I understand that the idea of enemies dodging arrows is pleasurable to some considering the difficulty it adds to the game, but I find it ridiculous. It is very unrealistic and annoying. Simple bandits shouldn't have god-like reflexes and speed giving them the ability to instantly teleport out of the way of arrows. Does a mod exist that removes this, or is it possible to make one at this point in time?

They dodge just as fast as you can. the only problem I have with it is, I will be completely hidden. I will knock my arrow, Fire it while aimed right at thier body. and suddenly they zip to the side.

That's the thing that pisses me off.

Maybe so, it seems a bit quicker to me than is possible by just strafing, but I could be wrong. I use a mod that adjusts the player movement speeds, so strafing and back pedaling are slower (to name a couple). Yes, that is another thing that bothers me about it, but I still dislike it entirely and wish for a mod.

It reminds of a feature of an archery mod I used for Oblivion except it's not implimented in skyrim as well. I"ve seen these npcs dodge facing away from me when they couldn't possibly know what direction the arrow was coming from.


/edited for clarity

I've seen this too, and it does seem like they move to the side much faster than a normal strafe would be, but I don't mind it that much, it doesn't happen that often. Also, having them dodge like that when I shoot them from stealth and hidden? Never run into that little feature, at least not yet.

I have not seen this either, not when I am stealthed.

I have seen them sometimes move right when I fire, but they sometimes move anyways, so this just feels like coincidence, to me.

Is it possible that you have hit a bug? Or, is it possible that they can detect you? (If you are sneaking, you can tell when something can see you, though that itchy feeling does not tell you who can see you... anyways, if nothing can see you then your target cannot see you. If you are not sneaking you should assume that you have been detected.)

They move no faster than me, I think it's realistic and adds challenge, and unlike the poster above, I have not noticed any NPCs avoiding arrows while I am shooting them undetected.

It isn't just him, I have also had NPC's who haven't completely detected me yet dodge my arrows, but it never happens if they haven't detected me at all. They have to be in that sort of suspicious state. I doubt it is either a coincidence or a bug, dodging is very obvious since every time it happens is after I launch an arrow, unless you mean the dodging when not fully detected, then I doubt it. I understand that some of you like it, but personally I would prefer to do without it. I hope someone can make a mod eventually.

I've seen them zip to the side to avoid an arrow they couldn't possibly know was coming when I was hidden, quite a few times. Not that often, but often enough. They don't even step out of they way if you know what I mean, as in they just seem to slide sideways along the ground without moving their legs. Then I'd let fly another and they wouldn't dodge. Maybe an issue with detection?

EXACTLY! That's what I'm talking about! The way they just zip across the ground perfectly kills immersion for me. I don't think it is an issue with detection, just balance. If they did that for every arrow you shot at them you would probably never hit them.

I see it all the time. The NPC stops and stands in the same spot for several seconds while I line up a shot from a hidden position, then, at the exact instant I release the shot, they dart to the side at a right angle to the path of my arrow. I am still fully hidden at this point, with the barely-starting-to-open eye indicator appearing only when they hear the arrow hit the wall behind where they were standing.

Bug or poorly-conceived "feature", this needs to go either way.

The problem isn't so much that they're avoiding arrows while you're undetected, but that they're avoiding arrows while they're alert, even though they haven't found you. I've shot enemies in the back, then lined for a second shot, only to have them immediately sidestep as soon as I let go of the button, like they have some sort of precognitive ability. Your garden variety bandit shouldn't possess http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Haki#Kenbunshoku_Haki.

Happens all the time for me. If I'm completely Hidden they will not of course dodge the shot. However, as soon as they go into Search Mode they suddenly gain the hearing of Superman and reflexes of a ninja. Half the time they'll Matrix dodge my shot forcing me to give up my position and go melee or retreat. That's fine if it made sense. It does not however since even though they are searching for me they still don't know where I am. Most of the time I've moved from my spot where i first shot for the specific reason of avoiding detection.

I'm sure it will get modded just voicing further evidence that it does happen.

They NPCs are just moving back and forth at a reasonable speed. Your arrows would miss in real life too. The failure is in anticipating and leading your target.

Having said that, they sure are nimble (but not ridiculously so) and shouldn't be able to shoot back accurately while doing so.

Maybe someone could mod some WoW-style arrows that never miss - sidewinder arrows.

EDIT: Sorry..misread. My apologies to Deathfang

Not what's being discussed here.

I've incountered this a few times with my assassin. I would be stealth shooting an npc and right as the arrow gets to them they seem to Matrix duck under it. I was like "WTF there is no way in hell you could dodge that arrow when it was less than a foot from you in mid air!"

Don't underestimate the power of reflex action. Bandits may be relatively weak, but they're still warriors - how else would they be able to hold their positions? It seems that, even if you don't expect it, an arrow out of the dark would be more than enough to set off your internal alarm bells and make you step aside. Of course, staying in place after that is likely bugged, but you could always put that down as them being shocked enough by the first arrow to not notice the second.

This is, of course, assuming they're facing you. If they sidestep arrows flying at them from the back, that IS broken.

I have had it happen with them facing towards me and away from me. And from other angles that they should not be able to detect. It's like a chance based on your sneak skill or something. But at times it can be infuriating.

Personally, I feel like the game play is so deficient in engaging forms of difficulty that I can appreciate the occasional divine intervention.

Could try increasing the arrow projectile speeds. Would make archery overall more dangerous.

All I would really want is a change to their animation, rather than them seeming to teleport sideways, they should just duck, or bend their body sideways slightly, you know, make it look like they're dodging, rather than teleporting their body sideways entirely. In that situation, you'd aim for center mass, rather than going for head shots because it's harder to move your entire body out of the path of a projectile vs simply moving your head out of the way.

Ha, maybe but have you ever been shot with an arrow? They move kinda fast, about 115MPH for an arrow fired from a longbow. Having said that, an enemy who is aware they're being fired at may pre-emptively duck and weave to avoid being hit. I think that's fine, the issue I've experienced is the same as many others here - from a sneaking position, loosing an arrow at a completely unaware enemy, only for them to get up and dodge it.

At first I thought this was just bad luck, or a coincidence they happened to move, but I've tested it, even on sitting targets who mysteriously get up the second an arrow is let loose. Basically the game is flagging them as alerted the second your bow is fired, instead of when a hit actually impacts either them or a nearby surface. At short range this is barely noticeable, but at longer ranges (and let's face it if you're a sneak-based character then you'll be firing that thing from as far away as possible lest they close in and smash your face with a warhammer) the effect is pretty ridiculous; Somehow a load of bandits gain either incredible luck or matrix-esque reactions.

I don't mind the dodging so much, I just wish they'd dodge a little more realistically so that it doesn't feel like I'm being cheated out of a kill.

While I've only seen this behavior a few times I think it is actually a bug. The enemies when they do this don't appear to be playing a side-stepping animation. They are sliding to the side rapidly (much faster than they can move normally) in whatever animation they were playing at the time.

I like the way that archers who can see you will side-step your arrows. I dislike how draugr who can't see you suddenly are nowhere near where you were aiming.

To combat their teleportation the arrows would probably have to hit the target instantly considering as soon as you release the arrow they dodge to the side in a split second. I would still prefer just removal of dodging, so if anyone ever finds or makes a mod that does this please let me know.