Iron Soul Dungeon Bow & Gauntlet Craft Odds

The short answer

Bows and gauntlets are not unlocked by a quest or a blueprint drop. They are forge outcomes like every other weapon — they are simply the two most expensive rolls in the game:

Compare that with 3 ore at 100% for a light weapon, or 16 ore at 100% for a heavy weapon (full forge table). At 5%, the expected cost of a single bow is around 360 ore. With a legendary relic it drops to roughly 35 ore — a tenfold difference, which is why “how do I get a bow blueprint” almost always means “how do I get relics”.

What this means in practice

• Do not attempt bow or gauntlet crafts without a relic. You will burn an entire map’s ore for a 5% chance while a light weapon reroll costs 3 ore at certainty.
• Save the attempt for a legendary relic. At 52%, roughly every other craft lands.
• Your ore matters as much as your relic. The ore multiplier sets the base stats of whatever comes out — a successful bow craft from bad ore is a wasted relic.

Are they worth building?

The weapon database lists exactly one bow, against 38 light weapons and 37 heavy weapons. Gauntlets number four. So both categories are narrow: you are not choosing between bow builds, you are choosing whether to have one at all.

Where they earn their place is crit scaling. The official sub-stat guidance puts bows in the 90-100% critical chance band alongside heavy weapons, while gauntlets sit at 65-90% with light weapons — slower, heavier hits want the crit consistency (sub-stat targets).

The realistic route

1. Level and clear on light weapons — 3 ore per roll makes them the cheapest sub-stat lottery in the game.
2. Add a heavy weapon as your secondary around Penitent difficulty; its default ultimate grants damage immunity, and the level 35 heavy ultimate is a boss-deleter.
3. Bank relics as you find them, and hold every bow or gauntlet attempt until you are holding a legendary relic and on-tier ore.

The progression guide covers the wider gear rotation this fits into.