The advertising of Palworld made it pretty clear that this game is all about cute little monsters with big honkin' guns. You don't start off with access to firearms, though, and early on you'll need to rely on some more... primitive means of defending yourself. The earliest ranged weapon you can get in this regard is the Bow.
This guide will help you craft and use your first Bows in Palworld. They work similarly to guns, they just don't shoot as fast - which makes Bows a good primer for the heavy artillery you'll acquire later in the game.
Crafting Bows
The first Bow you can access is the Old Bow, a level 3 Technology. You'll need to build a Primitive Workbench to create an Old Bow, and on top of that you'll need 30 Wood, 5 Stone, and 15 Fiber. The Wood and Stone are self-explanatory, while you'll get the Fiber chopping down trees for the Wood.
In addition to the Old Bow you'll need Arrows. These can also be constructed at a Primitive Workbench, and cost 1 Wood and 1 Stone to make. Unlike the Old Bow, which quickly goes out of style, you can continue to craft plain 'ol Arrows for later Bows. Arrows are constructed in packs of three, so you'll get a lot of arrows out of your Wood and Stone investment.
(Arrows also take quite a while to craft en masse. Try to assign at least one Pal to your base that has the Handiwork Work Suitability. Otherwise you'll just have to sit at your Primitive Workbench and hold the crafting button down. Not fun.)
Be sure to equip your Old Bow before you head out. Time to test the thing.
Using Bows
Bows are charging weapons. There's three quick steps to using one, or two if you're a good shot:
- Go into aiming mode (left bumper on a controller / right mouse button), and stay in it. This zooms in over your character's shoulder, allowing you a tighter, more controlled attack.
- Ready your arrow (right bumper on a controller / left mouse button). If you hold this button down your arrow will acquire a bit of a charge, allowing you more power when you release the arrow.
- Release the shoot button (right bumper / left mouse button). Your arrow will fly towards the aiming reticule on the screen, striking whatever's in the middle. Arrows travel in a slight arc over distances, but for the most part they will hit what they're aimed at.
If you happened to catch a Pal in your sights, then, well done! You've now done damage with your Bow. If the Pal's still alive - which is likely - you can either ready another arrow, or switch to a melee weapon and move in for CQC. Bows are very handy for sniping Pals that would otherwise run away, and you can perform a quick one-two catch on weaker Pals with a Bow shot and chucking a Pal Sphere.
As with other tools and weapons, Bows degrade over time. Make sure you fix your Bow at a Repair Bench.
Upgrading Your Bow
After a while you'll move away from Bows and into firearms. While they last, however, Bows can prove quite handy. There are several more types of Bows down the Technology tree:
- Fire Bows (Technology level 5), which can set Pals on fire with Fire Arrows and drain their HP
- Poison Bows (Technology level 8), which can Poison Pals with Poison Arrows and drain their HP
- Three Shot Bows (Technology level 10), which can fire three arrows in a single volley
There are also Crossbow equivalents to each of these bow types (except the Three Shot Bow) at higher levels, which fire a bit more slowly but are more precise and hit harder. You should be using arrows for a good long while before you move on to guns. Enjoy!