Ebony arrows are occasionally used by leveled Draugr Deathlords Daedric arrows are rarer still, found in thief caches or on Dwarven Centurions and only one of the three Keepers in the Soul Cairn uses Dragonbone arrows. Though Iron, Steel, or Ancient Nord arrows are ubiquitous, Skyrim’s more powerful arrows are a limited resource, even if the player is skilled in Smithing. Since Skyrim’s toughest bosses have lots of health and durability, these prolonged melee encounters are often easier with magic or melee rather than arrows. Both bows and crossbows are two-handed weapons, meaning that, while players do have a limited bash ability, they cannot swing swords, use staffs, hold shields, or cast spells until they’ve first unequipped the bow. Arrows will always fire slower than the Dragonborn can swing a sword or cast a Destruction spell, and crossbows reload slower than a bow. While close-quarters fighting with a bow or crossbow is possible, it is far from ideal. If the first arrow doesn’t kill the charging Sabre Cat, Cave Bear, or Dragon, the Dragonborn will be forced to deal with them up close.

It’s tempting to approach every fight with a stealthed arrow fired from the shadows, but failing to invest in other combat skills can backfire. Firstly, crossbow sneak kills might be fun to watch the first hundred times, but they will eventually get tiresome and repetitive.

There are not many, but there are some downsides to playing an archer in Skyrim. Leveling Skyrim’s Archery Skill Tree Has Pros And Cons Combined with Overdraw, it’s possible to achieve 180% extra damage with bows even before factoring in critical hit bonuses or the stacked damage from synergizing with the game’s other skill trees. Each Archery skill point adds 0.8% damage to each shot. While the perks in the Archery skill tree are somewhat underwhelming, it’s still helpful to have high levels in it since that does affect damage calculations. Combined with the Archery skill itself, there are a total of five skill trees that govern the damage of every fired arrow. Skyrim’s Smithing, Enchanting, Alchemy, and Sneak skill trees all increase the damage output of Archery. Related: Skyrim Mod Adds Witcher As an Extremely Powerful New Race The potential damage achievable with a bow is therefore very high, as it is complemented by four other skills. This skill tree’s catering to both warrior and rogue playstyles is indicative of Archery’s overall hybridization with many of the game’s other aspects. The skill does, however, straddle the line between the game’s Warrior and Rogue skill trees, with the bow being a favored weapon for thieves and assassins. Archery is technically a Warrior skill, receiving its bonus to leveling speed from Skyrim’s Warrior Standing Stone, not from the Thief Stone.

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