Shooting an arrow at a dragon would be like sticking a tooth-pick in someones body. It would require a ton of arrows to do the job, unless of corse damage is different accordingly to the place you hit with them

I'd like to see how many toothpicks in the eye it takes for you to go down.

Not really some dragons are small some dragons are big.

I don′t see how bow & arrow be any different then any other weapon (well besides having range of course) it takes what it takes depending on damage and the dragons health.

Not with your little bow, i think you should have to get a huge stationary crossbow to shoot it down with a huge arrow

Dragons encounters aren't scripted, as far as I know. All evidence I've seen or read has pointed to random encounters, and a recent thread supports that. So I doubt they will be "bosses" so much as really powerful creatures. That may also be wishful thinking, though, because a lot of people on here seem to want or expect boss fights like on Gears of War (which I wasn't too fond of). Sure, they remained challenging, but they were limiting. It felt more like a difficult quicktime event than a dramatic battle.

I vote somewhere between "lots and lots" and "they require a melee killing blow". I want the fights to be realistic, not fair. If arrows don't meet that, then I'm going to stab the damn thing until it dies.

I'm rather disappointed that you can kill dragons at all. I just know it's going to be easier than it should be.

As far as killing them goes I hope it's a bit more intuitive than hack and slash, and I hope you can avoid combat with them or even reason with them.

I like to play archers. In previous games, this didn't make my characters less competent in magic or fencing, but this time, you won't be able to take all perks, so I will be really pissed of if I can't kill a dragon with arrows, while a melee player didn't need to shoot arrow to be able to kill the same dragon.

so long as your bow is strong and your aim is true im pretty sure eventually even a dragon could fall

I don′t see how bow & arrow be any different then any other weapon (well besides having range of course) it takes what it takes depending on damage and the dragons health.

Not with your little bow, i think you should have to get a huge stationary crossbow to shoot it down with a huge arrow

It won't be a set piece as you put it,because dragons aren't scripted,they can go anywhere,any time they want to.
So are you saying where ever it lands,the enviroment will have a trap for it?....no...doesn't make sense.
We have to use our skills that we get better at,and that is what perks will be used for too.
Also archers may be able to use flaming arrows.This is NOT comfrimed,it was just seen in concept art.
A bandit with a bow and flaming arrow.

Not with your little bow, i think you should have to get a huge stationary crossbow to shoot it down with a huge arrow

If it bleeds, we can kill it any way we damn please.

Arrows aren't hitscan weapons, so you can miss even with an accurate shot if the dragon dodges. The manner in killing a dragon should depend on how aggressive it is. An aggressive dragon can be goaded into unfavorable terrain where you can kill it as you see fit, while a cautious one would try getting you to fight on its terms. I hope combat against them doesn't exclude any of the three disciplines, likely requiring dragons to be highly resistant to arrows, nearly immune to spell damage, and relatively low on HP to make it vulnerable to melee attacks, so every strike against them should be a dramatic moment.

Arrows should still do significant damage, so, with the archery overhaul, every shot is a dramatic moment in battle along the lines of Bard's shot vs. Smaug. Spell casting against a dragon becomes an epic duel between Mage and Dragon that lays waste to the terrain around it, and a warrior's in for a tough struggle against a foe, trying to get into position to strike against the creature while protecting themselves from the counterattack, and emerging triumphant after delivering a few telling blows, each one requiring a great amount of work to land so it's still a satisfying, epic fight without the dragon being a "Damage Sponge".

I imagine/hope that melee combat with a dragon will largely involve avoiding its deadly swings of claws/limbs/tail and getting close enough to land a power attack on its soft belly. So the difficulty will come in landing blows rather than button mashing and hitting it as fast and as many times as possible hence making it more of a tactical fight as you time your movements and strikes - as it should be!

Smaug was killed by a single archer's arrow.

It'd better be!

Smaug also had a bird that was eavesdropping on Bilbo give him the location of the Smaug's weak spot. Planning on talking to many birds?

Well, in traditional Norse mythology, drinking dragon's blood lets you speak to birds, so...

Got it, first kill dragon, drink blood, then ask bird how to kill dragon. Seems redundant. And, of course, this isn't traditional Norse mythology.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/2-talent_caliber.jpg/542px-2-talent_caliber.jpg, anyone? (A talent is a measure of currency.)