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Explosive Arrow Build
June 8, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Removed duplicate in-body wikilinks
The Explosive Arrow Build is one of the most powerful ranged setups in Crimson Desert, capable of trivializing boss fights and clearing large groups of enemies with ease. The core idea is simple: you equip a single Explosive Arrow and pair it with Abyss Gears that give a chance not to consume arrows on each shot. Because the game only checks consumption after the shot fires, your single explosive arrow is never actually used up as long as the Abyss Gear proc triggers. The result is an infinite supply of explosive arrows that deal devastating AoE damage with every shot.
When combined with Critical Rate boosts from accessories and equipment, this build turns Kliff into an explosive arrow machine gun. Focus Shot lets you fire rapidly while maintaining safe distance from enemies, and the AoE blast from each explosive arrow stacks up damage on tightly grouped targets. It requires significant farming and setup time to assemble the right Abyss Gears, but once everything is in place, this build handles virtually every encounter in the endgame with minimal risk.
Three core elements need to come together for this build to function. Missing any one of them either breaks the build entirely or reduces its effectiveness to the point where a standard bow build would perform better.
Explosive Arrows are a special ammunition type that deals fire-element AoE damage on impact. Each arrow creates a blast radius that hits all enemies within range, making them far more effective than standard arrows against groups. You can purchase Explosive Arrows from the Back Alley Shop in Demeniss. The vendor sells them in limited quantities, so you may need to visit multiple times or wait for restocks. Only buy a single Explosive Arrow for this build, since the entire point is that you never consume it.
The Explosive Arrow article covers the full details on this ammunition type, including its base damage values and blast radius.
The backbone of this build is the "chance not to consume arrows" Abyss Gear effect. There are multiple tiers available:
Infinite Arrows II provides a 40% chance not to consume arrows on each shot. A single copy of this gear gives you a decent proc rate, but you will still burn through your explosive arrow periodically.
Infinite Arrows III provides a 60% chance not to consume arrows. This is the minimum recommended tier for reliable infinite arrow usage. At 60%, the majority of your shots will not consume the arrow, though occasional bad luck streaks can still eat it.
Two copies of Infinite Arrows II stacked together give an 80% chance not to consume. This is the most reliable option if you cannot obtain Infinite Arrows III. With an 80% proc rate, losing your explosive arrow becomes extremely rare.
These Abyss Gears are obtained through Abyss Core Synthesis. The process involves farming Abyss Cores from enemies and bosses, then synthesizing them at a workbench. Getting the specific "Infinite Arrows" effect is not guaranteed; you may need to synthesize many cores before rolling the right one. Refer to the synthesis guide for detailed drop locations and extraction methods.
While not strictly required for the build to function, stacking Critical Rate transforms it from strong to absurd. Critical hits with explosive arrows deal massive AoE burst damage, and because you are firing rapidly with Focus Shot, even a moderate crit rate translates into frequent critical explosions.
Sources of Critical Rate include:
Accessories with Critical Rate substats (see the Best Accessories Guide)
Refined equipment with Critical Rate bonuses (see Equipment Refinement)
Certain food buffs from Cooking that temporarily increase crit chance
Skill tree passives in the Archery branch that grant flat crit rate increases
Aim for as much Critical Rate as you can stack. Every percentage point directly increases your sustained damage output because of the sheer volume of shots this build fires.
Travel to Demeniss and locate the Back Alley Shop. This vendor is not on the main street; look for a side alley or hidden storefront near the market district. Purchase a single Explosive Arrow. That is all you need. Do not buy extras unless you want a safety net while farming your Abyss Gears, since without the Infinite Arrows effect active you will lose the arrow on the first shot.
This is the most time-consuming step. You need to farm Abyss Cores and synthesize them repeatedly until you roll an Infinite Arrows II or Infinite Arrows III effect. The synthesis process is random, so patience is required. Focus on farming areas with high Abyss Core drop rates to speed up the process.
If you get two copies of Infinite Arrows II before landing a single Infinite Arrows III, use both. The 80% combined chance is more reliable than a single 60% from tier III, though tier III frees up an Abyss Gear slot for another offensive effect.
Once your Infinite Arrows setup is secure, shift your gearing focus to Critical Rate. Upgrade your accessories, refine your bow for crit substats, and cook food that grants temporary crit bonuses before tough fights. This step is ongoing and scales the build's damage continuously as you find better gear.
The Archery branch of Kliff's skill tree contains the most important passives for this build. Prioritize the following:
Focus Shot upgrades: Focus Shot is the core ability for this build. It lets you fire rapidly while aiming, turning you into the explosive arrow machine gun. Invest in any nodes that reduce Focus Shot cooldown, increase its fire rate, or extend its duration.
Archery damage passives: Any flat or percentage damage increase to bow attacks directly scales your explosive arrow hits.
Critical Rate passives: The Archery branch includes nodes that grant flat Critical Rate bonuses. Take every single one.
Aim stability nodes: Reduced aim sway helps you land shots accurately at longer range, which matters because this build wants to keep distance from enemies.
For a broader view of Kliff's ranged options, see the Kliff Bow Build article, which covers general archery skill priorities in more detail.
The gameplay loop is straightforward once everything is set up. Open with Focus Shot at range, spam explosive arrows into enemy groups, and maintain distance. Because each explosive arrow deals AoE damage, you do not need to aim precisely at individual targets. Shoot into clusters and let the blast radius do the work.
The core rotation looks like this:
1. Position yourself at maximum bow range from the enemy or group.
2. Activate Focus Shot to enter rapid-fire mode.
3. Fire explosive arrows continuously. Each shot checks the Infinite Arrows proc independently, so as long as your proc rate is high enough, you will almost never lose the arrow.
4. If enemies close the distance, dodge away and reposition. You want to stay at range where your AoE advantage is strongest.
5. When Focus Shot ends or goes on cooldown, switch briefly to normal attacks or a melee weapon to stall until it comes back.
This build trivializes most boss encounters. Bosses in Crimson Desert tend to have predictable attack patterns with clear tells, giving you time to maintain distance and keep firing. The AoE damage from explosive arrows is especially effective against bosses that summon adds, since the splash hits both the boss and its minions simultaneously.
Against solo bosses with no adds, the build still excels because the raw single-target damage from critical explosive arrows is enormous. Each critical hit with an explosive arrow hits harder than almost any melee combo, and you are landing these hits continuously from a safe distance.
There are situations where the bow is not ideal. Indoor areas with tight corridors limit your ability to maintain distance. Some enemies have gap-closing abilities that put them in your face faster than you can reposition. In these cases, swap to a melee weapon, deal with the immediate threat, then switch back to the bow when you have room to breathe.
Bow: Your best-refined bow with the highest base damage. Crit Rate and Crit Damage substats are ideal.
Abyss Gear Slot 1: Infinite Arrows III (60% chance not to consume) or Infinite Arrows II (40%)
Abyss Gear Slot 2: Second Infinite Arrows II if you do not have tier III, or a damage-boosting Abyss Gear if you already have 60% from a single slot
Accessories: Prioritize Critical Rate. See the Best Accessories Guide for specific recommendations.
Armor: Survivability-focused pieces. This build keeps you at range, but you still need enough defense to survive mistakes.
Ammunition: One (1) Explosive Arrow. That is the entire ammo loadout.
Extremely high sustained AoE damage from safe range
Trivializes most boss fights by maintaining distance while dealing continuous explosive damage
Critical Rate scaling makes the damage grow significantly with better gear
Focus Shot turns every shot into a rapid-fire explosion, clearing groups in seconds
The build is conceptually simple: point, shoot, and watch things explode
Requires significant farming time to obtain the correct Infinite Arrows Abyss Gears through synthesis
If your Abyss Gear proc fails and the explosive arrow is consumed, you need to buy another one from Demeniss
Tight indoor spaces reduce effectiveness because you cannot maintain optimal range
Enemies with ranged attacks or fast gap-closers can pressure you before Focus Shot finishes its cycle
The build is heavily dependent on specific Abyss Gear rolls, making it inconsistent to set up for newer players
Explosive Arrow - Details on the ammunition type and its properties
Infinite Arrows II - The tier II Abyss Gear for arrow conservation
Infinite Arrows III - The tier III Abyss Gear with 60% proc chance
Bow Build Guide - General guide to ranged combat builds for Kliff
Kliff Bow Build - Detailed bow build breakdown and skill tree
Abyss Core Synthesis Guide - How to farm and synthesize Abyss Cores
Best Accessories Guide - Optimal accessory choices for various builds
Endgame Guide - Overview of endgame content and progression
