Quick Question

[Bloodskye]

I was just wondering if anyone can confirm if when using a survival bow, does the lowest condition arrow load in the bow first? I've tried to find out myself but can't find an answer. I'm thinking this is so but I'd like to be sure.

[Smellyfries]

Yes, your character will load the lowest condition arrow. If you are picking up an arrow that you know is going to be lower condition than the one currently loaded, you can click on the item, have its menu appear, wait for your character to lower your bow, then once you pick it fully up, your character will load that arrow if you don't want to damage a fresh one.

Also note, your character will quick equip the highest condition survival bow when pressing 3 or using the radial menu, so if you have two on you, and want to use the lower condition one, you'll have to pick it out manually from your inventory. 

[Bloodskye]

@Smellyfriesappreciate the info!

[Veskaida]

A common strategy is to drop arrows except for the one you want to fire, then equip your bow to load it, and pick up the other arrows.

Usually it doesn't matter, but sometimes there are reasons to preserve your number of arrows: namely hunting a bear or especially timberwolf or moose. Arrows which break drop to the ground where they struck, so this can be advantageous to avoid tracking an animal to retrieve your arrow (e.g. in bad weather or adverse terrain). So it can be beneficial to try and evenly deplete arrow condition across multiple arrows, or deliberately fire a high condition/low condition arrow in certain situations.