Hey,

Am i the only one who thinks arrows miss too much?
I am an archer (non stealth) with only the perks in archer tree, so i call myself a pure archer.

When i spot a still standing enemy, i am at his throat (becouse arrows fly strange ways and always higher then your aiming point) and shoot, while i do that the arrow just fly over his head or even past him.
Offcourse we need to miss once in a while, but this happends more then u actually can hit something.
7 out of 10 times that i try to hit someone (head shot) at the start of a fight the arrow misses.

Am i doing something wrong here?
i am level 29 with an archer skill of 72, wearing glass armour and a glass bow.

This problem is not only when the fight starts (or when i want to start a fight) but also in the middle of the combat.
The enemy is standing like 5 meters away from me... i am at his chest.... arrow just fly past him hitting the wall or ground.
At this point the arrow should defently hit him in the chest, becouse he did not dodge the arrow he just walked towards me.

And whats wrong with the long distance shooting?
I aim (r mouse to slow the time while zooming) shoot the arrow and just a 0.5 second before the arrow hits the enemy they jump to the left or right.
I've no problems with enemies dodging the arrows, but a split second before impact is kinda silly. (try to throw an apple to your friend and at the same time say duck to him, lol he cant dodge the apple right?).

I love the game, i love the archer, but compared to all other classes in skyrim the arrows miss way to much.

Or as i asked before, am i doing something wrong?


Thanks.

Ive never had a problem, maybe you're a poor shot!

Are you playing on a PC? If so, add or change the following lines in your Skyrim.ini file:


f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.0
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.0

This will remove the artificial vertical offsets. It means you will need to re-learn your archery skills though, as you'll now have to manually apply the correct offset due to distance but, I think you will prefer it.

Arrows have a distance cap.
Arrows have a very strange point of origin meaning it is obstructed by railings and things of that nature, particular trying to shoot enemies below you.
Since they have a weird point of origin, yes sometimes it will go through the enemy.
The physics are arrows are very awkward and climb, then fall a little.

It takes a lot of getting used to, but it works pretty well once you get the hang of it. My biggest issue is the origin point of arrows however.

Yea the dodging thing is kinda ridiculous cause its so obvious its fake (like WHOO NINJA)
And when i was playing my archer character, for about 10 mins in my entire playthough my arrows would go to the right of my target, even when im aiming straight in front of me. Soooo it could be some kind of..funny bug? That you're getting in long periods.
Try hitting some straw targets and see where the arrow lands.

I very rarely miss my mark. It took awhile to get used to the arrows trajectory, but once I figured it out, no problems at all.
Stop aiming at the throat. Headshots make no difference in this game, so aim for the torso.

- Practice makes perfect. I missed all the time at first, now I'm pretty good.
- Remember to account for the arrow's arc.
- Aim for the enemy's TORSO, not their head. If you aim for their head you'll often shoot over it.
- Sneak in closer. If it seems like a long shot, it probably is.
- If you use archery in close range while enemies are trying to fight you, you NEED the Steady Hand perk... or you'll miss left and right.

Yes i am playing it on the PC, how much will this change the way of shooting?
Is it like now i need to am above hise head to hit him in the head, or is it like now u shoot arrow in a straight line?


Ok, i thought seeing some diffrenses while hitting them in the head, its seems to remove more hp then in the chest.


I am only using a bow, so yes i use it in close range too, but close and close range are 2 diffrend things.
If the enemy is standing against me, all arrows hit the target, if it stands like 5 meters away then they miss alot more.

and as i said i am an pure archer, i dont use sneak. just walk in and kill them (or from a distance if i see them first )

9/10 of my arrows hit, and my archery skill isn't that high.

I found it more of a challenge to hit my target. I was a crack shot in Oblivion, not so much in Skyrim, which is good, it keeps it fresh.

I was awful at archery in Oblivion (even besides the archery skill itself) and I really wanted to use archery more in Skyrim. I'm thrilled with the way it works and I've been using it as much as possible, especially since my bow is a soul-trap bow. The sounds of nocking the arrow and drawing the bow....it's just terrific and my shots usually hit the mark. I don't know why you're having a problem with your shots but I have only taken the first perk on archery because I'm concentrating on magic. Maybe the perk affects it in ways you don't like? Just a thought. I hope you get it figured out.

You can try it for nothing, simply remove the lines from the ini file if you don't like it. What it does is it removes all the artificial vertical offsets, meaning that you have to manually offset vertically for distance. The further the distance, the more vertical offset you need to apply. Ingame, you could do much worse than seek out Angi, who will give you free training, and unlike other training it's actually useful because it's practical. You need to match Angi's skill practically in a series of tests.

And, I am also under the belief that the *apparent* distance cap is removed, there has been no target so far away that I cannot hit it. I mean, I often miss it due to poor aim, but I can always hit it in principle.

I kinda agree but that dosent mean that it's a bug or messed up it just means you need to practice your shot and get used to the sensitivity.

Cheers

The arrow arc is more realistic this time around than Oblivion imo. Aim more towards your actual target because they fly more straight this time around. The past two games played like a toddler trying to fire an arrow. Apparently my lizard with an arm like a tree trunk can't shoot more than 10 feet. Now I can long shoot.

try aiming above that area you wanna hit. i do that and it works all the time.

Never had a problem, even from some pretty great distance. (XBox)

Well, quit aiming for the head. There is no locational damage and it does not matter where you hit them, it will do the same damage. A bigger target will give you a better chance of landing a hit. To that end, with a skill of 72, you should miss some of your shots. Remember, your not shooting the arrows, you are telling your character to shoot them. The aiming is just helping them.

And, yes, the arrows fly in a bit of a curve, that is kind of realistic. Adjust your aim point for the curve for the distance of the shot.

They do have a limited distance they can go which is irritating when you aim and shoot and they arrow misses because it hit the distance threshold that was placed. If I was in PC I would most certainly change that, as its quite annoying.

You should use Sneak as often as you can get the drop on an enemy, because a sneak shot counts for double damage, and triple with the Deadly Aim perk. I'm pretty sure that a "pure archer" should see nothing wrong with some stealth if the opportunity arises.

Removed Flame

I thought the exact opposite. Without ini changes to produce a realistic arc arrows are pure point and shoot. Even after the ini changes they hardly ever go off the mark. The only times that they miss is when I do not properly lead a moving target. It would be a shame to see the game dumbed down to handle that for me.

The issue your having is that you're aiming for the head. It's a small and mobile target, and offers no in-game benefit. A shot between the eyes is as damaging as a shot to the foot. Aim for the torso, far harder to miss.

I wont, becouse 2x or 3x damage bonus isnt fun, u just 1 shot everything on your path.
1 arrow to 25% hp and 1 more to kill it is much more realistic and fun (atleast in my play style).



And as i said, i love the archer. I was just wondering if i am the only one becouse it happends.
I am also not a bad shooter, becouse i dont have any problems to hit a moving/running target at all.

It's just the strange misses and dodges from the enemies thats kinda wierd.