Ranged weapons like bows and crossbows hardly play a role in Elden Ring. They are neither among the strongest nor the most practical weapons. However, players have discovered a glitch that makes these weapons exaggeratedly powerful.
What is the problem with the bows? The weapon category has a bad reputation among most players in Elden Ring. Particularly in the endgame, hardly anyone really relies on bows, except to inflict status effects from a distance.
In our weapon tier list, this is clearly seen, as hardly any ranged weapon goes beyond the B rating, S-tier weapons are nonexistent in these categories.
However, as it is quite easy to find and PvP players should be warned, we link here a video that impressively shows why this is such a severe glitch:
Glitch makes ranged weapons very strong in both PvE and PvP
What kind of glitch is this? Without providing a guide: It is based on a buggy damage calculation in the game, combined with the hefty hand cannon.
In the linked video above, one can see how powerful this glitch is. It lasts not even 12 seconds and shows how a player takes out 3 PvP opponents at once – with just one shot from his crossbow.
Meanwhile, he asks the developers FromSoftware to fix this bug, as it is “game-breaking”, meaning it can destroy the game.
The video is from April 16 and thus appeared before the release of Patch 1.04 and the hotfix patch 1.04.1. Therefore, it seems the developers are either not aware of this glitch yet or are working on a solution.
Such glitches are nothing new for FromSoftware games, as fans vividly remember.
Elden Ring has “almost all glitches from previous games”
What do the players say about it? Most find this playstyle rather interesting, precisely because bows and crossbows otherwise play no significant role.
MikyKalamary writes, for example, under a YouTube video about the glitch:
I love that Elden Ring contains almost all the errors from previous games: the boss cheese glitch from Dark Souls 2, the wrong warp from Dark Souls Remastered, and the ammo swap glitch from Dark Souls 3. Just amazing.
Alex Lindstrom comments: “The lesson of the story: they really need to strengthen the ranged weapons, […]”
Other players wonder if one could be banned for using the glitch. There is no clear answer to this question, but one can at least estimate the risk based on previous games.
The risk of such glitches is likely quite low, as it utilizes regular game mechanics, without a major interference in the game itself.
It is more likely that it will be fixed with the next patch. It could also take longer. So at least you should keep in mind that you should be cautious with players using a hand cannon in online mode.
Other glitches even lead to world records: Elden Ring can be completed in under 7 minutes thanks to the zip-line glitch – “Alright, I’m done with this”
