How to Make a TNT Bow in Minecraft with Explosive Arrows!

Hey everybody, it’s UnderMyCap and welcome back to another video! Today I’m going to be showing you how to make an awesome TNT bow in Minecraft. The really cool thing about this bow is that you can change it to do anything — you can make it spawn enemies when it hits the ground, or make it spawn lightning when it hits the ground. I’m going to walk you through a quick tutorial. Please note that this only works on Java Edition, sadly. I’ll try to make a Bedrock video in the future, but without further ado, let’s get straight into it!

If you’d prefer to watch the video version of this tutorial, you can check it out here: How to Make a TNT Bow in Minecraft with Explosive Arrows!

Step 1: Getting Your Command Blocks

First of all, we want to get a command block. To get a command block, all you need to do is type the following into your chat:

/give @s command_block

Because we’re using commands, we’re going to want to place the command blocks next to each other. Preferably with the two arrows pointing at each other, just to show that the first one leads into the second one.

Step 2: The First Command — Detecting the Arrow

Once you’ve placed your command blocks, we want to type in the first command. This command is going to execute at the arrow, so that when the arrow hits the ground, it triggers something to happen. Type the following into your first command block:

/execute at @e[type=arrow,nbt={inGround:1b}] run summon tnt

What this command does is test whether the arrow is in the ground. If it is, it will execute the next command — in this case, summoning TNT. The inGround:1b part of the NBT tag is what checks whether the arrow has landed. You’ll notice the command turns blue once entered correctly, which means it’s working as expected. You can actually replace the summon tnt part of this command with anything you like — advancements, boss bars, lightning, you name it! Make sure to set this command block to Always Active.

Step 3: The Second Command — Killing the Arrow

There is one important issue to address. If we leave the first command running on its own, the arrow will constantly keep spawning TNT while it remains in the ground. To fix this, we need a second command block that kills the arrow once the TNT has been summoned. In your second command block, type the following:

/kill @e[type=minecraft:arrow,nbt={inGround:1b}]

Make sure to set this command block to Repeat and Always Active. This ensures that once the arrow lands and triggers the TNT, it is immediately removed so the command doesn’t keep firing.

Step 4: Testing It Out

Now that both command blocks are set up, it’s time to test it out! Shoot an arrow and you’ll see the TNT get summoned right where it lands. You’ll also notice a command output message appearing in chat. If you’d like to turn that off, simply type the following command:

/gamerule commandBlockOutput false

Once you do that, no command messages will show up in chat, which keeps things nice and clean.

Bonus: Try Different Commands!

As I mentioned earlier, the great thing about this setup is that you can swap out the summon tnt command for anything you like. For example, you can replace it with a lightning bolt command to have lightning strike wherever your arrow lands. It’s just as simple as swapping out that one part of the command, and suddenly your bow has a completely different effect. The possibilities are really exciting!

And that’s it! I hope you found this tutorial helpful. If you did enjoy this, don’t forget to leave a like on the video and subscribe to the channel — I can’t wait to see you in the next one!