Armor deflects arrows of a lesser material type

I was thinking about how the arrows are going to be much more powerful this time around in Skyrim, as well as more realistic. One of the things that bugged me in Oblivion was the ineffectiveness of armor in protecting you against arrows. In real warfare, arrows would usually bounce off or break on most armor types unless the arrow was extremely strong, or the bow itself was unnaturally powerful (the English Longbow...which I dont expect to see in Skyrim).

So why would there be different arrow types at all if they all do so much damage anyways?

My idea is that armor would deflect arrows of a lower material type (unless you hit in certain locations: head, neck, or armor joints--would not be too hard to script this).

For instance, if the target is wearing steel armor, you would need at least a steel arrow to penetrate the armor and damage him, unless you are a really good shot, otherwise it will deflect or break. If an arrow deflects, minor damage is still caused to the target. If the arrow penetrates the armor, the target still takes slightly less damage then he would if he was unarmored (for balance sake). A new arrow type (stone or flint) would need to be added as the lowest-tier arrow type to counteract fur armor. The arrow penetration would be set up like this.


Stone Arrow--->Fur Armor, (And Unarmored)
Iron Arrow------>Iron Armor
Steel Arrow---->Steel Armor
Silver Arrow----Silver Armor
Mithril Arrow--->Mithril Armor
Dwarven Arrow>Dwarven Armor
Glass Arrow---->Glass Armor
Ebony Arrow---->Ebony Armor
Daedric Arrow-->Daedric Armor

Any arrow type lower than the armor type will be deflected. Of course, I'm sure many of these armor types will change or be removed, so it would be set up differently--but you get the point. I think this would make the type of arrow you use more important, forcing you to observe your enemies before rushing to attack with arrows (strategically selecting arrows). If the leveling system is improved (as they claim), then we shouldnt be seeing every enemy wearing our level armor all the time, so its not like your lower level arrows would become useless after you reach a certain level. I thought of this last night before I fell asleep, wondered what anyone else would think.

No one huh?

its not a bad idea, ive thought of it before while playing oblivion but then you have balancing issues. due to the lower amount of arrows you can find it could be hard to find the kind you need.

Yes arrows over elven quality was pretty rare, daeric arrows was collector items.
Also a balancing issue, good armor already has lots of benefits over poor this will increase it more.
Bodkin arrows might be a good idea, reduced damage but ignore lots of armor protection.

Well Oblivion have
Duke Patricks - Combat Archery
http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/514-duke-patricks-combat-archery-32/

This mod greatly improve archery in Oblivion, someone says even developers take some inspiration from features of this mod

Heavy armor really needs to be changed to have some major weaknesses (slow down movement, or can't cast magic) so that it can have important strengths like what the OP is suggesting. It shouldn't just be a stronger version.

Other: Yes, I like your idea, but only if the same principle is applied to melee weapons. I don't want and don't like it when archery is nerfed. There is already one large downside: the fact that you need two hands (in previous TES games at least) to wield a bow/crossbow, which means an archer character is already at a disadvantage when it comes to being able to block or cast spells.

Perhaps the game should implement the condition of the arrows themselves;

- Are the feathers worn?
- Is the shaft in good condition?

Also, maybe the arrow heads could become more blunt when you use them and that you may have to sharpen them. I know this might not be realistic in the game as arrows come in bulk, just an idea.

I like the idea of having different types of arrows. It would make sense that weaker arrows (wood or iron) would break against stronger armor types.

Something that would be really cool is the idea of types of arrows beyond just the quality. What if you had blunt-headed arrows that did tons of damage against unarmored foes and creatures but were worthless against someone wearing armor and armor piercing arrows that did higher damage against armored foes but not as much against unarmored? (my thoughts coming from the different ammo types found in Fallout New Vegas)

Yes the same should apply to melee, however here we run into the balancing again, perhaps let armor protection don't increase much between materials main bonus it that it protects better against better materials

not in obvlivion but in skyrim they said they were reducing the amount of arrows you would find in the world but making bows a lot stronger, so thats what makes this idea overpowered

Correctly but you would not use a blunt arrow tip, you would use a tip with large blades http://www.asia.ru/en/ProductInfo/1080335.html is a modern example.
The bodkin armor piercing tip is no wider than the shaft.

In Oblivion ebony and daeric arrows was very rare, cheap arrows was common, if arrows is rarer the high quality ones would be even harder to get.
However the few arrows and crafting don't match well as arrows is one of the most obvious things to craft as you need many, if you craft a sword you don't need a new until you can make something better.

I would love to see weak shots bounce off plate armor, but you can't prohibit an archer from fighting a character just because they don't have the right arrow.

I would also love to see chinks/gaps in armors that Archers can aim for massive damage.

An archery skill perk could be multiple selection "Ignore DT - 1". So with first timer - Ebony arrow defeats Daedric armo, with second - Glass defeats Daedric, third - Dwarven, then Mithril then silver at the fifth rank. If you're an expert smithe, you may be able to craft your own heavy materials. If you're an expert in smithing, you may be able to craft enough of the exotics. Alchemy, easy access to poisons etc. Useful skill combos.

The first option, plus location based damage. A bandit shouldn't be able to keep on fighting when I just shot him 8 times in the face.

when I first saw the title, i thought it said annal penetration, lol what?

I would have 3 different poisons hotkeyed and shoot my targets 3 then run away as they died to all of that poison. Worked well for me.

EDIT For tougher targets I would make a multiple element poison that would do fire/frost/shock AND poison damage.... could 1 shot most things.

balance it out, make it a median point between your current bow and arrow, meaning a good bow will boost the effectiveness of cheap arrows. And remember, light armor tends to be less effective than heavy.

Sure why not, but it would also need to include weak spots in armor that can be penetrated regardless of arrow if you just have precision, the joints, etc. (critical hits basically)

and that involves tons of programming and scripting or something alike i figure... so maybe in mods!