its stating the obvious a little but the point is that it isnt! for both oblivion and morrowind bethesda just assumed that people would be mad if they didint have bows in despite people only caring for longswords and magic!


oblivion's take on archery was either sniping or peppering an opponent as he smashed his weapon into you over and over again!!! because of the dice rolls i didnt even bother in morrowind!!!


since there is a sprint function- i want to be able to shoot an opponent, turn around and sprint away, turn around again and shoot him. backpeddaling is NOT interesting. i want the movement to be fluid too!!!

actualy give opponents locational damage!!!

make opponents try to dodge or block shots!!! some opponents should be able to see the arrow coming for them and then sidestep or raise their shield! they should NOT cover their eyes with giant shields and walk forward or ignore the fact that pointy things are flying at them!!! zombies would sway side to side as they walk to make them hard to hit (edit- by this i meant that they walk in such a [censored] way its hard to aim for a specific point), trolls and people might sidestep arrows as they charge, heavily armed guards might form shield formations, dear might run away in zigzags (by this i meant NOT IN A PERFECTLY STRAIGHT LINE and speed will still be their friend),flying enemies might zoom around so fast they require marksman skill to hit, mages might use telekinesis and throw the arrow back, other mages might take cover and throw fireballs around corners....


there is no weapons either!!! in oblivion there was one weapon- the bow. in morrowind there was many weapons BUT THEY ALL FUNCTIONED THE SAME!!!!. now that we have dual wielding its fairly logical to throw throwing weapons in like knives and shurikens, and if crossbows were implemented well then they would be very different from bows!!

I wonder if sidestepping an arrow is all that easy, especially at relatively close range. But, yes, it would be nice if enemies actually reacted to the fact that you are shooting at them. In Oblivion, they all kind of acted like RoboCop.



Why on earth would they do that? I can see a human or other intelligent enemy engaging in evasive maneuvers, but a deer's primary weapon is speed. When fleeing they are just going to try to get away from you as fast as possible, and zig-zagging would prevent that. I think they would only zig-zag if they were being chased by an actual predator (kind of like how you see gazelle suddenly change direction when fleeing from a cheetah on those nature documentaries).

I like enemies using tactics, but zombies and deers traying to be a dificult target is going too far for me.

They're making bows more powerful in Skyrim. Back peddling in out so we don't have to worry about that. I agree with you 100% about the need for more ranged weapons. Whatever happened to crossbows, throwing knifes, and throwing axes?! :verymad:

zombies would just shambel in a wierd way- think of cod's nazi zombies and trying to get a headshot!!!



i can dodge paint balls, arrows would be possible

Lol, deer don't run like that... zombies probably wouldn't run in zigzags, nor would they run away at all, they would just relentlessly shamble towards you (kind of like everything in Oblivion :whistling: ).

I would definitely like other foes, however, to react to the weapon type that I am using (since that seems to be the predominant argument of this thread). If I am using a bow, they should react to me firing differently than if I am using a sword/board combo.

As to your title.... archery is ALWAYS (!!!!) fun... blasphemy, I say!

Edit: Erm... have you ever seen a longbow 50lbs+ shot in real life? Unless you are 70+ yards away and know what's in store, you are not dodging it (completely at least).

You can dodge an arrow if you have fair enough warning, they only travel at around 350 mph. At point blank, like somewhere around 30 feet, I don't think theres much of a chance at that.

sorry, but bows will be playing a roll similar to sniper rifles in FPS games, they take longet to draw, are more powerful and arrows are rare.

i'm actually happy it will be like this, i was tired of looting bandits that looked like i was trying to do accupuncture with my bow.

i agree, really its just not realistic anyway...

As an ex competitive archer, bows are big and clunky. They are heavy too, it's not easy to shoot, run away, shoot, run away, all in quick succession.

they're shortbows ingame though... and modern bows are heavier to keep them still i am told


longbows would make a decent addition...

The point why they could survive your 2 first shots and come [censored] you with a longsword is gone now :tes:

Longbows would be nice. It would take longer to shoot though, and be like a 2h weapon.

Ever pull a string on a non-compound bow? That stuff is tough!

Where did you/do you shoot? I compete for school and at NJ States/ NE regionals during breaks.

if he had crossbows we could diverse the ranged weapons. I also would like to use different kind of arrows for different targets! you know, broadhead, bodkin, etc.
generally, I would love to see more diversity in ranged weapons.
throwing axes, daggers, knives,
big/small crossbows, shortbows, longbows, composite bows,

I'm glad that the longbow gets a boost. an unarmored target would die after two hits. if wearing platemail you could get a throwing axe or crossbow.
see Damage tresshold/resistance thread.

I've been little critical of some of your topics in the past,right,or wrong. This is a good post and you have some good points here actually.
Location damage would be great,i'll admit. It's stated that ice magic can slow enemies,now if we had location damage archers/assassins etc,could do this too. We could shoot enemies legs to slow them down,or shot their arms to weaken their melee attacks or make it harder for them to block. I also agree about enemies being able to block arrows or dodge,it's a very good point. All this really is down to AI. I would rather have clever AI ,rather than HP sponges. But i like what i've heard about skyrim so far as regards combat/archery etc. No doubt will find out more before release,but good points nontheless. We know they are using an archery mod by default. I'm not 100% which one ( can't remember ) , but i believe it's the "Duke Patricks" Archery mod.
It would be nice for those PC users out there ,to tell more about this mod ,thats if indeed that is the mod they have gone off. In defence of oblivion,i thought archery was ok in oblivion,i had fun with it. Yes it can be way better and probably will be in skyrim. It was also more powerful than some people thought in oblivion. If you set up a good stealth archer type,you can be nigh on untouchable.

I'm also glad they have done away with fast back peddling,will make things more tactical. I like crossbows,but prefer bows anyday of the week. I not bothered if crossbows are in skyrim,because it would go against the new archery mod,you don't need alot of skill with crossbows. What i would like more than crossbows is throwing weapons,i would much prefer them now. Some good points....kudos :thumbsup:

PS: If PC users know for sure which mod it is,could they say what it does,from their point of view. If you've used it.
Thanks in advance.