The archery build is a very popular build in Skyrim, and adventurers often want to incorporate a few different skills into this build, such as Alchemy, Sneak, and Light Armor. All of these skills are very beneficial for an Archer.
There are so many different ways to go about being an Archer in Skyrim, and you will want to be informed before starting a playthrough that uses a bow as your primary weapon. You should make sure to follow simple tips such as collecting Alchemy ingredients throughout the land and avoiding large hordes of enemies if you want to survive in Skyrim as an Archer character.
Updated August 12, 2021, by Michael Caruso: Skyrim has a lot of different builds that you can form your character into; however, archers are one of the strongest, without a doubt. Archer builds are great for sneaking around, however, they can also be useful while fighting enemies head-on. It's important to know even more tips than the original ten included, so here are a few more helpful tips that you can use while forming the strongest archer possible.
2 Recruit Aela As A Follower
Aela is one of the fiercest archers in Skyrim, and she's also a part of the powerful Companions faction, so she knows how to work well in a group setting.
Aela primarily uses a bow, and she can also train you in Archery at the expert level for a gold fee. You can recruit Aela by joining the Companions and completing the faction questline. Although this is a lot of effort to go through to recruit a follower, it's worth it since she has a high Archery skill and is one of the best followers in Skyrim for any weapon type.
1 Acquire The Dwarven Black Bow Of Fate
Level Up Enchanting
Avoid Dungeons With Lots Of Enemies Early On In The Playthrough
There are a lot of dungeons that you can explore in Skyrim, but adventurers should know when there are too many tough enemies to defeat all at once. This is especially important while playing through the game with an Archer build because enemies are often too difficult to defeat, especially earlier in the game.
Some enemies have a ton of health, and some can use spells to conjure extra enemies to fight for them, which is why you should pick and choose which dungeons you want to try to complete. The main reason for this is because an Archer build typically has low health, and you will not want to be stuck in a situation where there are multiple enemies swarming you at once.
Join The Dark Brotherhood
The Dark Brotherhood is a stealth-based faction in Skyrim, and if you join it, you will gain access to a bunch of potential rewards and assassin contracts.
The assassin contracts that you will be assigned within the Dark Brotherhood allow you to practice your archery skills on civilians that have been marked for death by clients. Every Archer should attempt to join the Dark Brotherhood unless they are roleplaying as a noble Archer.
Carry A Melee Weapon Just In Case
Melee weapons aren't an important aspect of the Archer build; however, they can save you from a tough situation if you run out of arrows in the middle of a dungeon. Although this won't happen to adventurers that are high level, when you're first starting out on an Archer build, it is easy to forget to bring an adequate amount of arrows for the quest you are completing.
Bringing a melee weapon such as a sword or axe will allow you to have a lifeline if you run out of arrows or if you need to deal damage to an enemy in close quarters.
Level Up Alchemy And Create Poisons
Alchemy allows you to craft potions and poisons; however, it will be mostly used by an Archer character to create poisons to make their arrows even more deadly than they already are.
Poisons can inflict different negative effects upon enemies, and the most common effect is dealing extra health damage when the arrow hits the opponent. The Dragonborn can craft these poisons with ease by leveling up the Alchemy skill-line as they continue their playthrough. You should also make sure to pick up all of the Alchemy ingredients that you can while traversing the world.
Shoot At The Weakest Enemies First
Oftentimes you will run into a horde of enemies that will attack you and your companions all at once. What you should do in a difficult situation such as this one is attacking the enemy with the lowest HP first.
An Archer has to keep their distance from enemies, and if there is more than one enemy attacking you, then it can be difficult to defeat any of them at all. As such, Archers should always make sure to shoot and defeat enemies that are on the weaker side so that they will not have to deal with multiple enemies.
Travel Off The Regular Path
The regular path is great; however, it won't allow the Dragonborn to practice their archery skills as well as traveling through the middle of the forest. You will encounter animals in open fields and under trees, which is why it is beneficial to travel into the middle of nowhere.
You can practice your archery skills on animals and other creatures in the fields of Whiterun hold, and this will be immensely helpful in learning how to aim and defeat enemies quickly with a bow.
Level Up Sneak
The Sneak skill is a major asset for any Archer build because you get a bonus for your damage dealt when you hit an enemy while undetected.
It is also much easier to hit enemies while undetected because they will usually not be moving around as much as they will be if they are attempting to attack you. Sneaking around is the best way to defeat enemies with a bow, and every Dragonborn needs to learn this if they plan on creating an Archer character.
Train With Faendal
Faendal is an Archer that lives in Riverwood, and you can involve yourself in a quest that allows you to meddle in his love life.
In this Quest, Faendal and Sven are attempting to gain the affection of Camilla Valerius, and you can choose to help whoever you see fit. After completing this quest, the person that you helped will become a follower. Faendal can level up the player's Archery skill. After buying training lessons from Faendal, you can go into this follower's inventory and take their gold out, essentially leveling up your Archery skill for free.
Level Up Restoration
Restoration is an important School of magic for an Archer because you will often find yourself in situations where you need to heal quickly and not have enough potions on hand to do so.
Unfortunately, Archers usually don't have a lot of health, and as such, it is important to have a backup plan in case the Dragonborn is heavily wounded. Leveling up Restoration will let you heal yourself in a tight spot, which is especially important for an Archer.
Train At Angi's Camp
Angi's camp is a secluded location near the city of Falkreath that many adventurers overlook while exploring this region of Skyrim. Angi teaches you archery and even gives you practice arrows that you can use on the targets that she has set up.
For every challenge that you complete, you will learn one level up to your Archery skill. You can only complete five challenges; however, they are immensely helpful for an Archer that has a high-level Archery skill because they can easily finish leveling up the last few levels of the skill-line.