Hi everyone, I have a woodelf level 19 and I was really liking the character, though im starting to struggle a little more now and wanted to know a couple of things to keep ahead of my enemy.

First is the bow, I only have one black soul gem so didn't want to waste it, just got access to the arcane university and I'm using a glass bow with the kvatch oblivion gate sigil stone damage 20 health. At the time it was quite easy the bow was great but not so much now. So anyway, I have an ebony bow that I want to enchant, cAn you please give me some powerful combinations? I apologise I know it's been asked a 1000 times, I didn't know if to go with the weakness to magic and poison or just with fire, shock and frost combo, what I REALLY want is to as much damage as possible with evey shot.

Secondly, I am a master in alchemy, can you please remind me what potion combinations are extremely lethal, like for example the ones that stack. Am I right in saying that sometimes two poisons might just reset the effect of the first as opposed to stacking? Or is that only with spells?

Third, can you guys give me any tips on creating useful spells? Which are most effective in battle, like I said I'm just interested in doing as much damage as possible and as fast as possible.if I used a weAkness to magic spell and my bow had weakness to magic too would they stack?

Fourth, enchAnting clothes/armour, this I hAve never done, even though I have about 200 hours in this game with all my characters I feel like I know so little about it . One idea I saw that I will do is enchant a cap with life detection like acadian as being an archer is of the upmost importance to me. Any cool or effective combos you guys have or enjoy/ed using? No chameleon 100% though .

Here's my character so you have an idea what I'm dealing with :

Monty, woodelf, the thief, level 19, stealth, favoured end agi.
Health:330.
MagickA:198
FAtigue:355
strength 70 willpower 70 personality 30 luck 65 rest 100.
All skills journeyman except alchemy, light armor, sneak , marksman , security masters/expert.

So yeah that is what I have, still using kvatch armour even though I've done KOTN. Basically all my gear gives me attribute bonuses or 20% resist this or that nothing really that good but it's the best I hAve, have never entered SI, never finished mAin quest, i play on xbox, have all dlc and LOVE this gAme.

So if I can combine a good weapon, poisons, spells and clothing I think I'll be back on my demolition path again!
Sorry about the random capital letters(iPhone) and about the long post.
I'd love to experiment and try everything and never fast travel but there is just not enough hours in a day to do so.

In advanced thanks for any help or ideas I really appreciate it .

Lots of questions there, so let me try to answer a few of them:

Poisons can act in concert with each other. You can have up to four acting at once on your foe with no conflict.

Weakness to magic will stack; all other weaknesses however will simply reset the timer.

Enchanting a bow. First I recommend you make sure you have Azura's Star from the Azura's shrine quest to help keep it recharged. Regardless of how you enchant the bow, add 1- 2 seconds of soul trap to it (many recommend 2 seconds, I use 1 second just fine). Let me offer two enchantment ideas based on how you use the bow:

1. You have a sword to back yourself up, so you simply want max damage from your bow: Lots of shock x 1 sec + soul trap.
2. You rely on the bow, without serious combat backup ability. Here you want your bow to immobilize your foe. Something like demoralize 25 x 2 sec will do the trick. There are other immobilizing bows, but this one is simple. Don't forget to add the brief soul trap.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Useful_Enchantments

Thanks for ideas, so I guess it's that simple , as much shock as possible and soul trap fair enough, will storm atronaches be immune though?
I do have azura star and don't use melee, also so weakness to magic stacks , would I not inflict more damage with my bow enchanted with that instead for x amount of seconds? And stack it a few times? Also is it possible to stack a weakness to magic spell with an enchanted weakness to magic bow? Would they stack? As in one shot from the bow and one spell would it stack to 200 weakness magic.. Thanks for the help.

Yeah I read it almost everytime I play oblivion, just wanted some first hand ideas of what works best for you guys

Yes, a weakness to magic spell and bow will definitely stack together. I like, and have used, this strategy. Shoot an arrow with weakness effects from a dark corner, shoot a couple more as the foe closes in, then blast it with a Destruction spell and watch it drop dead (if it isn't dead already). Definitely works. You can alternate spell or arrow as you see fit, and they will both amplify each other.

As Acadian has said go for the Demoralize bow (at 10th level Iam using a Shock dam 16pt x 1 sec, demoralize level 16 x 1 sec & soul trap x 1sec).
Add poison and the enemy has no chance. Adjust to suit at a higher level.

Buffy has a drain speed bow ( obtained via DLC or the Orc glitch). It is worth taking the time to learn drain speed.

Another simple spell I use is Drain Health 100 x 1 sec on touch & Soul Trap x 1sec. This spell will take out anything that has less than 100 HP. It is a simple matter of watching the life bar on the screen and using it when it is appropiate. It works well against human enemies that need a black soul gem, so you are not wasting the charge on your weapon if you dont have a black gem.

Enchanting clothes is very important- is is easy to take a Dunmer to 100% fire resist and 85% shield. Magicka is another good enchantment to use.

I would create a "Weakness to Shock 5 seconds on Target" spell to cast ahead of that shock-enchanted bow; that way, it will even affect shock-immune enemies like storm atronachs. Also, don't forget that you can also deliver a poison with that bow at the same time, to increase the damage. With Master-level Alchemy, you can produce some multiple-damage poisons.

Frankly, the ones listed are the tried and true best. I don't even use them, because they're so good they render the game far too little of a challenge. But lots of people like them.

As for spells, I can't help you, as I use two mods that pump up spells for both my character *and* all opponents (as well as their magicka). Just stick with a combination of weakness and damage spells, and you'll do well. And don't neglect a good summons, either. Some opponents won't, and the ones that do, will be distracted by the attacks enough to let you deal with other spells and matters.

Though I have set Bow and Blade as major skills, I rely on my bow a lot more than I do my sword, so I like to get creative with the enchantments. Here is my current weapon:

Name: Sylvan Ranger's Bow
Type: Elven Bow (retextured to be light blue with silver instead of brown and gold)
Primary Effect: Drain Speed 85pts for 5sec
Secondary Effect: Soul Trap for 2sec
Total Charge: 2000 (again, mod. My grand soul value received a bit of a buff)
Charge per Use: 58
Number of Uses: 34

What does it do? It exploits the fact that if an enemy's Speed is reduced to 0, they exit combat altogether. This coupled with the expert Marksman perk means that if you meet an arrow from this bow, you are going to die. It essentially paralyzes my target when I hit them.

Thanks for all the replies I've read them all various times, I'm still a little confused as I've been reading the wiki and raised a whole new set of questions but I'll do another post for that and make it easier on you guys.

The demoralise and drain speed sound really effective ( I tried the demoralise on all the mages and was pretty cool ) but it's just not my thing kinda feels like I'm cheating, I just want to learn how to stack properly and do loads of damage.

The problem with trying to get fancy (stacking) when using a bow for sniping is the risk of losing your stealth status. It can be done, as I do so routinely with drain speed in my 'prep spell' but it is complicated. Honestly, I recommend focusing on making great poisons, then enchanting your bow with loads of shock and sniping from the shadows. Remain hidden while the poison does the job and repeat as necessary.

Weakness stacking is much better suited to and simpler for battlemages or pure mages than mystic archers.

Don't forget that an archer gets the benefit of enchantment on the bow AND poisons (or pre-made enchantments) on the arrows. Pick the arrow effect for specific enemies (such as the shock-resistant) and the bow effects for what works on everyone, and use them both together. Soul trap on the bow to keep it charged is almost essential (and don't forget to keep it repaired too!)

And don't forget that the skill experience from multiple shots is higher than you get from one more powerful one. Don't be in too much hurry to get that kill if you can take your time without endangering yourself. If your first shot makes your enemy an immobile target, then you get some target practice. That experience will, of course, increase the damage you do.