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"...You're all out of arrows? Do I look surprised to you? You wasted shots like it was your day job!"
Malo

Arrows ( Ya?) are recurring items in the The Legend of Zelda series. Arrows serve as projectiles for bows, consisting of sharp arrowheads at the end of thin sticks of wood. Arrows usually deal quite a bit of damage; often equal to or above the damage that a game's weakest sword can deal. Arrows can be found in bundles (or as separate items) and can be purchased from shops, found beneath pots, uncovered by cutting blades of grass, obtained from Treasure Chests, or dropped by enemies. Arrows are occasionally stored in an upgradeable Quiver.

In some of the games, mainly the 3D ones, it is possible to imbue the arrows with magic power and upgrade them into Fire Arrows, Ice Arrows, or Light Arrows. How the upgrade is obtained is different in each game.

Appearances[]

The Legend of Zelda[]

Unlike most bows to appear later in the series, the Bow in this game drains one Rupee per arrow. If Link has no Rupees, the bow cannot fire any arrows. Link can purchase arrows in shops from a Merchant at any point in the game, though he cannot use them until he finds the Bow. Link can obtain Silver Arrows later in the game, which deal more damage than standard arrows.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past[]

Arrows can be found in bundles of five or ten. Link's maximum limit for arrows kept at one time can be upgraded with the help of Venus. Link can obtain Silver Arrows by throwing normal arrows into the Mysterious Pond at the base of the Pyramid in the Dark World.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening[]

Once Link has obtained the Bow from the shop in Mabe Village, he can purchase ten arrows for the price of 20 Rupees from that same store. Bundles of arrows, suspended in air by wings, can also be found in dungeons and during the Rapids Ride mini-game.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time[]

An Arrow from Ocarina of Time
"The projectile of choice for a bow. It can hit enemies from a distance."
— Item menu description in Ocarina of Time 3D

Once Link has obtained the Fairy Bow from the Forest Temple, bundles of arrows can be found all over Hyrule via traditional methods. Link can also upgrade his quiver twice. The first upgrade increases the maximum from 30 to 40 and the second increases it to 50. This is the first game in the series that features Fire, Ice, and Light Arrows.

In the 3DS remake, when Link has other arrow types (Fire, Ice, and Light Arrows) he can select which arrow to equip to his Fairy Bow while selecting the Bow on the item menu.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask[]

Once Link has obtained the Hero's Bow from the Woodfall Temple, bundles of arrows can be found throughout Termina. Link can also upgrade his quiver twice, in order to attain a maximum limit of 40 and 50 arrows, respectively. Arrows are one of the items that cannot return in time with Link, emptying his quiver when he returns to the First Day. The Bow, Fire, Ice, and Light Arrows are found in each major dungeon, and are compulsory for the completion of the game.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker[]

Once Link has obtained the Hero's Bow from the Tower of the Gods, bundles of arrows can be found on the Great Sea and in sub-sea Hyrule. The Great Fairies residing on the Western and Thorned Fairy Islands can also upgrade Link's quiver to hold 60 and 99 arrows respectively. If an arrow is shot into a surface and sticks, Link can retrieve it if he can reach it before it disappears.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap[]

Once Link has obtained the Bow, bundles of Arrows can be found throughout Hyrule. His quiver can also be upgraded twice. Link can also use Blue Picolyte to briefly increase the amount of Arrows he finds.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess[]

Once Link has obtained the Hero's Bow from the Goron Mines, bundles of arrows can be found throughout Hyrule. Unlike Bombs, Arrows can still be obtained by cutting grass, but appear more rarely than Rupees and Hearts. His quiver can also be upgraded twice by completing the STAR Game in Hyrule Castle Town. Link can also recover single arrows shot by either himself or enemies if they have been embedded in a surface, though they will vanish after a set amount of time. The Fire and Ice arrows do not appear in this game, but Bombs of any type may be attached to arrows and Bulblins utilize Fire Arrows. Light Arrows feature in this game, though they cannot be used by Link, but are instead granted to Zelda during the horseback battle with Ganondorf which she fires from the Bow of Light given to her by the Light Spirits.

Arrows are a large improvement over Slingshot pellets, which are inaccurate, lose a significant amount of height over long distances, and do not deal damage to sturdier enemies. Arrows, on the other hand, will lose very little height, even over great distances (although Bomb Arrows will drop faster because of their increased weight). Additionally, arrows inflict more damage than pellets, and can be used for many functions that the Slingshot cannot (such as shooting out the 'eye' in a Beamos).

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass[]

The Bow (as well as Arrows) is the main treasure of the Temple of Courage. A new feature is the existence of Arrow Orbs in some dungeons. If an arrow is fired at them, they will absorb it and fire it in the direction they are facing instead of the way the arrow was supposed to go. The crystals can be turned around by hitting them with the Boomerang or Sword. They can also stun Phantoms and Reaplings if shot at their backs. Arrows are usually obtained from Item Bulbs.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks[]

Once the bow has been obtained from the Fire Temple, Link also receives a quiver (with arrows) that has a maximum capacity of twenty. Later on, Link's quiver can be upgraded to hold a maximum of thirty arrows, by either beating level 3 of Take 'Em All On, or buying it in the Goron shop for 2,000 Rupees. After that, the largest quiver can be obtained in the Pirate Hideout after scoring between 3000-3999 points. Once Link receives the Bow of Light, he can fire Light Arrows by holding his bow for a few seconds before firing. The Light Arrows travel slightly faster than ordinary arrows, can defeat most enemies in a single hit (with the exception of all bosses, a few mini-bosses, and Like Likes), and are capable of hitting multiple foes if they are in the arrow's path. Arrows can be bought in bundles of ten for 50 Rupees, and be found in bundles of five in pots, bushes, or Item Bulbs. Link can carry a maximum of 50 arrows by obtaining both quivers.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword[]

Arrows are used alongside various Bows. Link can shoot items such as Hearts with an arrow, pinning them against walls; he can then retrieve the item and his arrow. The arrow pickups seem identical in appearance to the Twilight Princess variety. However, they are far rarer, and can no longer be obtained by cutting grass and found only as drops from Bokoblin archers, large pots, or barrels (which are the only containers that could feasibly carry them). Link can also retrieve any shot arrows that are stuck to the ground or wall before they disappear. Interestingly, using a Wooden Shield or any of its upgrades to defend against arrows fired by Bokoblin archers will result in the arrow becoming stuck in the shield, allowing Link to collect it by sheathing his sword and shield. However care should be taken while using this method as the arrows can damage Link's shield while doing so and it is advisable for Link to carry Revitalizing Potion to repair Link's shield. It should be noted this method only works with wood-based shields.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds[]

Link's arrows are not limited in numbers, but rather the Energy Gauge per shot. Once the gauge runs out, he cannot shoot anymore arrows until it recovers. The Nice Bow shoots three arrows per shot.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes[]

The Energy Gauge returns and the Links can not fire arrows if the gauge is empty. Wearing the Kokiri Clothes allows Link to fire three arrows per shot.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild[]

Due to the new weapon mechanics introduced, arrow damage is no longer fixed; instead the damage dealt is based on the type of bow being used. Critical hits are also possible when an arrow hits an enemy in their weak spot (usually the head, the eye for Guardians, or horns for Lizalfos), resulting in additional damage and extreme knock-back as well as a "ping" sound and quick flash of light at the point of impact. Some bows are even capable of firing multiple shots at a time while still only consuming one arrow from Link's quiver. Arrow variants include Fire, Ice, Shock, Bomb, Ancient and Light. Also for the first time Arrows act as Materials as they are required by the Ancient Oven Cherry to craft Ancient Arrows.

Similar to Skyward Sword, missed arrows or arrows which otherwise cause no damage (such as those fired in order to trigger a switch or light a torch) can be picked back up. Even arrows fired by enemies can be collected, though there is a limit on how many can be collected this way per creature. Link can also collect arrows by using any shield made of wood, as arrows will become lodged in the wood of the shield, which Link can collect by sheathing his shield, though each arrow will reduce the shield's durability. Unlike missed arrows, there is no limit to the number of arrows Link can obtain from enemies using a wooden shield as long as the shield does not break. Elemental arrows, however, cannot be recovered once they are fired. Bomb Arrows can be recovered if they are fired while it is raining. Ancient Arrows can be recovered if they miss an enemy or animal.

Arrows of all kinds can be found in various chests around the over world or dropped by any enemies which spawn with a bow as their default weapon, or may otherwise be purchased in most shops (either in singles or slightly discounted bundles of 5 or 10). Beedle sells arrows in all locations he appears, either in singles (20 single arrows stock) or a bundle of 10. However if he has a large number of Arrows in his quiver then shops will momentarily stop stocking them which prevents Link from overstocking them.

The Lizalfos archers along Zora River's pathway seem to drop arrows more often than other creatures, possibly due to the nature of the Divine Beast Vah Ruta's challenge after reaching Zora's Domain. If an enemy is firing elemental arrows while alive, any arrows they drop upon death are typically elemental as well.

Burning Arrows[]

Like in past games, Link can light normal arrows on fire by shooting them through fire effectively turning them into makeshift fire arrows, however for the first time in the series, Link can light arrows on fire before firing them, by simply exposing them to open flame (torches, campfires, or any object on fire) while the arrow is drawn. Additionally, Arrows will automatically light on fire in volcanic heat like all wooden equipment. However this can be problematic as lit arrows cause fire damage which roasts meat dropped by animals making it hard to obtain raw meats from animals such as Eldin Ostriches (which drop rare Raw Whole Bird meat) in volcanic areas, however Link can switch to Shock Arrows as they do not effect the meat. Additionally, unlike normal Fire Arrows, makeshift fire arrows will eventually burn up destroying the arrow, thus Link should be careful not to keep them lit for too long. Link can put out burning arrows while the bow is drawn by putting away his bow, which prevents Link from using up the arrow. In addition to normal makeshift fire arrows, Link can also create makeshift Blue Fire arrows by exposing arrows to a blue flame, though this can only be done in Deep Akkala and Hateno Village where the Ancient Furnaces that produce Blue Flame are found. However the only difference is Blue Fire Arrows can light Blue Flame Lanterns and the Blue Flame furnaces that power the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab and Hateno Ancient Tech Lab with blue flame. Makeshift fire arrows cannot be created if it is raining as exposure to rain will put out the fire.

Hyrule Compendium[]

Arrow[]
"A common arrow. Its shaft was carved from the wood of a sturdy tree."
Hyrule Compendium
Fire Arrow[]
"An Arrow imbued with the power of fire. It breaks apart on impact, igniting objects in the immediate area. It's incredibly effective against cold things."
— Hyrule Compendium
Ice Arrow[]
"An Arrow imbued with the power of ice. It breaks apart on impact, freezing objects in the immediate area. It's incredibly effective against hot things."
— Hyrule Compendium
Shock Arrow[]
"An Arrow imbued with the power of electricity. It breaks apart on impact, channeling electricity into nearby objects. It's incredibly effective against metal or anything wet."
— Hyrule Compendium
Bomb Arrow[]
"A powerful arrow designed to destroy monsters. The explosive powder packed into the tip ignites on impact, dealing massive damage to anything caught in the blast."
— Hyrule Compendium
Ancient Arrow[]
"An arrow created using ancient technology. To be struck with one is to be consigned to oblivion in an instant. It deals devastating damage-even against Guardians."
— Hyrule Compendium

Non-Canonical appearances[]

Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the Legend of Zelda series and should not be considered part of the overall storyline.

Hyrule Warriors[]

Ghirahim's 8-Bit Arrow

Arrows appear as ammunition for the Bow and unlimited. The 8-Bit Arrow appears as Ghirahim's 8-bit weapon in his Demon Blade moveset and the 8-Bit Arrow is humorously depicted as a Sword in Hyrule Warriors.

Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.

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