The Venator bow is a two-handed ranged weapon requiring 80 Ranged to wield, firing any arrow up to dragon arrows at a speed of 5 ticks (3.0s). It carries +90 ranged attack and +25 ranged strength, but its real draw is a charge-fuelled passive that lets each shot bounce to up to two nearby enemies in multicombat — up to 233% of its normal max hit per attack. It is built from five venator shards dropped by the Phantom Muspah, and its tradeable uncharged form sells on the Grand Exchange for roughly 69M coins.
Equipment bonuses
The Venator bow's offensive stats are +90 ranged attack and +25 ranged strength — solid but below the very top bows. What sets it apart is not the table but its multi-target passive, which lets a single shot land on up to three enemies at once.
Attack bonuses
Defence bonuses
Other bonuses
It attacks once every 5 ticks (3.0 seconds) with a base attack range of 6 (8 on Longrange), and requires 80 Ranged to wield. The charged and uncharged forms share identical combat stats.
Grand Exchange price history
How to get the Venator bow
The Venator bow is not a direct drop — it is made by combining five venator shards. Each shard is a rare drop from the Phantom Muspah at a rate of 1/100, and the shard occupies the entire drop slot, so when one is received no other loot drops alongside it.
Because you need five shards, expect roughly 500 Phantom Muspah kills on average to assemble a bow from scratch. Most players instead buy the finished (uncharged) bow on the Grand Exchange, since the tradeable form trades freely. You can check the current market price using our OSRS GE price tracker before deciding whether to grind the shards or buy outright.
Passive effect, charging & the tradeable price
The Venator bow exists in two forms. The uncharged bow is tradeable and is what the live price above tracks — it works as an ordinary level-80 bow with no special effect and never degrades. The charged bow is untradeable: to gain its passive you charge it with ancient essence, with each essence adding one charge (up to a maximum of 50,000 charges). One charge is spent per attack regardless of how many bounces occur, and a fully charged bow lasts about 33.3 hours of continuous combat before reverting to its uncharged form. Un-charging returns all unused essence to your inventory.
When charged and attacking in a multicombat area, each shot's arrow can ricochet to a second and then a third nearby enemy. The second and third hits each roll their own accuracy and deal a max hit equal to two-thirds (66%) of the original, rounded down — so a single shot can deal up to 233% of the bow's standard max hit. Bounces only reach targets within 2 tiles of the previous target, and still occur even if a hit misses or a target dies. The effect does nothing in single-combat areas, and struggles on enemies 3x3 or larger, whose size pushes them out of bounce range of one another.
Is the Venator bow worth it?
At roughly 69M coins for the uncharged form, the Venator bow is a specialist tool rather than an all-round upgrade. It shines at killing tightly-packed enemies in multicombat — a cheaper, more attention-free alternative to barraging or chinchompas at Slayer spots such as abyssal demons, dust devils and mutated bloodvelds in the Catacombs of Kourend. Paired with a serpentine helm and poisoned arrows it can also spread venom across multiple targets in one shot.
For single-target DPS it is outclassed by dedicated bows, and on bosses larger than 2x2 the bounce can't chain. So it earns its price specifically for AoE Slayer and multi-combat farming, plus a few stack-able boss scenarios like the Grotesque Guardians. If you are not yet doing that content, a standard high-level bow will serve you better — see our ranged gear guide for the wider upgrade path.
Venator bow FAQ
What level do you need for the Venator bow?
You need 80 Ranged to wield the Venator bow. It has no other skill requirements.
How do you get the Venator bow?
You make it by combining five venator shards. Each shard is a 1/100 drop from the Phantom Muspah, so a full bow takes around 500 kills on average. You can also just buy the finished uncharged bow on the Grand Exchange.
What is the Venator bow's special attack?
The Venator bow has no special attack. Instead it has a charge-fuelled passive effect: in multicombat areas its arrows bounce to up to two nearby enemies, with the second and third hits each dealing 66% of the max hit — up to 233% of normal damage across one shot.
How do you charge the Venator bow?
You charge it with ancient essence — one essence per charge, up to 50,000 charges. One charge is used per attack no matter how many bounces happen, and a full charge lasts about 33.3 hours of combat. The bow then reverts to its uncharged form, and un-charging returns any leftover essence.
Why is the live price the uncharged Venator bow?
Only the uncharged bow is tradeable, so that is the form bought and sold on the Grand Exchange and the one the price chart tracks. The charged bow is untradeable — you charge a bought uncharged bow yourself with ancient essence.
Is the Venator bow good?
It is very good for multicombat and AoE Slayer, where the bouncing arrows let one shot hit up to three packed enemies. It is weak in single combat and against enemies 3x3 or larger, since the bounce range is only 2 tiles. So it is a specialist farming weapon rather than a top single-target bow.
How much is the Venator bow worth?
The uncharged (tradeable) Venator bow trades for roughly 69M coins on the Grand Exchange, though the price moves with the market. Check the live price on our GE price tracker.
What arrows does the Venator bow use?
It can fire any type of arrow, up to dragon arrows. A common trick is pairing it with a serpentine helm and poisoned arrows so its bouncing shots spread venom across multiple targets at once.
Update history
The Venator bow gained a bank item option for changing charges (Game Jam: Charges QoL).
Remaining-charge chat messages now broadcast at every increment of 500 charges and at 100 and 50 charges; secondary hits now roll their own accuracy checks instead of reusing the initial hit's; arrows can now ricochet even if their target dies; and the speed of ricocheting arrows was increased.
Hotfix: all bounces now correctly hit up to 66% of max-hit damage, and the Venator bow became usable within Barbarian Assault.
Source: OSRS Wiki — Venator bow (Changes).
