Charged Shot

Charged Shot holds a fully drawn arrow for maximum tension before release, delivering a single high-power shot that penetrates through an enemy's block guard and deals significantly increased damage. The longer the hold, up to a maximum two-second charge, the more damage the shot deals. Charged Shot is the Archery tree's answer to armored or guard-maintaining enemies who cannot be hit effectively by rapid-fire techniques like Multishot.

The Explosive variant of Charged Shot adds an area detonation on impact, which transforms it from a single-target ability into a pseudo-area tool. Elemental Charged Shot from Imbue Elements makes the explosion elemental: Elemental Charged Shot with an ice arrow, for example, creates a freeze-blast at the impact point that can immobilize multiple enemies near the detonation. For the Archery build, Elemental Charged Shot is one of the highest-priority Imbue Elements upgrades.

Against flying enemies, including Wyverns, large aerial creatures, and the Golden Star during its Phase 1 aerial circuits, Charged Shot is the only reliable way to deal significant damage from the ground. Standard attacks lack range, and most non-Archery abilities have no aerial hitbox. Landing a Charged Shot during the brief moments a flying enemy hovers in place or turns provides meaningful damage contribution while waiting for their grounded phase.

At maximum upgrade level, Charged Shot gains a piercing trajectory that passes through the first target and can hit additional enemies behind them, making it exceptionally potent in narrow corridors and linear enemy formations. Pairing Charged Shot with Nature's Snare to immobilize a high-value target guarantees the full charge connects without risk of the enemy sidestepping. In endgame content, the combination of Focus for increased critical hit chance and a fully charged Elemental Charged Shot produces some of the highest single-hit ranged damage numbers in the game, especially when targeting weak points on bosses during their stagger recovery frames.

Charged Shot channels energy into a single powerful arrow or bullet, delivering massive single-target damage that can stagger or even knock down enemies on impact. It is the premier damage ability for Bow and Musket builds, especially when combined with Focus for enhanced accuracy and critical chance. Time your Charged Shots during enemy recovery animations for guaranteed hits, and invest in upgrades to reduce charge time so you can fire more frequently during combat.