this is most embarrassing,even though i have been playing elder scrolls games for a few years now,i have never used archery before.WHAT A MISTAKE

it's bloomin great

as i had to re-format my 360 hd,i thought i would start skyrim again,playing as a completely different character to what i usually play.

am now playing as a dark elf who although uses one handed/destruction (which i always use in any elder scrolls gameplay) he is also becoming more adept at stealth (not a thief at present though/that could well change if he feels that way inclined in future

using a bow though has just opened my eyes as to the fun/satisfaction of stealth and silent killing of enemies.you have to put a lot more thought into how to go about it (as eldric isn't that strong yet level 12).it was quite a challenge taking on a group of falmer (he did a lot of sneaking bow attacks,then running back to a safe point. repeat until the enemies were dead) before my character would have just stormed in sword wielding/destruction spells at the ready.

have you found any skills that you never used before,being great fun?

oh and can anyone recommend my elf a good bow to find/use in future?

ta

Good Bow- Nordic Bow

Congrats!

I'm rather fond of Archery myself. There are a number of good bows in the game; try the Thieves Guild questline for one, and Dawnguard (if you have it) for arguably the best bow in the game. Dragonborn has a great bow hidden away in a sidequest. Other than that, have fun with some of the regular bows! I like the Ebony one, personally.

The ebony bow is my favorite. I love sniping bad guys in dark caves!

I tried out archery...stopped playing it when i had some bandit quick step out of the way 3 times in a row on some long range shots.

I used to have a fire mage, and my firebolts got ninja dodged occasionally too but at least with that i didnt have to worry about guessing my trajectory like with arrows only to have the NPC troll me with a quickstep. So now i run a mage that is primarily shock with fire as a backup.

I remember when I discovered the joy of Archery in Morrowind! Of course it was known as marksman back then. I made a Wood Elf and was overjoyed at the fun of snipping bandits even though the stealth dynamics were much less involved in TES III - I liked that character so much it ended up being the first I beat the MQ with (with a Dwarven crossbow as my weapon of choice). Since then I always make at least one Wood Elf archer per TES title and I usually make a Dark Elf similar to yours.

Marksman was a nightmare in Morrowind.

I honestly didn't use archery until skyrim, didn't like how they were in morrowind and oblivion.

How could you not enjoy the dice-roll based archery system in Morrowind? Landing a shot was an incredible rush! hahaha

I freakin love archery! Hands down its my favorite form of offensive combat that isn't magic oriented. The damage you can do mixed with the sneak skill makes for one of the most deadly character types. Check the Skyrim Blog and you'll find a lot of great archer builds.

Even if I never intend to use marksman with a character, I end up with marksman. Archery is too good to ignore. Although that did cause some collateral damage in Oblivion; it was the first game that had non-hostile npcs in some of the caves/dungeons. My favorite method of going through the caves/dungeons was sneaking and sniping. One orc looks a lot like another in the dark. I ended up reloading on more than one occasion; I hate to kill any npc that isn't attacking. I tend to use either ebony or dragonbone bows.

I don't really understand the appeal for the Ebony Bow, It's so Thick and bulky I can barely see my target.

I like the more Simple wooden ones, from the Long Bow to Imperial Bow.

Archery in Skyrim is better than it has ever been in TES.

There is something immensly statisfying in completing a dungeon without once activating the battle music.

The ninja dodges make me not want to play it, but it can be fun at times. Not a fan of the occasional glitchy kill cams either

It's true that there are some glitches with the gameplay and those two bugs you mention do get annoying.

However, overall I do feel archery this time around has the right 'feel' to it, if that makes sense.

Archery is just too massively useful to ignore. Even for a non stealthy sword and shield warrior or a mage, it's always handy to have a backup ranged attack option.

Favourite early bow is easily the Forsworn. Easy to find, as powerful as Elven, and a great barbarian aesthetic.

I love archery in skyrim. In oblivion it felt like i had to shoot 100 arrows to kill a enemy.

I thoroughly enjoy archery in Skyrim; in Morrowind, it was almost unbearable.

I like the Nord Hero bow the most, for the blend of aesthetics, RP, and damage. I might use the fortify restoration glitch to make a long bow more powerful and, hence, usable, especially as I like it's appearance the most. But, archery is too good to not use.

I think the Forsworn bow has a faster fire rate as well.

My first character's first main combat skill was archery. Archery, sneak and aura whisper and they don't know what hit them - never had a problem with dodging. Zoe worked her way up to a dragonbone bow smithed to legendary and never found anything better.

You can get creative with a bow too (e.g. using arrows to distract enemies and/or lure them away from/into areas; shooting ceramic candle pots from ceilings so that they explode onto enemies or pools of oil to cause fiery explosions; poisoning arrows with frenzy to get enemies to fight each other; etc.). I love the bow though I have yet to create a build that uses it as a primary skill... can't wait.

This kinda makes me want to start a new character, completely using archery. I've always preferred hand to hand combat so by the time I want to use archery there aren't many enemies left to use it on.

It's definately one of the more creative ways to kill someone.

Archery is good in this game.

If you have Chivalry: Medieval Warfare don't say that please.

When you work your way up on Arechery in the skills, then it's such a good wepon to use

Hated Archery in Oblivion, could not use the bow to save my life. In Skyrim though I love the bow and I really like the Crossbows that Dawnguard added to the game.