If You're Gonna Be A Stealth Archer In Skyrim, You Might As Well Do It Right (2024)

It's a running joke in the Skyrim community that no matter how hard you try to create an interesting character build, you'll still always end up as a stealth archer. I'm guilty of this myself, purely because it's just so much damn fun. Not only is it a devastatingly effective and efficient way to clear out a dungeon or bandit camp, but the simple act of shooting someone with an arrow feels incredible. The way your arrow sails gracefully towards a target then lodges itself in their flesh with a satisfying thunk and an instant kill— that's the good stuff.

It's widely accepted that stealth archers should choose the Bosmer, or wood elf, as their race. They get +10 archery bonus from the off, which is handy early in the game. But because racial bonuses in Skyrim matter less the more you play, try playing as an Orc instead—specifically for their monstrous Berserker Rage ability. This doubles your attack power for 60 seconds, and stacks with essential perks like Deadly Aim, which allows you to deal some serious damage with a bow. That'll be much more useful to you in the long run.

Related: Think You've Mastered Skyrim? Try Playing It As A Mudcrab

You can boost your archery skill to 50 early in the game too, providing you don't mind taking advantage of what is arguably an exploit. In Riverwood, wood elf Faendal will ask you to help him win the affections of Camilla Valerius. Side with him over his rival Sven and you'll be able to recruit him as a follower. Then when you train in archery with him, you can go into his inventory and take your money right back. This definitely feels cheaty, and it's worth noting that the popular Unofficial Skyrim Patch mod prevents you from doing it.

As for what weapon to use, there are some incredibly powerful enchanted bows in Skyrim. The Dwarven Black Bow of Fate can be found in Solstheim, in a Dwemer ruin called Kagrumez. This has a 50 percent chance to absorb health, stamina, and magic from enemies. The Nightingale Bow, obtained during the Thieves Guild questline, deals frost and shock damage. Dragonbone Bows have the highest base bow damage in the game and can be either crafted from dragon bones or looted from a Keeper in Dawnguard's Soul Cairn.

But if you want a nice bow in the early hours of the game, there are a few options. Head to Jorrvaskr in Whiterun, headquarters of the Companions, and find the living quarters of Aela the Huntress. Here you'll find a locked display case with a shiny Elven Bow, along with an archery skill book. If you brave the Nordic ruin Lost Valkygg, located southeast of Morthal, a Deathlord will drop a quality bow—with a chance it'll be a tasty Ebony or Glass Bow. Or you could go to Fort Amol, northeast of Ivarstead, and loot the Bound Bow spell.

Arrows are important too, and it's worth spending time acquiring high quality ones. Dragonbone Arrows deal the highest base damage in the game, but the only reliable way to get them is by crafting, which requires dragon bones. Elven Arrows are slightly weaker, but can be looted from Thalmor Soldiers, or bought from either Fort Dawnguard or Castle Volkihar, depending on whose side you take in the Dawnguard expansion. Or, if you crawl a Dwemer ruin, chances are you'll emerge with a fair amount of quality Dwarven Arrows.

But shooting arrows is just one aspect of being a stealth archer. You're gonna need some gear too. Light armour is your friend, but there's one set you should focus on. During a Dark Brotherhood sidequest called Locate the Assassin of Old, a corpse can be found wearing a set of Ancient Shrouded Armour. As well as a strong base armour rating, the boots let you move silently and the cowl increases your bow damage by 35 percent. This is an essential piece of kit for a stealth archer, and it comes with 100 percent poison resistance too.

Complete the quest No One Escapes Cidhna Mine and you'll receive the Gauntlets of the Old Gods, which fortify your archery skill by 20 points. You can also get the same bonus by looting the mask of Krosis, one of the game's eight Dragon Priests, at Shearpoint in The Pale. Linwe's Hood, which can be looted from Linwe's corpse during the Dark Brotherhood quest Summerset Shadows, grants a 25 percent bonus to archery when equipped. Those are just a few of the enchanted items that can help make you a better archer.

As for Perks, basically everything in the Archery, Sneak, and Light Armour trees (in that order) are worth investing in. Overdraw boosts your base bow damage in increasingly powerful increments. Hunter's Discipline lets you recover twice as many arrows from corpses. Quick Shot lets you draw your bow 30 percent faster. In the Sneak tree, the aforementioned Deadly Aim is a must, making sneak attacks with bows three times as powerful. Muffled Movement also reduces the amount of noise you make while moving around stealthily.

There are a lot of stealth archer guides out there with their own ideas about how best to go about it, but I particularly like this one by Hyp0xia, which suggests rolling a female character. Completing a quest called The Heart of Dibella grants you the Agent of Dibella passive ability, which makes you deal +10 percent damage against members of the opposite sex. Since most enemies in Skyrim are male, this can be a very useful buff to carry with you if your character is female. A permanent 10 percent damage boost is well worth having.

There are countless other ways to improve your archery and sneaking skills in Skyrim, but the tips above are a good place to start. Playing the game this way might have become a cliché, but for good reason. There's something hugely rewarding about sneaking unseen through an enemy camp and silently killing everyone there without raising the alarm. If you want more ways to play Skyrim, I've also written a few handy guides on how to play it as an NPC, a pure mage, an illusionist, a pacifist, an unarmed brawler, and a mudcrab.

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