Better Archery Unofficial Port

Note: Development is slow because I don’t like adding blocks and items I’m more into optimization, and for me, it’s harder to create a complex mod than to optimize an existing one

Overview

Better Archery Unofficial Port is a modern, complete, and clean-room recreation of the Better Archery (Better Bows) mod originally created by Zaggy1024

Since the original mod was closed-source and has not been updated for modern versions, this project was built entirely from scratch to bring its beloved custom bows, special arrows, and quiver system to Minecraft 1.12.2. It aims to perfectly capture the original gameplay experience while adding modern stability, configurations, and full compatibility with vanilla mechanics

Features

Custom Bows

Four unique bows with balanced stats, custom textures with visible bowstrings, and a 3-stage charging animation (0%, 65%, 90%). They are fully compatible with all vanilla enchantments

| Bow | Durability | Charging Speed | Damage | Arrow Speed | Range |
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Long Bow | 384 | 1.5x (slow) | 1.0x | 2.0x | 2.0x |
| Recurve Bow | 256 | 0.9x | 1.1x | 1.25x | 1.25x |
| Composite Bow | 1024 | 0.5x (fast) | 1.25x | 0.65x | 1.0x |
| Yumi Bow | 384 | 1.15x | 1.0x | 1.5x | 1.5x |

Special Arrows

Seven types of arrows with unique effects to change how you approach combat and exploration:

• Fire Arrow: Sets targets and blocks on fire (Configurable duration)
• Torch Arrow: Places a torch where it lands. Perfect for lighting up caves
• Impact Arrow: Spawns a realistic TNT explosion on impact
• Ender Arrow: Teleports the player to the arrow’s landing spot
• Splitting Arrow: Splits into 3 separate arrows on impact (Configurable)
• Drill Arrow: Pierces through and destroys up to 10 blocks (Cannot destroy Bedrock/Obsidian)
• Potion Arrow: Applies any vanilla potion effect on impact. Dynamic colors and names based on the potion used

Quiver System

• Empty Quiver: A chest-slot container that holds up to 64 arrows. Right-click to pick up arrows from the ground or your inventory
• Quiver with Arrows: Automatically supplies your bow when equipped. Saves exact arrow types (including NBT potion data) and renders on the player’s back
• Quiver Skeleton: A rare skeleton variant (3% spawn rate) that spawns with a quiver, special arrows, and occasionally a custom bow

Configuration

A complete configuration file is generated at config/BetterArchery.cfg, allowing you to:

• Toggle specific bows, arrows, and mobs on or off
• Adjust explosion radii, block piercing limits, and fire durations
• Tweak bow durability and damage multipliers
• Modify Quiver Skeleton spawn weights and loot tables

Usage & Crafting

Using the Quiver

1. Craft an Empty Quiver and right-click near arrows on the ground (or with arrows in your inventory) to fill it
2. Equip the filled Quiver in any inventory slot (Chest, legs, main/off-hand)
3. Equip a bow and fire! The quiver will automatically supply the correct arrows
4. To extract arrows, Sneak + Right-click with the quiver in hand

Crafting Recipes

(Note: JEI is fully supported and recommended for viewing all recipes and descriptions in-game)

• Quiver: Leather and String in a U-shape
• Long Bow: String, Logs, and Feather
• Recurve Bow: String, Sticks, and Iron Ingot
• Composite Bow: Iron Ingots and String
• Yumi Bow: Sticks and String
• Special Arrows: Crafted by combining a standard Arrow with specific materials (e.g., Blaze Powder for Fire, TNT for Impact, Ender Pearls for Ender, Redstone/Feather for Splitting, Iron/Stick for Drill, or any Potion for Potion Arrows)

Bug Reporting

This project is in active development. If you encounter any issues, please report them on the GitHub Issue Tracker
Please include your Mod version, Forge version, steps to reproduce, and relevant logs

Future Roadmap

• Combined Arrows: Merge multiple arrow effects into a single projectile
• New Bow Variants: Expand the arsenal with more unique tiers
• Modpack Customization: JSON-based system for modpack creators to add custom bows/arrows dynamically

Copyright & Clean-Room Implementation Notice

This project is an unofficial, 100% clean-room reimplementation of the original Better Archery (Better Bows) concept created by Zaggy1024.

Because the original mod was closed-source and is no longer maintained, this modern port was built entirely from scratch. No original source code was copied, used, or decompiled to create this project. It was recreated based purely on observing the public behavior, mechanics, and concepts of the original mod.

All rights to the original concept, names, and designs belong to Zaggy1024. This modern rewrite is distributed under the MIT License.

• Original mod: Better Bows – CurseForge
• GitHub Repository: Onyx-i7/Better-Archery