The Survivalists is a lot of fun (and it’s the exact sort of game I like), but a few of its features are a little counterintuitive. Case in point, the bow and arrow can be a little tricky to use. So here is a complete guide to using the bow and arrow in The Survivalists.
How to craft the bow
First of all, you must craft the bow. And the bow needs to be unlocked by crafting all of the prerequisites. So, you’ll need to first craft the hand axe, then the straw bundle, then the wooden rod. You can craft all of these things by hand, but from this point on, you’ll need a workbench. Once you have the workbench, you should unlock the bow recipe as long as you’ve crafted the wooden rod.
To craft the bow, you will need:
- 1 wooden rod
- 2 rope
- 2 mud
Once you craft the bow, you’ll unlock the first set of arrows, the Flimsy Arrows. Crafting the Flimsy Arrows unlocks the Lightweight Arrows, and crafting the Lightweight Arrows unlocks the Sturdy Arrows. Obviously, the Sturdy Arrows are the strongest of the three.
Here are the required materials for each type of arrow:
Flimsy Arrows
- 2 wooden rod
- 3 pebbles
- 3 petals
Lightweight Arrows
- 2 wooden rod
- 3 metal ingot
- 3 petals
Sturdy Arrows
- 2 wooden rod
- 3 gemstone
- 3 petals
You cannot use the bow without arrows, so if you haven’t managed to find any (orcs will sometimes drop them) you’ll need to craft some arrows before you use the bow.
How to combine the bow and the arrows
Once you have a bow and a stack of arrows, you will need to combine them. This is the step that throws a lot of people off. In fact, this part took me a bit of time to figure out myself.
All you have to do is make sure both the bow and the arrows are in your inventory bar. At this point, select the arrows and press the action button (square on PS4, X on Xbox One) and your character will do a little crafting animation. Once this is done, the bow and arrows should be a single item instead of two (the “quality” of the bow is based on what type of arrows you have equipped).
As far as I can tell, there’s no way to manually separate the bow from the arrows once they’re combined. If you drop the item and pick it back it, it will still be one item instead of two.
However, if you wear out the bow and arrows completely (by draining its “health” meter), the arrows will disappear and the bow will go back to being just a bow. At this point, it can be combined with a fresh set of arrows.
How to use the bow and arrows
Using the bow is simple. Hold the action button (square on PS4 and X on Xbox One) to draw the bow, and release it to fire. While you’re drawing you can aim with the left thumbstick.
You can move the aiming reticle further away from you, but I’ve not found the arrow to fly faster or farther by moving the reticle. Also, your arrows have quite a bit of penetrating power and will often fly right trough multiple enemies, bushes, and boulders.
I should also point out that stags and boars can block arrows with their horns, so they must be shot from the side or behind. It’s the same principle as using the spear, but it’s worth pointing out here.
And yes, you can kill fish with arrows.
