Bow

This article is about the weapon type. You may be looking for Bow (NES), the most basic version of the weapon type in the NES games.

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Bows in the Fire Emblem series

The Bow (Japanese: 弓 Bow) is a type of physical weapon in the Fire Emblem series. Existing outside the weapon triangle, bows possess average power and accuracy, and cannot be used to attack adjacent enemies. However, they can attack distant enemies and additionally offer the ability to do increased damage to flying units.

With a total number of 79 different weapons, bows are the third-scarcest physical weapons in the series (above daggers which currently has 47 different varieties and gauntletss which have 10 varieties); usually, there are few bow-wielding classes per game—except for Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776—and so far, Alm, Lyn, and Claude are the only main characters to wield them in their native class progression, and even then the former two must have class changed to their advanced forms.

In Fire Emblem Fates, their Hoshidan counterpart is called the yumi (Japanese: 和弓 Japanese bow). They are almost exactly the same as bows and share a weapon level, differentiated by the effect of that, when equipped, they increase the wielder's resistance by 2, and, on average, they have higher might and lower hit rate.

Bows in the Fire Emblem series by types

Basic bows

Weapon	Available in:																Notes
	FE01	FE02	FE03	FE04	FE05	FE06	FE07	FE08	FE09	FE10	FE11	FE12	FE13	FE14	FE15	FE16
Bow																	Not effective against flying units in Gaiden.
Bronze Bow																	--
Iron Bow																	--
Steel Bow																	--
Silver Bow																	--
Broken Bow																	--
Toy Bow																	--
Glass Bow																	--
Slack Bow																	--
Long Bow																	--
Great Bow																	--
Emblem Bow																	Not effective against flying units.
Rienfleche																	--
Rubber Bow																	--
Violin Bow																	--
Cupid's Bow																	--
Brass Yumi																	--
Iron Yumi																	--
Steel Yumi																	--
Silver Yumi																	--
Rusted Bow																	--
Mila's Bow																	--
Luna																	--
Training Bow																	--
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Crossbows

Crossbows are a subcategory and exclusive to Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. These weapons rely on their own might for damage, ignoring the user's strength.

Weapon	Available in:																Notes
	FE01	FE02	FE03	FE04	FE05	FE06	FE07	FE08	FE09	FE10	FE11	FE12	FE13	FE14	FE15	FE16
Bowgun																	Crossbows do not exist as a special subcategory in Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
Crossbow																	--
Taksh																	--
Aqqar																	--
Arbalest																	--
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Critical and skill-granting bows

There have been some bows with a high crit in the series, with the Killer Bow being the most known of them. In Awakening, three new skill-granting bows were introduced, allowing units to access certain skills.

Weapon	Available in:																Notes
	FE01	FE02	FE03	FE04	FE05	FE06	FE07	FE08	FE09	FE10	FE11	FE12	FE13	FE14	FE15	FE16
Bowgun																	A crossbow instead in Radiant Dawn.
Killer Bow																	--
Brave Bow																	It allows two consecutive hits.
Short Bow																	No crit boost in Thracia 776.
Venin Bow																	If it hits, the target is poisoned.
Meisterbogen																	It allows two consecutive hits.
Silencer																	--
Quick Bow																	It allows two consecutive hits.
Astra																	Gives the Astra skill when equipped.
Underdog Bow																	Gives the Underdog skill when equipped.
Superior Bow																	Gives the Bowbreaker skill when equipped.
Crescent Bow																	Brave weapon.
Spellbane Yumi																	Grants Tomebreaker when equipped.
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Effective bows

While almost all bows are effective against flying units, some of them can also deal increased damage to other units, such as monsters.

Weapon	Available in:																Notes
	FE01	FE02	FE03	FE04	FE05	FE06	FE07	FE08	FE09	FE10	FE11	FE12	FE13	FE14	FE15	FE16
Blessed Bow																	Recovers HP each turn and is effective against monsters.
Beacon Bow																	Effective against monsters. Exclusive to one Japanese event distribution.
Laguz Bow																	Effective against laguz.
Cleave Bow																	Effective against armored units.
Hunter's Bow																	Effective against beast units. Not effective against other flying units.
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Magic bows

These bows inflict magical damage instead of physical. Both of these bows also inflict damage in the 1-2 range.

Weapon	Available in:																Notes
	FE01	FE02	FE03	FE04	FE05	FE06	FE07	FE08	FE09	FE10	FE11	FE12	FE13	FE14	FE15	FE16
Bright Bow																	Casts light-based magic. Unused.
Shining Bow																	--
Radiant Bow																	--
Magic Bow																	--
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Close range bows

Certain bows first introduced in Fates allow their usage in one-space melee combat, a trait that had seen in bows in legitimate gameplay since Gaiden (where all of that game's bows have melee capability) only one other time. Unless otherwise specified, these bows hit in the 1-2 range.

Weapon	Available in:																Notes
	FE01	FE02	FE03	FE04	FE05	FE06	FE07	FE08	FE09	FE10	FE11	FE12	FE13	FE14	FE15	FE16
Mini Bow																	--
Double Bow																	Exclusive to snipers in Path of Radiance, and to archers and snipers in Awakening. +3 to Strength in both Tellius games, +5 in Awakening. Only has close-range capability in Radiant Dawn.
Iron Shortbow																	Enemy-only
Steel Shortbow																	Enemy-only
Silver Shortbow																	Enemy-only
Iron Hankyu																	Enemy-only
Steel Hankyu																	Enemy-only
Silver Hankyu																	Enemy-only
Sidelong Yumi																	--
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Longbows

The following bows can attack from a distance of two or three tiles, which allows users to attack without retaliation.

Weapon	Available in:																Notes
	FE01	FE02	FE03	FE04	FE05	FE06	FE07	FE08	FE09	FE10	FE11	FE12	FE13	FE14	FE15	FE16
Longbow																	Exclusive to archers and snipers in Path of Radiance, Shadow Dragon, New Mystery of the Emblem and Awakening.
Double Bow																	Exclusive to snipers in Path of Radiance, and to archers and snipers in Awakening. +3 to Strength in both Tellius games, +5 in Awakening. 4 range only in Path of Radiance, not enhanced-range in Radiant Dawn.
Iron Longbow																	--
Steel Longbow																	--
Silver Longbow																	--
Towering Bow																	Exclusive to archers and snipers.
Spy's Yumi																	3 range only.
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Character's bows

Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem and Awakening feature some bows named after archers and snipers of the series. These weapons can be used by any unit with enough skill, and all of them have an enhanced crit.

Weapon	Available in:																Notes
	FE01	FE02	FE03	FE04	FE05	FE06	FE07	FE08	FE09	FE10	FE11	FE12	FE13	FE14	FE15	FE16
Gordin's Bow																	--
Ryan's Bow																	--
Kleine's Bow																	--
Wolt's Bow																	Can be used as an item to recover HP.
Innes' Bow																	--
Anna's Bow																	--
Niles's Bow																	--
Mikoto's Yumi																	--
Setsuna's Yumi																	--
Python's Bow																	Requires DLC in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Sacred and personal bows

Personal bows are truly rare in the series, appearing only in the Tellius duology and Fates. There are few sacred bows as well, with all of them featuring bonuses to stats or an unusual extra function.

Weapon	Available in:																Notes
	FE01	FE02	FE03	FE04	FE05	FE06	FE07	FE08	FE09	FE10	FE11	FE12	FE13	FE14	FE15	FE16
Parthia																	Can be used as an item to increase Resistance. Doubles gained experience in Mystery of the Emblem.
Yewfelle																	+10 to Skill and Speed, gives Renewal skill when equipped in Genealogy of the Holy War. +5 to Speed when equipped in Awakening.
Mulagir																	+5 to Speed when equipped, effective against manaketes.
Nidhogg																	+5 to Luck when equipped, effective aginst monsters in The Sacred Stones. +10 to Luck when equipped in Awakening.
Rolf's Bow																	For Rolf only.
Lughnasadh																	For Leonardo only, +5 to Speed when equipped.
Pursuer																	--
Fujin Yumi																	Takumi only. Two variations.
Skadi																	Both close-range and enhanced-range (1-4 range).
Failnaught																	--
Tathlum Bow																	--
The Inexhaustible																	--
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Miscellaneous bows

Weapon	Available in:																Notes
	FE01	FE02	FE03	FE04	FE05	FE06	FE07	FE08	FE09	FE10	FE11	FE12	FE13	FE14	FE15	FE16
Dual Yumi																	Reverses the weapon triangle.
Illusory Yumi																	--
Surefire Yumi																	--
Bamboo Yumi																	--
Harp Yumi																	--
Raider Yumi																	--
A means that the weapon is available in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Classes capable of using bows

There are 34 different classes which, at some point in the series, have been able to wield bows.

Class	Wields bows in:																Notes
	FE01	FE02	FE03	FE04	FE05	FE06	FE07	FE08	FE09	FE10	FE11	FE12	FE13	FE14	FE15	FE16
Archer																	--
Sniper																	--
Hunter																	--
Horseman																	--
Hero																	--
Bow Knight																	--
Aurum																	--
Master Knight																	--
Warrior																	Can only use crossbows in Radiant Dawn.
Bow Fighter																	--
Arch Knight																	--
Bow Armor																	--
General																	--
Baron																	--
Emperor																	--
Ballista																	Restricted to ballistae.
Iron Ballista																	Restricted to ballistae.
Killer Ballista																	Restricted to ballistae.
Poison Ballista																	Restricted to ballistae.
Nomad																	--
Nomadic Trooper																	--
Blade Lord																	--
Ranger																	--
Fleet																	Restricted to ballistae.
Bonewalker																	--
Wight																	--
Maelduin																	--
Marksman																	--
Bow Paladin																	--
Silver Knight																	--
Assassin																	--
Bride																	--
Outlaw																	--
Adventurer																	--
Apothecary																	--
Merchant																	--
Mechanist																	--
Priestess																	--
Kinshi Knight																	--
Oliphantier																	Requires DLC in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
Conqueror																	Requires DLC in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
Commoner																	--
Noble																	--
Wyvern Master																	--
Barbarossa																	--
A means that the class wields bows in that game, while a indicates the contrary.

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology and notes
English	Bow
Japanese	弓	Bow
Spanish	Arco	Bow
French	Arc	Bow
German	Bogen	Bow
Italian	Arco	Bow

Yumi

Names, etymology and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology and notes
English	Yumi	Yumi (Japanese: 弓) is the Japanese word for bow. When discussed in English, "yumi" refers specifically to the traditional Japanese style of bow, which are distinguished by their asymmetrical bodies and their great size compared to their user.
Japanese	和弓	Japanese bow. Used in the Japanese language to describe yumi, as opposed to bow styles from other nations.
Spanish	Yumi	As above.
French	Yumi	As above
German	Yumi	As above.
Italian	Yumi	As above.