Dark bow



The Dark bow is often considered to be the strongest bow in RuneScape because its powerful special attack can hit a maximum of 520 as of 9 December 2009. However, this was in the early release of extreme ranging potions, so it is possible that it may be able to hit higher although no higher hit has been seen on video yet. It requires level 60 ranged to use, is the only bow able to fire Dragon arrows, and is a drop unique to Dark beasts, which require level 90 Slayer to kill. The dark bow has a very slow rate of fire, but it fires two arrows at once, and its special attack is useful as it will always hit. Since it gives a +95 range bonus, it can be worn with less range gear and still be reasonably accurate.

Currently, the dark bow is the slowest weapon in game, and due to its slow rate of fire, players using the accurate attack mode when ranging with the dark bow may find their monsters "stolen" by other players with faster weapons. It is commonly used by the more wealthy ranging pkers and by many PJers.

Special attacks
The Dark bow has 2 special attacks and depends on what type of arrow is used:
 * Descent of Darkness: Inflicts up to 30% more damage and does a minimum of 50 damage per arrow.
 * Descent of Dragons: When using dragon arrows, inflicts up to 50% more damage and does a minimum of 80 damage per arrow.

Each special attack drains 65% of the special attack bar. It used to be 55%, but this changed in the updates of 7 October 2009 to prevent players from performing two special attacks in a row by using the Restore Special potion. For lower level range pures this is the best knock-out weapon: it hits 160 for sure, and, if you use a magic short bow, it can be used like a 2h.

The Dark bow is one of three weapons in RuneScape with special attacks that change under certain circumstances, the other two being Zanik's crossbow and the Penance trident.

If the attacked player is using the Protect from Missiles prayer, the minimum hit of the special is lowered to 30 for normal arrows and 48 for Dragon arrows.

Other uses
Strangely, the Dark bow can be used for the Archery competition Activity although it only fires one arrow at a time there. It can also fire as fast as a player can shoot the target and close the score window, allowing the dark bow to be just as fast as any other bow that can shoot a bronze arrow (only in this Activity though).

When you try to light a fire using your dark bow, it says, "The innate darkness of the bow sucks all the heat from your firemaking attempt. You realise that this type of bow is useless for firelighting."

The Special attack can be used while Lootshare is active to ensure you hit the monster.

The Dark bow is also a very popular weapon in PvP combat, since the special attack Descent of Dragons inflicts up to 50% more damage due to the fact that the special will never miss and will deal a minimum damage of 160, unless one uses range protect as said above. When used with the ranged void knight set, the Descent of Dragons special attack is capable of killing most players instantly.

Development Diaries
The Impetuous Impulses development diary contains a description of the development of the dark bow. The diary contains artist impressions of the dark bow, which form the basis for the development of the bow itself and its special effect.

Colouring
In a Guaranteed Content poll created by Jagex on 16 February 2010, the Dark bow was nominated for a recolouring, similar to how the abyssal whip was recoloured (allowing the player to decide between four colours). The poll ended on 22 February 2010, with the dark bow winning with 24% of the votes. The coloured versions of the bow are obtainable as a reward from the Barbarian Assault activity. The colouring will make the bow untradeable; however, to remove the colouring, simply use a cleaning cloth and the bow will return to normal. After Jagex said a new item was to be coloured, people suspected this would be the item. As a result, the Dark bow rose in price from 1.1m to 1.9m within a few weeks. The Dark bow may further increase in price just as the Abyssal whip did. However, it is expected that the price will fall soon after.

On 29 March 2010, Commander Connad was updated so he would recolour Dark Bows because it was the Guaranteed Content poll winner. The dark bow has the same colour options as the whip.

Trivia

 * An ogre composite bow with rune brutal arrows will fire the same number of arrows per minute as the dark bow (if using the Rapid style), and will deal the same maximum hit as dragon arrows (despite being significantly cheaper). The ogre composite bow's accuracy, however, is lower, and it has no special attack.
 * When first introduced, the Dark bow sold for upwards of 60 million coins. Later, it sold for around 20 million coins in mid day and then around 8 million by the end of the day.
 * After Bounty Hunter was introduced, its price dropped dramatically, reaching an astounding 1 million coins.
 * Players cannot use the special attack if they only have one arrow in the quiver.
 * It is somewhat popular against monsters who use Protect prayer styles (such as Tormented Demons or the Kalphite Queen) because the Dark bow's specials always hit.
 * It is one of three weapons in the game that has two different special attacks, the other two being Zanik's crossbow and the Penance Trident.
 * On 7 October 2009, Jagex changed the Dark bow's special attack usage to 65% instead of 55%. As a result, some players began to rant about the increase.
 * A few players who did not know the proper name for Dark Bows thought they were "Dragon Bows", however, dragon bows do not exist.
 * The special attack of the dark bow resembles the head of a black dragon
 * In theory, 125 people wielding Dark Bows and dragon arrows using the special attack simultaneously on the Corporeal Beast would guarantee a kill. It could probably be done with 60-80 people assuming they have high range levels.
 * This leads to the theory that if 10 people simultaneously use the bow (obviously 60 and above range) and all using the range prayer that increases 15% (55 prayer is the minimum requirement for corporeal beast), they can take the beast's hp down by 75% if they use two special attacks 1 after another, although this will rarely happen. This could occur without the special attacks seeing as the players already have 60 range which itself is very accurate.
 * The Dark Bow's inventory picture is vaguely similar to the Seercull's, except it is flipped.
 * When the recoulouring update was first released, if you tried to buy a Dark Bow in the Grand Exchange, the item's photo would be missing. This has since been fixed.