The Black Bow is a normal bow in Elden Ring that can be upgraded with the Barrage Ash of War, and it offers great damage, low weight, and incredible utility if you put in the stat work to equip it.
Bows aren't endgame DPS monsters and it's not easy to get your hands on the Black Bow, but they have their uses in PvP and can help you single out enemies in PvE.
Find the Black Bow
Leyndell, the Royal Capital, is home to the Black Bow. To obtain it, you must first battle two shard-carrying demigods (Godrick and Renalla are good options), then travel to the Altus Plateau, defeat the Draconic Tree Sentinel Boss, and then enter the city.
The main street can be reached by descending the ramparts. In terms of proximity to the Site of Grace, "Avenue Balcony" is the closest name with some Elden Ring items for sale.
Defeat or sidestep the Erdtree Avatar miniboss and head west until you reach a tiny area with a fountain in the center.
There's a Crucible Knight in a hall off to the right of the square. To the contrary, you should not proceed. Drop down using the elevator opposite it. Take a running jump onto the rooftops to the right of the door and cross them.
You'll have to make a few tricky jumps, but the Black Bow will be visible as a shiny object off to your right.
The Black Bow's Passive Abilities and Effects
The Barrage Ash of War can only be fitted with the Black Bow, which is the only normal bow available. You can't add any more Ashes of War to it, and it can only be improved with Somber Smithing Stones.
The Black Bow's Barrage does more damage than it would with a light bow because it is a regular bow, but the weapon is twice as heavy as most other bows. You'll need 20 Dexterity just to use it, which is a lot more than you'll need with most bows.
Everything you wanted to know about the Black Bow in Elden Ring has now been revealed. The fact that it is only available in the middle game belies its all-around usefulness, especially as a harassment tool in PvP. Those high-Dexterity builds that don't have a reliable long-range weapon would benefit greatly from this.