The Artemis Arrows are ammunition for bows in Final Fantasy XII. They make the bow-user deal earth damage, able to exploit favorable weather conditions and enemy weakness. Bows cannot be equipped without owning some kind of arrows. Owning the Artemis Arrows means the player can use an unlimited amount, and arrows do not need a license to be equipped alongside a bow. The Artemis Arrows is the ultimate arrow set, adding 5 Strength to the user's weapon.
Obtain[]
Original[]
The Artemis Arrows are not available in shops. They are found in a treasure in Cerobi Steppe's The Terraced Bank 
. The player can come here early via a chocobo, as soon as they can access the Tchita Uplands.
The Artemis Arrows are also included in the bazaar set "Arrows of the Moon Goddess". The set is made from selling two Vampyr Fangs, two Dorsal Fins, and three Gemini Gems. The set costs 15,000 gil. Vampyr Fangs are obtained form Abysteels in various mines. Dorsal Fins are obtained from Focalors in Sochen Cave Palace and Nabreus Deadlands. Gemini Gems are obtained from various enemies, e.g. Behemoths in Feywood and Giruvegan, or Slaven Wilders in Estersand, or stolen from Zaghnals in Ozmone Plain.
Zodiac[]
In the Zodiac versions, the Artemis Arrows are not sold anywhere, but sell for 8000 gil. They are found in a treasure in Cerobi Steppe's The Northsward (50% chance to appear, 50% chance for an item, 5% chance the item treasure is the Artemis Arrows with the Diamond Armlet equipped). They are also commonly stolen from Krjn in the Trial Mode Stage 71.
The Artemis Arrows are also available through the Hunt Club alongside the Artemis Bow for 61,600 gil by giving 12 Rare Game trophies to Atak on the Phon Coast and 5 each to Blok and Stok. The arrows can then be bought from the Shifty-Eyed Merchant nearby.
The arrows are still included in the "Arrows of the Moon Goddess" bazaar set, but instead of two Vampyr Fangs, the recipe requires two Great Serpent's Fangs instead, obtained from the Pythons on the Mosphoran Highwaste. The cost is also now much lower: 1280 gil.
Use[]
The Artemis Arrows set adds 5 points to the bow's power, the most of any arrow set, and they make the damage the bow deals earth-elemental, meaning it will do 20% more damage in sandstorm weather and on sand terrain. As a downside, the arrows will do half damage in water terrain (i.e. the Garamsythe Waterway); this can be canceled out with an Agate Ring.
They deal double damage to enemies weak to earth. Some enemies also resist earth, meaning the player could be better off with the preceding Assassin's Arrows against these foes. However, against earth-weak enemies, Artemis Arrows remains a good choice of ammunition for a bow-user. Unlike with the fire-elemental Fiery Arrows, there is no bow that will enhance earth damage like the Burning Bow does with fire damage.
As sand terrain amplifies earth damage, the Artemis Arrows can be especially good in Estersand, Dalmasca Westersand, the Zertinan Caverns, and the sandseas, however, these are mostly early game areas the player is not pressured to revisit once they get the Artemis Arrows likely fairly late into the game. The Zertinan Caverns are the only sand location a late-game player is likely to revisit. Wind enemies are typically weak against earth. Earth is a fairly rare element for the player to use as there are no earth-elemental spells for the player's use. The Esper Chaos is weak to earth, but the boss battle against it has the Attack command locked, so the player would need to use Souleater to be able to use the Artemis Arrows against the boss. Deathgaze is weak to earth but can become immune to physical attacks by erecting a paling.
In comparison to the Mud Shot, which also deals ranged earth damage, Artemis Arrows will miss more often but have potential to be more powerful, especially as enemies can have a passive ability that makes them resist damage from guns. However, Mud Shot also has an ailment (Blind) on top of being elemental damage.
The arrows are only useful to procure in the Zodiac versions if the player is using an Archer, albeit the secret Seitengrat can be used without a license.
Etymology[]
Artemis is the Greek goddess of the moon who was often depicted as a huntress with a bow and arrows.