Where the bow is most effective
The Twisted Bow doesn’t follow the conventional effects of normal Ranged weapons. Other Ranged weapons have calculations based on the player’s Ranged Level. In contrast, the TBow calculates damage and accuracy using the target’s Magic Level. That makes it the perfect weapon to use against bosses with high Magic.
A List of Bosses with High Magic
- Giant Mole (200 Magic, 60 Ranged Def)
- Dagannoth Prime (255 Magic, 0 Ranged Def)
- Commander Zilyana (300 Magic, 100 Ranged Def)
- K’ril Tsutsaroth (200 Magic, 80 Ranged Def)
- Zulrah (300 Magic, 50 Ranged Def)
- Great Olm (250 Magic, 50 Ranged Def)
- Vorkath (150 Magic, 26 Ranged Def)
- Abyssal Sire (200 Magic, 60 Ranged Def)
- Alchemical Hydra (260 Magic, 45 Ranged Def)
- Chaos Elemental (270 Magic, 70 Ranged Def)
- Chaos Fanatic (200 Magic, 80 Ranged Def)
- King Black Dragon (240 Magic, 70 Ranged Def)
Now, you might be wondering why the Ranged Defense is also listed. The bow’s accuracy, despite being calculated based on the target’s magic, sometimes can’t overcome the defense of the target. Such is the case when fighting Vet’ion, who has 300 Magic and 270 Ranged Defense.
Well, it was the case of a character not having 99 Ranged. Maybe that can help with overcoming the enemy’s defense. At any rate, when that happens, it would be better if you use a different combat style. It would be a waste of ammunition to try and hit the enemy. Due to the bow’s nature, it will be a big hit, but you’ll have missed so much. Sure, Ava’s Devices can help mitigate it, but it’s still not a 100% return rate.
The Twisted Bow can also be used in raids, as a majority of the bosses in it have high Magic levels. Also, if you look at Giant Mole closely, it doesn’t matter to the bow whether the target uses magic or not. The Mole has 200 Magic, but only uses Melee to attack.
Why Use a Twisted Bow?
Ranged is ultimately cheaper than Magic. You’ll have to contend with rune costs when casting spells, and you’ll have to bring along certain kinds for specific ones. Sure, ammunition can also be expensive, but at least that’s mitigated by Ava’s Devices to an extent. With Magic, if the spell fails or misses, you can’t get your runes back. It also offers safespotting advantages, as Magic does.
Where to Get It
Without spending a single GP, you’d better hope a friend gives you one. It drops from the Chambers of Xeric raid, with a 2.36% chance if you rolled for the chance for unique loot. That makes it insanely valuable. At the time of writing, it fetches a price of 1.1B on the Grand Exchange. It’s one of the most expensive things on the market at the moment.
Doing one run of Chambers of Xeric is already grueling, with all the preparation you have to do. Farming it for the chance to get a Twisted Bow can get costly. Sure it’s going to get easier with all the repetitions you do, but that doesn’t lessen the fatigue that builds up. Unless you’re really lucky, you might have to spend as much as the bow is worth to get it from the raid.
Of course, there’s also the option to buy OSRS gold or the bow directly from sketchy online sellers. However, you should decide if it’s worth it to do so. It is the fastest way to get it, but you can get flagged for suspicious behavior. Weigh the pros and cons first.
Conclusions
The Twisted Bow is a powerful weapon, but only in certain situations. When you’re collecting pets or boss hunting, it is certainly a useful tool. It would also be welcome in raids. While Enchanted Ruby Bolts can out-DPS a TBow, that’s only when the boss still has high HP. The bolts’ effectiveness falls off when there’s low HP. The TBow’s damage, however, stays the same all throughout the fight, giving a more consistent performance.
Of course, the bow isn’t a must-have. It’s certainly strong and fun to use, but only the rich or really lucky can have one. Budget weapons can sometimes work as well as or better than the Twisted Bow. There’s always the right tool for the job, and sometimes, the bow isn’t the right tool.
No matter what weapon you want to use, keep on enjoying OSRS.