Bracers of Archery 5e: +2 Damage, the Proficiency Trick and Who Should Attune

Bracers of Archery are an uncommon wondrous item that requires attunement. While you wear them, you're proficient with the Longbow and Shortbow, and every damage roll you make with either bow gets +2. For a fighter or ranger who already shoots every turn, that's a steady, modest damage boost. For a character without bow proficiency, the bracers turn a bow into a real weapon. The catch is the attunement slot: +2 damage is often not the best use of one.

Table of Contents

• •Bracers of Archery Rules Text
• •How Bracers of Archery Work
• •Bracers of Archery: 2014 vs 2024
• •Are Bracers of Archery Worth It?
• •Bracers of Archery for DMs
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Bracers of Archery Rules Text

How Bracers of Archery Work

Only two bows

The bracers name the Longbow (1d8 piercing, range 150/600) and the Shortbow (1d6 piercing, range 80/320). Crossbows, slings, darts and thrown weapons get nothing. A magic bow still counts as a Longbow or Shortbow, so the bracers work with a +1 Longbow or an Oathbow, and their bonuses add up because they come from different items.

+2 per hit, not per turn

The bonus applies to each damage roll, so it scales with how many arrows you fire. It's a flat modifier, so a critical hit doesn't double it (only dice are rolled twice).

Worked example: a 5th-level fighter with Dexterity 18 (+4), proficiency bonus +3 and the Archery fighting style (+2 to ranged attack rolls) attacks at +9. Against AC 15 that hits on a 6 or higher, 75 percent of the time. With Extra Attack, two longbow shots a turn deal 2 × 0.75 × 8.5 = 12.75 damage on average. The bracers add 2 × 0.75 × 2 = 3 more, about 24 percent. Archery adds to the attack roll and the bracers to damage, so the two stack.

The proficiency is the bigger deal for some characters

Proficiency adds your proficiency bonus to the attack roll. Without it, a bow is hard to hit with.

• •2014 Rogue: proficient with simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers and shortswords. The Shortbow is a simple weapon; the Longbow isn't. The bracers give the rogue a Longbow (1d8 instead of 1d6, range 150 instead of 80) that still qualifies for Sneak Attack, since Sneak Attack works with any ranged weapon.
• •2024 Rogue: proficient with simple weapons and martial weapons that have the Finesse or Light property, so again Shortbow yes, Longbow no. 2024 Rogues also have Weapon Mastery, which uses the mastery property of weapons you're proficient with. Bracer-granted proficiency counts, so a rogue can pick the Longbow's Slow mastery. Most rogues will still prefer the Shortbow's Vex, which grants Advantage on the next attack and feeds Sneak Attack.
• •2014 Wizard and Sorcerer: proficient only with daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs and light crossbows. The bracers add both bows. At level 1, a shortbow with Dexterity +3 deals 1d6 + 3 + 2 (8.5) against Fire Bolt's 1d10 (5.5). Fire Bolt pulls ahead at level 5 (2d10, 11).
• •2024 Wizard and Sorcerer: already proficient with simple weapons, which includes the Shortbow. The bracers only add the Longbow.

Wearing rules

You can wear one pair of bracers. That's the main conflict: Bracers of Defense (rare, +2 AC with no armor and no shield) use the same slot.

Bracers of Archery: 2014 vs 2024

The item is effectively unchanged. The 2024 text drops "on ranged attacks", which only matters if someone clubs a goblin with a bow, and the 2024 rules still cover it: a Ranged weapon used to make a melee attack counts as an improvised weapon (1d4 damage, no Proficiency Bonus), so the +2 for Longbow and Shortbow damage doesn't apply. The bigger 2024 difference is around the item: proficiency now unlocks Weapon Mastery for classes that have it, and 2024 wizards and sorcerers already know the Shortbow.

Are Bracers of Archery Worth It?

For a dedicated archer, it's a solid uncommon item that loses its slot later. The bonus doesn't grow, and the attunement cost is what makes it weaker over time. At 5th level, 3 extra damage a round is a quarter more damage. By 11th level, a fighter firing three arrows a turn still only gains about 4.5 on average, while rare items start competing for the slot.

Compare what else an archer could attune or carry:

A +1 bow costs no attunement and stacks with the bracers, so an archer who finds both should use both. If attunement slots are full, the bracers are usually the first thing an archer gives up.

Who gains the most: a 2014 wizard or sorcerer who wants a weapon, a rogue who wants Longbow range, and any low-level archer. Who gains least: a high-level character with three rare items already attuned.

Bracers of Archery for DMs

Where they turn up. On an archer: a bandit captain's arms, a ranger's grave, an elven sentry post. They're an easy uncommon item to hand a party with a bow user, and they won't break anything.

What they change. Little. +2 per arrow doesn't make an archer dominate a fight the way a flying speed or a crit-immunity item does. The one thing to watch is the 2014 caster with a longbow, who now has a reliable ranged weapon when spell slots run out.

Pricing. 400 GP under the 2024 SRD, the value of any uncommon item. The 2014 SRD has no prices. If you run a shop, the shop price calculator and the uncommon item list help fill the shelves.

Hooks.

• •A hunting lodge awards Bracers of Archery to the winner of its yearly contest. Last year's winner won't give them back.
• •A wounded scout wearing the bracers asks the party to finish the job she couldn't: picking off a hill giant from 150 feet.

If the party's archer swaps between three magic bows, Loreify records the session and keeps track of who has what.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do Bracers of Archery do in 5e?

They give you proficiency with the Longbow and Shortbow and a +2 bonus to damage rolls with those bows. They're uncommon and require attunement in both the 2014 and 2024 rules.

Do Bracers of Archery work with crossbows?

No. They only name the Longbow and Shortbow. Hand, light and heavy crossbows get no bonus.

Do Bracers of Archery stack with the Archery fighting style?

Yes. Archery gives +2 to ranged attack rolls; the bracers give +2 to damage rolls with bows. Different bonuses from different sources both apply.

Do Bracers of Archery require attunement?

Yes, in both editions. That's their main cost, since you can attune to only three items at a time.

How much are Bracers of Archery worth?

400 GP under the 2024 SRD, which values every uncommon magic item at 400 GP. The 2014 SRD gives no price.

Item text: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Analysis, rulings and ideas are Loreify's own.