aka "kiting".

I made my first Bosmer archer yesterday. Since I know that sneaking and archery are extremely powerful, I wanted this guy to be more of a straight-up shooter, for something different. Maybe open with a single sneak shot, and then kite until the bad guys are dead.

I'm still quite low level, but I'm finding it very difficult to effectively shoot & run.

I know there's a perk (Ranger, I believe) that will make it easier to do this, but what do you do until then? Even if I sprint away, by the time I turn & draw I've got a warhammer in my face, since everyone in this game moves at basically the same speed.

After an encounter or two of this, I realized I'd have to either resort to sneak-shooting or switch to a melee weapon. Either that, or I need to change tactics.

I've seen several posters talk about how they like kiting in this game, so I'm looking for advice. Thanks in advance.

I guess bow bash, step back, and keep firing. Get the perk that grants slow mo and also try and get the slow time shout

try to stay out of there sight.
and kill them from a range that's what i've done on master difficulty.
in the beginning its difficult but it gives you a realy realistic battle expirience.
our you can put your difficulty on novice and you can train until you think you can handle it.

grtz

Doesn't matter much, later in the game with the right perks a sneak shot will one shot almost all enemies. The ones that don't die will just return to their post after you sneak away for a second or two, then you can sneak shot again to finish em off. Or get the final sneak perk, then sneak shot, toggle out of and back to sneak and shoot again. =3

I ''Run & Gun'' i love it, personally what i do is bash them with my bow to knock the backwards (normally interupting an attack) then sprint turn and shoot rince and repeat i also use logs / rocks etc i dont bug the AI (i stop if i accidently bug it) but i do make them run around things to reach me

basically look at your surroundings and ''bash & Run'' for the undead i also carry a sword enchanted with fear (which i found) so i can chuck that on and one swipe there running.

also this is the kinda build i take;

Stability - helps paralyzes later (though i get it last)

Frost rune trap + perk - parlyizes target thats hit, i then also lay a fire rune (with perk) just after it so there feared and normally i follow this up with a paralyze posion.

i use low lvl bows/arrows to grant more of a challenge I.E. Forsworn bow + iron arrows as i think they look awesome, non improved so thats why i use more runes / poisions than the average joe however its fun as A: you give yourself abit of variety and it B:look sweeeet!


but he doesnt want to do that

iron arrows are the way forward!

also put 0 in HP you'll have so much more fun as you know if your caught or dont dodge in time: your dead.

Tough move. Yea this is difficult without some of the higher perks which take quite a long time to get as archery advances come rather slowly. I'm at level 40 something and still don't have all the archery perks. The one to draw faster and the one to move faster while aiming are great helps though and I do have those now. Until then one thing is to take advantage of terrain. I know I would do things like jump on tables, put things between me and the enemy like trees or stone columns, climb up on rocks so they can't get to me, go into water. Just do anything to get them out of your face. Without some stealth early on though it's going to be tough.

I'll get the slow-mo perk eventually, but that seems to slow down time for *you* as well, so I don't see how useful it is when you've got someone charging at you. Admittedly, I haven't played with it very much.

Haven't had a ton of success with the bow bash either. It would be good if I wanted to interrupt an attack so I could run away altogether, but what I want to do is have enough time to run, turn, draw & shoot.

Don't get me wrong - I love the new bow speed, and that it's a challenge (too easy in Oblivion to run backwards). I'm just still trying to find my footing with this tactic.

It slows down time for your PC as well, but not you. You obviously don't slow down in RL, so you can use every second optimally and you will get more shots before a charging enemy gets to you. Another option is to level sneak to get roll, and use roll to dodge blows while shooting with your bow, I never tried that though so not sure if you can draw your bow back while rolling.

like myself and Garrison said : put things between you and your enemy.


I cannot personally fathom why so many people like this perk as you said it slows you down aswell and to me really defeats any benifit i would in all honesty not bother with this at all.


unfortuanlty not i tried this last night funnily enough haha.


maybe its a play-style thing personally i find it really annoying and pointless, i get off just as many without the perk, you get the same time between you and your enemy but i suppose it depends if the player him/herself likes to have the luxary of a matrix style shot.

First, could you not just use a 1 sec paralysis enchantment on your bow? With larger groups it would be like playing whack-a-mole! Who doesn't love that?

Second, I would advise you go for a light armor varient of a bow, the heavier bows supposedly do more damage bit draw slower. More shots means more opportunities to stagger or stun w/high level archery perks.

I like the slo mo perk just because it's fun to watch it play out in slow motion. However it does not give a real advantage against enemies since it slows you as well. It slows your draw so an enemy will get to you in the same amount of shots as they would if you were moving full speed. The only difference is that you have more time to aim properly so you are not as likely to miss a shot in a crunch situation. That's the only real benefit.

And if you are like me, and don't have the twitch reactions of a 12 year old any more, more accurate aiming and a greater likelihood of hitting an enemy that's dodging and jerking around like a Counterstrike bunny who missed his ritalin dose.... is huge. Damned enemies usually don't hold still worth a crap in this game, once engaged.

Yea at 47 I can't exactly keep up with the youngsters in that dept any more. My 11 year old destroys me at MW3 or BF3 or whatever3 we happen to play together. His level of control with the stick is incredible. Me, not so smooth. I guess it doesn't hurt that he grew up with the thing in his hand.

It wouldn't be realistic. No one can shoot a bow accurately while running. Just use firebolts or other magic for kiting.

Brew a bunch of slow poisons.

Sneak and kill from afar.

"We're the last thing you never saw" -Nordic 1st Archery Recon motto

I loved kiting before my archer was deleted.

1. Alchemy is your friend , brewing paralysis/damage/stamina/magicka poisons can really help , although the paralysis poison is probably the most effective, more effective than fear in my opinion because you don't have to go chasing them around -.-

Also like the others have said , use the terrain to your advantage the perk that allows you to move faster with your bow drawn is helpful and so is the perk that makes armor weigh nothing and not slow you down atall when worn. I'm not too keen on the slow mo perk i only ever used it for them "OH SH!T" moments.

I'm not bad with games like FO3 and FONV where there are guns with fast rates of fire and extra damage to the head, that type of game is way more conducive to a run and gun play style, even with a console type controller.

With the bow and arrow in Skyrim its much more satisfying to build and use a sniper style of gameplay and will keep you viable until you get the perks to run and gun. It would be tough to just grind Archery exclusively to get the main "Run and Gun" perks Quick Shot and Ranger but it is technically possible to get them both by Level 9 / Archery 70.

Run and Gun Perk Build using minimal perks (Minimum Level 9 and Archery Level 70 Required)

• Start with Overdraw 1 as your first perk
  
• Eagle Eye and Critical Shot 1 at Archery 30
  
• Stady Hand 1 at Archery 40
  
• Power Shot and Hunter's Diciplines at Archery 50
  
• Ranger at Archery 60 [To move faster for "run and gun" playstyle]
  
• Quick Shot at Archery 70 [To draw bow faster for "run and gun" playstyle]

Max Archery Build (Minimum Level 17 and Archery 100 required for all optional perks)

• Start with Overdraw 1 as your first perk
  
• Overdraw 2 (Optional) at Archery 20
  
• Eagle Eye and Critical Shot 1 at Archery 30
  
• Overdraw 3 (Optional) and Stady Hand 1 at Archery 40
  
• Power Shot and Hunter's Diciplines at Archery 50
  
• Overdraw 4 (Optional), Steady Hand 2 (Optional) Critical Shot 2 and Ranger at Archery 60
  
• Quick Shot at Archery 70
  
• Overdraw 5 (Optional) at level 80
  
• Critical Shot 3 (Optional) at Archery 90
  
• Bull's Eye at Archery 100

I'll probably include a few archery perks in my current build so if I ever get Quickshot and Ranger, I'll let you know how it works out for a "run and gun" style.

I used http://skyrimcalculator.com/ to get the info above.

Some things for low level close range archery:

1: Use high fire rate bows. Longbow is fastest, hunting bow has highest damage/time output when properly upgraded. Notable is forsworn bow with equal damage as dwarven bow but higher firing rate.

2: Stick to areas with plenty of obstructions. While you can jump over and onto rocks, barrels, etc. enemies have to walk around them. For some reason they cannot jump.

3: Dont walk backwards, turn ans sprint. Much faster.

4: Bow punch is good when you are about the get warhammered in the face, but otherwise not much use.

5: Have a rich supply of delicious poison. Easily aquired at lower level, and with various usefull effects such as slow, paralize, linger health damage, stamina drain and whatnot.


Using this on my current character and it makes for a pretty fun playstyle I think.

Also @jpnole: Yes fireballs for realism. Makes sense.

Learn to exploit pathing.

This is the correct answer.

Go to the marshes surrounding morthal, gather all the deathbell you can (and swamp fungal pods, for the paralyze poison, but it's OP as all hell so you might want to skip it). Mix it with salt (often found in barrels), and you will have a really strong slowing poison which lasts an eternity even at very low alchemy levels. You can toy with giants with these poisons. It's tremendously fun. The ranger perk kills the fun though, so I never take it. Undead are immune to the poisons but they can't sprint so you can sprint kite them quite easily. Beasts like bears and sabre cats will be too fast to kite even with the slowing poison, so use the Animal Allegiance shout and tear them up.

You'll have enough deathbell to stockpile on the slow poisons, so don't worry about using them. The plants respawn after 10 days I think it was, in case you do eventually need more.

oops, double post

I have got a low level archer that I am having a lot of fun with. The bow bash works pretty well for me against certain opponents, especially bandits. Others are not staggered as easily. I use a hunting bow, which has a quick draw time. Don't always choose the bow that does the most damage cause quick draw time is also important and a lighter bow draws faster. With a hunting bow, I can alternate with bow bashes and quick shots and never get hit. Just bow bash, back up a step and shoot. Step forward with a bow bash, back up a step and shoot. Works really well against bandits.

Also I use terrain a lot, always noticing the terrain as I travel across the land and picking routs with a lot of cover. If there is a bandit fort/camp up ahead, I will see if there is a way to approach it from above. Come down a steel hill towards a bandit camp/fort and the melee fighers will have a hard time reaching you. Run around a tree or a log, as one poster above mentioned.

I just got the slow mo perk (first level for 25%) and it made a huge difference in being able to hit a melee opponent as it charged towards me. Then I turn and sprint (everyone moves the same speed but you can sprint) away. Then turn around for another shot adn the slow mo helps me hit while both me and the bandit are moving.

Could also get yourself a follower and let them tank while still keeping a good distance (try not to hit your companion, though) and I believe Bosmer have a racial spell to make animals fight on their side? That might fit in better with a ranger/hunter type character. There's also staffs and conjuration you can use.