Song of the Elves, an Elven Scout replaces Ilfeen at her usual locations in Isafdar and offers to reenchant crystal weapon seeds just like Ilfeen, who is occupied with the effort against Lord Iorwerth.
Prifddinas, south of the house portal (after Song of the Elves).
Lletya, in the south-west corner (after reaching a certain point in Song of the Elves but before the completion of it).

With access to Prifddinas after Song of the Elves, the singing bowl can be used with 78 Crafting and Smithing and 40 crystal shards to turn a crystal weapon seed into a crystal bow. Players without the stat requirements can speak to Conwenna or Reese and have them create the crystal bow for you for 20 additional crystal shards.

Comparison between other ranged weapons

Ranged weapons comparison table [
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Name		level required	Ranged attack	Ranged strength (Max ammo)	Price	Notes
	Twisted bow	85	+70	+20 (+80)	1,382,643,871	Has a passive effect where the higher the target's Magic level or Magic attack bonus is, the more accurate and damaging it becomes. Against high magic levels, it is usually the strongest ranged weapon in the game. Uses arrows as ammunition up to and including dragon. Has the maximum attack range of 10. Attack speed of 5 ticks on rapid.
	Zaryte crossbow	80	+110	(+122)	353,031,031	The strongest crossbow in the game. Has a special attack which provides double accuracy on the next shot and guarantees the special effect of any enchanted bolts used if it hits, costing 75% special attack energy. Its passive effect strengthens the effects of enchanted bolts by 10%. Can fire up to dragon bolts.
	Bow of Faerdhinen	80	+128	+106	104,646,292	Has the highest ranged bonus of any ranged weapon, including a +106 Ranged Strength bonus. Receives significant damage and accuracy bonuses if worn alongside pieces of crystal armour. When created, the bow starts off at 10,000 charges and degrades. The bow can be upgraded to the Bow of Faerdhinen (c) for 2,000 crystal shards to stop it from degrading - usage contributes to this cost. Has the maximum attack range of 10.
	Venator bow	80	+90	+25 (+85)	62,574,940	Has a passive effect when charged with ancient essence that allows arrows to ricochet to nearby targets when in a multicombat area. Poor single target performance but excels in multicombat. Uses arrows as ammunition up to and including dragon. Has an attack speed of 4 ticks on rapid, between that of a shortbow and a longbow.
	Scorching bow	77	+124	+40 (+100)	39,375,238^{[n 1]}	Untradeable; created from a tormented synapse and magic longbow (u) with 74 Fletching. Has a passive effect that increases accuracy and damage by 30% against demons, making it incredibly strong against them. Offers a special attack that binds demonic creatures in place for 20 ticks (12 seconds) and deals burn damage. With an innate 40 strength bonus, it performs decently well against non-demonic targets. Uses arrows as ammunition up to and including dragon. Has the maximum attack range of 10.
	Toxic blowpipe	75	+30	+20 (+55)	10,552,927	The strongest blowpipe, with an innate ranged strength of 20. Relatively weak accuracy but fast, high damage, making it great against low defence targets. Requires Zulrah's scales and any unpoisoned darts to charge. Ranged strength bonus stacks with the darts that are used to charge the blowpipe (up to +55 ranged strength with dragon darts). Offers a special attack where accuracy is increased by 100% and damage is increased by 50%, and heals the user by half of the damage dealt. Costs 50% special attack energy. Has 25% chance per shot to inflict venom on an opponent. Has an attack speed of 2 ticks on rapid (non-pvp; 3 ticks in pvp).
	Heavy ballista	75	+125	+15 (+165)	993,822	Has the second highest ranged bonus of any ranged weapon, including a +15 Ranged Strength bonus. Slow-firing but very high damage, with low average DPS, but good KO potential. Only accepts javelins as ammunition. Offers a special attack which increases accuracy and damage by 25% each for one shot. Costs 65% special attack energy. Requires completion of Monkey Madness II to equip.
	Eclipse atlatl	75	+87	+40 (Melee)	661,594	Uniquely uses the player's melee strength bonuses when determining the amount of ranged damage dealt to a target. The max hit is based off of visible boosts to melee stats (eg. super combat potion) and ranged boosting prayers (eg. Rigour). Only accepts atlatl darts as ammunition. If worn with the rest of the eclipse moon armour set, it offers a set effect which has a 20% chance to inflict a stackable burn effect on the targets. Offers a special attack which consumes the remaining burn effect in exchange for increasing the player's minimum and maximum hit. Costs 50% special attack energy.
	Armadyl crossbow	70	+100	(+122)	33,985,694	Offers a special attack where the player's accuracy and enchanted bolts activation chance for that shot is doubled. Costs 50% special attack energy. Along with the Zaryte crossbow, has a slightly longer attack range than other crossbows. Can fire up to dragon bolts.
	Dragon hunter crossbow	70	+95	(+122)	30,895,831	Similar base stats to the Armadyl and dragon crossbows. Increases accuracy and damage by 30% and 25% respectively when fighting draconic creatures. Can fire up to dragon bolts.
	Crystal bow	70	+100	+78	494,813^{[n 2]}	Does not use ammunition, instead uses charges, provided either with crystal shards or by purchase for GP. Available as a quest reward and becomes cheaper to charge with usage. Has an attack speed of 4 ticks on rapid, between that of a shortbow and a crossbow. Has the maximum attack range of 10. Receives noticeable damage and accuracy bonuses if worn alongside pieces of crystal armour.
	Webweaver bow	70	+85	+65	14,584,324	Upgraded version of the Craw's bow, which requires the fangs of Venenatis to create. Must be charged with revenant ether to be fired, and does not require ammo, similar to the crystal bow. While charged, an additional 50% ranged accuracy and damage boost is applied when attacking any NPC in the Wilderness. This effect will stack with a Slayer helmet or a Salve amulet, making it the strongest ranged weapon in the Wilderness. Has a special attack that hits an enemy four times in succession with increased accuracy, each dealing up to 40% of the player's max hit, along with a chance to inflict poison, starting at 4 damage. Costs 50% special attack energy.
	Karil's crossbow	70	+84	(+55)	97,580	One of the fastest crossbows, together with the hunters' crossbow. Can only fire bolt racks, which cannot be retrieved by an Ava's device. If worn with the rest of Karil the Tainted's equipment, it offers a set effect which lowers the target's Agility level (only works on players). Wearing an Amulet of the Damned together with the whole equipment set grants a 25% chance for an attack to hit twice, in which case the second hit will inflict half the damage of the first. Like all Barrows equipment, it degrades and will fully degrade after 15 hours of combat. It is repairable.
	Hunters' sunlight crossbow	66 50	+79	(+60)	5,021	Significantly cheaper than other options while still being quite strong, especially against lower-defence targets. Unlike most crossbows, it has an attack speed of 3 on rapid, making it comparable to a Magic shortbow (i) but with a slightly higher range (8 tiles) and accuracy, along with being one-handed. It is also easier to obtain for Ironmen, requiring 74 Fletching to make. However, Ironmen can only obtain the ammunition via Hunter. Uses Sunlight antler bolts or Moonlight antler bolts as ammunition, giving +55 and +60 ranged strength which are equivalent to Amethyst arrows and Dragon arrows, respectively.
	Dragon crossbow	64	+94	(+122)	506,467	Has similar base stats to Armadyl and Dragon Hunter crossbows, while being markedly cheaper. Offers a special attack where the player can hit any target in a 3x3 area, while in a multicombat area, making it one of three range weapons that can hit multiple targets. Costs 60% special attack energy. Can fire up to dragon bolts.
	Rune crossbow	61	+90	(+115)	9,273	Considerably cheaper than dragon-bolt firing crossbows, but of course weaker. Good low-budget option for higher defence/HP enemies, compared to a Magic shortbow (i). Can fire up to runite bolts.
	Craw's bow	60	+75	+60	14,378,389	Must be charged with revenant ether to be fired, and does not require ammo, similar to the crystal bow. While charged, an additional 50% ranged accuracy and damage boost is applied when attacking any NPC in the Wilderness. This effect will stack with a Slayer helmet or a Salve amulet and their variants. This makes it the second strongest ranged weapon in the Wilderness. Shares the same bonuses as the magic shortbow (i) with the ranged strength of dragon arrows.
	Dark bow	60	+95	(+60)	562,658	Has the ability to shoot two arrows at a time. The slowest weapon in the game, with an attack speed of 8 ticks on rapid - at 4 ticks per arrow, this makes it worse than other bows for raw DPS, but has much stronger KO potential. Offers a powerful special attack, which if used with dragon arrows increases damage dealt by 50% with a minimum hit of 8 (30% with any other arrow type with a minimum. hit of 5). Costs 55% special attack energy.
	Magic shortbow	50	+69	(+55)	766	Remarkably cheap, even when imbued. Weaker accuracy than the rune crossbow but the fast firing makes it good budget DPS. The only shortbow to offer a special attack, which fires 2 shots in rapid succession but with reduced accuracy. Costs 55% special attack energy. Can be imbued with a magic shortbow scroll, increasing its ranged attack bonus to +75 and lowering the special attack cost to 50%. Can fire up to amethyst arrows.
	Magic shortbow (i)	50	+75	(+55)	48,789
	Magic comp bow	50	+71	(+55)	1,124	The only composite bow to offer a special attack, which is guaranteed to hit the target but is not boosted by damage-boosting prayers or the Slayer helmet (i). Costs 35% special attack energy. Shares this special attack with the magic longbow. Is slightly more accurate than the magic longbow and 1 tick faster (1 tick slower than the shortbow), while keeping the same attack range of the longbow.
	Seercull	50	+69	(+55)	44,298	Has slightly less accuracy but otherwise identical stats to the magic comp bow. Has a special attack that targets mages by lowering their Magic level, costing 100% special attack energy.
	Magic longbow	50	+69	(+55)	1,150	The only longbow to offer a special attack, which is guaranteed to hit the target but is not boosted by damage-boosting prayers or the Slayer helmet (i). Costs 35% special attack energy. Shares this special attack with the magic comp bow. Like all longbows, is 2 ticks slower than the magic shortbow, in exchange for 3 additional attack range. Unlike the magic shortbow, cannot be imbued.
	Adamant crossbow	46	+78	(+100)	896	Similar to the rune crossbow with slightly less ranged accuracy. Can fire up to adamant bolts.
	Chinchompas	45 (Grey)	+45	N/A	Varies^{[n 3]}	One of the four ranged weapons that offers the ability to hit more than one opponent at a time (similar to burst or barrage Ancient Magicks), the others being the special attack of the dragon crossbow (with a similar attack), the rune thrownaxe (with a ricochet special type attack), and the Venator bow with a passive ricochet attack. Excels against multiple close-together targets, where at least one has a low defence. Regarded to be the best way of training Ranged, but at a very high cost. Has an attack speed of 3 ticks on rapid/medium fuse.
		55 (Red)	+70	+15
		65 (Black)	+80	+30
	Salamanders	30 (Green)	+20	(+16)	102	Unique and versatile two-handed weapons that facilitate the use of all three combat styles. Notably lower DPS than other options.
		50 (Orange)	+29	(+22)	156
		60 (Red)	+47	(+31)	40
		70 (Black)	+69	(+49)	330
		80 (Tecu)	+87	(+60)	393,893
	Dorgeshuun crossbow	28	+42	(+49)	2,439	Is one tick faster than most other crossbows and it is able to fire bone bolts, which are significantly cheaper than most other ammunition of similar strength. Popular for low-cost ranged training.
	Shortbows	40 (Yew)	+47	(+49)	367	Offer slightly less damage output than using rune knives, but are a lot cheaper.
	Darts	30 (Adamant)	N/A	+17	Varies^{[n 3]}	Are cheap, deal decent damage and are easy to buy from the Grand Exchange. Adamant darts have comparable damage output to using a shortbow with rune arrows, so players should use whichever is cheaper.
	Dwarf multicannon	N/A	N/A	N/A	744,794	Can be set up and used alongside other weapons for passive Ranged damage and experience. Cannot be set up in all areas. Has a static max hit of 30 with steel cannonballs and 35 with granite cannonballs. Derives accuracy from player's current attack style (Ranged while ranging, Melee while meleeing, and whichever is higher with powered staves) while rolling against the target's heavy Ranged defence.
^ Untradeable; cost is of the tormented synapse and magic longbow (u) required to craft it. ^ Cost of having Ilfeen charge a crystal weapon seed after obtaining minimum cost. ^ ^3.0 ^3.1 Cost of thrown weapons is only that of the ammo.

Treasure Trails

Tier	Emotes	STASH location	Items	Cost
Master	Bow (clue)	North-west tent in the Iorwerth Camp		1,214,813

The crystal bow^[a] is the item Falo requires players to show him when he sings about: A bow of elven craft was made, it shimmers bright, but will soon fade.

^ Does not have to be fully or partially charged; Falo will accept inactive bows.

Shop locations

Seller	Location	Number in stock	Restock time	Price sold at	Price bought at	Change Per	Members
Islwyn	Isafdar, Prifddinas	N/A	N/A	900,000	N/A	0.0%

Sound effects

Sound	Name	Description	ID
	`equip_fun`	Wielding	2238
	`crystal_bow2`	Attacking	1352

Used in recommended equipment

Rank	Method
5	Dagannoth Kings/Strategies (Tribrid (All Kings))
3	Dagannoth Kings/Strategies (Ranged)
5	TzHaar Fight Cave/Strategies (Ranged)
5	TzHaar Fight Cave/Strategies (Pure)
3	TzHaar Fight Cave/Strategies (Early-game iron)
5	Abyssal Sire/Strategies (Phase 1 Ranged)
5	Lizardman shaman/Strategies (Ranged)
4	Chaos Fanatic/Strategies (Ranged)
3	Giant Mole/Strategies (Ranged)
4	Slayer task/Aquanites (Ranged)

Changes

Date	Changes
12 March 2025 (Update)	The crystal halberd, crystal bow, and crystal shield supports a bank item option for changing charges, with all three items sharing the same "Quantity" value, using Crystal charges instead of coins.
30 June 2021 (Update \| poll)	The bow's Ranged Strength bonus has been increased from +70 to +78.
25 July 2019 (Update \| poll)	Crystal equipment stats no longer become gradually lower as the weapon degrades, converting all imbued crystal bows into crystal weapon seeds and removing the ability to imbue them through Nightmare Zone. The crystal bow can now alternatively be made through crystal shards instead of paying Ilfeen.
16 April 2015 (Update)	A "Check" option was added to see the remaining charges.
13 March 2014 (Update)	Crystal equipment now reverts to a seed when dropped on death.
26 September 2013 (Update \| poll)	Crystal bows and shields can be imbued, making them keep their combat stats unchanged as they degrade.
9 May 2005 (Update)	The bow's attack speed was increased from 6 to 5.

Trivia

Attempting to cast Low Level Alchemy or High Level Alchemy on a crystal bow results in the message "You can't do that to elven crystal!" This is due to a glitch that allowed players to alchemise crystal bows on free-to-play worlds for 540,000 coins each. Players could buy crystal seeds, enchant them into bows for 180,000 coins, and alchemise the bows for significant profit. Because of this, Jagex made it impossible to alchemise members' objects on free-to-play worlds, and made it impossible to alchemise crystal equipment.
The crystal bow requires 50 Agility to equip, however it is impossible to navigate the forests of Tirannwn during the required quests without level 56 Agility (or as low as 51 with a summer pie boost).