Hunter Bow

Hunter Bow
Type	Ranged weapon
Ammo Pouch	Hunter Bow Quiver
Effects	Impact Damage Tear Fire
Source	Merchants
Base Stats
Handling	80
Draw Time	0.57s
Reload Speed	0.625s
Max Range	70m
Ammunition
Shot Type Group	Arrow
Shot Type	Hunter Arrow Fire Arrow Hardpoint Arrow
Ammo per Pack	10 12 (Ammo Crafter)
Capacity	20 60 (max capacity)

The hunter bow is a type of bow specializing in short to medium range combat due to its faster reload and firing time, and has limited capacity for three types of damage: impact, elemental and tear. It can use three types of arrows.

Special Variants

The Nora Longshot Bow, Carja Mighty Bow, and Banuk Culling Bow are variants of the Hunter Bow, available by trading special tokens that are pre-loaded in the inventory with certain editions or DLC. All three are of "Rare" value with 2 slots, and slightly altered stats compared to the Carja Hunter Bow. The tokens to get these bows do not reload upon starting New Game+, as with other special purchase contents. In the Complete Edition, the Banuk Culling Bow and Carja Mighty Bow are available for free (one time only) from tier 2-4 merchants.

The Banuk Striker Bow^FW is a variant of the Hunter Bow available for purchase from Bluegleam Merchants in The Cut once per playthrough. It normally costs 16 Bluegleam, though the Adept^NG+ version requires additional resources as well. It is capable of 'overdrawn' shots, a mechanic that allows the player to fire exceedingly powerful shots by drawing the string longer than other variants would allow. This is arguably the most powerful Hunter Bow in the game, as long as the player overdraws the bow. Otherwise, it deals less damage and elemental severity, which can make it unsuitable for rapid firing.

Ammo

Hunter Arrow

Deals low impact and Tear. The arrow is relatively unreliable for combat later in the game and functions best for hunting animals and shooting interactive objects to conserve resource.

Variants	Level	Damage	Tear
Basic Carja Shadow AdeptNG+
	Story	60	50
	Easy	15	25
	Normal	15	25
	Hard	14	25
	Very Hard	12	25
	Ultra Hard	11	13

The Striker variants of the bow have additional damage values for uncharged arrows.

Variants	Level	Damage	Uncharged	Tear	Uncharged
Banuk Striker Adept StrikerNG+
	Story	160	40	260	40
	Easy	50	13	65	20
	Normal	40	10	65	20
	Hard	36	9	65	20
	Very Hard	32	8	65	20
	Ultra Hard	28	7	33	10

Fire Arrow

Deals low fire damage over time, and medium fire severity on impact. It can be used to set machines on fire, and is particularly effective against machines of fire vulnerability. Successfully hitting Blaze Canisters with one will trigger fiery explosions that deal Fire damage and severity.

Variants	Level	Damage	Elemental Severity
Carja Shadow AdeptNG+
	Story	48	38
	Easy	15	25
	Normal	12	25
	Hard	11	25
	Very Hard	10	25
	Ultra Hard	8	13

The Striker variants of the bow have additional elemental severity values for uncharged arrows.

Variants	Level	Damage	Elemental Severity	Uncharged
Banuk Striker Adept StrikerNG+
	Story	64	75	30
	Easy	20	50	20
	Normal	16	50	20
	Hard	14	50	20
	Very Hard	13	50	20
	Ultra Hard	11	25	10

Hardpoint Arrow

Deals medium impact damage and high tear on impact. Effective against tougher machines as it removes parts from machines easier and deals additional damage compared to the standard hunter arrow.

Variants	Level	Damage	Tear
Shadow AdeptNG+
	Story	120	150
	Easy	38	75
	Normal	30	75
	Hard	27	75
	Very Hard	24	75
	Ultra Hard	21	38

The Striker variants of the bow have additional damage values for uncharged arrows.

Variants	Level	Damage	Uncharged	Tear	Uncharged
Banuk Striker Adept StrikerNG+
	Story	280	80	360	100
	Easy	88	25	90	50
	Normal	70	20	90	50
	Hard	63	18	90	50
	Very Hard	56	16	90	50
	Ultra Hard	49	14	45	25

Ammo and Modification Slots by Variant

Bow Variant	Hunter Arrow	Fire Arrow	Hardpoint Arrow	Mod Slots
Basic				1
Carja				2
Shadow				3
AdeptNG+				4
Banuk StrikerFW				3
Adept Banuk StrikerFW NG+				4
Variant Bows				2

Acquisition Details

Variant	Sources	Regular Cost	Ultra Hard Cost	Sell Value
Basic	Rost	N/A	N/A	N/A
Carja	Unknown	N/A	N/A	50
	Tier 2/3/4 Merchants	50 5 Sparker 5 Wire	250 10 Sparker 10 Wire
Shadow	Tier 3 & 4 Merchants	650 1 Watcher Heart	3,250 2 Watcher Heart	100
AdeptNG+	Tier 3 & 4 Merchants	1,300 1 Watcher Heart 1 Stormbird Heart	6,500 2 Watcher Heart 2 Stormbird Heart	100
Banuk StrikerFW	Bluegleam Merchants (1 per playthrough)	16 Bluegleam	16 Bluegleam	100
Adept StrikerFW NG+	Bluegleam Merchants (1 per playthrough)	1,250 16 Bluegleam 1 Fireclaw Heart	6,250 16 Bluegleam 1 Fireclaw Heart	100

Notes

Horizon Zero Dawn Weapons
Ranged Weapons	Blast Sling - Forgefire - Hunter Bow - Icerail - Rattler - Ropecaster - Sharpshot Bow - Sling - Stormslinger - Tearblaster - War Bow
Melee Weapons	Spear - Sylens' Lance
Stealth Weapons	Traps - Tripcaster
Heavy Weapons	Deathbringer Gun - Disc Launcher - Firespitter - Firestriker - Mine Launcher - Oseram Cannon - Ravager Cannon