bound bow vs real bow

[zuko514]

I think bow bound will fit perfectly with my assassin mage role play.but is there any advantage using bound bow instead of real bow? with mystic binding and 5/5 in archery tree, what is the maximum damage? from what i could find in the internet it seems to range from regular to Exquisite deadric bow.

 

[Nephor The Shadow Stalker]

This is one debate I've tried to solve from resources and eventually I got fed up with no right answer and did some testing. The bound bow is a fine weapon but I did have some complications with the timing and no quiet casting in the very beginning. After a while and some wise perk investment it can become your bread and butter tool. Haven't really noticed damage differences between bound and regular bows. Both of them do their job through and through so it really boils down to personal preference. Considering it's an assassin mage bound bow will do you just fine. Hope this helps.

 

[Daelon DuLac]

I think bow bound will fit perfectly with my assassin mage role play.but is there any advantage using bound bow instead of real bow? with mystic binding and 5/5 in archery tree, what is the maximum damage? from what i could find in the internet it seems to range from regular to Exquisite deadric bow.

Personally I luv the bound bow. While it doesn't have enchantments, per se, it does take souls if you need and have the perk. I find that it does as much base damage as a daedric or dragonbone bow and can take down just about anything, with the plus that it seems to be able to draw faster than a regular bow (along the lines of Zephyr. I would get the silent cast perk though if you're going to be an assassin and don't forget that it only lasts 90 seconds so be ready to recast if you're in a protracted fight. Don't forget to perk up archery though, it really helps (sorry, saw that you were already up there - get the sneak perk as well (3x I think), it helps).

Not a fan of the bound sword (it's simply too weak - even with perks up), but you might want to consider getting the bound dagger on Solstheim. I've had tons of fun with that once I got the 15x damage bonus perk.

 

[Michaelgamet]

I have a conjuror with the bound bow.
Along with some enchanted gloves... I got bored one shot killing too many creatures... changed to bound blade, trained up that for a bit
(advantage with uncapper)

There are two or more enchantments for the bound bow. One is the soul steal, the other is a low-moderate chance for stun, or paralyse. I've seen them both happen. Once even, I was surprised my victim stood up when I thought I had killed him... He had just been paralysed. it was a long sniper range shot.
Turn Undead- I just read... and I remember it happening
Edit: added enchant rant. turn undead comment

 

[Snake Tortoise]

You could be relying on a very perk heavy character. Do you plan to use illusion and conjuration? Use them a lot? If illusion is only for the quiet casting perk I wouldn't bother with the bound bow, or I'd just use it for soul trapping (if you're using enchanting). If you aren't taking quiet casting you'll always be going back on yourself in dungeons to not give yourself away when you conjure the bound bow, which would be extremely time consuming and annoying

 

[zuko514]

I just got the silent casting perk

 

[berzum]

well as far as what will do more damage, if you have the right perks then a crafted deadric bow or even ebony bow that has been refined to epic or legendary status will do more damage than the conjured bow. But when i play the mage assisin I like the conjured bow for one reason, it fits the RP style perfect. I mean an assisin should travel light and be able to think fast at a seconds notice, using bound weapons allow for this. now if you are sneaking and use the conjured bow if you have the perks in the right spot, you'll almost always get a 1 shot kill, I cant remember if you can use poison on bound weapons or not. if you have the dragonborn dlc u can also get bound daggers, which again they appear to be deadric daggers, but with the perks and gear a sneak kill will drop just about anything in a single hit.

Bound Bow is an Adept-level Conjuration spell in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. When cast, it equips an ethereal version of the Daedric Bow and 100 ethereal Daedric Arrows for 120 seconds. Damage is based on Archery skill, and may not be equivalent to a Daedric Bow.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Bound_Sword#Bound_Sword not sure if outside links are allowed, but if not i am sorry for posting it hope that link helps

 

[Snake Tortoise]

Are you using smithing? If not the bound bow is probably the best choice if you happen to have the right perks in conjuring and illusion. It's strength isn't power (though it does have power) but draw speed. I think it draws faster than any of the real bows. Being able to shoot two shots in quick succession is very handy if you want to do more damage before sneaking back into the shadows and waiting to be hidden again

I'm curious- where do you want the build to go? Which perk trees are you focusing on and what sort of equipment do you hope to have when you start maxing out levels? I'm on my third archer build now, but it's always began as an assassin archer but turned into a warrior archer when armour value, bow strength, armour enchanting, smithing and perks have all reached a certain point. I can't imagine where an archer-mage ends up... do you have other forms of attack? Like conjured atronachs?

 

[Kathleen Elizabeth]

Given your Mage assassin character, assassins often need quiet to avoid being detected, but that can easily be side stepped. The bound bow is represented as Daedric, but I'm unsure of the damage it does because I assume it is leveled to yor character's level and conjuring abilities. I use a real bow 99% of the time. I have Auri-El's bow and the damage it does(my smithing is 100, and perk tree is full) with my upgrades is around 650+ Per shot with the sneak attack perk and 300 when I'm detected. The perks of a real bow also depends on your archery and enchanting level if you're up for a challenge. My dragonbone bow, with smithing and enchantments, does 350+ per detected shot and does 30 frost damage and 30 fire damage added to that. (DOUBLE ENCHANTMENTS WOOO). But all this depends on your character!! Do what you want to, and what you believe improves your character!

 

[Michaelgamet]

Combine Alchemy potion fortify conjuration you can have your bound weapon last much longer than 120 seconds. Since Illusion is an easy to level mage skill I assume most mages get silent casting, even if that is the only reason for taking any illusion perks.
If you combine even some moderate enchanting you can get cloth gloves that have a strong archery bonus. In that case you can avoid smithing all together.
Since you are mage, I assume taking very few stamina points, you don't carry weapons, lightening up you burden even further. I spent several levels wearing Radiant Raminents gown I had enchanted... LOL

 

[The Phoenician]

I love the bound bow. As long as you cast it before you need to use it you shouldn't need quiet casting.

 

[Michaelgamet]

I noticed last night, that you need a "real" weapon to use while riding a horse. Be it Bow or Sword. I couldn't cast any bound weapon (or spell) while mounted.

Question edit:
Does dual casting a bound weapon make it more powerful or last longer?

 

[berzum]

I noticed last night, that you need a "real" weapon to use while riding a horse. Be it Bow or Sword. I couldn't cast any bound weapon (or spell) while mounted.

Question edit:
Does dual casting a bound weapon make it more powerful or last longer?

this is very true, and same go for spells you cast spells from a horse, but the dragons you can only use spells, so i wonder if a bound bow can be cast from riding a dragon....hmmm i may need to test this

 

[zuko514]

Are you using smithing? If not the bound bow is probably the best choice if you happen to have the right perks in conjuring and illusion. It's strength isn't power (though it does have power) but draw speed. I think it draws faster than any of the real bows. Being able to shoot two shots in quick succession is very handy if you want to do more damage before sneaking back into the shadows and waiting to be hidden again

I'm curious- where do you want the build to go? Which perk trees are you focusing on and what sort of equipment do you hope to have when you start maxing out levels? I'm on my third archer build now, but it's always began as an assassin archer but turned into a warrior archer when armour value, bow strength, armour enchanting, smithing and perks have all reached a certain point. I can't imagine where an archer-mage ends up... do you have other forms of attack? Like conjured atronachs?

thanks for the advices guys.I think I will stick with bound bow. Right now I do not plan to invest any point into smiting. It is a 50/50 split between mega and assassin. I model my character after code of sith,for some reason instead of battle mage,it turns into a mage assassin build. My character build require 50 skill points. My primary focus is illusion and sneak. I use archery to snipe. One headed and destruction in case i got discovered. I also invest bunch of points into light armor. I do plan to invest 2 perks into smiting tree once my character is maxed out.

 

[Black Orchid]

Michael Gamet asks:

Question edit:
Does dual casting a bound weapon make it more powerful or last longer?


The Dual Casting perk increases the duration of bound weaponry, but not the power.

 

[DrunkenMage]

Bound bow is extremely useful. It can steal souls, banish daedra and turn undead. You can also apply poisons to the bound bow, allowing you to dish out large amounts of damage, without the weight of carrying a bow. Also it looks awesome, thing is on fire.

 

[JoeReese]

I tend to prefer a regular, crafted and enchanted bow, but then I usually play more warrior types. I can definitely see the advantages, and the draw, for stealth or light characters.
I don't know how to get the damage figures in Skyrim, like you could in other games, but I have found that I can do more damage per arrow with a crafted bow than I could with a bound bow. That being said, that's another several pounds to carry around. I went through a phase, where I used both, bound for soul trapping and crafted bow for other fighting, which saved me from having to use the soul trap enchantment on my regular weapons. That was handy for avoiding the problem of excess lesser souls ending up in my grand gems.

I think everybody gave you good advice so far. Just to expand on that a little, even if you don't use bound bow/sword/battleaxe often, I highly recommend learning the spells anyway. It's nice, when you suddenly end up disarmed, to be able to conjure another weapon. It also made Cidhna mine considerably less scary.