A damaged bow is the last thing you’d want in front of a fast-approaching mob. It’s a handy range weapon used to shoot arrows. If you’re left with a damaged bow, you need to repair it fast. So how do you go about repairing bows in Minecraft?
Bow can be repaired in a crafting table by combining two separate bows. It’d result in a single bow with an improved durability. You can also use the grindstone for this purpose. However, to retain the enchantments, you’d have to use the anvil to repair the bow.
While repairing the bow is easy in itself, selecting the right method is crucial. Many rookies make the mistake of selecting the method randomly. And experienced gamers like us can assert that’s a mistake. Read on to learn how to pick the most suitable option.
As a bonus, learn about a lesser-known fourth method to repair the bow!
Table of Contents
What do I need to repair bows?
Minecraft follows the input-output approach when it comes to tools and weapons. You can’t get them out of thin air. Yes, there are cheat codes. But if you want to play fair, you need ingredients to create and repair weapons.
At the bare minimum, you’d need two or more damaged bows. You can also use one damaged and one unused bow. To create a bow from scratch, you need to combine sticks and strings in the crafting table.
Besides the bows, you need to have Grindstone or Crafting table or Anvil. If you don’t have them, do not worry. This article explains how you can create them.
Three Ways to Repair Bow in Minecraft
Bows deteriorate after regular use. They have a total number of use of 385. Each time you shoot an arrow, you reduce its use by 1/385. After a certain point, it becomes ineffective. And that’s where you need to repair the bow.
As already mentioned, there are three ways of repairing a bow in Minecraft. This section explains each method in greater detail.
1. Using Crafting Table
Perhaps the easiest way to repair a bow in Minecraft is by using the crafting table. It is super-useful block that allows the plyers to make a wide range of tools. Besides that, it can also be used to repair items.
In case you do not have a crafting table yet, you need to make or get one first. These are naturally obtainable from witch huts and igloos (in the basement). Or, you can make it using wooden planks.
Open the 2X2 crafting grid and place four planks in it. That will create a crafting table.
Now, you can use this crafting table to repair bow. And it’s quite simple. Here are the steps involved:
- Open the “crafting menu“
- Put the damaged bow you need to repair in “one slot”
- Place another bow that is unused or has better durability in the “second slot”
- This will result in a new bow with better durability
- Drag the bow down to the inventory to start using it
The durability of the new bow is equal ot the durability of the two old bows.
2. Using Grindstone
The second way to repair a bow in Minecraft is to use the Grindstone. It’s very much similar to the crafting table. You combine two items to get a new one that’s superior.
Don’t have a Grindstone yet? To make it, you’d need:
- Two sticks
- One stone slab
- Two wooden planks (of any variant)
Place these items in a 3X3 crafting grind and it’ll result in the Grindstone. Add it to the inventory to start using it.
Here are the steps involved in repairing bow with the Grindstone:
- Open Grindstone
- Drag the “Damaged Bow” into one of the two slots
- Put the other bow in the second slot
- Wait for the new bow to appear in the box on the right
- Drag the bow to the inventory and start using it.
As you can see, using Grindstone is very much similar to crafting table. But there’s a fundamental difference. With Grindstone repair, you get a repair bonus of around 5% of the bow’s maximum uses. Crafting table won’t give you this benefit.
3. Using Anvil
The third method is to use the Anvil. As opposed to the previous two methods, Anvil is actually a block. You can only use it to repair items and not create them. Anvil is also used to rename the tools in the inventory.
If you do not have anvil, you need to craft them. It takes combining 31 iron ingots in the crafting grid to prepare one Anvil. Alternatively, you can mine them using one of the available pickaxe.
Here are the steps you need to follow to repair bow with an Anvil:
- Open the inventory
- Select “Anvil”.
- Drag and drop the “Damaged Bow” in the first slot of Anvil
- Then, drop the “Raw materials” required to repair the bow in the second slot (sticks and strings)
- Or, you can drop another “Damaged Bow” in the slot
- A new bow will appear in the box on the right
- Drag it into the inventory and start using it
This method will cost you three Anvils and some XP points. As one Anvil is equivalent to 31 iron ingots, the cost of repair using this method is high.
But the benefit of using Anvils for repairs is that the items retain enchantments (and may even see an increase). You’ll lose any enchantment with the previous two methods.
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Repairing bow through Mending Enchantment
Besides the above three methods, there’s another way to repair a bow. And that is through Mending enchantment. While it will not increase the durability significant at once, you’ll see the improvement over time.
Whenever you use an Mending enchanted bow and each time you gain an experience orb, it will repair the bow. Over time, the bow will be completely repaired. So the repair process is fully automatic.
But bear in mind that Mending enchantment is not available in Enchanting Table. You’d have to get it by trading with villagers or through fishing. But the hassle is well worth it.
How to repair Enchanted bow in Minecraft?
Like many other tools, you can enchant your bow in Minecraft. It’s superior to a regular bow and can change the course of a game. Unbreaking, power, and punch are some of the most common enchanted bows.
However, enchanted bows are not immune to degeneration. You need to repair them at some point in time.
The only way to repair bows and retain the enchantment in Minecraft is to use Anvils. In Grindstone or Crafting table, you’d lose those enchantments and get a regular bow. The repairing process remains the same.
If you’ve got enchantment bows to repair, follow the steps mentioned above in the Anvil section. Also, you can Make a Lectern in Minecraft with few steps.
Bow too expensive to repair?
When repairing the bows with an Anvil, you may get a ‘Too Expensive!’ warning. This would prohibit you from repairing or enchanting the bow. It’s annoying nevertheless, especially if you’re repairing without mending.
The reason you get the ‘Too Expensive!’ warning sign is because you have exceeded the number of times an item can be enchanted/repaired using an Anvil. Each time you repair something on the Anvil, it gets recorded.
You can only use an six times on an Anvil. In Survival mode, you’ll get the sign when the XP cost exceeds 40 levels.
The only way to bypass this warning sign is by resetting the enchantments. This would force the Anvil to count the use from zero.
Conclusion
Bows are quite delicate that degrade rapidly with use. Therefore, you must maintain them with priority. Grindstone is the go-to option for most gamers for repairing bows since it offers 5% repair bonus. They turn to Anvil when repairing an enhanced bow.
That being said, try each of the methods if you have the resources and test them yourself.
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