Archery is the art of killing things before they get close enough to complain about it. The skill covers bows and, with Dawnguard, crossbows: the higher it is, the more damage every arrow or bolt does. It is a Combat skill, so it trains faster under the blessing of the Warrior Stone, and it slots neatly into almost any build, from the heavy-armored Nord who softens up targets before charging in to the hooded thief who never leaves the shadows.
Its real strength shows when it is paired with Sneak. A well-placed sneak attack from range can end a fight before it starts, and the perk tree adds tools no other weapon skill has: a scope-like zoom, slowed time while aiming, and arrows that stagger or even paralyze. Few skills carry a character from the first bandit camp to the last dragon as reliably.
How Archery works
Drawing, aiming and hitting
Archery rises whenever you hit a living target with an arrow or crossbow bolt. Misses do not count, so practising on empty air is a waste of good iron arrows. Bows have to be drawn before they fire: a fully drawn shot hits hardest and flies furthest, while releasing early gives a weak, short shot. Arrows drop over long distances, so aim slightly above far-off targets.
Damage comes from three things: the bow, the arrow and your skill level, with the Overdraw perk multiplying the result. Arrows are consumed on firing, but many can be recovered from the bodies of your victims afterwards, and the Hunter’s Discipline perk doubles that haul.
Sneak attacks
An undetected shot counts as a sneak attack and deals bonus damage, which grows further with the Deadly Aim perk in the Sneak tree. Repeatedly shooting enemies from hiding, letting them search, and shooting again is the classic stealth-archer loop, and it levels Sneak and Archery at the same time.
Conjured and unique bows
The Bound Bow spell from Conjuration summons a bow with its own endless supply of arrows, and its hits train Archery like any other bow. Notable unique bows include Angi’s Bow, the Nightingale Bow and Auriel’s Bow.
Archery perk tree
The Archery tree has 9 perks with 16 ranks in total. Required levels are the Archery skill level needed for each rank.
| Perk | Ranks | Skill level | Requires | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overdraw | 5 | 0 / 20 / 40 / 60 / 80 | – | Rank 1: Bows do 20% more damage. Rank 2: Bows do 40% more damage. Rank 3: Bows do 60% more damage. Rank 4: Bows do 80% more damage. Rank 5: Bows do twice as much damage. |
| Critical Shot | 3 | 30 / 60 / 90 | Overdraw | Rank 1: 10% chance of a critical hit that does extra damage. Rank 2: 15% chance of a critical hit that does 25% more critical damage. Rank 3: 20% chance of a critical hit that does 50% more critical damage. |
| Eagle Eye | 1 | 30 | Overdraw | Pressing Block while aiming will zoom in your view. |
| Steady Hand | 2 | 40 / 60 | Eagle Eye | Rank 1: Zooming in with a bow slows time by 25%. Rank 2: Zooming in with a bow slows time by 50%. |
| Hunter's Discipline | 1 | 50 | Critical Shot | Recover twice as many arrows from dead bodies. |
| Power Shot | 1 | 50 | Eagle Eye | Arrows stagger all but the largest opponents 50% of the time. |
| Ranger | 1 | 60 | Hunter’s Discipline | Able to move faster with a drawn bow. |
| Quick Shot | 1 | 70 | Power Shot | Can draw a bow 30% faster. |
| Bullseye | 1 | 100 | Ranger or Quick Shot | 15% chance of paralyzing the target for a few seconds. |
Perk guide
Start with Overdraw, and keep feeding it: five ranks at no requirement, Archery 20, 40, 60 and 80 take bow damage from +20% all the way to double. This is the backbone of the whole tree and should usually be maxed before anything else becomes a priority.
From Overdraw the tree splits in two. The left branch starts with Eagle Eye (Archery 30), which lets you zoom by pressing Block while aiming. On its own it is a comfort pick, but it unlocks the two best utility perks. Steady Hand (Archery 40 and 60) slows time by 25% and then 50% while zoomed, which makes long shots and moving targets far easier. Power Shot (Archery 50) staggers all but the largest opponents half the time, which is excellent for keeping melee enemies off you. Quick Shot (Archery 70) draws your bow 30% faster and is arguably the single most important perk after Overdraw, because it raises your damage per second and makes heavy bows feel nimble.
The right branch is Critical Shot (Archery 30, 60 and 90), giving a 10%, 15% and finally 20% chance of a critical hit with growing bonus damage. It is decent but not essential; many players take only the first rank to reach Hunter’s Discipline (Archery 50, twice as many arrows recovered from corpses), which saves a lot of money early on. Ranger (Archery 60) lets you move faster with a drawn bow and is very handy for kiting enemies in open terrain.
Bullseye at Archery 100 needs either Quick Shot or Ranger and gives a 15% chance to paralyze the target for a few seconds. It is a fun capstone rather than a must-have.
A practical order: Overdraw ranks as soon as they open, Eagle Eye, Steady Hand, Power Shot, Quick Shot, then the right branch if you have perks to spare. Pair the tree with Deadly Aim in Sneak, and with Smithing and Enchanting to keep your bow upgraded and boosted. If you also wear armor, Light Armor suits a mobile archer best.
How to level Archery fast
- Sneak-shoot everything. Opening every fight from hiding gives you free hits, trains Sneak alongside Archery and keeps you alive while the skill is low.
- Use a weak bow on tough targets. More hits means more skill gain, so a low-damage bow on a sturdy enemy produces more experience per fight than a one-shot kill.
- Visit Angi. Angi at Angi’s Camp runs a series of target lessons that raise Archery, and rewards you with Angi’s Bow at the end.
- Cast Bound Bow. The Bound Bow spell never runs out of arrows, so you can practise freely while training Conjuration at the same time.
- Pay the trainers. Faendal in Riverwood trains up to 50, Aela the Huntress of the Companions up to 75 and Niruin of the Thieves Guild up to 90. Five sessions per character level.
- Read the skill books. The Marksmanship Lesson, Father of the Niben, The Black Arrow, v2, The Gold Ribbon of Merit and Vernaccus and Bourlor each give a free level the first time you read them.
- Stack the learning bonuses. Activate the Warrior Stone and sleep in a bed for the Rested bonus before long hunting trips.
Trainers
| Trainer | Trains up to | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Faendal | Journeyman (up to 50) | |
| Aela the Huntress | Expert (up to 75) | |
| Niruin | Master (up to 90) |
Each trainer can teach up to five levels per character level, and training costs more gold the higher your skill is.
Archery skill books
Reading each of these books for the first time raises Archery by one level:
- Father Of The Niben
- The Black Arrow, v2
- The Gold Ribbon of Merit
- The Marksmanship Lesson
- Vernaccus and Bourlor
Tips and notes
- Crossbows added by Dawnguard use the Archery skill and benefit from its perks, so a crossbow build is just an Archery build with a different reload rhythm.
- Steady Hand stacks nicely with the Slow Time shout for absurdly easy long-range headshots on dragons and mages.
- Arrows that miss often stick in walls and the ground and can be picked up again, so it pays to tidy up after a fight in a quiet cave.
- Followers with bows do not train your skill, but they do happily steal your kills.
Perk tree, required levels and trainer levels from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (AVIF AVMarksman, PERK and CLAS records).
