The Imperial Bow is the Legion’s ranged weapon of choice, and you will see a lot of them pointed at you – or at your enemies – across Skyrim. It deals 9 base damage and weighs 8, which puts it above the basic long and hunting bows.
It is not part of the forging tiers, so the only way to get one is to buy, find, borrow or “borrow” it. That makes it a natural choice for an Imperial archer in Imperial Armor, and a decent early pick for anyone who stumbles across a Legion armory.
Stats
| Type | Bow |
|---|---|
| Skill | Archery |
| Material | Imperial |
| Damage | 9 |
| Weight | 8 |
| Value | 90 gold |
| Speed | 0.88 |
| Stagger | 0 |
| Critical damage | 4 |
| Add-on | Base game |
| Item ID | 00013841 |
Where to find
- Carried by most Imperial Soldiers and by guards in Imperial-held holds such as Solitude.
- Five can be stolen from the armory in Castle Dour in Solitude.
- Castle Volkihar’s smithing area (Dawnguard), the tower top at Fort Hraggstad, Fort Amol and the Abandoned Prison.
- Imperial-held forts after the Civil War: Fort Greenwall (7), Fort Greymoor (3), Fort Neugrad (3, after Season Unending), Fort Dunstad (2).
- Stealable from the counter in The Drunken Huntsman; also sold by blacksmiths, carried by bandits and found in chests.
Crafting and upgrading
This weapon cannot be crafted at a forge – you have to find, loot or buy it.
Improving at a grindstone: 1 × 
Steel Ingot. The Arcane Blacksmith perk doubles the improvement.
Compared with other bows
Base stats of all regular (unenchanted) bows in Skyrim, weakest first:
| Weapon | Damage | Weight | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Bow | 6 | 5 | 30 |
| Hunting Bow | 7 | 7 | 50 |
| Ancient Nord Bow | 8 | 12 | 45 |
| Imperial Bow | 9 | 8 | 90 |
| Orcish Bow | 10 | 9 | 150 |
| Nord Hero Bow | 11 | 7 | 200 |
| Dwarven Bow | 12 | 10 | 270 |
| Falmer Bow | 12 | 15 | 135 |
| Forsworn Bow | 12 | 11 | 145 |
| Elven Bow | 13 | 12 | 470 |
| Nordic Bow | 13 | 11 | 580 |
| Supple Ancient Nord Bow | 14 | 18 | 235 |
| Falmer Supple Bow | 15 | 20 | 410 |
| Glass Bow | 15 | 14 | 820 |
| Ebony Bow | 17 | 16 | 1440 |
| Stalhrim Bow | 17 | 15 | 1800 |
| Daedric Bow | 19 | 18 | 2500 |
| Dragonbone Bow | 20 | 20 | 2725 |
Tips and notes
- Temper with a Steel Ingot at a grindstone – but no Smithing perk doubles the improvement.
- Free bows are everywhere once the Imperial Legion takes a fort, so there is little reason to pay for one.
Stats from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (Skyrim.esm, record ImperialBow). Values are base values before perks, smithing improvements and enchantments.
