OSRS Ascension Crossbows are a dual-wield Ranged reward from the Fractured Archive raid, introduced on October 20, 2026. They need 80 Ranged, fire every two game ticks on Rapid and only accept Ascension bolts and their gem-tipped variants. Their fast Heavy Ranged attacks come with a dedicated ammunition cost.
Owning the pair is only part of the cost. Before buying or farming a pair, you need to understand the shorter range, the three available bolt options and the 86 Fletching requirement for making basic ammunition. You can get the crossbows from the raid chest or through trading, but exact unique drop rates have not been published by Jagex.
OSRS Ascension Crossbows: stats, source and requirements
| Feature | Current information |
|---|---|
| Game | Old School RuneScape |
| Source | Fractured Archive reward chest |
| Ranged requirement | 80 |
| Tradeable | Yes |
| Rapid attack speed | 2 ticks (1.2 seconds) |
| Accurate / Longrange speed | 3 ticks (1.8 seconds) |
| Rapid attack reach | 6 tiles |
| Compatible ammunition | Ascension bolts, diamond ascension bolts, onyx ascension bolts |
| Verified unique drop chance | Not released |
The OSRS Ascension Crossbows are two crossbows used together as a paired Ranged weapon, rather than two independently equipped weapons that you can mix with a shield. Their standard attacks alternate between the left and right side. That visual animation does not mean you need to craft two different bolt stacks or alternate ammunition manually.
How to obtain the Ascension Crossbows
To earn the OSRS Ascension Crossbows, complete the Fractured Archive and check the reward chest. The raid starts with the Archive Guardian, offers three consecutive pairs of optional encounters, then ends at Ocellus. Your team needs While Guthix Sleeps completed to enter. You can find the entrance, group scaling and full route in our Fractured Archive raid guide.
The crossbows are tradeable, so a player who prefers to buy equipment can use the Grand Exchange or player trading. Jagex has not published the unique drop odds in the launch notes, and the market price can change as players obtain more pairs. Choosing Bork instead of Ezekiel, or Xarth instead of the Dagon’hai, does not give a confirmed special chance at the crossbows.
What bolts do the OSRS Ascension Crossbows use?
The OSRS Ascension Crossbows only accept their dedicated Ascension ammunition. Existing ruby dragon bolts, ordinary diamond bolts and other bolts you might already own cannot simply be loaded into them. This limitation is central to their balance: shooting every two ticks would be much stronger if every existing enchanted bolt effect could trigger at that speed.
| Bolt type | Use |
|---|---|
| Ascension bolts | Baseline dedicated ammunition for regular attacks |
| Diamond ascension bolts | Armour-piercing variant; consider when the target’s defence is the obstacle |
| Onyx ascension bolts | Life-leech variant; offers a different way to trade ammunition cost for sustain |
Jagex intentionally limited the starting lineup to three bolt types. That means players should not assume a ruby bolt with high-health damage effects is available for OSRS Ascension Crossbows simply because ruby bolts exist for other crossbows. The diamond and onyx versions serve different purposes, and their prices can make a bigger difference to ongoing use than the price of the weapon alone.
OSRS Ascension Crossbows: how to make bolts with shards
You’ll need 86 Fletching, a normal chisel and Ascension shards. Using a chisel on one shard makes ten basic Ascension bolts and provides 140 Fletching experience. For example, ten shards supply 100 bolts, and a hundred shards produce 1,000. Those basic bolts can then be made into the compatible diamond or onyx variants with the appropriate tips and Fletching requirements.
Shards come from Fractured Archive rewards and can also be mined slowly from Ascension rocks in the south-west of the lobby at 80 Mining. They’re tradeable, so you can buy them rather than mine or raid. Our Fractured Archive rewards overview covers the other things you might spend shards on, including the Obligator and Archivist’s Folio.
There are two live crafting issues worth checking. Jagex acknowledged that the Jeweller’s Chisel was not processing shards, so use an ordinary chisel; it also listed a bug where bolts could drop to the ground if crafted with a full inventory. Leave a free slot and use the Fractured Archive launch issues page for the latest developer status.
Are Ascension Crossbows better than a blowpipe?
Jagex described the OSRS Ascension Crossbows as a raid-tier upgrade in the fast Ranged weapon space, comparable in role to a Toxic Blowpipe, but with Heavy Ranged damage and dedicated bolts. The pair attacks every two ticks on Rapid. That does not mean it wins every match-up: targets with high ranged defence, particular weaknesses or difficult positioning can favour other weapons.
The six-tile Rapid range is shorter than many regular crossbow setups. If a boss forces you to stay far away or frequently reposition, you may get fewer real attacks than the theoretical two-tick speed suggests. Longrange reaches farther but attacks more slowly, so it is not free extra distance. Consider whether the fight allows you to remain in Rapid range before investing heavily.
Which ammunition should you choose?
For basic practice with the OSRS Ascension Crossbows, regular bolts are the easiest starting point. Diamond bolts become worth considering when armour penetration is helpful, and onyx bolts when you value the life-leech effect. None is universally the best choice without looking at the target, its defence, the bolt price and the number of hits you expect to fire.
Before buying a large bolt stack, test the OSRS Ascension Crossbows with basic ammunition on the target you actually plan to fight. Switch to diamond tips when the armour-penetration effect helps, or onyx when the healing effect is useful, and compare supply costs over a full encounter. Launch-week market prices can change quickly.
OSRS Ascension Crossbows: should you farm or buy?
The OSRS Ascension Crossbows are an attractive option for players who want fast Heavy Ranged hits and are prepared to maintain a dedicated bolt supply. If you already raid regularly, obtaining them from the chest may be part of the normal progression. If you rarely visit the Archive, buying the weapon and crafting the bolts could be simpler, subject to current prices.
Make sure you’re comparing total running cost, not just the price of the crossbows. The important details are their 80 Ranged requirement, two-tick Rapid speed, six-tile Rapid reach and restricted ammunition. Those are confirmed properties; exact long-term best-in-slot rankings and unique drop rates still need more testing and official data.
Official source: Jagex’s Fractured Archive launch and rewards description.
