MapleStory Classic Bows Guide: Every Bow, Crossbow and Arrow

Checked against v1.0.0 on October 29, 2026.

Bowmen choose a weapon line at second job: Hunters use bows, and Crossbowmen use crossbows. MapleStory Classic World has 13 bows and 10 crossbows, from the level 10 War Bow and Crossbow to the level 70 Hinkels and Gross Jaeger. This MapleStory Classic bows guide lists all 23 with attack, speed, stat needs and source, Karl's shop prices, which ones you can craft, every arrow tier, the Hunter and Crossbowman weapon skills, our bow vs crossbow speed math, scrolls and an upgrade path, for the live Grand Launch game.

Quick summary

• 23 Bowman weapons: 13 bows and 10 crossbows, all with 7 upgrade slots. A crossbow has 2 to 5 more attack than the bow of the same level and is slower (MapleStory Quest, Public Release client).
• Karl in Henesys sells both lines up to level 25, from 5,000 to 16,500 mesos. Nothing above level 25 is in his launch stock (NiaMeowDB).
• Woodcrafting makes bows and crossbows up to level 40: the Vaulter 2000 and the Heckler, at craft level 8. Silver Crow, Olympus and Rower need craft level 9–10, past the craft level 8 cap that Grand Launch kept (MapleStory Quest).
• Arrows add attack: plain +0, Bronze +1, Iron +2. Adamantium and Mithril arrows (+3) need Woodcrafting 10, past the craft level 8 cap (MapleStory Quest).
• Bows out-pace crossbows at most levels. On NiaMeowDB's skill timings, our math puts the Vaulter 2000 about 5.5% ahead of the Heckler before Booster.

Compare every bow

Lv	Bow	Atk	STR / DEX	Speed	NPC pays	How to get it
10	Beginner's War Bow	29	– / 25	Normal (6)	–	No source recorded
10	War Bow	30	– / 25	Normal (6)	2,500	Karl 5,000; Woodcrafting 2
15	Composite Bow	35	15 / 35	Normal (6)	3,500	Karl 7,000; Woodcrafting 3; Stump, Green Mushroom (older data)
20	Hunter's Bow	42	20 / 45	Normal (6)	4,500	Karl 13,500; Woodcrafting 4
25	Battle Bow	44	25 / 55	Fast (5)	5,500	Karl 16,500; Woodcrafting 5; Jr. Wraith (older data)
30	Ryden	50, +1 STR	30 / 65	Normal (6)	6,500	Woodcrafting 6; Stirge, Fire Boar, Lorang (older data)
35	Red Viper	52	35 / 75	Fast (5)	9,000	Woodcrafting 7
40	Vaulter 2000	60	40 / 85	Normal (6)	11,500	Woodcrafting 8; Drake (older data)
50	Olympus	70	50 / 105	Normal (6)	16,500	Craft level 10 (not at launch); Malady (older data)
60	Asianic Bow	80	60 / 125	Normal (6)	21,500	Malady (older data)
70	Red Hinkel	90	70 / 145	Normal (6)	26,500	Jr. Balrog 4%, Tauromacis (older data)
70	Blue Hinkel	88, +2 crit damage	70 / 145	Normal (6)	26,500	No drop recorded
70	Golden Hinkel	88, +2 crit rate	70 / 145	Normal (6)	26,500	Taurospear (older data)

Compare every crossbow

Lv	Crossbow	Atk	STR / DEX	Speed	NPC pays	How to get it
10	Crossbow	32	– / 25	Slow (7)	2,500	Karl 5,000; Woodcrafting 2
15	Battle Crossbow	37	– / 35	Slow (7)	3,500	Karl 7,000; Woodcrafting 3; Green Mushroom (older data)
20	Balanche	39	10 / 45	Normal (6)	4,500	Karl 13,500; Woodcrafting 4
25	Mountain Crossbow	47	15 / 55	Slow (7)	5,500	Karl 16,500; Woodcrafting 5
30	Eagle Crow	52, +1 DEX	20 / 65	Slow (7)	6,500	Woodcrafting 6; Horny Mushroom, Cold Eye (older data)
40	Heckler	59	30 / 85	Normal (6)	11,500	Woodcrafting 8; Fire Boar (older data)
45	Silver Crow	67	35 / 95	Slow (7)	14,000	Craft level 9 (not at launch); Zombie Lupin (older data)
50	Rower	72	40 / 105	Slow (7)	16,500	Craft level 10 (not at launch); Zombie Lupin (older data)
60	Golden Crow	82	50 / 125	Slow (7)	21,500	No drop recorded
70	Gross Jaeger	92	60 / 145	Slow (7)	26,500	Jr. Balrog 4% (older data)

Stats, sell prices and recipe levels are MapleStory Quest's client read. Karl's prices are NiaMeowDB launch prices. Our reading of the pattern: from level 15, both lines need DEX equal to twice the level plus 5. Bows need STR equal to the level, while crossbows need 10 less from level 20 on. That gives a Crossbowman a little more room for pure DEX.

Buy from Karl

Weapon	Karl's launch price	Craft fee instead	Saving
War Bow / Crossbow	5,000	2,500 + Wood and Screws	2,500
Composite Bow / Battle Crossbow	7,000	3,500 + inputs	3,500
Hunter's Bow / Balanche	13,500	4,500 + inputs	9,000
Battle Bow / Mountain Crossbow	16,500	5,500 + ingots and gems	11,000

Know which bows you can craft

Weapon	Woodcrafting level	Ingredients	Fee
War Bow	2	4 Processed Wood, 30 Blue Snail Shells, 6 Screws	2,500
Crossbow	2	4 Wood, 6 Screws	2,500
Composite Bow	3	5 Wood, 1 Iron Ingot, 9 Screws	3,500
Battle Crossbow	3	5 Wood, 9 Screws	3,500
Hunter's Bow	4	6 Wood, 30 Red Snail Shells, 12 Screws	4,500
Balanche	4	6 Wood, 12 Screws	4,500
Battle Bow	5	7 Wood, 2 Iron Ingots, 2 Topaz, 15 Screws	5,500
Mountain Crossbow	5	7 Wood, 2 Iron Ingots, 1 Topaz, 1 Aquamarine, 15 Screws	5,500
Ryden	6	8 Wood, 1 Gold Ingot, 1 Emerald, 1 Topaz, 18 Screws	6,500
Eagle Crow	6	8 Wood, 2 Orihalcon Ingots, 1 Topaz, 18 Screws	6,500
Red Viper	7	9 Wood, 1 Silver Ingot, 1 Garnet, 1 Opal, 21 Screws	9,000
Vaulter 2000	8	10 Wood, 2 Iron Ingots, 2 Black Crystals, 40 Drake Skulls, 24 Screws	11,500
Heckler	8	10 Wood, 2 Iron Ingots, 2 Gold Ingots, 24 Screws	11,500

Recipes come from MapleStory Quest. Its crafting ladder says "The Public Release's crafting stops at 8; only Closed Online Test 2's went to 10," so the Silver Crow, Olympus and Rower are locked at launch. Ryden, Eagle Crow, Red Viper, Vaulter 2000 and Heckler aren't in any launch shop, so for most players Woodcrafting is the way to get them.

Our math on the inputs: a Ryden or Eagle Crow costs 40 Firewood (8 Processed Wood at 5 each), 18 Screws (2 Screw crafts) and an ingot or two, plus gems from Arcforge. A Vaulter 2000 also needs 40 Drake Skulls, so the Heckler is the easier level 40 craft. Reaching Woodcrafting 8 on the release EXP table costs about 3,300 mesos net on our wand route. See our Woodcrafting guide and crafting guide.

Settle bow vs crossbow

NiaMeowDB times Double Shot and Arrow Blow at 810 ms with the slowest bow and 750 ms with the fastest. With a crossbow it's 870 ms and 840 ms (our attack speed guide). Damage scales with weapon attack, so attack divided by the attack time is a fair rough guide. Our math, before Booster:

Level	Bow (attack, ms)	Crossbow (attack, ms)	Attack per second	Ahead
25	Battle Bow (44, 750)	Mountain Crossbow (47, 870)	58.7 vs 54.0	Bow +9%
30	Ryden (50, 810)	Eagle Crow (52, 870)	61.7 vs 59.8	Bow +3%
40	Vaulter 2000 (60, 810)	Heckler (59, 840)	74.1 vs 70.2	Bow +5.5%

This assumes both lines use the same shot multiplier, as henesys.gg's table does in our damage formula guide. NiaMeowDB agrees on speed: "Except for Heckler at level 40, crossbows attack slower than bows, even with Booster." The crossbow's case is per-hit damage. The MapleClassic Wiki says its "higher per-shot value gives crossbows a small edge against high-defense monsters." NiaMeowDB's level 70 benchmark rates Crossbowman higher for damage per MP (174.15 vs 164.19) and Hunter higher for area damage (11,811 vs 9,766).

Our pick: choose by job, not weapon. Hunters get Arrow Bomb and the faster cycle; Crossbowmen get Iron Arrow's line attack. See our Hunter guide and Crossbowman guide.

Range: NiaMeowDB notes that "inside 65 px your bow whacks instead of firing," and the same goes for crossbows. Our weapon reach guide covers spacing.

Bow and crossbow skills that change the pick

Classic World reworked the Bowman weapon skills, so the weapon you hold decides more than its attack number. Values below are the live ones from henesys.gg's update notes and NiaMeowDB's skill pages:

Skill	Bow (Hunter)	Crossbow (Crossbowman)
Mastery at max	Critical Rate +10% and Speed +10	Critical Damage +20%
Final Attack at max	25% chance to enable a 120% follow-up on up to 3 enemies	25% chance to enable a 360% single-target follow-up
Final Attack window	60 seconds since Grand Launch (was 30)	60 seconds since Grand Launch (was 30)
Signature attack	Arrow Bomb: up to 6 enemies, 130%, 2-second stun	Iron Arrow: pierces up to 6 enemies

What that means: a bow pairs speed with a small crowd-control stun, which suits mixed maps like the Excavation Site's Remains. A crossbow trades speed for a large single-target proc and piercing lines, which suits bosses and flat, lined-up maps. Bow Mastery's +10 Speed also helps a Hunter reposition between kills, a factor the attack-per-second table above leaves out.

Example: a level 40 Crossbowman with a Heckler on Jr. Balrog gets a 360% Final Attack roughly one attack in four, worth far more on a single high-HP target than the Hunter's 120% three-target version. On a map of 20 low-HP monsters, the Hunter's version is the better one.

Pick your arrows

Arrow	Attack	Where to get it	NPC pays
Arrows for Bows / Crossbows	+0	Shops from 1 meso; Woodcrafting 1, 500 per craft	–
Bronze Arrows	+1	Raymond, Henesys Town Hall, 2 mesos (Helpful Stranger+); Woodcrafting 4	1
Iron Arrows	+2	Woodcrafting 7 only	2
Adamantium (bow) / Mithril (crossbow) Arrows	+3	Woodcrafting 10 (not at launch)	3

Arrow stats and recipe levels come from MapleStory Quest. Raymond's price and citizenship gate come from NiaMeowDB. Arrow attack adds to the weapon's (NiaMeowDB). Our citizenship guide covers reaching Helpful Stranger.

Our math: on a 60-attack Vaulter 2000, Bronze Arrows add about 1.7% damage and Iron Arrows about 3.3%. Bronze from Raymond costs 1 meso more per shot than plain arrows, so 2,000 shots an hour costs about 2,000 mesos more. Iron Arrows have no shop source, so a Woodcrafter friend or the Free Market is the only way to get them.

Scroll your bow

Scroll	Success	Effect	Risk
Bow or Crossbow Attack Scroll: Lesser	100%	+1 attack	None
Intermediate	60%	+2 attack	None
Greater	10%	+4 attack	None
Chaos	10%	+5 attack	50% to destroy

Odds come from MapleStory Quest. El Moth sells the Bow and Crossbow Lessers for 60,000 mesos each (NiaMeowDB). Our math: seven Lessers cost 420,000 mesos for a guaranteed +7, which puts a Vaulter 2000 at 67, 3 short of a clean level 50 Olympus. Save scrolls for your level 40 weapon. Our scrolling guide covers the tiers.

Follow an upgrade path

Level	Hunter	Crossbowman	Source
10	War Bow	Crossbow	Karl or Woodcrafting 2
15	Composite Bow (or skip)	Battle Crossbow (or skip)	Karl
20	Hunter's Bow	Balanche	Karl, or craft for 9,000 less
25	Battle Bow	Mountain Crossbow	Karl or Woodcrafting 5
30	Ryden	Eagle Crow	Woodcrafting 6 or a drop
35	Red Viper	Keep Eagle Crow	Woodcrafting 7
40	Vaulter 2000	Heckler	Woodcrafting 8 or a drop
50+	Olympus, Asianic Bow, Hinkels	Rower, Golden Crow, Gross Jaeger	Drops; Jr. Balrog for level 70

Our math on shop costs: buying all four Karl tiers for one line costs 42,000 mesos. Skipping the level 15 tier saves 7,000. If you're farming Jr. Balrog for a Hinkel or Gross Jaeger, see our Jr. Balrog guide. For the first 30 levels, see our Bowman guide.

Handle alts and returning players

• Returning players: Karl's stock is what you remember up to level 25, but nothing higher is sold (NiaMeowDB).
• Bowman alts: keep the level 40 weapon. A Hunter alt can't use a crossbow's skills, so store one of each if you plan both jobs.
• Woodcrafters: your own Iron Arrows are the best ammo you can get, and nobody else can sell them to an NPC shop.
• Rushing a Bowman: faster levels won't raise Woodcrafting, which is how you get every level 30–40 weapon, so start crafting early.
• Budget: Bowmen spend steadily on arrows, which our class costs guide compares with every other second job.
• Cape and earring slots: Bowmen stack DEX there too; see our capes guide and earrings guide.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather not grind this part yourself, MapleStory Classic powerleveling services are listed on FullBoosts. Read Nexon's Terms of Service before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

What changed for bows at Grand Launch

Grand Launch (v1.0.0, October 21, 2026) left every bow, crossbow and arrow recipe, stat and shop price in this guide unchanged, and crafting still stops at craft level 8. The one Bowman change in Nexon's Grand Launch maintenance notes is the Final Attack fix: Final Attack: Bow and Final Attack: Crossbow now stay usable for 60 seconds instead of 30, as their tooltips already said. Third job, Orbis and El Nath are still closed, so no Ranger or Sniper weapons are in the game yet. Our patch notes tracker lists every update, and the MapleStory Classic hub collects the rest of our guides.

FAQ

What is the best bow in MapleStory Classic? The Vaulter 2000 at level 40, with +60 attack. It's craftable at Woodcrafting 8, and older data lists Drakes as a drop (MapleStory Quest).

Is a bow or crossbow better? Bows attack faster, and our math has them 3–9% ahead on attack per second before Booster. Crossbows hit harder per shot and need less STR. Pick by job: Hunter or Crossbowman (NiaMeowDB; MapleStory Quest).

Where do I buy bows? From Karl at the Henesys Weapon Store, up to the level 25 Battle Bow and Mountain Crossbow for 16,500 mesos (NiaMeowDB launch prices).

Can you craft Iron Arrows? Yes, at Woodcrafting 7: 1 Processed Wood, 1 Stiff Feather and 1 Iron Ingot make 500, with no fee. They add +2 attack (MapleStory Quest).

Can you craft the Rower or Olympus? No. They need Woodcrafting 10, and crafting still stops at craft level 8 after Grand Launch (MapleStory Quest).

Related guides

• Hunter guide
• Crossbowman guide
• Woodcrafting guide
• Attack speed guide
• Bowman guide 1–30
• Claws guide
• Blunt weapons guide
• Class costs and meso budget
• MapleStory Classic hub