Its so much improved from oblivion, and I loved it then too.

The trajectory, range, and power are so much better. Perks for the bow are awesome too. Ranger and Quick shot make it very viable in almost any situation, so I rely on it pretty much exlusively. Even in close combat.

My favorite moments have been when sniping from afar. There are lots of places that overlook bandit or forsworn forts. You can just sit up there and pick them off from like 300 yards away. What kind of experiences have you had?


Its been mostly good, but with some minor issues that should be looked at.

Sometimes arrows just fall out of the end of the bow on a fully charged shot, or it will just randomly stop notching arrows in the middle of a shooting spree even if I am not changing arrow types. Also, for some reason I don't always get the sneak bonus on targets that do not see me. I'll hit them with two arrows, they will walk around for a second, and then the third will get the x3. Strange

I have noticed the flaccid arrow problem. Also I only use my bow for killing, it takes maybe 3 sneak shots to down a giant

I have also noticed that sometimes I will have problems notching arrows one after the other. I'm not sure if i'm just pressing the trigger faster than some internal cooldown that is messing up the pattern of shooting and reloading, or if the notching is just sort of buggy. Regardless I have been very impressed by the archery is Skyrim so far and have really been enjoying using it.

I use my bow for dragons and any threats a notice from a distance.

I don't specialise in Archery but I'd be a fool to ignore it.

Pegged a bandit on a high battlement accross the river and managed to drop him and watch him fall to the ground on the opposite bank.

Great moment in the game.

Azrael
The Nord with the Sword

There are definitely some issues that need to be addressed. Archery has been very fun, and plenty powerful. It is very glitchy however.

If you even tap your mouse after a shot is fired, it automatically nocks an arrow and holds it to full draw sometimes. This is very unhelpful when you're trying to run from a group after a stealth shot.

I don't expect to be able to sprint with a drawn bow, but getting stuck firing an extra shot really svcks. You get run down fast when you're trying to dump an unwanted arrow instead of sprinting away. I'd really prefer that it wasn't ever possible to hold a draw unless the attack button is held down.

On a related note, spellcasting has a similar glitch. Very frustrating but at least you can run with spells.

Now a more personal gripe. Does anyone else think it svcks that early-game mages are WAY better animal hunters than early archers?

The trajectory is horribly unrealistic. The arrows goes up a bit, then levels out and flies at a flat trajectory after that.

When your bow is fully drawn, you can press your sheath button (R on PC, dunno what it is on consoles) and it'll put your arrow away without firing it. Sheathing while the bow is drawn won't actually put the bow away so it's still ready for the next time you're ready to draw.

Archery is fun. But it can be further improved.

Having weak spots like head for humans and neck for dragons etc would be sweet.

Also it would be realistic if elevation is taken into account i.e firing an arrow from high places to lower targets deal more dmg.

I am suggesting some points. I believe anything no matter how good can be improved and one should take critcs graciously.
People who think life is perfect and cannot be improved any further, good you gotta be the happiest man on earth.

kind of wish arrows fell again atm its wierd, but i love hunting game, ty bethesda for having more then just dear to kill, but please add more stuff baby mammoths for example

This. It's very strange.

I love archery, I almost have it maxed out too. Right now it's at 88, almost there! I can't wait until I max out enchantment as well and can add an extra 50 damage to every shot.

I have 2 complaints about archery though:

1. Can't jump while bow is drawn
2. No headshot multiplier (I know archery is strong already but I just like doing it to feel like a sniper).

Both will be fixed by mods as soon as the mod kit is release though so no big deal.

Happy it doesn't take 10 arrows to kill something like in Oblivion

But I just really use archery if I'm sneaking atm.
Pick out of a few before they can even find you
But if I'm spotted I usually turn to melee since you can't
"Backpedal" in this game

Think of the crosshair as just being sighted for a certain distance. Up close, the arrow hits above the crosshair. At the ideal distance, it's right on the money, and far away, it hits under the crosshair.

A little unusual since most games typically sight the crosshair for point blank (thus you always have the arrow hitting below the crosshair due to drop), but it makes sense in a way.

I can see mobs 2x further than my arrows can hit them. The arrows will fly all the way to the mob but disappear, and the mobs don't even know it.

I love everything about the game, but not as much as when we get some stable mod collections.

i freaking love archery so much i might just do a pure archer next time i create a character