Axes have a limit of a few feet. Fireballs have a limit of a few yards. But a well-placed arrow in Skyrim can hit targets as far as your gaming device can render them. And if you can do it without being seen, you're doing it in style.

It's the basis of the popular Stealth Archer build, one of the most powerful setups in the most popular WRPG of all time — but equally daunting for newcomers. Is it truly so complicated to create? Nah. And we'll prove it to you.

Updated February 09, 2024, by Eva Csaki: Arguably one of the most popular character build types, stealth archer builds add an extra element of stealthy fun to your game. To help you get the most out of your build, we've gone over this guide and updated it to include a new MVP bow added in Anniversary Edition, as well as some tips on how to make the most out of the bow's enchantments.

Best Race For A Stealth Archer Build

You'll need to choose a race for your Stealth Archer right out the gate, so, if you're going into a brand-new playthrough with this build in mind, you'll have the opportunity to perfect it!

Of course, you can make a viable stealth archer of any race, but, since the races receive different bonuses and abilities, there are a few that will give you a head start.

We've isolated three races with the most prominent abilities for this role: two traditional picks (Bosmer and Khajit) and one less common pick (Orc). Let's take a look at why; it all boils down to racially-related bonuses.

You should also consider playing as a female rather than a male. Completing 'The Heart of Dibella' quest, located in Markarth, grants a permanent 10 percent damage bonus to members of the opposite sex. Simply put, the men you'll fight outnumber the women by a not-inconsiderable margin.

Our Criteria For Race Selection, Explained
Aspect	Explanation	Usefulness
Racial Power	A selectable ability unique to a given race, often powerful but typically available only once per day.	High. Some of these will flavor your game in ways that no other ability can, lending significance to your choice of race.
Racial Effect	In most cases, these influence stats, provide bonuses to particular play styles or resistance to specific types of damage. (Imperials and Orcs are the exceptions; the former earn more gold, while the latter are given permission to enter Orsimer strongholds whereas every other race must complete quests to do so.)	High. Resistances and damage upticks can change your approach to gameplay. An Argonian's resistance to diseases, for example, will prevent you from having to be careful around enemies that spread infections.
Ten-Point Skill Bonus	A fairly substantial ten-point bonus is given to one skill per each race at the start of the game, meaning you're somewhat more proficient at it right off the bat, and can thus spend slightly less time building toward it.	Moderate. It's useful, don't get us wrong, but it's nothing that can't be rectified over time. That said, it ought to factor into your consideration, if only because it will make the early game easier and more befitting your approach.
Five-Point Skill Bonus	A less substantial five-point bonus is awarded to five (!) skills.	Moderate. If it were merely a matter of one skill getting this small bonus, we'd even call it low. But a quintet of bonuses does add up to help forge a gameplay identity for your character in the initial phase.

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The Case For Bosmer (Wood Elves)

Bosmer are the go-to for Stealth Archers in the eyes of the majority of Skyrim aficionados, though perhaps the winds have shifted a bit more against their immediate assumption in recent years.

The rationale is remarkably simple: the Bosmer ten-point skill bonus is Archery, giving players an instant edge over the competition and reducing the time necessary to boost the skill to its loftiest heights.

This is fair. We've included it for a reason. But is it truly so grand in the final telling? Every race can reach the maximum level, 100, for every skill, so this ten-point boost early on isn't everything.

Taking a gander at what else the Bosmer has to offer, it's a mixed bag. Command Animal does exactly what it sounds like. Cool, and maybe you can send one forward to distract the enemy. That's fun and fitting, right?

Plus, Disease and Poison resistance feels apt for a Stealth Archer. Neither of these traits, however, is going to win any archer-centric awards.

The Case For Khajit

That brings us to Khajit, the other traditional choice for Skyrim Stealth Archers. Sneak is their ten-point bonus, whilst Archery still gets a head start with five. (This is, in fact, the inverse of the Bosmer's order.)

Arguably, it's better to be a bit quieter than especially prominent with your bow in the early hours.

Every other race is notably clunkier in this regard, which kind of ruins the idea. But still, point bonuses are temporary aspects, and trainers throughout the world (including a certain archer in the very first town!) slowly but surely negate their relevance.

What else do the Khajit have on tap? A bonus to damage when unarmed is completely unhelpful for our build, but Night Eye, which boosts visibility in darkness (and, contrary to other racial abilities, can be used multiple times per day), is much handier to have.

The Night Eye bonus remains handy throughout the game, since the Stealth Archer's optimal environment is darkness, concealing their presence. Not being able to see your enemy, of course, rather destroys that advantage. Not so for Khajit.

Khajit is preferred over Bosmer, except perhaps if role-playing is taken into account. Even so, there's a strong argument to be made for any rogue-centric Khajit.

The Strange Case For Orsimer (Orcs)

Last but not least, the less loved but potentially most beneficial race is Orc, or Orsimer. To be clear, Orcs have zero starting skill bonuses of relevance to Stealth Archers, nor is their trait, the ability to enter Orc strongholds without needing to quest for the opportunity, remotely helpful to the build.

Here's the thing. The Orc once-per-day power, Berserker, boosts damage output twofold and reduces damage taken by half for a full minute. We tend to think of warhammers and claymores for this kind of thing, but Berserker works for bows as well.

The thing about Stealth Archers is that their primary source of strength rests in perks that provide stunningly effective damage bonuses. Being able to couple those with another massive increase for especially tough encounters is, in a word, spectacular. And yes, we checked: these bonuses do stack.

Best Sign (Standing Stone) For A Stealth Archer Build

At the start of the game, you're faced with three signs on Standing Stones to choose from: Warrior, Mage, and Thief. They give the buffs that you'd expect for each of those classes in a typical fantasy game. You should, unsurprisingly, choose Thief.

Though the text in-game says that the Warrior sign will help with your Archery skill, that's actually been assigned to the Thief sign.

The Unofficial Skyrim Patch fixes this mistake. If you are running with that, you should choose the Warrior sign instead of the Thief sign.

If you happen to be playing Skyrim on Xbox 360 or PS3 all these years later, you can't download the patch. If you're playing on PS4, Xbox One, or their equivalent successor consoles, you can. Needless to say, PC users can also download it.

However, there are many more signs to pick from in the game once you begin to explore the world! The Thief (or Warrior, with the Unofficial Skyrim Patch) will serve you well throughout your experience, but check out the list below for a few alternate recommendations if you get bored leveling up all the same skills.

The lovely thing about the Stealth Archer build is that your choice in primary skills is right there on the label: Sneak and Archery.

Your damage is dictated by the excellent combination of these two skill trees; they're symbiotic, really, as they each offer massive offensive bonuses whilst keeping you safely tucked away from your foes.

Light Armor makes less noise than its heavier counterpart, so it's your defensive must-grab.

Illusion can enhance your silent tomfoolery, though it'll require some attribute-leveling in Magicka, which can take away valuable Health-raising opportunities for when the going gets rough, and you're handling a crowd of enemies who are very much alerted to your presence. It's up to you.

Pickpocketing and Speech are good for role-playing. A silver tongue and deft hands are right at home with the concept of a Stealth Archer. Consider these as secondary concerns.

Leveling Up

We recommend that you increase your Health almost every time you level up. As previously mentioned, there will be times when too many enemies are involved, and your odds of remaining hidden plummet, especially before you've made significant advances in your skills and perks.

Light Armor doesn't provide the greatest defense, so a decent HP pool is necessary.

Your second priority will be Stamina. You don't need a ton, but you will want it for some of the Archery skills and for running away if things get sticky.

Magicka is only of concern if you're working with Illusion magic.

Best Weapons, Armor, And Potions/Poisons For A Stealth Archer

You don't have to travel with just your wits and blades. There are a number of ways you can boost your damage output, gain cover, earn advantages, and get an edge up on your opponent as you adventure.

Equipment like weapons, armor, and potions are all great ways to gain an advantage as you stick to the shadows and assassinate as you please.

Bows Versus Crossbows

If you have the Dawnguard expansion (or Skyrim Special Edition), you'll gain access to crossbows in addition to regular longbows. We've made a handy pros-and-cons list below so that you can weigh your options and decide which one you might prefer:

If you choose to wield a crossbow, the best you can get is the Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow. You'll have to side with the Dawnguard, but the reward is worth it. It's somehow available as a straight-up purchase from Sorine Jurard at Fort Dawnguard (and you can also ask her to teach you how to craft it).

It has the highest base damage of any crossbow.

This device also ignores 50 percent of armor, so just in case your blast isn't of the one-shot variety, you'll be able to finish the job against big bosses quickly. Dwarven bolts are the best ammo, and made even better if they're enchanted.

If you choose to wield a longbow, there are two contenders for best bow in the game. The first bow is available to players of the base game, and the second used to be a Creative Club exclusive, but has since been permanently added to Skyrim: Anniversary Edition.

If you're playing with the base edition, you'll want to craft yourself a Dragonbone Bow. You'll need to have Smithing level 100 and the Dragon Armor perk to make it, though, which requires a lot of time grinding.

However, there is one chance to loot it. If your character is at least level 45, one of the Keepers in the Soul Cairn during the Dawnguard quest Chasing Echoes will be using a Dragonbone Bow, and you can take it off their corpse. The associated Dragonbone Arrows are the best option for ammo.

Keep in mind that a bow's base damage will scale with your level. Lower levels will mean lower damage, while higher levels will give you increased damage output opportunities.

There is one bow in the game that is better than the Dragonbone Bow and even has a higher base damage than the Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow: Karliah's Bow. It's called that because it's literally the bow that Karliah, a character from the Thieves' Guild plotline, carries.

However, the only way to get it is through console commands. Do with that information what you will.

If you're playing the Anniversary Edition of the game, by far the best bow for you to use is the Bow of Shadows. This is the best bow in the game.

The Bow of Shadows is so useful to Stealth Archers because it comes with a built-in enchantment that casts invisibility on the wielder for 30 seconds after the bow is first drawn.

Having invisibility while you're exploring a dungeon or working on an assassination job is vital. It will allow you to travel unimpeded and quite literally get away with murder more often than not.

Furthermore, the Bow of Shadows is also drawn 20 percent faster than a regular bow, meaning you'll be able to fire off a solid amount of arrows while you're basking in your 30 seconds of Invisibility.

Here's the stat breakdown on the Bow of Shadows and where you can find this amazing longbow:

Armor

As we've detailed above, you're going to be wearing light armor for this build to keep you quick on your feet and quiet as a mouse. However, the armor you should be working towards is the Ancient Shrouded Armor Set.

The Ancient Shrouded Armor Set will give you immunity to poison, automatically muffle your footsteps, and increase your bow damage by 35 percent.

During the Dark Brotherhood quest line, if you've done the Breaching Security bonus requirement, you'll be rewarded this armor after finishing the Locate the Assassins of Old quest.

Alternatively, after you've visited Olava the Feeble, you can find this set on a corpse behind the throne in a secret room at Hag's End.

The set of Nightingale Armor (earned by working through the Thieves' Guild quest line) is another viable choice. We don't recommend it as our first pick because the skills it boosts aren't so much of a priority.

However, if you really value lockpicking, and/or have included a lot of illusionary magic in your build, consider this set instead!

Potions And Poisons

It's hard to recommend potions because you can kind of make any potion combination you want, provided you have the right ingredients! Alternatively, you can buy pre-made potions from a merchant, and those will be simpler than the combinations you could invent on your own.

Instead, we'll note which effects might be useful for you, and note a couple of the ingredients that provide that effect:

Effect	Ingredients
Fortify Light Armor	Aster Bloom Core
	Withering Moon
	Ash Hopper Jelly
	Hawk Feathers
	Honeycomb
	Skeever Tail
Fortify Marksman	Juniper Berries
	Spider Egg
	Canis Root
	Elves Ear
	Angelfish
Fortify Sneak	Hawk Feathers
	Human Flesh
	Purple Mountain Flower
	Beehive Husk
	Abecean Longfin
	Ashen Grass Pod
Invisibility	Chaurus Eggs
	Crimson Nirnroot
	Ice Wraith Teeth
	Nirnroot
	Vampire Dust
	Luna Moth Wing
Ravage Health	Eye of Sabre Cat
	Jazbay Grapes
	Skeever Tail
	Silverside Perch
	Giant Lichen
Damage Health	Nirnroot
	Falmer Ear
	Deathbell
	Red Mountain Flower
	Skeever Tail
	Small Antlers
	Void Salts
Damage Magicka	Butterfly Wing
	Eye of Sabre Cat
	Glow Dust
	Hagraven Feathers
	Luna Moth Wing
	Jarrin Root
	Hanging Moss

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Best Followers For A Stealth Archer Build

As a stealth archer, you may not even want a follower alongside you! While they're great for lugging around junk you've picked up and being an extra hand in battle, they can also be a real annoyance.

Followers may object to going to certain places, or yell at you for the arguably immoral things you do, like theft, lockpicking, etc., or they may just clumsily set off traps and alert others to your presence.

However, if you do want a helper (or just some company), these are some of the best followers to choose: