Summary
You will find a lot of crossbows and regular bows and arrows inBaldur’s Gate 3, but you will be hard-pressed to find a variety of hand crossbows, as there aren’t too many in the game. These crossbows are useful thanks to their lightweight mobility, allowing you to dual-wield while carrying a ranged weapon.
For “martial” weapons, you must be proficient in hand crossbows to get value from the damage output. There are only six hand crossbows in the game, and they are scattered around the world from Act One to Act Three. Below, you will find everyHand Crossbowavailable and where to find them.
Updated on Jul 28, 2025, by Alfredo Robelo:Hand crossbows continue to be a highly sought-after item, even though there are so few of them. We’ve updated this article to meet our current standards while clarifying some information about the best ways to use and acquire these small bringers of death.
1d6 Piercing
Piercing Shot (action)
Mobile Shot (action)
Hand crossbows are useful because they are one-handed light weapons that allow you to equip two weapons at once. You can gain hand crossbow proficiency by being a level one bard, rogue, or drow. Proficiency increases a weapon’s damage output.
There are a couple of regular hand crossbows that you can find in Act One in the Underdark. They can be looted from dead bodies around the Underdark at the beach and sold by Derryth at the myconid colony. A regular hand crossbow does a base damage of 1d6 Piercing damage.
1d6+1 Piercing
+1 Weapon enchantment
A +1 weapon means that the weapon is enchanted. This increases the base damage and your attack roll and renders the weapon magical. you’re able to find the next best hand crossbow in Act One. Hand Crossbow +1 does 1d6+1 Piercing damage with +1 weapon enchantment. Weapon enchantment adds resistance to magical attacks.
Derryth Bonecloak is a trader within the myconid colony in the Underdark who sells this crossbow for 130 gold. Derryth is a dwarf that can be found at X:53 Y:97.
1d6+2 Piercing
The next level up to the Hand Crossbow +1 is the +2. The +2 crossbow can be found in the last act of the game. The Hand Crossbow +2 is in a lockbox insideLady Jannath’s Estate in Baldur’s Gate. The crossbow sells for 155 gold.
Once you reach Act Three of the game, you will enter Rivington.You must enter the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate.Down the road, the South Span checkpoint will be blocked off, and you can convince the guards to let you through.
This will bring you to South Span of Wyrm’s Crossing, where you must again convince some guards to let you into the city, or you may find a way to enter without being noticed.
How To Get To Lady Jannath’s Estate
Lady Jannath’s Estate is located all the way at the end of the map in the Lower City. It is a mansion between the Grey Harbour Docks Waypoint or Baldur’s Gate Waypoint, just beside Elerrathin’s Home.
When in Lady Jannath’s house, make your way to the second floor, where there will be two rooms on either side. Walk into the farthest room and turn around to find a strong box inside the wall beside the doorway.
You must unlock the strong box to find the +2 hand crossbow, Arrow of Feind Slaying, and Arrow of Abberation Slaying. Hand crossbow +2 does 1d6+2 Piercing damage with +2 weapon enchantment, making it one ofthe better off-hand weapons in the game.
1d6 Piercing +1d4 Piercing
TheFirestokeris a hand crossbow that does regular 1d6 Piercing and an additional 1d4 if the enemy attacked is burning. It can be acquired in Act One, but you must go to the Underdark and enter Grymforge. Grymforge is a duergar base that you can access via the boat at the Underdark Beach.
Fire damage alone is not always enough to set an enemy ablaze, so consider spells like Grease or Web to set up your enemies for a lot of damage.
Firestoker is in a chest on the upper level of Grymforge. This upper level can be accessed by destroying rubble that is blocking the way. The rubble is surrounded by duergar and deep rothe on the second floor, past the waypoint heading north. The location is at X:-600 Y:443.
Grymforge Upper Level
To find the chest Firestoker is in, you must progress through the upper level until you find a ladder that takes you down to some levers and a metal platform. Use the metal platform to get across the way and find large locked doors that you must enter.
In this next room, you will find another locked door up the stairs to the right. Inside this room is a challenging fight against Merregon Legionarre. The Ornate Chest here will contain the Firestoker.
Scorching Ray (spell)
Yurgir drops the Hellfire Hand Crossbow. Yurgir is part of Raphael’s quest,Kill Raphael’s Old Enemy. He can be found at the end of Shar’s Temple. Shar’s Temple is in Act Two of Baldur’s Gate 3, behind the House of Healing. You will need to complete multiple puzzles and fights before reaching Yurgir.
While you can talk your way out of fighting Yurgir, be sure to do so in a way where he still dies, otherwise you will miss out on this weapon.
The Hellfire Hand Crossbow does 1d6+2 Piercing damage with +2 weapon enchantment. It comes with the Scorching Ray Shot spell and the ability Hellstalker. Hellstalker gives the possibility of inflicting burning on an enemy if you hit them while hiding or invisible.
1d6+1 Force
Magic Missle (spell)
Ne’er Misser is another hand crossbow that you may get in Act Two of the game. A merchant named Roah Moonglow sells it, and she can be found within Moonrise Towers. You will need protection from the Shadow Curse to traverse Act Two and enter Reithwin Town, where Moonrise Towers stands.
While the Hellfire Hand Crossbow is the best hand crossbow of the game, Ne’er Misser is the perfect one to wield alongside it, and you can get both from Act Two.
Unlike the other hand crossbows, Ne’er Misser does not do Piercing damage. It does 1d6+1 Force damage with +1 weapon enchantment. This weapon gives the wielder the Magic Missile spell. Ne’er Misser costs 589 gold.
