Minecraft Trident vs Bow, Which Ranged Weapon Wins?

The bow and the trident are Minecraft's two primary ranged weapons. They play very differently and each has situations where it dominates. This comparison breaks down every relevant stat so you can decide which to carry, or why you might want both.

Damage

A fully charged bow with Power V deals 23 damage (11.5 hearts). A thrown trident with no enchantments deals 8 damage (4 hearts). Even with Impaling V (which only adds damage to aquatic mobs on Java Edition), the trident's ranged damage falls well short of a max bow. In raw ranged DPS, the bow wins decisively.

Melee capability

The trident doubles as a melee weapon dealing 9 damage (4.5 hearts) per hit, matching a diamond sword. The bow has no meaningful melee attack. If an enemy closes the gap, a trident user can keep fighting; a bow user needs to switch weapons. This versatility is the trident's biggest strength.

Range and accuracy

Arrows travel in an arc and can reach targets well beyond 50 blocks with practice. The bow allows you to adjust draw time for different trajectories. Tridents also travel in an arc but have a shorter effective range and slower projectile speed. For sniping at distance, the bow is superior.

Ammunition

Bows consume arrows unless enchanted with Infinity. Arrows are cheap (flint + stick + feather) and skeleton farms produce them in huge quantities. Tridents with Loyalty return after being thrown, meaning they effectively have unlimited ammo with zero cost. Without Loyalty, you have to retrieve thrown tridents manually, which is impractical.

Unique enchantments

The bow has Flame (fire damage), Power (raw damage scaling), Infinity (unlimited arrows), and Punch (knockback). The trident has Loyalty (returns to you), Channeling (summons lightning during thunderstorms), Riptide (launches you through water/rain), and Impaling (extra damage to aquatic mobs). The trident's enchantments are more utility-focused while the bow's are pure combat amplifiers.

Mobility

Riptide III on a trident lets you fly through rain and launch out of water at high speed. No bow enchantment provides movement. If you value mobility and use the trident as a transport tool, it doubles as a weapon and a vehicle. This is unique in the entire game.

Obtaining difficulty

Bows are craftable from three sticks and three string, materials available within the first night. Tridents cannot be crafted. They only drop from Drowned that are visibly holding them, at an 8.5% rate with Looting III. Getting your first trident can take hours of Drowned farming. This scarcity makes losing a trident much more painful than losing a bow.

Durability and repair

Bows have 384 durability. Tridents have 250. Both benefit from Unbreaking III and Mending. However, bows can use Infinity to avoid firing arrows, reducing wear. Tridents with Riptide take durability damage per throw. Over time, a Mending trident paired with an XP source lasts indefinitely, but the lower base durability means more frequent repair cycles.

Verdict

• Use a bow for general combat, mob farming, PvP, and any situation where raw ranged damage matters.
• Use a trident for aquatic combat, lightning farming with Channeling, fast travel with Riptide, and as a melee-ranged hybrid weapon.
• Carry both: a Power V Infinity bow for damage and a Loyalty III Channeling trident for utility. They fill different roles and do not compete for the same inventory slot.

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