Best Tipped Arrows in Minecraft
Tipped Arrows are a neat addition to combat within Minecraft, and can be used to apply status effects from afar. This guide goes over some of the more useful effects so that you know what to aim for.
Before choosing an arrow, keep in mind that Tipped Arrows still deal normal arrow damage in addition to applying their potion effect. Their effect duration is also much shorter than the potion they are made from, so some effects are much better on arrows than others.
1. Instant Harming
Instant Harming is an effect that, when applied to an arrow, can apply extra damage to its target. The way Minecraft handles this is fairly strange, as it does not simply add a fixed amount of damage on top of the arrow.
Instead, the game checks the damage the arrow itself has dealt. If the arrow has dealt less than 12 damage, the Harming effect makes up the difference so that the hit reaches 12 damage. If the arrow would already deal 12 or more damage, the Harming effect will not add much value.
This makes Instant Harming a great option against living, non-undead threats, mainly players or tougher mobs, especially when your normal arrow damage would otherwise be reduced. It is less useful with very strong enchanted bows, since those shots may already deal enough damage without the effect.
Avoid using Instant Harming against undead mobs, since Instant Damage heals undead enemies instead of hurting them.
2. Poison
Poison arrows are slower to apply damage than Instant Harming, but can generally deal more damage over time if the target survives long enough. As such, Poison arrows are a fantastic option for consistent pressure against mobs or players, assuming they are vulnerable to the effect.
Unlike Instant Harming, Poison is not trying to “cap” or “correct” the arrow’s damage. This means it can still be useful in conjunction with enchanted bows, since the arrow damage and the poison damage both matter.
The main downside is that Poison cannot finish a target by itself. It can reduce an enemy to very low health, but you will still need a follow-up hit to finish the fight. It also does not affect undead mobs, spiders, cave spiders, or the Ender Dragon.
Longer-duration Poison is usually recommended for Tipped Arrows, since arrow effects are already shortened heavily compared to normal potions.
3. Instant Healing
While it may seem counter-intuitive to place healing potions on an arrow, Instant Healing can be a useful tool against undead mobs, since it acts in a similar fashion to Harming potions against them.
This makes Arrows of Healing a strong specialized option against zombies, skeletons, strays, husks, drowned, wither skeletons, and other undead targets. Against those mobs, Instant Healing becomes a source of damage instead of recovery.
Additionally, it can be used as an extremely risky ranged healing option if you are accurate enough and your bow will not deal enough damage to defeat your target. Since the arrow still deals normal arrow damage, this is generally only worth considering in very specific situations, such as helping a teammate from far away with a weak bow or crossbow.
Against regular living mobs and players, do not use Healing arrows offensively unless your goal is to heal them.
4. Slowness
Crowd control is an extremely important aspect of combat, especially when fighting other players. Slowness may not deal damage, but it can cripple the movement of your target, making follow-up shots easier.
Slowness arrows are useful when you need to stop a target from escaping, keep a dangerous mob at a distance, or make it easier to land more arrows. You can choose between extended duration or a higher level of Slowness to really keep them locked down. It all depends on your preference and the situation at hand.
The stronger versions hit harder in the moment, but the extended version is usually more reliable if your goal is to control the fight for longer.
5. Weakness
Weakness, another crowd control effect, reduces the melee damage of the target upon hitting them. This can be crucial if you are planning on closing the distance for swordfighting, since it immediately puts your target at a disadvantage in close-range combat.
It can be applied semi-safely at range, giving you the opportunity to move in while the target is less threatening. This is especially useful against enemies that rely on melee damage, but it will not do much against targets that are mainly using bows, crossbows, splash potions, or other ranged attacks.
Just remember, Weakness itself does not damage your target. It is best used as a setup tool before a close-range fight, not as a finishing option.
Honorable Mentions
Arrow of Decay
Arrow of Decay is a powerful Bedrock Edition-only tipped arrow that applies the Wither effect. Unlike Poison, Wither can finish off targets, making it extremely dangerous. However, it is not normally craftable or brewable in Survival. In Bedrock Edition, the only legitimate Survival way to obtain Arrows of Decay is through master-level Fletcher villager trades, so they are rare and may require leveling or rerolling several Fletchers.
Arrow of the Turtle Master
Arrow of the Turtle Master can be useful for stopping movement, but it is awkward because it also gives the target Resistance. This means the target becomes harder to damage while slowed, so it is better as an escape or delay tool than a direct damage option.
Arrow of Strength
Arrow of Strength is not something you want to shoot at an enemy, but it can work as a risky support arrow for teammates. Like Healing arrows, the problem is that the arrow still deals damage, so it should only be used carefully.
Overall Best Picks
For general combat, Instant Harming is usually the strongest direct-damage option against living targets. Poison is better when you want pressure over time, while Slowness and Weakness are better for controlling how the fight plays out.
Against undead mobs, Instant Healing is the standout choice. Against players, the best arrow depends on your goal: Harming for damage, Poison for pressure, Slowness for control, and Weakness before closing into melee.