[Marine Arrègle]

This is a thread for discussing the exciting (imo) and frequently difficult technique of using the bow in general combat.


With the remastered edition coming out soon, I thought I'd try bringing together all of the archers (a large segment of the Skyrim population) to discuss the art of hitting stuff from faraway using just a string tied to a stick.


Make no mistake, you can talk about whatever you want within the confines of archery; there's no real format.


My preferred style is what I like to call Combat Archery:


Requirements

- Use a bow

- Minimize Stealth

- Prioritize Bow Bash

- Optional: Carry an emergency backup weapon


Some edu-interesting topics I'd like to get to eventually are:


- Accuracy

- Precision (different)

- Distance Shots

- Close-range Emergency Workarounds

- Crafting and Collecting Archery Materials (limit the exploits, if possible)


Footnote: If you've got mods you think enhance the base game (I know I used to have one that allowed for very long-distance shots past the vanilla cut-off range,) feel free to introduce them here.

[Justin Bywater]

I usually use stealth archery after smithing up the bows to the max. Sneak attacks with archery all the way. Occasionally exchange arrows with another archer, but practice dodging for the most part. If a combat character gets in close, then dual wielding it is.

The one thing that really bugs me about Skyrim's archer accuracy are corners of the terrain / meshes. You think you have a clear shot only to discover that the textures and corners of the meshes aren't quite lined up. This is most apparent on stair or shooting downward. Or 3rd person aiming is skewed vertically in some cases

For long distance shots, I first try to aim vertically and then just side step horizontally if the pixels are being a bit finicky for the extra accuracy.

I always use ebony arrows. Easy enough to make coin and buy some ingots. Then just chop some wood and fletch some arrows


My favourite bow has to be the ebony or Nightingale bow

[Siidney]

I've always thought archery was the most satisfying combat style in TES since Oblivion. Rarely, if ever, do i experiment with any other playstyle anymore because i know i would be enjoying myself much more if i were playing an archer type character, specifically as your typical Bosmer/Archer.

Over time i have grown to love the simple old Longbow and now exclusively use instead of more powerful bows as to me aesthetically it has the best design with it's similarities to the look of the English Longbow during the period of the hundred years war. When remastered rolls around i'll be sure to get a mod that makes the longbow more powerful or at least a mod that stays true to the simple Longbow's design and packs a huge punch as it should do.

[Craig Martin]

Stealth Archery is likely the majority of archers out there. Some great hybrids I've found that work with this playstyle:


Stealth + (Alchemy, and/or Illusion, and/or Conjuration)

[Kit Marsden]

I've heard a lot of the arguments for aesthetic weapons. I've even sampled touting a Hunting Bow along past its longevity because I appreciated its design. Nothing hurts more than exchanging it for something you don't want later, but then I've always seen myself eventually getting into smithing for the express purpose of keeping old weapons around. Taking down a legendary dragon with a Longbow? Talk about a satisfying prospect.


That said, if anyone's going to go this route, invest heavily in Enchanting or Smithing if you're going without mods.

[Ashley Tamen]

That's my way, too. Archery with Sneak is a lethal combo. Backed up with Dual Wielding and I nigh unstoppable

This bugs me so much! I have hit numerous "railings" on platforms, door frames, building corners, and floors. And the worst part is: Sneak is now in jeopardy!

I do use a mod called "Better Bows" that adds some nice bows into the arsenal.

What I really like about Archery is challenging myself with long shots. Making those "fine adjustments" and hitting a far off target feels so awesome! If I can brag, I have a short https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGrgUhpEj40 (less than 1 minute) where I got a couple of deer with some awesome "longshots." That felt so awesome when it happened

[Love iz not]

But it looks like you like Vacuuming more

Thanks for sharing the videos.

[JUan Martinez]

You actually watched that Vacuum Video? (That's my son, by the way )

[kitten maciver]

Nice shots. It makes me excited to play again. When I'm really in the game, my accuracy goes way up, and it even transfers over to real life archery, or even archery in other games like Minecraft.


Do you play on console or PC, AlBQuirky?


Edit: Nvm. I see you use mods. I was just going to recommend extending the arrow range cut-off. That would always frustrate me playing on the Xbox. But soon, not anymore...

[Lyd]

Archery is one of the reason i would love playing in Valenwood.

[Romy Welsch]

Thanks

I had no idea the range could be adjusted! I'll have to look into that

[Jaki Birch]

The only time I use stealth with archery is to take out a first target if there are lots of enemies, and only if there are lots of enemies, otherwise I always play stand up combat archery. I've gotten pretty good at bashing and close range shooting by forcing myself to play that way. I also think it's a bit more satisfying. Right now I'm using a custom Nightingale bow (made by me) that allows it to be enchanted, but not smithed (because OP svcks). Also using custom bound arrows that I changed to be real inventory items, ones that you can recover from dead guys bodies but not pick up from the ground or purchase.. you can only craft them. They also make it easier to see dead guys lying in the tall grass. It's been a lot of fun as I haven't played a major archer in a long time.

[emily grieve]

Most of my Skyrim characters have been stealthy archers. (Comes from playing a stealthy character in Fallout 3).

Previous games I would use a sword or magic as my main weapon.

I play as a 'scout','ranger' or 'hunter' archer rather than a thief / assassin (except for my thieves guild / dark brotherhood character).

I don't use a backup weapon. If stealth fails then I just keep shooting arrows and back away.

Alchemy works well in combination with archery.

My late game character has two bows - fully smithed up Daedric with 1. Soultrap and 2nd - Drain life and Fire damage.

[Miranda Taylor]

Do you have max fortify archery gear aswell? I find smithing and sneaking to turn archery into such a snoozefest of one-shotting.

[Chica Cheve]

Archery in 3rd person with no crosshairs is funsies. I also like to waste iron arrows on butterflies and the salmon jumping up waterfalls.

[Lizzie]

OP wants to talk about no sneak archery.

Everybody comes in and talks about sneak archery.

http://imgur.com/gallery/YFPeX5t

[Mrs Pooh]

That link is hilarious. Yes stealth archery is overpowered and broken - but fun - (But nothing compared to playing as a mage in Daggerfall. Or fortify Intelligence alchemy in Morrowind. Or 100 Chameleon in Oblivion - I see a trend here.)

OP did say "Make no mistake, you can talk about whatever you want within the confines of archery; there's no real format." To me this includes using stealth.

Stealth does fail - I just keep shooting - Wearing good armor and backing off helps.

[DAVId Bryant]

If we couldn't discuss stealth archery, I feel a majority of the archers in Skyrim wouldn't care to visit this thread. It's perfectly valid. I just prefer getting in the thick of things.
Yeah. I remember a few instances in which I would try to hit a really distant target, and the arrows wouldn't cause damage.


Just did some research: If you have the unofficial patch, then it shouldn't be a problem.

[JD bernal]

Both Stealth and Non-Stealth here (different characters.)

One of my long-term characters, a Redguard "knight," uses a highly-smithed and enchanted Dwemer Crossbow. No stealth for Herricka; she softens up (or thins out) her enemies with crossbow bolts, then switches to sword and board for melee.

On the other end of the spectrum, my Argonian thief/assassin Yellow-Boy wouldn't dream of actually fighting anybody. His idea of a "fair fight" is to kill everybody without ever being seen at all. If he gets detected, he runs away and hides. He likes to shoot from as far away as possible, with a debilitating paralytic poison (Canis Root, Imp Stool, Mora Tapinella.)

[Hayley Bristow]

The game is rather biased against bows in the Block tree. You can't Power Bash with a bow, or use the higher versions of that perk, even though you can with a two-handed weapon, like a greatsword or battle-axe.

Deflect Arrows and Elemental Protection require a shield, as does Shield Charge, of course.

Shield wall improves the "block with a weapon" effectiveness, but that's always below the value you get with a shield.

All of that means that when your enemy is getting close, you need to switch weapon, or perform a strategic withdrawal.

Being able to soak up a lot of damage can make a difference. High health, awesome armour, whatever. Heavy armour doesn't affect archery.

[Jennifer Rose]

Yeah and I'm not exception. Stealth archery for fun and dual wield when the cover gets blown. Surprisingly though I don't use alchemy too much and only use the muffle spell and silent casting perk when it comes to illusion

[Lauren Dale]

"No Stealth Archery" discussion? Where?

My gripe with stealth is not the ease of it, but rather the difficulty it gives in improving one's armor skill. I have yet to have a character get above 50, maybe 60 skill in any armor skill. Smart play will also stunt one's "defensive growth."

Then, add in "kill from a distance" and one may as well use cloth

Since combat is not the main reason I play TES, I have no troubles feeling "Ultra-Powerful" and "Heroic."

[Chrissie Pillinger]

I had a character dual wielding with pickax and wood chopping axe. They are astonishingly fast and I usually carry those for resource gathering anyway, so it saves carrying weight and space. Of course after my cover gets blown, the foe is probably laughing seeing a rugged hunter dual wielding those two weapons, but then it's like *thwack-thwack-thwack-"Aargh"* fast enough to get right back into sneak mode and hunt the next foe.

Yes, svcks having your cover blown due to problematic game mechanics like that.

Hmm, I'll have to look that one up. That's for the mod tip

You certainly are patient. Sometimes if my shots keep missing, I'll be like "aw screw it" and charge in with two blades swinging That last shot was pretty good though

Pretty close. It's not for everyone, but I do only invest in the right side of the sneak perk tree and only ever put in one skill point on the very first one. It's kind of silly one-shotting a foe when the arrow struck their limbs, but they don't have locational damage (i.e. headshots), so I smith up the bow instead. I am actually playing a pure two-hander melee warrior with heavy armour and it can be frustrating at times. Especially when there are mages with ridiculous amounts of health and two handed power attacks draining a lot of stamina

Talk about loaded with lore misinformation, but combat archery to me sounds like it could be frustrating until you get some of the later perks which enable you to draw and move faster with bow.

[Tanika O'Connell]

You are correct. Fighting to obtain those perks is an absolute drive during my early game. Thankfully, the archery skill tree levels up quickly.


The result is satisfying. Timing your bow bash right when you need to stagger a charging bandit with a warhammer, and then following up with a slow motion kill shot is like watching an action movie. Not to mention you're actively firing arrows at approaching enemies.


Shooting distant, moving targets is difficult at first, but you begin to calculate your shots with a very slim margin of error eventually.

[Steve Smith]

Who could not love the bow in Skyrim?

I mean, the game is about slaying dragons.

Dragons can fly.

So you can either use the bow, or you have to use destruction-magic.

If someone wants advice how to use destruction-magic, a suggestion is to reduce the costs of magica with enchanting.

And the answer of the follow-up-question, how to level enchanting is: Use the bound-bow or another bow with soul-trap, and shoot some Mammuts and Giants!

So in the end, it is all about to shoot with a bow!

Personally, I like the usage of illusion and conjuration. So, calm on the bear, then summon an atronach, summon the bow, make a sneak-shoot to the bear. Wait until the bear has decided to attack the atronach. Stand up, so no friendly-fire can cause sneak-attacks on the atronach. Finish the bear.

But I would expect that many others just play the civil-war as a normal archer, and then add the sneak after joining the Thief's-Guild or the Dark-Brotherhood.