Crossbow Cartridges

A vanilla crossbow holds one shot: load it, fire it, load it again. Crossbow Cartridges give the weapon a magazine. Craft a cartridge, load it into your crossbow, and you gain new ammunition and rapid-fire options a single bolt never offered. It is the difference between a slow, deliberate crossbow and one you can lean on in a scramble.

Using cartridges

1. Craft a cartridge at the crafting table.— It is a new item, filled with ammunition.
2. Load it into your crossbow the way you would charge any bolt.
3. Fire.— The cartridge feeds the crossbow from its stock of ammo, so you keep shooting without reloading between every shot.

When a cartridge runs dry, swap in another. Keep a few in your hotbar for a long fight.

Why bother

• Rapid fire. A loaded cartridge sends shots in quick succession instead of the long single-bolt reload — which changes how a crossbow feels against a mob crowd or in PvP.
• New ammunition. Cartridges open ammo options a bare crossbow cannot use, so the weapon does more than fling one arrow at a time.

Your crossbow's enchantments still matter. Quick Charge, Piercing, and Multishot all climb through Enchant Mastery the more you fire — so the more you shoot, the harder each cartridge hits.

See also

• Enchant Mastery — how Quick Charge, Piercing and Multishot level as you fire
• Elytra Vault — claim the wings for your End-game kit
• Combat — the combat overview