i have no idea what im doing wrong but they always seem to hit me, something like 3/4 shots hit me.Its one of the main reasons i dont play 2h sword/axe/hammer characters.I hate seeing arrows stuck in my body, takes away from the realism of it all.

I think im pretty good, i sometimes jump and let the arrow run under me.

There are several ways to defend against archers. The main thing is... don't just aimlessly hang out in wide open spaces and take on melee NPCs. This is what they want you to do.

Single out melee characters and bottleneck them behind structures and around corners. That is your shield and you can take out the CQC fighters free of ranged attacks.Then, the archers will eventually come to you. When they round the corner smack them in the face with your 2H weapon of choice.

Other ways include using shouts, like Become Eternal or Whirlwind Sprint, to close the gap and force them to go into melee combat.

I dodge about 90% of the arrows fired at me.

i'm very good at dodging them, getting pretty damn good at catching them too, try spamming your "use" button when you know you're gonna get shot at, it'll add the arrow to your inventory and completely avoid the damage it would've done...

i used to do that, but then i stopped because i felt like i was cheating.

I virtually never get hit by enemy arrows unless there are several archers firing me at once. It's pretty easy to avoid getting shot.

to catch an arrow aimed at your head is not cheating, it's pure badassery!

ha! That's crazy.. I love it...lol How, exactly, does one stumble upon doing that?

I can see your point.

?Then there is the tacking technique. Much the same as a ship sails into the wind, you keep moving in a side to side angle as you close ground to the archer.

I take the arrows and laugh at the pain as i cut their heads off.

stumbled onto it just like you said, i noticed that if your reticle is in the right spot, the "take" command pops up right before it hits you, so i started experimenting with strafing techniques and viola!

I could say I'm pretty good at dodging arrows. Unlike Morrowind and Oblivion, in Skyrim dodging arrows way more easy.
My tactics in Skyrim when fighting with archer(s), aproaches the opponents with zig-zag movements and finish them up close. The key is to read their movement, when they pick the arrow and string the bow, etc.


And I wanna say, the guy who pickup the arrows in the air is hell rockin'!
I'm still a novice at that awesome thing.

If you cant dodge arrows then the best way is to get shot and keep going, Achilles way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z41KT5fLF1g

yes but were trying to avoid death here...

You don't necessarily have to die.

Better than they are at dodging mine !!

best.response.ever!

Agreed. Nice one Shaherazad !

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j68/sitruc2006/ScreenShot750nak3.jpg <-
^
More than one archer and it's not so easy ^

otherwise it's fairly easy to dodge them, enemy archers dodge them as well, having a battle with another archer gets interesting.

Dragonborn: You telling me I can dodge arrows?

Arngeir: Im saying that when you're ready... you wont have to.

I'm actually pretty good at this. Cover is a must when facing more than one archer.

Timing also, I seem to have down to a fine art - I know exactly when I hear he's missed

shot how long I have to get out from behind cover aim and fire before taking cover

again, I can do this against multiple archers.

I was only thinking about this yesterday, funny.

I can also fire, hit my target { even a moving target} and simply TIP the controller

to avoid his /her similarly timed arrow.

Timing I would suggest to you. Also, OBSERVE your opponents; where they are,

are they moving, what kind of cover they have and most importantly is is ONE

ON ONE or do you have to deal with several with your sword dagger or hammer

first. If you do, deal with them behind cover and KEEP MOVING don't let

the archer get a bead on you.

I love my bow. I do not use a crosshair. I'm pretty lethal with it.

They are easy to dodge just keep your eyes on the archer and side step when they fire the arrow or jump over it. side stepping is easier.

Piccolo would be proud of my ability to http://i.qkme.me/3qx96i.jpg.

Keep moving, and whatever you do, keep moving. The only time an arrow gets me is if I don't see where the archer initially is or if I'm fighting a melee fighter.

Thanks guys