Weaponsupporting

Rabbath's Cannon

Rabbath's Cannon is a Shadow of the Erdtree ballista found at Rabbath's Rise after solving the tower seal. It fires greatbolts with a magic-oriented profile and heavy long-range impact.

Importance

supporting

Elden Ring · weapon

Key Takeaways

Rabbath's Cannon is a Shadow of the Erdtree ballista distinguished by its glintstone-enhanced ammunition and heavy ranged impact.

Explosive ballista ammunition

Its defining feature is that it fires Ballista Bolts that explode on impact, giving the weapon area damage in addition to its direct hit.

DLC-bound acquisition

Rabbath's Cannon is found in Rabbath's Rise in Shadow of the Erdtree, rather than being part of the base-game weapon roster.

Heavy investment

The cannon has substantial Strength and Dexterity requirements and uses the Somber reinforcement path, making it a specialized weapon rather than an early general-purpose choice.

Power at a cost

Its explosive projectiles can punish grouped or stationary targets, but the weapon remains heavy and slow to handle and depends on a limited ammunition supply.

A distinct ballista option

Compared with the Hand Ballista, Rabbath's Cannon is defined less by basic ballista function than by its glintstone-linked explosive projectile effect.

Overview

Rabbath's Cannon is a unique ballista added in Shadow of the Erdtree. It fires Greatbolts and gives a character built around heavy ranged attacks a slower, siege-like option rather than a conventional bow or crossbow.

Rabbath's Cannon belongs to Elden Ring's ballista weapon class. Its defining identity is its ammunition and handling: it uses Greatbolts, demands deliberate positioning, and commits the player to a substantial firing animation instead of supporting rapid aimed shots. That makes it a specialist ranged weapon rather than a general-purpose replacement for bows.

The weapon is associated with Rabbath's Rise in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, both through its name and its place in the DLC's equipment roster. It is therefore separate from the base-game ballista options and should not be treated as an early-game acquisition or as a variant of an ordinary bow.

Compared with a standard bow, Rabbath's Cannon trades flexibility and firing tempo for heavier projectile use and the ballista moveset. Compared with a crossbow, it occupies the slower, more committed end of ranged combat. Its role is strongest when the player has room to establish distance and can plan individual shots rather than maintain continuous pressure.

The cannon's practical appeal is its specialized projectile platform: the weapon's performance depends not only on the wielder's attributes and reinforcement state, but also on access to suitable Greatbolts. That ammunition requirement is part of the weapon's identity, so Rabbath's Cannon is best understood as a deliberate heavy-ranged choice for specific encounters, not a universally convenient sidearm.

Statistics

Elden Ring publishes no 0–100 stat bars, so this page lists the verified requirements, scaling and handling figures instead. Taken from the project's verified weapons database, not from generated text.

Category
Ballistas
Damage Type
Standard
Primary Scaling
Str D
Weight
16
Str Req
30
Dex Req
10
How to Obtain
Found in the Jagged Peak area, Shadow of the Erdtree
DLC
Shadow of the Erdtree

Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.

Compared to similar ballistas

Weapon	Str Req	Dex Req	Weight	Primary Scaling
Rabbath's Cannon	30	10	16	Str D
Jar Cannon	30	10	15	Str D
Hand Ballista	45	15	14	Str D

Requirements, scaling grades and weight are the game’s own published figures. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.

How to Obtain

Before you start

Shadow of the Erdtree access; no specific quest, boss defeat, vendor purchase, or character attribute prerequisite is required.

01Travel to Rabbath's Rise in eastern Scadu Altus, within the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. The weapon is inside a chest in the tower rather than being dropped by an enemy or awarded by a quest.
02Use the Spiritspring beside Rabbath's Rise to reach the tower's elevated opening, then enter and open the chest containing Rabbath's Cannon. The chest reward is guaranteed when looted.

Availability

Base gamenot available

Rabbath's Cannon is a Shadow of the Erdtree weapon and is not part of the base-game equipment pool.

Shadow of the Erdtreeavailable

Requires Shadow of the Erdtree expansion

Availability is tied to the DLC; no separate vendor price, difficulty gate, or NG+ requirement is established here.

Mechanics and Handling

Rabbath's Cannon is a Ballista-class ranged weapon built around deliberate, high-commitment shots rather than sustained fire. Its attacks use Ballista Bolts, and each discharge has a noticeable firing and recovery commitment. That makes positioning important: firing from cover, elevated ground, or a safe opening is generally more reliable than trying to use it while surrounded. As with other Ballista weapons, the projectile travels through the environment rather than resolving as an instant melee-range hit, so moving targets and changing elevation can affect practical accuracy.

Heavy bolt handling

The standard attack launches an equipped Ballista Bolt as a single heavy projectile. Rabbath's Cannon does not provide a multi-shot pattern, rapid follow-up fire, or a conventional magazine-and-reload loop; its resource cycle is governed by available Ballista Bolts and the weapon's firing recovery. The slow handling makes missed shots costly, particularly against agile enemies, but a successful hit can be used to interrupt or punish an exposed target. It is best treated as a prepared ranged option rather than a weapon for continuous pressure.

Rabbath's Cannon skill

Rabbath's Cannon has a fixed weapon skill rather than a freely interchangeable Ash of War. The skill fires a magically charged bolt that explodes on impact, giving the weapon an area-damage option in addition to its ordinary projectile. The explosion is most useful when enemies are grouped or when a target is difficult to hit cleanly with a direct shot. Because the skill still belongs to a slow Ballista weapon, it does not remove the need to create a safe firing window before committing to the attack.

Practical use

The weapon's ranged reach is most valuable when the player can control sightlines and maintain distance. It is less convenient in cramped spaces, during rapid melee exchanges, or against enemies that can quickly circle the firing position. Rabbath's Cannon cannot be treated as a bow-style quick-shot tool: its value comes from selecting a high-value opening, using the explosive skill when its area effect matters, and carrying enough Ballista Bolts to support the intended encounter.

Upgrades and Variants

Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses

Strengths

Its ballista-class projectile delivers a heavy ranged hit without requiring conventional bows or crossbows, giving a Strength-focused character a long-range option.
Through and Through sends the fired greatbolt through targets, making aligned enemies or large hitboxes better opportunities than scattered groups.
It can use greatbolts, including explosive variants where the ammunition is available, allowing the same weapon slot to support direct-impact or area damage.

Weaknesses

Ballista firing is slow and committing: the weapon is poorly suited to enemies that stay in melee range or rapidly change direction.
Greatbolt ammunition is a separate resource from ordinary arrows and bolts, so sustained use depends on carrying, crafting, or purchasing suitable ammunition.
Its heavy weapon requirements and weight compete with other equipment, while the large projectile and firing commitment make missed shots costly.
Explosive ammunition can improve crowd pressure but is not a universal replacement for direct-impact greatbolts, particularly when precision or ammunition efficiency matters.

Best uses

Opening an encounter against a distant enemy before switching to a faster weapon.
Attacking large targets or enemies constrained by terrain, where Through and Through has a better chance of connecting beyond the first hit.
Firing from prepared positions against aligned targets, while reserving explosive greatbolts for clustered enemies when their cost and availability are acceptable.

Compared With Similar Weapons

Compared With Similar Weapons
Weapon	Class and role	Distinctive comparison	Best fit
Hand Ballista	Standard portable ballista option	Direct same-class alternative with the Through and Through skill	Use when you want a straightforward ballista without Rabbath's Cannon's unique identity
Jar Cannon	Same ammunition family and long-range projectile role	A distinctive alternative within the ballista class, also built around heavy greatbolt attacks	Use when comparing Rabbath's Cannon with another specialized, portable siege weapon
One-Eyed Shield	Provides a ranged weapon skill through a shield rather than functioning as a ballista	Consider for a shield-focused setup that wants ranged pressure without occupying the same weapon role	—

Lore and Design

Rabbath’s Cannon is named for Rabbath, whom its item text identifies as a sorcerer associated with the Mountaintops of the Giants. The description presents the weapon’s explosive great bolts as evidence of Rabbath’s skill with mechanical contraptions, adding a technological counterpoint to his magical identity. Its placement in Rabbath’s Rise connects the cannon to the tower’s namesake, although the available description does not establish a broader biography for Rabbath or explain the relationship between the sorcerer and the tower. No verified developer commentary or official design material establishes a real-world inspiration, intended symbolism, or development history for the weapon. Interpretations that treat the cannon as proof of a larger technological tradition in the Lands Between should therefore remain speculative rather than being presented as canon.