Archery (Skyrim)

For Archery in other games, see Archery.

"Favor the bow, eh? I'm a sword man myself."

―Hold Guard

Archery is one of three offensive weapon-based skills in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The Archery skill is raised by and governs the use of bows and crossbows. Falling under The Warrior Sign in the skill selection menu, Archery actually benefits from The Thief Stone (It is unknown if this behavior is intentional or a bug) Users of the skill, archers, are trained in the use of bows and arrows. The greater the skill, the more deadly the shot. Archery provides low health and lightly armored characters the means to engage foes from a safe distance and allows repeated sneak attacks.

Main article: Bows (Skyrim)

A bow is a flexible, bent or curved ranged weapon, strung taut from end to end with a string. Arrows are nocked into the string and then drawn. The string is then released, propelling the arrow forward. The weight of the bow dictates the effort required to pull the string back, or "draw". The heavier the bow, the longer it will take to fully draw. The longer the amount of time taken to fully draw a bow, the more damage a shot will do, and the faster and farther an arrow will travel. While a bow is drawn, movement is reduced significantly.

Bows can be found in stores all over Skyrim, most stores that sell them are dedicated to that purpose, mostly carrying both bow and arrows, as well as certain armors an archer can use. Many different creatures carry bows, including the Draugr found in most dungeons and caves in Skyrim. Bows, like swords, get stronger depending on what they are made of.

Crossbows

Main article: Crossbows (Dawnguard)

A crossbow from The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard.

A crossbow consists of a bow mounted horizontally onto a mechanical stock. The bow string is pulled back onto a catch which holds the string taut. A bolt is then loaded into a groove in front of the catch. When a lever located at the bottom of the stock is pulled, the catch is released and the bow string pushes the bolt forward. Crossbows are slower to reload than most bows are to redraw, but they shoot projectiles at a higher velocity than most bows. They still however have the same reduction of speed while reloading. A crossbow is less likely to be used by the more sneaky characters, due to its long reload time. A bow would be better for these "sneaky" types due to the fact that after releasing an arrow, they can quickly place another on the string and let off a follow-up shot. Crossbows are generally more expensive than their bow counterparts.

Range

There are two types of ranges for both bows and crossbows, arc range and maximum range.

Arc range

"Keep that arrow in your quiver, Archer..."

―Guard

The arc range varies between each type of bow and crossbow. It is directly proportional to a bow's/crossbow's firing velocity.

Bows always fire in an upwards arc, propelling the arrow slightly upwards. A bow with a high firing velocity will have a long arc range. When fired from a high velocity bow, the arrow will continue traveling in an upwards arc for a longer period of time, and will eventually start to drop and arc slightly downwards. After this, the arrow will eventually come to a point in which it drops steeply and its horizontal speed decelerates immensely. If in the air for a long enough period of time, the arrow will have lost all horizontal velocity and fall completely.

This works similarly for crossbow bolts, however when bolts are fired they are not propelled in an upwards arc. Instead, they will travel straight from the Crossbow. Because they don't travel in an upwards arc, they will begin to drop immediately and will enter a steep downwards arc much earlier than that of any arrow.

Maximum range

The maximum range is a range that is universal for both bows and crossbows. It is the maximum range an arrow or bolt will travel from the Dragonborn before it stops doing damage. This range usually occurs around 60m-65m. At this point, all arrows and bolts will do no damage to the target, regardless of whether or not the target is in rendering range of the archer. Arrows and bolts that hit a foe past this range will most often clip through them and continue traveling until hitting an object (i.e. a tree, the ground, etc.). A non-hostile character will not become hostile when this happens, however an already hostile character will immediately begin to look for the Dragonborn if the projectile lands close enough.

Books

The following is a list of skill books that can increase this skill:

• Vernaccus and Bourlor
• The Black Arrow, v2
• The Gold Ribbon of Merit
• The Marksmanship Lesson
• Father of the Niben

Trainers

List of individuals that can increase this skill by giving them gold:

• Faendal in Riverwood (Adept) - (Lvl 15 - 50). 
• Aela of The Companions (Expert): Jorrvaskr, or the training area behind it, in Whiterun (Lvl 15 - 75).
• Niruin of the Thieves Guild (Master)- Riften (Lvl 15 - 90).
• Angi at Angi's Camp (Master) - Only six levels of free training for completing her challenges. (Lv 15 - 100).
• Sorine Jurard at Fort Dawnguard (Master) - (Lv 15 - 90) A New Order must be completed for the Dawnguard in order for her to offer training.

Archery weapons

The following are the confirmed weapons that benefit from this skill. Damage, weight, and value are base values, independent of skill level and perks.

Craftable bows

Bow Type
Long Bow	6	5	30
Hunting Bow	7	7	50
Orcish Bow	10	9	150
Nord Hero Bow	11	7	200
Dwarven Bow	12	10	270
Elven Bow	13	12	470
Nordic BowDB	13	11	580
Glass Bow	15	14	820
Ebony Bow	17	16	1440
Stalhrim BowDB	17	15	1880
Daedric Bow	19	18	2500
Dragonbone BowDG	20	20	2725

Non-craftable bows

Name
Ancient Nord Bow	8	12	45
Angi's Bow	7	7	50
Auriel's Bow DG	13	11	1000
Bound Bow	18	0	0
Bound Bow with Mystic Binding	24	0	0
Bow of the Hunt	10	7	457
Drainspell Bow	14	6	277
Dravin's Bow	12-14	7	50
Dwarven Black Bow of Fate DB	13	10	1446
Falmer Bow	12	15	135
Falmer Supple Bow	15	20	410
Firiniel's End	13	12	785
Forsworn Bow	12	11	145
Froki's Bow	6	5	307
Gauldur Blackbow	8-14	12-18	225-1315
Imperial Bow	9	8	90
Karliah's Bow	25	9	5
Nightingale Bow	12-19	9-18	470-3700
Supple Ancient Nord Bow	14	18	235
Zephyr DG	14	10	670

Crossbows

All crossbows are craftable and are a part of The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard only

Name	Item ID
Crossbow		19	14	120
Enhanced Crossbow		19	19	200
Dwarven Crossbow		22	20	350
Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow		22	21	550

Perks

The following are the perks that become available to select as the skill is leveled up

Perk (Ranks)	Requirements	Description
Overdraw (5)	Archery Any/20/40/60/80	Bows do 20% more damage (+20% per additional rank)
Eagle Eye	Archery 30, Overdraw	Pressing Block while aiming will zoom in your view
Critical Shot (3)	Archery 30/60/90, Overdraw	10% chance of a critical hit that does extra damage (+5% chance and +25% critical damage per additional rank)
Steady Hand (2)	Archery 40/60, Eagle Eye	Zooming in with a bow slows time by 25% (50% for second rank)
Power Shot	Archery 50, Eagle Eye	Arrows stagger all but the largest opponents 50% of the time
Hunter's Discipline	Archery 50, Critical Shot	Recover twice as many arrows from dead bodies
Ranger	Archery 60, Hunter's Discipline	Able to move faster with a drawn bow
Quick Shot	Archery 70, Power Shot	Can draw a bow 30% faster
Bullseye	Archery 100, Quick Shot or Ranger	15% chance of paralyzing the target for a few seconds

Archery perks tree

Tactics

"The wise hunter knows that preparation is the key to success, and you certainly don't want to hunt any trolls unprepared!"

―Finn

• 0.8% damage is gained per Archery skill level. This stacks with Overdraw, making it possible to acquire a natural total of 180% extra damage with bows.
• If an arrow has been drawn, but the Dragonborn does not wish to use it, there is a 'release' key (R default on PC, X on the Xbox 360, and Square on the PS3).
• With the Bullseye perk, the Paralyze effect will be applied to the target when the arrow is released, not when it reaches the target (Confirmed on Xbox and PC).
  • This can be somewhat of an annoyance, as the target falling due to paralyzation may cause the arrow to miss.
• Arrows fly in an arc, not along flat trajectories.  This arc still exists when aiming straight down, resulting in a downwards shot hitting slightly above the cursor.
• Small/normal sized enemies can easily be staggered with a quick shot when they recover. Paired with the Bullseye perk, paralysis enchantment, potions and poisons, and possibly absorb stamina, can further this effectiveness, and make an archer highly effective at disabling enemies to be finished off by a melee-using follower.
• Getting a headshot with a bow does not increase the damage dealt.
• Arrows make a noise when they hit walls and items. This can be used to draw an enemy's attention elsewhere, allowing for sneak shots at their back.
• The player can get infinite arrows by picking up arrows from other archers practicing. Get better arrows by pickpocketing all the arrows of the practicing archer and replacing them with better ones.
  • Similarly, a good supply of arrows can be gained by giving one to a follower. The follower will shoot an infinite amount of those arrows, which can be recovered after combat finishes.
• When overencumbered, pulling out a bow and keeping an arrow drawn speeds up movement.
• Bashing with a bow immediately after firing an arrow will deal significant damage with the bash, as long as neither the Dragonborn nor the target has moved horizontally since the shot.
• The effect of the Steady Hand perk stacks with the Slow Time shout, making things seem almost frozen in place.
• The bound bow has the fastest draw speed of any bow in the game, only surpassed by Zephyr from The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard.
• If you have the Dawnguard DLC, you can obtain Zephyr, a bow that with the Quick Shot perk has a total of 60% faster draw speed, which is currently the fastest any character can draw an arrow.
• Faendel in Riverwood, when at a lower level.  When you are using him as a follower, you can train with him, get your money back, then continue.  This will both level you up, and level up your archery.

Leveling Archery

A female Archer in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

The equation governing skill gain in Archery is thought to resemble something like this:

• Bwd = Base weapon damage
• Bad = Base ammunition damage
• lm = Leveling Multiplier (rest, stone, etc.)
• x = Damage Translator
• bool(DamagingHit) = 1 or 0, true or false
  • skillXP += bool(DamagingHit) * (lm(Bwd + Bad) / x)

Thus, this relies on a damaging hit being scored. Therefore, to gain experience, the target must have health points, and that the attack must take away health (so no experience is gained if they nullify damage with a block or dodge).

Upon a damaging hit, the skill experience gained is based on the Base weapon damage and the Base ammunition damage. A Legendary Daedric Bow and some Daedric Arrows are therefore ideal for leveling quickly. The equation ignores perk increases, sneak multipliers, damage boosts from enchantments, or fully drawing the bow. As a result, firing arrows rapidly into a target will yield just as much experience per shot as a full or overdrawn shot. This will therefore result in more experience being gained from a single target, and faster gain, by using quick and weak shots, since the target will survive more of them.

The division by x is to represent that the base damage is not directly translated into skill experience. Currently, the actual value is unknown.

A Bound Bow will also allow one to increase Archery, as well as provide free arrows.

One method of leveling is to sneak attack the Greybeards at High Hrothgar. Find one of the Greybeards (preferably in the main area meditating), sneak behind them at short distance, and simply shoot over and over (waiting a few seconds between shots yields sneak attacks, which will train Sneak at the same time). This can also help leveling Restoration with the use of the Healing Hands spell. (Using melee or magic will result in angering them.)

Another good target for training is Shadowmere, who has very high health, cannot die permanently, and will not fight back. However, this method requires significant progress in the Dark Brotherhood quest line.

Another way to quickly level Archery also requires joining the Dark Brotherhood. Upon entering the Falkreath Sanctuary, jump onto the ledge that oversees the pool and training area. This can be done by jumping from the nearby staircase. Once on the ledge, wait until Veezara sits on the ground, completely in view, and then enter Sneak mode and shoot him. As it is unlikely that anyone will see this, it's possible to fire constantly, training both Archery and Sneak steadily. A similar technique can be used on Cicero.

A different method is to visit the special archery trainer, Angi, who lives in a cabin in the southwest corner of the map by Falkreath. She trains in archery for free by letting the Dragonborn shoot at targets with special practice arrows. Completing her training will grant a total of six free levels. This is best done with a high Archery skill, since like any other trainer, each boost bumps the Dragonborn's skill up to the next level, ignoring the experience required to reach it. Training with her at level 94 will allow maximizing the skill, skipping the final six levels, which would normally require the greatest amount of time to complete.

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to Archery (Skyrim). Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following: Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening. If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template  360  /  XB1  ,  PS3  /  PS4  ,  PC  /  MAC  ,  NX  /  PS5  ,  XS  , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on. Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.

Click to see the list of bugs encountered

PC   360   PS3   The description of the perk Quick Shot reads, 'Can draw a bow 30% faster,' implying that the bow is being drawn at a faster rate, but is actually notching an arrow that is faster.  PC   360   PS3   When carrying too much weight to run, walking or sneaking with a drawn and pulled-back bow slightly increases speed, more so with the Ranger perk.  360   PS3   The Ranger perk may cease to function entirely, though it may begin functioning again at a later time.  PC   360   PS3   Archery skill may drop to starting level, indicated by red highlighting of skill and not induced by disease. Leveling up Archery has consequently shown to fix issue.  PC   360   PS3   When shooting someone while sneaking and unnoticed they may 'dodge' your arrow by sidestepping it at an extreme pace. World models consist of two pieces, the model that you see and a simpler, invisible collision box that determines where you and other things will impact the model. As in Oblivion and many other games that use this or a similar engine, the collision boxes in Skyrim are carelessly fitted to the shape of the terrain that your character sees in the game, which can be extremely frustrating. One common occurrence is to try to snipe through a hole or a gap in a wall, or over or around the edge, only to find that your arrows are bouncing off the invisible collision box, or even more ridiculous, sticking in the air.  PC   If trying to hit a moving character (not tested on creatures), and they are moving left or right, such as when attempting to sneak attack someone, the natural response is to aim a short distance ahead of them - aim where they will be, rather than where they are. Unfortunately, the arrow will not shoot where the cross-hair is, and rather, where the foe is currently standing, making for a very frustrating miss. It's unsure whether this is actually a bug or intentional.  PC   360   PS3   When shooting certain kinds of arrows, the bow string might go 'limp' and the arrow will fly its minimum distance and with minimal damage. It happens even if the bowstring is pulled back fully, with lighter bows and arrows and even when staying still. To fix, save and reload the game. Especially frustrating when engaging powerful enemies or when using magic bows who lose charge per shot regardless of a hit or miss.  360   PC   The perk Bullseye will sometimes cause a slow motion kill to leave the enemy unharmed and instead paralyze them, this usually happens when a kill cam occurs.  PC   The "BullsEye" perk can quite often take effect on targets that are being killed by the shot. This results in the rag doll become permanently paralyzed. While not really affecting game play, it can be very amusing, as characters who are killed sitting down will remain in that position, even when dead and being dragged around.  PC   Additionally, if the above bug occurs with a Khajiit character, the body will become detached for the tail. The tail will stay in the position in which the foe was killed, and the base of the tail will stretch to wherever the body flies or is dragged to.  PC   The "BullsEye" perk will often take effect on targets not hit by the arrow. Often, when aiming at a target from around a corner or wall, the arrow will get stuck in the invisible collision box and the target will still become paralyzed.  PC   360   PS3  Bow kill cams at a distance sometime will activate even though the accuracy of the actual shot will be a complete miss, this is currently a bug.  PC   360   PS3   If you kill someone when their bow is fully pulled back, the bow that they drop will still appear pulled back.

See also

• Skills (Skyrim)