A question for archers : V - Skyrim

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:53 am

Archery is very challenging at low levels because like you say, if heavy melee enemies get within arm's reach you are in trouble. Later in the game, nobody ever has the chance to get close and combat becomes somewhat silly. I tried heavy armor and melee weapons like you describe but they didn't fit my character. He is a light armor archer first and foremost. While he will use sword and board, that becomes rather easy late game as well. In order to maintain challenge, my archer's fallback weapon for close range is a dagger. Valdr's Lucky dagger, to be precise. You can couple it with a spell or even a shield in your off hand, if that suits you. On Master difficulty, this is still a good challenge. Actually, the dagger isn't always enough and that's when I disappear. Then it's "Charley Murphy!" and the Assassin's Blade to the throat.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 9:47 am

If your sneak is high and you have the right markman perks, it's the only offense you need. My archer usually takes out everybody in a cell before being spotted because my sneak is so high. Invisibility potions help if you do get detected, just drink one and relocate. I prefer light armor with markman simply for the aesthetics.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:58 am

Alright fellow archers, I wanna see how you guys play.

Now, my archer pretty much 1-shots everything in the game now, but early on, certain enemies posed huge threats when they got close enough. Sadly, I never really developed a way to deal with enemies when things got too close for comfort. I tried a little bit of magic, a little bit of dual wielding... you get the idea. I ended up just upping archery even more so they couldn't get close enough to even pose a threat in the first place, and thus got where I am now.

Problem is, gameplay got real 1-dimensional. That character was on my ps3, and now that I have my 360 back I want to make another archer. I was thinking about going with heavy armor and when the going got rough, just go dual wield and rush the fools, releasing the doves and all that. But this is only one way to do it.

1. Would that be a good idea? How would heavy armor fare on an archer?

2. How do you guys handle close combat, or what do you do along with archery period?

Steady Hands Perk + Power Shot is the single most important tool for any Archer build IMO.

If you exclusively put points into stamina (foregoing health/magicka), you will get up to large pool of 300-400 stamina and you can take out a crowd of advancing enemies before they ever get close.

» Tue Jun 12, 2012 7:39 pm

If you build up your conjuration skill you can conjure a frost atronarch. These make a pretty good shield.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:56 am

My foes never get close enough to touch me, if they rush they get staggered by my shots or paralyzed. I just prefer straight archery with light armor, a follower and maybe a summon to distract while I pick them off from a distance.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 12:22 am

1. Would that be a good idea? How would heavy armor fare on an archer?

2. How do you guys handle close combat, or what do you do along with archery period?

My current character is heavy armor with the bow being the weapon of choice followed by sword and shield for close combat and magick for mixing it up so it doesn't get too boring.
I also play without a crosshair and a ini mod that makes arrows behave more natural.

I can one-shot smaller game but since i'm permanently stuck on level one, all of the more powerful wildlife and enemies can take more than one shot.
That results in a lot of close combat for me, which i don't mind.

:banana:

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:15 am

When enemies get too close to my Khajiit NecroArcher/Wrestler, he just goes claws-to-the-wall on them. Saves one-handed perks for other trees, like Alchemy or Enchanting. Gloves of the Pugilist help until your enchanting is high enough to match their damage on heavy armor gauntlets.

» Tue Jun 12, 2012 9:32 pm

1. Would that be a good idea? How would heavy armor fare on an archer?

2. How do you guys handle close combat, or what do you do along with archery period?

My main wears

Spoiler

ebony mail

which is probably just the armor you're looking for. Yes, it makes no difference what armor you wear. One is heavier than the other, which means less loot. That's it, though. There's also a perk for both light and heavy that makes armor weightless when equipped anyways.

When enemies get close, I keep shooting them, or I take out my dagger/shield. My vampire can't afford a single blow, so a fear spell works wonders if I screwed myself over. Just hide in the shadows, cast a frenzy spell, and then kill the victor of the onslaught with a stealth shot albeit enchanted and poisoned.

» Tue Jun 12, 2012 9:32 pm

I do one-handed and light armor for my sneaky archer. As you get up there, you really can one-shot most enemies. That is with enchanted armor, weapons, etc. Actually it can bet a bit dull. One shooting things has no challenge, but heck, I've earned it!

» Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:27 pm

I do one-handed and light armor for my sneaky archer. As you get up there, you really can one-shot most enemies. That is with enchanted armor, weapons, etc. Actually it can bet a bit dull. One shooting things has no challenge, but heck, I've earned it!

same here, if someone/thing gets to close for comfort i go to my one-handed sword, otherwise its a sneak attack with my bow

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:19 am

Niamh is a very proficient archer but she's by no means awesome.
She tends to lurk in the shadows anyway because it's her nature.

Long- to medium-range she'll use a bow, and will at short-range if she can get away with it.
Bows are not melee weapons though and more often than not when she is in melee it's defensive and that being the case she'll use destruction until she runs out of magic and then she'll either use an axe, or run away and hide.

[edit] - she does not in fact wear any armour at all so strategy and planning are a lot more important, she has no enchanted weapons either - (or at least none that work).