Destruction svcks, melee isn't fun. That is the appeal of archery. At least you've got to aim - if you use the right .ini tweaks, so it has a bit of a skill curve to keep it somewhat interesting. You also don't have to deal with getting hit very often if you kite and/or use terrain, so some of the more absurdly scaled enemies such as briarhearts aren't going to make you want to uninstall the game.

I now of the shield perk... but sometimes a Dragon lands some distance away from the player or on a different level... that's why I prefer to pummel them from afar with arrows. Same for magic users. I try to avoid taking a magic attack directly, even if I've some resistances.

You do realise a huge amount of advlts actually play CoD right?

I love archery combined with sneak - my character is a heavy armoured, two-handed axe master - but I love using a combination of both in fights, starting off with picking some off with the bow before going in with the axe - just sneaking up and lining up shots, or leading targets as they charge towards you and taking them out is great fun.

I haven't played a FPS since Return to Castle Wolfenstein and I tend to abuse Archery in this game. Oddly, I barely ever used bows in the previous TES.

Same here.

I don't know where the CoD idea came from. Bows are cool just because they're a stealthy ranged medieval weapon. Also, Robin Hood is cool.

Archery became fun and challenging in the game when I disabled crosshair and fixed the hand-holding arrow trajectory (zeroing feature) with an .ini tweak.

Or maybe becouse they just want to?

Becouse they're character is an archer?

It fits well with lore? Ie a Bosmer?

I am a tad confused about the point of this thread, sorry

Hmm. I don`t know this. Is that some kind of auto-aim? Because if it is I want it gone too!

I hate it when I think i`m doing well at something but I`m not really because the game is secretly auto-aiming for me.

Keep that with the consoles, don`t need it with my Mouse.

I play a Nord Archer and I love just sitting on a rock and picking off a camp of bandits one by one, I get a real buzz from it, I rarely get to the stage where I need to use any other weapon.

By default the bow is zeroed so that you don't have to know the distance to your target well. Most of the time you can just put your crosshair over a target and fire to score a hit.
With the tweak you've to always aim up and know the distance.

Add these lines to Skyrim.ini (or edit the lines if they're already there):

[Combat]
fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0
fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0
f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7

Actually, by default the arrows hit on the crosshair at a precise distance. You still have to aim up at longer distance and down when nearer. So you have to know the distance too.

Thankyou very much indeed. I think I like Argonians better now!

It feels like your shooting a bow and it's much better then what Oblivion did.

My Nord warrior likes archery because it complements melee fighting and he has yet to really invest in magic beyond restoration/enchanting.

If I see an enemy archer in the distance, sometimes I'll just start shooting, rather than chase them down and risk being ambushed/surrounded. Other times, I'll see an enemy who has yet to notice my character, and so I'll use archery while sneaking to get a critical hit, or a one-shot kill.

Actually, I don't ever use anything range dependent with the exception of the bow. No idea why. I tried making a sniper in Fallout, played some shooters and the like but they all felt alien to me. I'll go full close range melee unless there's a bow option. The bullets, lightning and sounds associated with shooting any type of firearm just puts me off.

I've never played CoD. I barely play any games that are not RPG or RTS.

Archery is my favourite combat style because it allows me to kill the enemy before he has a chance to reach me, sometimes even to see me. In melee for every hit I land there's one I get. In archery, I never get hit. I'm at an advantage, I control the battlefield. If they can't see me and can't reach me, they can't defend themselves. I don't want epic battles, I'm interested in efficiency. What's more efficient than clearing a dungeon without as much as getting scratched?

Of course, the beginning is always rough. But the basic idea of archery stays the same: destroy your enemies without putting your own life in danger. I love it.

The melee and magic systems are nothing but an annoyance. Because of that, i've switched to archery(something i've never focused on in any game before).

Archery is very well done in Skyrim, and as a primary melee character, I use it all the time (obviously) it's situationally mandatory, unless you're doing some RPing or w/e.
I wouldn't go pure bow without feeling cowardly and cheap though, but that's just me.

I hated archery in Oblivion, but I love it in Skyrim. I honestly can't play another type of build because archery is just too sweet. I try to go one-handed and im like, damn I could be using my bow right now. Something about being an archer always appealed to me.

I love the Archery in Skyrim because it feels as real as I imagine it could feel in a game. Also my Destruction magic works just fine and with Archery to complement it, I can handle most problems. I love the sounds and the feel and the perks ... you have the ability to add a poison to the arrows, zoom in when you've taken that perk and you can enchant it to trap souls to recharge all weapons. It's just a great weapon and did I say how much I love the sounds that go with it.

I like archery to soften up tough rooms before switching over to 2H melee. I prefer to play without followers and the bow helps me do so.

You must not know how to utilize melee weapons to be making that comment. As if there's many scenarios where you'll have to be a good marksman to shoot your target.

Exactly, sneaking is so great and powerful that once I'm detected I'm usually screwed.

Me, too. Loved it in Oblivion and love it in Skyrim. I'm now playing a kind of Nord ninja - sneak around in leather armor, pick off enemies from a distance then pull out the war axe and shield when they close for melee. Back at level 2 or 3 before adding any archery perks, I stuck an arrow right in a female mage's forehead while sneaking. She stood up with the arrow sticking out of her forehead and said "Is someone there?" I about fell out of my chair laughing!

It is the most efficient form of ranged damage.
It synergizes incredibly well with Sneak.
It is arguably the best and cheapest Perk tree as far as damage is concerned.
Seeing Arrows stuck in people's face or seeing where you shot them is fun.
The nature of ranged damage is almost ALWAYS superior to melee.

This is not unique to Skyrim, but all games. Typically - especially in PvP games - melee vs ranged is balanced miserably and Ranged is so much better it isn't even funny.