Archery. Killing From Afar.

This guide is for anyone who uses a bow. I will touch on archer/assassin mixes, archer/warrior mixes archer/thief mixes (this is actually slightly different than archer/assassin) and archer/mage.



Archer/Assassin

One of the most common ranged classes is the Archer/Assassin. Striking from a tower, from below a walkway, or even from across a crowded room, the Archer/Assassin is a typical assassin build, striking from the shadows and eliminating targets before giving them the chance to spot the archer.

As far as skills go, you need:

High Archery

Medium-High Sneak

Low-Medium Alchemy (optional, if you want to create poisons/buff potions to add to the damage of your shot.

Medium One-Handed

As far as tips go, try to find targets that aren’t in large groups, which will be the truth for most Dark Brotherhood contracts.

Archery is a useful tool for taking out targets that can’t be approached due to traps, excessive light, other hostiles, or a physical barrier such as a wall, a fall, or a trench/ravine between you and the target.

When preparing for the shot, use your best bow and most powerful arrow. That will maximize your damage, as that will feed the sneak multiplier.

Us your best poison and drink all your archery buff potions before firing as well, to further increase the already massive amount of damage. (I’m not sure if the potions affects stack… comment and I’ll update)

Finally, have another weapon ready! Just because you’re an archer doesn’t mean you should forgo some training in one-handed weaponry. I’ve tried to sneak attack enemies, only to be killed by them at melee range, and have the humiliation of not being able to do any damage. If anything can go wrong, it will, whether it’s that arrow-crippled guard who bumps into you at the last moment, or the Falmer ambush that took you totally by surprise.

A good one-handed weapon will save you if worst comes to worst and your shot is ruined, so make sure you have a decent one. A dagger is good for sneak attacks, but once an all-out fight starts, it will be sadly lacking. I suggest a sword, of the best make you can get.

Perk Selection:
http://www.skyrimcalculator.com/177605
Archer/Warrior

This is a pretty simple one. Get a bow. Don’t worry about being sneaky, as you’re a warrior! Your job is to bash things! But it’s easier to bash things that are already almost dead, isn’t it? Just shoot things until they get close, and bash them. Simple. You can’t get it wrong. Unless you can. You’re a warrior, after all.

High Archery

High Warrior skills (Whatever you’d normally use as a warrior)

As far as equipment goes, be armed to the teeth as you would be using warrior skills, but also carry a good bow, to do as much damage as possible.

Perk Selection
http://skyrimcalculator.com/80033
A word of warning,- these Perks DO NOT include perks for whatever fighting style you choose as a warrior. Don't forget to put perks into armor and melee weapons as well.

Archer/Thief

The main difference between an Archer/Assassin and an Archer/Thief is that, while an Assassin uses his bow to kill his enemies, the thief uses his bow to not kill his enemies. There are two main strategies.

Dehibilitation: If you shoot someone, and they stumble backwards, and they… take a tumble, off of a boat or a cliff, you will be in just as good a position as if you had killed them. It’s difficult to pull off, but possible. You could also get a bow with an enchantment that can paralyze, or add a paralyzation poison; you can escape at your leisure.

Distraction: For an excellent sneak, you can fire an arrow at a wall, making all the enemies in the room move towards it. If there’s a guard blocking an exit, or a patroller getting too close, fire away and make a run for it.

Skills:

High Sneak

Medium-High Archery

Preferably, a thief wouldn’t need to use any weapons, but if you must, the same goes for what I said for the assassin. A dagger might seem good for sneak-attacks, but will be difficult to use in a full-on fight. As the bow should be used mainly for distraction, a good ranged weapon isn’t really needed. However, if you plan to use the bow to paralyze the enemy or knock them backwards off natural dangers, a good weapon can be useful. It all depends on what your strategy is.
Perk Build:
Skyrim Perk Calculator - Plan the perks for your Skyrim character before spending them!

Archer/Mage

The final combination is Archer/Mage. I just put this in here to remind people that you can use a bow to lure an unsuspecting enemy into a rune trap or familiar ambush. It works, but it isn’t much fun to RP with. Use that strategy if you wish.

Medium-High Archery

High in whatever school of magic you choose.

Of course, your mainly using the bow to aggro for this one, so a high archery is unnecessary. A good mage weapon, such as a staff, or a sword for when your magicka runs dry, will always help you to take out a group of baddies.
Honestly, as you're mainly using your bow to aggro enemies, you don't really need perks in archery at all. Remember to put some into your school of magic, however.



I hope this helps!

This would be a lot more useful if the text and background were different colors.

Sorry.. Is that default? Im working off my phone, but I'll edit it later

all i do is snipe wit da bow

Ta-Da! Edited!
Also- Haplo, If your a sniper kind of person, then the section titled Assasin/Archer would be good for you.

I ♥ archery, thanks for the guide--now I'm definitely going to have to try some new stuff!

I found the guide to be rather cut and dry. Maybe go into archery further such as what enchantments are best, perk placement, how to maximize damage and survival odds, etc. Good start, but far from finished in my opinion.

Yeah, this was just how to play as an archer, I'll add perks/skills and enchantments in a moment.

you should expand some more on this, and then ask rayven if you could submit it as an article i, for one, who plays as a bosmer assassin, would love to read more archery for the win!

I've typically used one-handed weapons as a backup for my bow if I get in a tight spot and need to fight off a few people at once, but I'm experimenting with a different technique.

I just got the Ebony Blade from doing The Whispering Door quest in Whiterun, and have been using that as my last ditch melee weapon. The drain life enchantment doesn't run out of charges, and has kept me alive when I've been forced to melee, even against several opponents.The main draw back is that it's a two-handed weapon.

You can increase the amount of life drained by the sword, but it to do so you have to kill people that have given you quests before, or kill your followers. I've been using it with the base enchant at level 20 and so far it's been sufficient to keep me alive. I only have about 185 health, because most of my points go towards Stamina for longer aim/zoom time, and running away lol.

If it starts getting complicated shooting things from afar always try to aim above you target, because of the arrow going down it causes the shot to fall short.

Saereth- There's nothing wrong with running away! Running away is an Archers greatest skill. I'll update this with the Ebony Blade strategy, if anyone else has things to suggest, send them to me!

I wouldn't worry about it, as I leveled that strategy got pretty ineffective lol

Great job! But do you have any tips or tricks for shooting while on a horse? I want to verse a giant

Hmm... I haven't had much success with mounted archery, as your forced into third person, but what I've ended up doing is just standing still, firing, and using the horse to escape.

I cried reading this.

You- you mean I'm not the only one that loves to use the bow?

*sniff*

I thought i would add something if it hasn't already been said. Just as in real life when using the bow you will need to aim higher to compensate for distance, and lower when in close range. This is because as the bow or crossbow is released,centripetal force is naturally applied. As the arrow glides toward the object point it will reach it's peak altitude before descending and losing force.

Therefore, if your arrows are not powerful enough or Archery skill is not honed, i would refrain from prolonged distances.

Archery buff potions do not stack, so the highest advantage with a potion can be 130% extra damage.
Enchantments on every possible item to fortify archery is 47% each, totalling 188%.
So together that's 318% extra base damage for the shot, not taking into account an improved bow & enchantments.
My archer doesn't use a secondary weapon so my bow has an Absorb Health + Frost Damage enchantment. This way if somehow my first shot didn't kill them I can rely on Light Armor & Absorb Health to keep me going and the Frost Damage to keep them at distance.

Also, my favorite poison is Deathbell & River Betty, effects are Slow & Damage Health (162 secs for Slow & 162 points of dmg for those with all perks & skill)

Question:If I have the gaunlet punching perk, does that damage remain when bashing with your bow?


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk 2

I don't believe it does, but the shield bash perk does.

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2