History Main / RainOfArrows

* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'': Happens during the siege of Helm's Deep. Turns out Elves are pretty good at raining arrow-y death on the Uruk-Hai. It's entirely possible the Battle of Helm's Deep would have been much less tense if Saruman hadn't sent bombs along... because while the Rohirrim only had about 300 men (most of them not soldiers), a couple dozens elves, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, they had enough bows, and probably enough arrows, to outfit ''every single one of them'', and an enormous stone wall to hide behind. Legolas isn't able to pull off a literal rain, but he manages to create veritable ''stream'' of arrows at times.[[note]]The Book tells it differently, though. In ''The Two Towers'' there are no elves taking part -- the sons of Elrond, and only two half-Elven at that, arrive ''after'' this battle in the company of the purely human Rangers. There are rather more Rohirrim. And the explosives are necessary to the plot, to explain how the Uruk-Hai force a way through the wall and to demonstrate their essential mechanical soullessness -- an industrialized form of warfare that Tolkien loathed virulently, having experienced World War I.[[/note]]

** It wasn't even the first time they'd done this, either -- they'd done it at Crecy, as well, over half a century earlier, and it had been similarly effective. Hell, this tactic was at the heart of English combat doctrine for most of 400 years (the ''Mary Rose'', which sank in 1545, towards the end of Henry VIII's reign and well into the Renaissance, was heavily stocked with yew staves for bows) -- though the French finally started catching on after Agincourt and figured out how to beat it (hit the archers before they're entrenched), and the Battle of Flodden in 1513 was the last major known use of the longbow and this tactic in Britain.
** The French circumvented this at the battle of Patay in 1429, simply with the element of surprise. The mounted knights of the vanguard of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc's army spotted the English archers before they were dug in in their positions, and slaughtered them to proportions similar to what the archers inflicted to French knights at Crécy and Agincourt. Then the final decisive French victory at Castillon in 1453 saw the victory of artillery against the English archers (or really against just any type of English troops unlucky enough to be under said artillery's fire).

* ''Film/PrinceCaspian'': The Second Battle of Beruna features Queens Susan and Trumpkin the dwarf commanding the Narnian archers, who rain missiles down on the advancing Telmarines.

* In the ''Series/GameOfThrones'' episode "Battle of the Bastards'', Ramsey Bolton has his archers loose a volley of arrows onto the soldiers in melee on the field, not caring if they struck the Stark men or his own soldiers.
* The ''Series/MythBusters'' constructed and fired a replica hwacha (see the description below under Real Life) to test its reputation. It stood up to it.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'', Queen Aanya and Duren assist with this to defeat Viren's zombie army and save Xadia from being destroyed by humans

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Speedy seemed to be a one-man Rain of Arrows during most of his guest appearances. Where he pulls all the arrows from [[BottomlessMagazines remains a mystery]]...

* ''Henry V'': The [[Film/HenryV1944 1944 version]] with Creator/LaurenceOlivier has a rather pretty one of these during the Battle of Agincourt. The [[Film/HenryV1989 1989 version]] (the Branagh one) was not so pretty.

* ''Film/RedCliff'': Zhuge Liang (TheStrategist and TheChessmaster) manipulates an opposing army into firing a Rain of Arrows at a fleet of decoy ships filled with straw, in order to meet a challenge to produce 100,000 arrows for his side within three days -- the arrows were used, but still good.
* ''Film/ThreeHundred'': Does this twice. The first time is a case of ineffective AnnoyingArrows. The second time is directed primarily at a single, extremely tough individual.

* The Battle of Gaugamela in the film ''Film/{{Alexander}}'' involves a veritable rain of Persian arrows on the advancing Macedonian phalanx.

* ''Henry V'': The [[Film/HenryV1944 1944 version]] (Olivier one) has a rather pretty one of these during the Battle of Agincourt. The [[Film/HenryV1989 1989 version]] (the Branagh one) was not so pretty.

* ''Film/Hero2002'' has this happen a few times, and couples it with two kung fu masters using their skills to stop the hail of arrows from killing calligraphers. In the end, there's even a [[spoiler:KnifeOutline of the titular hero's silhouette -- of course the outline was made not by the archers pinning him so much as pin-''cushioning'' him and removing his body -- his death isn't shown, just the outline.]] At one point [[spoiler:master Broken Sword, doing some calligraphy of his own, has his brush broken by an arrow. He then ''catches an arrow and uses it as a brush.'']]
* In the [[DirectorsCut Extended Version]] of ''Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies'', Thranduil's Elf army attempt to rain arrows on Dain's Dwarf army, only to discover that the Dwarves have an ingenious (and [[RuleOfCool visually impressive]]) counter-weapon.
* ''Film/KingArthur2004'' provides a bit of TruthInTelevision example of how this was used in its final battle. The Woad archers create confusion and chaos in the Saxon ranks whilst thinning the numbers, which the knights then exploit, retreat and after a second volley return to finish the job. Traditionally European medieval armies (especially Frankish and later English) that employed archers used them in exactly this manner: To disrupt the enemy line and sow confusion and chaos that mounted knights could exploit.

* Happens in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'' during the siege of Helm's Deep. Turns out Elves are pretty good at raining arrow-y death on the Uruk-Hai. It's entirely possible the Battle of Helm's Deep would have been much less tense if Saruman hadn't sent bombs along... because while the Rohirrim only had about 300 men (most of them not soldiers), a couple dozens elves, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, they had enough bows, and probably enough arrows, to outfit ''every single one of them'', and an enormous stone wall to hide behind. Legolas isn't able to pull off a literal rain, but he manages to create veritable ''stream'' of arrows at times.[[note]]The Book tells it differently, though. In ''The Two Towers'' there are no elves taking part -- the sons of Elrond, and only two half-Elven at that, arrive ''after'' this battle in the company of the purely human Rangers. There are rather more Rohirrim. And the explosives are necessary to the plot, to explain how the Uruk-Hai force a way through the wall and to demonstrate their essential mechanical soullessness -- an industrialized form of warfare that Tolkien loathed virulently, having experienced World War I.[[/note]]
* The Creator/MichaelCrichton movie ''Film/{{Timeline}}'' was worth the price of admission for these words: ''[[ArrowsOnFire "Fire the Night Arrows!"]]''
* This happens in ''Film/TheMummyTombOfTheDragonEmperor''. However, since it's being used on an undead army -- who immediately get back up and shrug off the arrows -- it is only dangerous to the two humans fighting with them, and they take cover.
* In ''Film/RedCliff'', Zhuge Liang (TheStrategist and TheChessmaster) manipulates an opposing army into firing a Rain of Arrows at a fleet of decoy ships filled with straw, in order to meet a challenge to produce 100,000 arrows for his side within three days -- the arrows were used, but still good.
* The movie ''Film/ThreeHundred'' does this twice. The first time is a case of ineffective AnnoyingArrows. The second time is directed primarily at a single, extremely tough individual.

* In ''Film/VanHelsing'', the titular character has an automatic crossbow fed by a drum of bolts, using which he can shoot practically nonstop.

* ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'': It took an ''extended'' one of these to down [[spoiler: Saito]] while fighting the 70,000 Army. He survived, so said army then resorted to the same thing but with fireballs. [[spoiler: He got better.]]

** [[spoiler: Madoka]] does this twice with an EnergyBow. The first time, it's a single arrow that blows away the black storm clouds and reveals a beautiful blue sky. [[spoiler: The arrow then bursts into an infinite number of arrows that transcend space and time]]. The second time, she instantly fires thousands of arrows at a [[spoiler: planet sized witch]], blowing up everything else in the process.
** She carries this tactic over into ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Rebellion]]'', where she uses it against a Nightmare and nearly catches herself in the attack. And then a double assault with her and [[spoiler: Homura]] against [[spoiler: the Incubators, annihilating all of them.]]

* In ''Anime/YuGiOhZexal'', two known characters died in this situation, according to ancient flashbacks. [[spoiler: One was Mizar, a dragon tamer who reincarnates as a Barian Emperor. The other is Iris, a young, recolored lookalike of Shark's sister Rio; Iris becomes a minor Barian with all the RedShirts who also died in the assault from [[TheCaligula Vector's]] army.]]

* ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' - The opening battle.

* ''Film/Hero2002'' has this happen a few times, and couples it with two kung fu masters using their skills to stop the hail of arrows from killing calligraphers. In the end, there's even a [[spoiler:KnifeOutline of the titular hero's silhouette - of course the outline was made not by the archers pinning him so much as pin-''cushioning'' him and removing his body - his death isn't shown, just the outline.]] At one point [[spoiler:master Broken Sword, doing some calligraphy of his own, has his brush broken by an arrow. He then ''catches an arrow and uses it as a brush.'']]

* Happens in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'' during the siege of Helm's Deep. Turns out Elves are pretty good at raining arrow-y death on the Uruk-Hai. It's entirely possible the Battle of Helm's Deep would have been much less tense if Saruman hadn't sent bombs along... because while the Rohirrim only had about 300 men (most of them not soldiers), a couple dozens elves, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, they had enough bows, and probably enough arrows, to outfit ''every single one of them'', and an enormous stone wall to hide behind. Legolas isn't able to pull off a literal rain, but he manages to create veritable ''stream'' of arrows at times.[[note]]The Book tells it differently, though. In ''The Two Towers'' there are no elves taking part - the sons of Elrond, and only two half-Elven at that, arrive ''after'' this battle in the company of the purely human Rangers. There are rather more Rohirrim. And the explosives are necessary to the plot, to explain how the Uruk-Hai force a way through the wall and to demonstrate their essential mechanical soul-lessness - an industrialized form of warfare that Tolkien loathed virulently, having experienced World War I.[[/note]]

* In ''Film/RedCliff'', Zhuge Liang (TheStrategist and TheChessmaster) manipulates an opposing army into firing a Rain of Arrows at a fleet of decoy ships filled with straw, in order to meet a challenge to produce 100,000 arrows for his side within three days - the arrows were used, but still good.

* ''Film/ThroneOfBlood'' (1957) - The final moments of Creator/AkiraKurosawa's JidaiGeki ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' adaptation features a Rain of Arrows directed at a single, cornered dude. Most of these arrows were allegedly "live" -- fired by expert archers just inches away from Creator/ToshiroMifune. Needless to say, he [[EnforcedMethodActing looks pretty damn terrified]].

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' - The fourth edition makes rangers the dedicated archer and multiple-attacks-per-turn class, giving them multiple powers to help them embody this trope if they so choose as they advance in level. At ''seriously'' high levels, they can get things like Hail of Arrows -- usable once per encounter and automatically targeting each enemy in range.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' - "Rain of Feathered Death" is a Charm allowing a character to replicate this Trope. All by themselves. Because they're just that [[RuleOfCool awesome]].

** And now, a literal rain of arrows spell that causes impressive physical damage and uses arrows of the same metal as that used by the caster to cast the spell - at the cost of a relatively small area of effect for the level it becomes available at.

* ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' - "Blizzard of Arrows", a gift specific to the Amazons of Diana camp of the Black Furies, allows a single character to launch one of these.

* In ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 6'' (and possibly some of the previous ones, haven't played them all), several characters can create this effect with the 'Barrage' special attack, raining down arrows all around them. Two of the playable characters - Yue Ying and Sun Shang Xiang (AKA 'The Bow Princess') - are also capable of pulling this off with their ordinary attacks. Interestingly enough, they're generally considered to be the best characters for fighting on [[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels Chaos Mode]]... the Rain of Arrows is just that powerful.\\\

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': Strangely for a supposedly bow-using class, the Archers don't actually tend to do stuff like this much (with the exception of Atlantia). [[spoiler: Gilgamesh on the other hand, uses historic weapons of mass destruction as arrows because he has so many of them and doesn't see a need to actually use them properly. Hence, why his class is Archer.]]

* ''VideoGame/JeanneDArc'' - One of the [[GameBreaker cheapest]] Skills is the Archer ability "Salvo", an area-effect attack that showers the entire selection with random, full-power arrows. It's offset ''slightly'' by the randomness of the squares that actually get hit, but use this in confined quarters, thus forcing the CPU to target only the available squares...

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' - Hunters once got the Volley spell, which fired a large number of arrows at a target area, even if the character is using a gun. Volley has since been removed and replaced by Multi-Shot, which hits [[MacrossMissileMassacre everyone]] in an area in front of the hunter.

** It wasn't even the first time they'd done this, either - they'd done it at Crecy, as well, over half a century earlier, and it had been similarly effective. Hell, this tactic was at the heart of English combat doctrine for most of 400 years (the ''Mary Rose'', which sank in 1545, towards the end of Henry VIII's reign and well into the Renaissance, was heavily stocked with yew staves for bows) - though the French finally started catching on after Agincourt and figured out how to beat it (hit the archers before they're entrenched), and the Battle of Flodden in 1513 was the last major known use of the longbow and this tactic in Britain.
* As shown by ''300'', the preferred tactic of the Persians was to sit back and rain arrows on their opponent, then send in the cavalry to finish them off. This failed spectacularly at the Battle of Marathon in 390 BC, where the Greek phalanxes, instead of slowly marching towards the Persians, ran at full speed. This so surprised the Persians that they fired their arrows in panic--and missed by a large margin. Also, no Persian cavalry; the Athenians appeared to have waited until the horsemen were sent off (after 5 days' standoff) before attacking.

* The Roman legions applied a variant with their ''pila'' (specially made Roman javelins with high piercing power): right before entering in contact with the enemy army, the legionnaires shot two javelins each, hitting the enemy lines with a brief but intense barrage of javelins who, upon piercing the shields of whoever managed to raise the protection, would break in such a way to not be removable in the heat of the battle, unbalancing the shield (assuming the enemy had not been killed when the javelin pierced it) and preventing it to be thrown back at the Romans. [[CombatPragmatist And as this happened right before contact, the enemy would be still in broken formation and recovering from the shock when the well-ordered Romans arrived in shortsword range...]]
* The late Roman Army: the two ''pila'' per soldier were replaced by either a single ''verutum'' (a throwing ''spear'') or ''spiculum'' (like the ''pilum'', only heavier) or two ''lanceae'' (small javelins of more traditional design) depending on supplies and deployment, plus the normal infantry started was supplied with a dozen ''plumbatae'' (darts made to pierce chainmail and kill on short distance), and was flanked by archers (both on foot and mounted) equipped with [[OlderThanTheyThink composite bows and sometimes crossbows]] for a more traditional Rain of Arrows.

* At the beginning of ''LightNovel/VampireHunterD: Bloodlust'', Borgoff Markus manages to do this with a single-shot, hand-loaded crossbow. The mechanics remain a mystery.

* ''Anime/GenesisOfAquarion'': Silvia takes her Lunatique Archery technique UpToEleven to destroy the Shadow Angel Titania with a Rain of Arrows in the 9th episode.

* The late Roman Army went UpToEleven: the two ''pila'' per soldier were replaced by either a single ''verutum'' (a throwing ''spear'') or ''spiculum'' (like the ''pilum'', only heavier) or two ''lanceae'' (small javelins of more traditional design) depending on supplies and deployment, plus the normal infantry started was supplied with a dozen ''plumbatae'' (darts made to pierce chainmail and kill on short distance), and was flanked by archers (both on foot and mounted) equipped with [[OlderThanTheyThink composite bows and sometimes crossbows]] for a more traditional Rain of Arrows.

Massive volleys of arrows were TruthInTelevision, and all arrows need to arc to some degree, but the situation would determine whether or not the archers used the extreme ballistic trajectory loved by Hollywood. A high arc was necessary at extreme distance, simply to compensate for gravity. It could also be useful to deliberately lob arrows at a steep angle so they’d hit enemies who were deeper than the first rank, or perhaps hidden from line of sight by terrain such as a hill. On the other hand a high arc increases flight time, and the further the arrows travel the more energy they lose. Therefore, anti-armor archery such as that of the English during the Hundred Years War was normally reserved for relatively close range using a relatively horizontal trajectory. Hollywood really prefers a steep arc, however, since scores of archers shooting into the air is a really cool pose, and there’s a built-in suspense/payoff structure: you watch with dread as the arrows rise up into the air, perhaps even blotting out the sun as they reach the top of the arc, and then they come hissing down everywhere at once, killing RedShirts left and right while somehow avoiding the heroes and their PlotArmor.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Uryuu Ishida, after [[ParentExMachina regaining]] his [[CantStayNormal lost power]], becomes capable of firing 1200 arrows at the same time. His name actually does mean "[[MeaningfulName rain dragon]]" and, when firing this bow, he lives up to that name. Episode 169 is a notable example. Unlike other examples when he uses this, every arrow is going to hit something

[[caption-width-right:350: Hope you brought an umbrella [[Film/ThreeHundred so we can fight in the shade.]]]]

* ''Film/KingArthur'' (2004) provides a bit of TruthInTelevision example of how this was used in it's final battle. The Woad archers create confusion and chaos in the Saxon ranks whilst thinning the numbers, which the knights then exploit, retreat and after a second volley return to finish the job. Traditionally European medieval armies (especially Frankish and later English) that employed archers used them in exactly this manner: To disrupt the enemy line and sow confusion and chaos that mounted knights could exploit.

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': -Strangely for a supposedly bow-using class, the Archers don't actually tend to do stuff like this much. [[spoiler: Gilgamesh on the other hand, uses historic weapons of mass destruction as arrows because he has so many of them and doesn't see a need to actually use them properly. Hence, why his class is Archer.]]

* The movie ''Film/ThreeHundred'' does this twice. The first time is a case of ineffective AnnoyingArrows. The second time is directed primarily at a single, extremely tough individual.

* The Creator/MichaelCrichton movie ''Film/{{Timeline}}'' was worth the price of admission for these words: ''[[ArrowsOnFire "Fire the Night Arrows!"]]''
* Happens in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'' during the siege of Helm's Deep. Turns out Elves are pretty good at raining arrow-y death on the Uruk-Hai. It's entirely possible the Battle of Helm's Deep would have been much less tense if Saruman hadn't sent bombs along... because while the Rohirrim only had about 300 men (most of them not soldiers), a couple dozens elves, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, they had enough bows, and probably enough arrows, to outfit ''every single one of them'', and an enormous stone wall to hide behind. Legolas isn't able to pull off a literal rain, but he manages to create veritable ''stream'' of arrows at times.[[note]]The Book tells it differently, though. In ''The Two Towers'' there are no elves taking part - the sons of Elrond, and only two half-Elven at that, arrive ''after'' this battle in the company of the purely human Rangers. There are rather more Rohirrim. And the explosives are necessary to the plot, to explain how the Uruk-Hai force a way through the wall and to demonstrate their essential mechanical soul-lessness - an industrialized form of warfare that Tolkien loathed virulently, having experienced World War I.[[/note]]

* ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'': Shown a few times. At the battle of Stirling, the Scottish taunt the English archers into firing their arrows. The Scots then quickly hide under their shields for protection, with mixed results.
* ''Film/ThroneOfBlood'' (1957) - The final moments of Creator/AkiraKurosawa's JidaiGeki ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' adaptation features a Rain of Arrows directed at a single, cornered dude. Most of these arrows were allegedly "live" -- fired by expert archers just inches away from Creator/ToshiroMifune. Needless to say, he [[EnforcedMethodActing looks pretty damn terrified]].
* ''Henry V'': The [[Film/HenryV1944 1944 version]] (Olivier one) has a rather pretty one of these during the Battle of Agincourt. The [[Film/HenryV1989 1989 version]] (the Branagh one) was not so pretty.
* ''Film/KingArthur'' (2004) provides a bit of TruthInTelevision example of how this was used in it's final battle. The Woad archers create confusion and chaos in the Saxon ranks whilst thinning the numbers, which the knights then exploit, retreat and after a second volley return to finish the job. Traditionally European medieval armies (especially Frankish and later English) that employed archers used them in exactly this manner: To disrupt the enemy line and sow confusion and chaos that mounted knights could exploit.
* ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' - The opening battle.
* ''Film/TheLoneRanger'': [[spoiler:How the Comanche gets the initial drop on the U.S. Calvary that is under the control of Latham Cole.]]
* This happens in ''Film/TheMummyTombOfTheDragonEmperor''. However, since it's being used on an undead army -- who immediately get back up and shrug off the arrows -- it is only dangerous to the two humans fighting with them, and they take cover.
* ''Film/Hercules2014'': PlayedForDrama and then [[PlayedForLaughs For Laughs]] when Amphiaraus faces a rain of flaming arrows peacefully, eyes closed and [[CrucifiedHeroShot arms spread wide]], believing it to be his prophesied death. They all miss.
-->''[Amphiaraus cautiously opens his eyes, peers around, and shrugs]''\\
'''Amphiaraus:''' ...Maybe not. ''[Charges into battle]''

* In the ''Series/GameOfThrones'' episode "Battle of the Bastards'', Ramsey Bolton has his archers loose a volley of arrows onto the soldiers in melee on the field, not caring if they struck the Stark men or his own soldiers.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', there are feats one can take to ensure a rain of arrows (so long as you have the ammunition, of course).
** And now, a literal rain of arrows spell that causes impressive physical damage and uses arrows of the same metal as that used by the caster to cast the spell - at the cost of a relatively small area of effect for the level it becomes available at.

* The ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series typically involves a rain of arrows in at least one bow skill per game. In particular, Zielregen in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'' rains exploding arrows on the target(s), and Dart Trap in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|APromiseUnforgotten}}'' somehow creates an explosive pitfall under the target with a rain of arrows.

* Similarly to the above example, ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'' has the [[https://youtu.be/gnKRrmKQ-rI?t=5m39s "Torrent of Arrows"]] and [[https://youtu.be/gnKRrmKQ-rI?t=8m54s "Storm of Arrows"]] attacks in the Marksman (Archery) powerset. The former involves the character shooting several arrows at the same time in a straight line, while the latter has the character shooting many more arrows at the sky but individually, one after another in rapid succession, where they promptly rain on the enemies. Bonus points if more than one archer use this ability at the same time.
* One of the spells in ''VideoGame/SpellSwap'' summons a rain of arrows.
* ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'':
** The series has the archery units in your army do the Rain of Arrows if you order them to attack.
** In ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'', the evil Prince Luca is only killed by his own army betraying him, the heroes forming ''three'' parties just for him, and multiple Rains of Arrows. ''Everyone'' wanted him really, really dead.\\
\\
The exact sequence was Rain of Arrows (killed his bodyguards), Rain of Arrows (he laughed it off), fight with party #1 (he laughed it off), fight with party #2 (he gets angry), fight with party #3 (he gets well and truly pissed), Rain of Arrows (this time he's visibly hurt), one-on-one fight with the protagonist (gets tired), Rain of Arrows (even more visibly injured), Rain of Arrows (dead after a short speech). Holy ''hell''.
* Ina from ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' has a rain of arrows attack, although it is one of the most useless (and I suppose realistic) attacks since the arrows do piddly damage and land in a completely random spread. There are also several instances of arrow raining in the dynasty warriors and samurai warriors games during cutscenes.

* In ''VideoGame/RogueGalaxy'', one of Lilika's special moves, called 'Wild Thing,' resembles the Zielregen from ''Disgaea'' greatly, right down to the arrows exploding when they hit the ground. The only major difference is that she doesn't shoot a dividing arrow -- she just charges up her bow in midair, and then launches a rapid-fire stream of oddly-arcing arrows.

* ''VideoGame/TotalWar'': Easily done in any of the games in the series. Archers tend to come in companies of around 60-100 that rain arrows down on other companies. Their effectiveness depends on the game, how tight the enemy formation is, the distance, the relative elevation, and good the archers are in relation to the enemy unit. In some games and situations, archers are extremely effective; in others, they're considerably nerfed.
* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'':
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' had one of these, Chester's "Wild Rain" attack.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2''[='s=] Nanaly Fletch and ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts''[='=] Hisui Hearts both have similar techniques with their bows.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has Natalia L.K. Lanvaldear and her Mystic Arte, Astral Rain.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', Raven has a small-scale version, Azure Heavens.
* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': -Strangely for a supposedly bow-using class, the Archers don't actually tend to do stuff like this much. [[spoiler: Gilgamesh on the other hand, uses historic weapons of mass destruction as arrows because he has so many of them and doesn't see a need to actually use them properly. Hence, why his class is Archer.]]
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' - Hunters once got the Volley spell, which fired a large number of arrows at a target area, even if the character is using a gun. Volley has since been removed and replaced by Multi-Shot, which hits [[MacrossMissileMassacre everyone]] in an area in front of the hunter.

* The Einherjar archer party members in ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile2Silmeria'' all share the same LimitBreak attack.
** This LimitBreak Attack is also Llewelyn's only positive point in first ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile''.
* Human archers in ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic 5'' have an ability called "Rain of Arrows" that covers several squares instead of one at the expense of the damage per square. Only human archers, though, not undead or elven ones. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation Don't ask why]].
* In the later stages of ''VideoGame/{{Stronghold}}'' you usually have ''so'' many archers/crossbowmen on your walls that they reach this level.

* In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' Ultimecia has the attack "Knight's Arrow", where she summons a multitude of (stylized, magical) arrowheads to shower the enemy. Depending on input, they either swarm the enemy right away, or hang in the air and aim, delaying the attack. She also uses these arrows during her [[LimitBreak EX Burst]]/
* Massed archers can be used in strategy games like ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires'', but tend to be rather fragile and only effective against enemies with relatively low hitpoints/armour.
** That said, some of the archer unique units in ''Age of Empires II'' are among the most lethal units in the game, notably the Britons' Longbowmen (who are just as formidable as their historical counterparts listed below) and the Chinese Chu-Ko-Nu, armed with a crossbow which can rattle off three shots in quick succession.
* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII'', Kratos is able to do this after leveling up the Blades of Exile a few times.
* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'' and ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations Revelations]]'', Ezio can get the novice Assassins to do this, called an Arrow Storm. The narrator for one official video refers to it as an airstrike, and ''[[DownloadableContent The Da Vinci Disappearance]]'' adds an achievement/trophy called "Airstrike" for killing ten or more guards in a single Arrow Storm.
* ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa'' series have this as one of abilities that bow users can learn.
* ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' has [[ThatOneBoss Sagittare Bolton]], who, every time he [[TeleportSpam teleports around the boss chamber]], yells out the page header and launches several arrows straight up, which can cause some pretty heavy damage when they come back down.
* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
** During the Battle of Ostagar in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', the darkspawn charge is met with a rain of arrows that are also [[ArrowsOnFire on fire]].
** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening'' introduces an archer talent called Rain of Arrows that mimics this trope. Scattershot does it less spectacularly but more effectively.
** Archers in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' have a talent called ''Hail of Arrows'' where they fire a bundle of arrows into the air and it comes down in a veritable storm of pointy shafts.
** Hail of Arrows is the Artificer's [[LimitBreak Focus Ability]] in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', which causes all archery abilities to be used three times at once. It lives up to this trope when combined with Leaping Shot, which causes the user to shoot multiple arrows while leaping backwards, causing a truly alarming number of hits when used while Hail of Arrows is active.
* One of the many hazards in ''VideoGame/HappyWheels'' is a crossbow that can be attached to different surfaces (much like the harpoons). It is rather odd how a middle aged cyclist can survive twenty arrows to the ass and eyes though.
* In ''VideoGame/Overwatch'', Hanzo has this ability, at first it was shooting an arrow that multiplies into many and now is shooting multiple fast and powered arrows at once
* A {{Booby Trap}}ped cake dispenser in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewFrgDPCgGA here]].
* The Ranger in ''VideoGame/MapleStory'' gets a skill called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Arrow Rain]]. On the other hand, the Sniper, their crossbow-wielding counterparts, get Arrow Eruption, which is the same but with the arrows coming from BELOW.
* In ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'', Ares transports his opponent to a barren wasteland where they become a victim of this as part of his LimitBreak.
* In ''VideoGame/LordsOfTheRealm2'', a large group of archers can do this, which can usually turn the tide of a battle, or cost you lots of men or your army if you're on the receiving end of one.
* The Elf in ''VideoGame/DragonsCrown'' has a skill called Clone Strike which lets her fire a volley of arrows into the air, turning her into a one-woman version of this.
* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II: Retribution'' allows Imperial Inquisitor Adrastia to acquire a hand crossbow with [[TrickArrow explosive-tipped bolts]] (because this is 40k) and an AreaOfEffect power where she shoots a volley of them into the air onto a nearby group of enemies.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** One of [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Zygarde's]] many {{Signature Move}}s is "Thousand Arrows", which invokes this by firing several projectiles into the air that land on its opponents. It's a Ground-Type move that [[ScissorsCutsRock not only affect Flying-Types]], but will also [[AntiAir knock them to the ground]].
** [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIFamilies Decidueye's]] [[SignatureMove signature]] [[LimitBreak Z-Move]], Sinister Arrow Raid, has Decidueye fly into the air, then smother the opponent with ghostly feather arrows plucked from its own body.
* [[TheArcher Khita's]] [[LimitBreak Ultimate]] in ''VideoGame/AtlasReactor'' is called Rain of Arrows. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It creates a rain of arrows]] between two points on the map, damaging and rooting enemies hit by it.

* Calling for one of these is the "magical" power of several bonus characters in ''Videogame/CastleCrashers''.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomRush'' series:
** ''Kingdom Rush: Origins'' has Eridan's [[LimitBreak Hero Spell]] Arrow Storm, which drops a huge number of arrows onto an area to deal a great amount of damage.
** ''Kingdom Rush: Vengeance'' has Asra's [[LimitBreak Hero Spell]] Toxic Rain, which is this trope crossed with PoisonedWeapons. It inflicts enemies in an area with [[ArmorPiercingAttack armor-piercing poison]] that deals heavy damage over time.
* Opal (the fusion of Pearl and Amethyst) in ''Steven Universe: VideoGame/SaveTheLight'' has an attack named Rain of Arrows. It causes arrows to fall on the field at a designated location for several turns, leaving the team free to use other actions while enemies in the area are continually damaged.
* The Hunter class in ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' has an attack explicitly named "Rain of Arrows" (which shoots 5 to 8 arrows at random targets, of which three are guaranteed to hit while the others can hit or miss), with an upgraded version called Arrowstorm (which hits ''all'' targets with 5 to 8 arrows each, again with three guaranteed hits and possibly more). The default Hunter H'aanit [[CallingYourAttacks calls]] "A torrent of arrows!" for the latter attack.
* The Huntress in ''VideoGame/RiskOfRain2'' can unleash this as one of her abilities, appropriately dubbed "Arrow Rain". In addition to taking heavy damage, enemies in the area of effect get slowed, allowing the torrent of arrows to deal even more damage to them.
* In ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'', this is literally the name of Shrimp’s special attack, and boy does it live up to it. The animation is nearly ''ten seconds'' of arrows pelting the enemy from all sides. Thankfully, you can only use the attack once per battle.
* The Ranger class in ''VideoGame/FellSealArbitersMark'' can learn an attack ''called'' Rain of Arrows which strikes all units in a line four squares long.
* The ''VideoGame/OfPenAndPaper'' series gives this to the Hunter class. All text is from level 1:
** ''VideoGame/KnightsOfPenAndPaper'': Just called "Volley" here:
---> A great volley of arrows that deals -30% more damage on a target plus four more foes.
** ''VideoGame/KnightsOfPenAndPaper2'': Called "Hail of Arrows":
---> Deal 2 damage to up to 2 random enemies.

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': Enryu's SignatureMove, the Red Rain, is comprised of the [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation creation]] of several thousand spears above the enemies head. The rest is just simple logic.
* Brian Clevinger of ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' fame had a mini-comic on his site called Dynasty Memories, but it seems to have been taken down. It featured a strip in which the hero evaded an attack from a single arrow and declares that they have nothing to worry about, then the next panel is filled entirely with arrows. Although the main character, [[PunnyName Lao Zhe]], says "Those mofos got like a million archers!" but [[OneManArmy it's actually only one archer firing VERY fast]].

* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': Jagganoth is able to combine SuperSpeed and a magical GreatBow into [[https://killsixbilliondemons.com/comic/breaker-of-infinities-1-12-to-1-14/ shooting a massive amount of arrows into the air before making them return to Earth around him]] and burrowing anyone nearby in arrows. Because of aforementioned SuperSpeed, Jagganoth can be well outside the area of effect before the arrows land -- [[CompleteImmortality not that they could harm him either way]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'', Queen Aanya and Duren assist with this to defeat Viren's zombie army and save Xadia from being destroyed by humans

* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': Jagganoth is able to combine SuperSpeed and a magical GiantBow into shooting a massive amount of arrows into the air before making them return to Earth around him and burrowing anyone nearby in arrows. Because of aforementioned SuperSpeed, Jagganoth can be well outside the area of effect before the arrows land -- [[CompleteImmortality not that they could harm him either way]].

* ''Film/{{Hero}}'' has this happen a few times, and couples it with two kung fu masters using their skills to stop the hail of arrows from killing calligraphers. In the end, there's even a [[spoiler:KnifeOutline of the titular hero's silhouette - of course the outline was made not by the archers pinning him so much as pin-''cushioning'' him and removing his body - his death isn't shown, just the outline.]] At one point [[spoiler:master Broken Sword, doing some calligraphy of his own, has his brush broken by an arrow. He then ''catches an arrow and uses it as a brush.'']]

* In ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 6'' (and possibly some of the previous ones, haven't played them all), several characters can create this effect with the 'Barrage' special attack, raining down arrows all around them. Two of the playable characters - Yue Ying and Sun Shang Xiang (AKA 'The Bow Princess') - are also capable of pulling this off with their ordinary attacks. Interestingly enough, they're generally considered to be the best characters for fighting on [[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels Chaos Mode]]... the Rain of Arrows is just that powerful.\\
\\

[[folder:Web Comics]]

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime]]

* ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' - It took an ''extended'' one of these to down [[spoiler: Saito]] while fighting the 70,000 Army. He survived, so said army then resorted to the same thing but with fireballs. [[spoiler: He got better.]]
* ''Anime/GenesisOfAquarion'' - Silvia takes her Lunatique Archery technique UpToEleven to destroy the Shadow Angel Titania with a Rain of Arrows in the 9th episode.
* ''Manga/GiantRobo'' - A character pulls this off in the last OVA. The area goes from sand dunes to looking like a wheat field.

[[folder:Live-Action Television]]

[[folder:Manhua]]
* A common sight in ''Manhua/RavagesOfTime'' whenever two armies meet for battle (which is often).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* Brian Clevinger of ''WebComic/EightBitTheater'' fame had a mini-comic on his site called Dynasty Memories, but it seems to have been taken down. It featured a strip in which the hero evaded an attack from a single arrow and declares that they have nothing to worry about, then the next panel is filled entirely with arrows. Although the main character, [[PunnyName Lao Zhe]], says "Those mofos got like a million archers!" but [[OneManArmy it's actually only one archer firing VERY fast]].

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]