In Baldur’s Gate 3, there is a massive assortment of different weapons containing a variety of perks that can be looted, discovered, and purchased from vendors to enhance your character and companion builds. Among these weapons is the Darkfire Shortbow, a ranged weapon with a great range of utility due to adding multiple Resistances and a Spell to the character in which it is equipped.

The Darkfire Shortbow provides Resistance to both Fire damage and Cold damage, as well as the Haste Spell. This particular combination of perks makes this ranged weapon a very useful addition to numerous builds, from melee or ranged fighters, or even Spellcasters. If you are looking to add some more utility to a character build through the Darkfire Shortbow, then you will need to know how and where to source this weapon. Don’t worry though, everything you’ll need to do so is covered entirely in our guide below.

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How to Get the Darkfire Shortbow in Baldur's Gate 3

If you have identified the Darkfire Shortbow as having potential for one of your character or companion builds in Baldur’s Gate 3, the first important thing to consider is that this item won’t be available until you reach Act 2 of the game. Because of this, you’ll need to either have another substitute bow planned out that you can access during Act 1 for your character to use in the meantime, or simply wait it out until you’ve completed Act 1 and progressed to the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Once you’ve entered Act 2 and set foot in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, you’ll need to locate Last Light In, where the Darkfire Shortbow can be sourced. There are a couple of different ways in which this can be done.

The first way to locate Last Lignt Inn will become available if you allow your party to join Kansif and his group, led by Kar’niss and his Moon Lantern. During this travel to Moonrise Towers, you will encounter an ambush from a group of Jaheira’s Harpers, in which you can choose to either side with the Harpers and turn on Kar’niss, or to continue siding with Kar’niss and kill off the Harpers. If you choose to side with the Harpers and kill off Kansif and Kar’niss, the leader of the group will tell you that he knows somewhere safe in which you can take refuge from the Shadow Curse. Agreeing to follow him and the Harpers will enable your party to follow him along the way and wind up arriving at the Last Light Inn, which is most likely the quickest and easiest way to get there.

Alternatively, you can choose to maintain your cover and slaughter the Harpers, as this won't have any repercussions on you and your party members being able to forge bonds and alliances with those at Last Light Inn. In this case, Kar'niss will continue leading you to Moonrise Towers. Once you reach this area, it's best to get a Moon Lantern for yourself, which can be sourced from Balthazar's office, either by theft or by speaking to Z'rell and receiving a quest to locate him at the Temple of Shar. Once you have the Moon Lanter, equip it to the character you'll be using to lead your party and follow the path back the way you came until you notice the road that splits two directions, where you had your fight with the Harpers. This time, take the path on the right, and you'll head in the direction of Last Light Inn - just be aware that you may have to join a combat and take down some Shadow-Cursed opponents on the way. Continue heading in the same direction, and you'll eventually stumble across a bridge leading into a structure that appears to have a glowing white barrier surrounding it. This is Last Light Inn, so go ahead and make your way inside. Now you'll just have to convince Jaheira and her allies that you're no threat, and you'll be welcomed inside the safety of Last Light Inn without any further obstructions.

In case you get lost along the way, you can refer to the map screenshot below, and follow the trail from the Harpers vs Kar'niss encounter.

Once you've reached Last Light Inn and have been successfully welcomed inside, you'll need to speak to Dammon, as he is the vendor from which you can purchase the Darkfire Shortbow. Note that for Dammon to be found at Last Light Inn, you must ensure that you rescued the Tieflings in Act 1, rather than forcing them out of the Grove to be murdered by the Goblins, or siding with Minthara and slaughtering them alongside her, as naturally these choices will mean that Dammon is dead, and therefore written out of your playthrough from that point onwards.

However, if you saved the Tieflings, you'll be in luck! Dammon can be found hanging out by the forge outside of Last Light Inn, near the stable with the Strange Ox. To receive the Darkfire Shortbow from Dammon, you will first need to interact with him by speaking to him, and then view his wares. The Darkfire Shortbow will then be available to purchase from his shop. Or perhaps, if you're feeling sneaky, you could use a stealthy character such as a Rogue to Hide and attempt to steal the item from him while his back is turned.

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Best Build Options For Darkfire Shortbow & How to Get the Most Value, Explained

The sheer utility that the Darkfire Shortbow provides makes it a great addition for not just certain Classes and characters, but rather a range of different builds. This weapon will provide perks for a variety of characters during your Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough, so you really can't go wrong no matter who you choose to equip the Darkfire Shortbow with. However, some options seem to be clear standouts in comparison to others when it comes to ensuring you maintain the most value from this item, so if you're looking to capitalize on the benefits this Bow can bring, then feel free to have a glance at the various options listed off below.\

• Cleric: It may come as a surprise, as Clerics don't usually heavily rely on physical weapons for dealing damage or providing utility to their allies, instead focusing on Spells. However, the addition of the Haste Spell that the Darkfire Shortbow brings, provides the Cleric with even more utility that they can use to boost their allies in battle, plus resistance to both Fire and Cold damage. As your Cleric may very likely be your main healer, these resistances are very handy in ensuring your Cleric stays alive in combat, so that they can aid the rest of your party. In addition to this, Haste can be cast while Sanctuary is in use, meaning in theory you could cast Sanctuary, Hasten someone such as your Fighter or Barbarian on turn 1, and then follow up on turn 2 with a Spell such as Spiritual Guardians, which will also not break Sanctuary. This results in a huge amount of utility in battle and can bring an immense level of benefit and strategy to your plays.
• Wizard or Bard: The Wizard is in a similar situation to the Cleric in which they usually don't get much use out of physical weapons, and instead focus on the use of their Spells. On the other hand, a Bard is usually somewhat to very Dexterious, meaning they are quite solid in dishing damage out with ranged weapons such as a Bow. What these two classes do share in common, however, is the fact that they are both capable of learning the Haste Spell as they progress. Equipping the Darkfire Shortbow to either of these Classes will free up that Spell Slot, enabling you to swap Haste out for another option, as you can now cast the Spell through your Bow instead. This enables you to have a wider range of Spells up your sleeve, which can come in very handy as combats begin to increase in difficulty. For the Wizard, this also gives them a physical weapon to fall back on in the scenario that they are unable to cast Spells, for whatever reason. They could also choose to Hasten themselves in certain situations, which would enable them to cast multiple Spells in one turn, dishing out a bunch of damage - especially for AoEs such as Fireball
• Gloomstalker Ranger or Thief Rogue: Rangers and Rogues are DEX-based Classes, meaning they are built for ranged weapons such as the Darkfire Bow. Adding the Resistance to Fire and Cold damage increases survivability for these characters, especially the Rogue who will likely be ducking in and out of melee range, and often within sight of any long-ranged enemy Spells. However, the true benefit of pairing the Darkfire Shortbow with either of these Classes comes from the Haste action, which pairs phenomenally well with certain Rogue and Ranger Subclasses. While a Rogue or Ranger may not have been your first choice of target, casting Haste on yourself as either of these Classes can have massive benefits, especially if you're playing a Thief Rogue, Gloomstalker Ranger, or even the deadly Gloomstalker Assassin Multiclass. A Thief Rogue is typically best played ducking in and out of melee range, dual-wielding two finesse weapons. In this scenario of Haste, the Rogue could enter Melee Range, Sneak Attack, Offhand Attack, Bonus Offhand Attack, and then Melee Attack again using the Hastened feature. This stacks up to a minimum of four attacks in a single round, which adds up, especially when factoring in Sneak Attack damage and any Poisons you may have dipped before combat. For the Ranger/Gloomstalker Assassin, the Gloomstalker gets the benefit of having a bonus Attack on the first round of combat, so casting Haste on yourself right before you enter combat, you'll be able to achieve something along the lines of the following: Main Ranged Attack, Second Ranged Attack, Gloomstalker Ranged Attack (Round 1), Hastened Ranged Attack 1, Hastened Ranged Attack 2, as well as a Bonus Action at any point for utility such as Hunter's Mark. As the Gloomstalker already gets 2 attacks per action, this is a massive play that results in five or more attacks within the first round of combat, and a lethal amount of damage, especially when equipped with the Sharpshooter Feat.

Baldur's Gate 3

Platform(s)

PC , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X

Released

August 3, 2023

Developer(s)

Larian Studios

Publisher(s)

Larian Studios

Genre(s)

RPG