BotW Arrow Farming: Shops, Chest Counts and Ancient Arrows

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has six arrows: Arrow, Fire Arrow, Ice Arrow, Shock Arrow, Bomb Arrow and Ancient Arrow. An arrow’s own attack is 0, so a bow decides the damage and elemental arrows just add an effect (see Bows). No single merchant sells all six, so you need to know who stocks what. This page lists which shops sell what first, then the chest counts and how to take arrows from enemies, and last the Ancient Arrows that only a few places give.

Who sells which arrows?

Beedle at the stables sells Arrows too, at a markup: 6 rupees each, plus Arrow x5 for 30 or Arrow x10 for 45 depending on the stable. Each shop stocks only a few bundles of each kind, and you wait for a restock once you buy them out; the rules are in the next section. The prices are the game’s shop data.

Per arrow, the bigger bundle is always the better deal: an Arrow costs 3.5 rupees in Tarrey Town’s x10 bundle and 6 from Beedle; Fire, Ice and Shock Arrows cost 14 each in a x10 bundle and 20 singly; a Bomb Arrow costs 30 in Danda’s x20 bundle and 50 singly in Hateno. Arrows are cheap enough to buy freely; elemental and Bomb Arrows are the ones to budget for.

How often do shops restock, and why did the arrows stop?

Shops do not restock after a set number of days or with the Blood Moon. The game checks once every midnight, game time, and restocks only when these hold:

• You are far enough away at that moment. The game splits the map into squares about a kilometer across, and shops in the squares around you at midnight do not restock. Sleeping next to the shop does nothing.
• Arrows have one more rule: if you carry 50 or more of a kind, that kind is not restocked. With 300 Arrows and only 20 Fire Arrows, a bought-out shop brings back the Fire Arrows only; the Arrows return once you are below 50. Arrows a merchant has not sold yet stay on sale, which is why one shop still has some while another never refills.
• Every stall counts separately. Beedle’s stock at each stable is his own: buy him out at one stable and he still has arrows at the others.
• The Blood Moon has nothing to do with it. It only revives monsters; see Blood Moon.

To make shops restock arrows:

1. Get that kind of arrow below 50.
2. Warp to the far side of the map, say from Kakariko Village to Gerudo Town.
3. Skip past midnight at a campfire or bed.
4. Warp back and buy, shop by shop. The arrow count is only checked at midnight and restocked arrows stay on the shelf, so going over 50 while you buy this round is fine.

The old trick of passing midnight inside the Trial of the Sword or on Eventide Island, where your inventory is emptied, no longer works since version 1.3.1: the game now looks at your real inventory. Ingredients, ore and other goods also restock at midnight while you are away, without the 50 limit; see ingredient farming.

How many can you find in chests and on the ground?

The game’s placement data has this many chests holding each arrow (loose ones on the ground are in the last column):

There are about 50 five-pack chests for each elemental arrow. Plain arrows are more often loose on the ground, one bundle at a time.

Taking arrows from enemies

Arrows fired by archer monsters land on the ground and can be picked up. It is said that raising a wooden shield to catch an arrow, then releasing ZL, puts the arrows stuck in the shield straight into your pouch. This works best on Bokoblins, Stalkoblins and Yiga Clan archers.

For a big haul, the word is that Lizalfos are best: in the valley from Lanayru Tower toward Zora’s Domain they come in groups and drop arrows in bundles of 5; one run is said to give 100 to 250, and they return after a Blood Moon.

Lynels also leave the bow and arrows they carry; see Lynel Farming.

Where do Ancient Arrows come from?

The game’s text says Ancient Arrows are “extremely effective against Guardians”; a shot in a Guardian’s eye defeats it in one hit (see Guardians). There are only two ways to get them:

• Chests in Hyrule Castle. Nine in all: three hold 1 arrow, five hold a bundle of 3, one holds a bundle of 5 (see the Hyrule Castle Walkthrough).
• Akkala Ancient Tech Lab. Once the blue flame is lit and the furnace works, Cherry makes them from ancient materials, Arrows and rupees, singly or in bundles of 3 or 5. For ancient materials see Ancient Materials.

How to spend fewer arrows

A bow that fires several at once still uses one arrow per shot: the Forest Dweller’s Bow, Great Eagle Bow, Lynel Bow, Mighty Lynel Bow and Savage Lynel Bow fire three, and the Duplex Bow fires two (see Bows). For a nearly endless supply, the arrow-duplication method and its risks are in Glitches.

See also

• TotK Arrow Farming: the sequel has only the plain Arrow; elemental arrows come from Fuse.
• Rupee Farming: where the money for arrows comes from.
• Combat Tips: headshots for double damage, mid-air slow-motion shots.
• Arrows of Burning Heat: Rola’s side quest in Kakariko Village, lighting torches with burning arrows.