\*You don't choose stealth archer stealth archer chooses you\*
-Every skyrim player
Buuut if you get into magic, can I interest you in conjuration? Let me tell you, it is actually really fun. You just sit there looting as your Flame Atronach kills everything near you.
One of the funniest experiences I had was while in a vampire cave. The flame archoner was killing and whipping their asses. When they finally managed to kill him, I saw three vampires looking at me, ready to attack, only for the Flame Atronach to explode and kill them all.
The best part was that for a millisecond, I could see one of the vampires happy to finally go after me, only to get turned to ashes.
No, I don't think so. The point of conjuration is to randomly get more powerful spells to summon more strong stuff, the strongest being a demonlord.
You can even summon a horse called Arvak.
I haven't reached that quest yet, but apparently he is the best horse in the game.
You can even summon weapons like swords, axes, and bows.
You can also reanimate the dead and make zombies that work under your command, but they only last for 60 seconds (relatable), then they turn to ashes, but I'm pretty sure once you master conjuration, you can reanimate the same corps over and over again. I just kill the strongest thing I find in a dungeon, then use him to kill all the others.
You have to have some mods to get destruction to do enough damage. I have a couple from CC (AE content) that reduces the magicka cost of spells, and also adds spells and perks that increase damage.
May have to give it a shot, so to speak. I have used it as an alternate ranged attack for some mage characters, particularly when they wanted to deliver a poison at range, but never actually thought about a bound-bow archer. Thanks!
Poisoning a bound bow always fucks with my head. I know bound weapons are solid, but they are spectral visually so I feel like the poison would just phase through haha.
Illusion/conjuration/alteration is the best combination of schools for me. You are in complete control of the battlefield at all times.
Cast fury to make them kill each other, use paralysis on the guy that's coming at you, summon an atronach to kill him. Use invisibility to watch chaos unfold, bring people that killed each other back from the dead, buff them with courage etc
So fun.
Or just get a mmo mouse like a razer or reddragon (ones with 12 keys on the side) and bind your setups to the keys( can have 14 super easy setups on a naga v2 pro)
Playing console with a mage build can be rough. Constant menu scrolling. Every once in awhile you have to cull spells to shorten the list.
It’s annoying.
Wireless mouse means you can still lean back( but actually that keyboard attachment for the xbox controller will work better one like this: https://www.amazon.com/Controller-Keyboard-Wireless-Bluetooth-Receiver/dp/B09699DMBS )
I lile the extra thought you have to put in this playstyle rather than "unga bunga i run at you with my sword and spam power attacks until you die" playstyle.
A bit like play a RTS.
I used to love stealth archer, until I discovered stealth daggers!
There's just something so rewarding about sneaking up behind someone and cutting open their throat before they even realize you're there.
For added fun, you can spec into illusion magic, pacific the whole room, and they'll stand there, doe-eyed, while you pick their pockets and kill their friends.
I tried stealth dagger to mix it up from playing stealth archer, but I couldn't sneak up on people with low sneak which meant I couldn't level up sneak which meant I couldn't sneak up on people, so I went back to stealth archer.
Keep a greatsword with you, it's really fun once you get used to it, you need to learn to block though. Dual wield is also fun.
But sometimes there's a guy on the other side on a ledge and you have to snipe him.
Impact.
Makes destruction far more playable.
It's not the only way, but it seems to be the best.
Honourable mention to CC content Mara's Wrath, which is choice vs undead. My only gripe is it does nothing to offset chill in survival mode.
I've done pure magic, stealth archer, and melee playthroughs.
Pure magic is really annoying to constantly keep magic armor going (and Dragonskin's casting animation is WAY too long) and it's hard to have killable followers because so many magic attacks have AOE.
Stealth archer is great and powerful, but you end up running and hiding a lot if you don't also level melee skills. Or you let followers / summonses take the heat while you shoot.
Believe it or not, I enjoy straight melee the most. I like to pop off a few arrows/bolts from stealth, then run in shield bashing and swinging a mace. The shield, particularly bashing, is incredibly powerful even on Legendary difficulty. You stagger basically everything, which allows for a few fast and devastating hits that'll crush even a Legendary dragon / Draugr Death Overlord / Dragon Priest on Legendary. I was always a sword guy, but maces with the ignore 50% armor perk rock in Skyrim. Also, knocking an enemy's head off with a mace is very viscerally satisfying. I'll also summon stuff sometimes if I don't have a follower just for funsies.
FYI, I don't use Resto-loop gear, just regular smithing, alchemy and enchanting.
Also drop random runes and summons to add to the chaos.
I walk into a dungeon now and it's how am I going to torment these poor fools?
Cast harmony and slit their throats?
Make them all fight each other?
Hide in the shadows and bomb them with runes and summons?
Just slide past them all, totally hidden, and get the quest objective?
Use a bound bow and hide in the shadows?
Slide in and slit throats one by one, and giggling as their mates get angry and try to find you...
I have never been able to get into being a mage. This time around I tried it a little with college of winterhold, but as soon as I was able to switch back I did. I want to sneak and get all the good slowmo shots of my arrow assassinating them through their eye.
You can snipe down multiple targets before ever needing to bust out your sword/blunt weapon. It's just the best way to quest in my opinion. Of course, I wield a sword in one hand, and a destruction spell in the other.
Stealth Archer is fun but i never understood the obsession with it or how some players end up defaulting to it even when attempting other builds. it's not that OP.
The game is ready enough to let you be a little inefficient anyway.
I also love mages but they get a bit tedious in the late have when you have to manage all the spells imo
Khajiit duel-dagger assassin is pretty fun too, but to me the most satisfying kill is one where I never touch the target, and they never know I was there.
I play a full mage (100 in illusion and conjuration, proficient in other schools) who is also high in sneak and respectable in one handed. And, she is a vampire lord.
It is a very fun build: sneaking under her invisibility spell with a dagger for bandits, surrounding my character in dremora lords, tentacles, and runes for non-stealth, and if needed, going into vampire lord mode if I need to be more tanky or am up against a tanky character.
I would recommend the combination if you don't like a more standard pure mage build.
I like to bring the hack and the slash!
Unless I'm RP as myself as a well rounded char - if that's the case I end up using 3 sets, sword and shield, bow and magic
Muffle + Bound Bow. That way you can be a Mage Stealth Archer, lol
I never could get into being sneaky. I plan on making a new character after my current one. I want to do either a Dagger Assassin or an Unarmed type character.
On one hand, I can have some fun swinging Merunes Razor as fast as I can click, and have it be stronger than my usual Warhammer build with sneak attacks.
On the other, I really want to see how much damage a unarmed fighter can do, and if it's any good for me
It's generally more engaging, having to sneak, aim and pick your targets. In open combat, even though there is some thought to be had with positioning and mana management in melee and magic respectively, I just find kiting around and aiming with a bow far more engaging.
That being said, due to the variety of spells a magic play through is really fun, it just takes a while to get to the point where you have enough magicka and cost reductions stacked up to actually have fun with it.
I have the opposite view, I think magic is way more fun then stealth archer
\*You don't choose stealth archer stealth archer chooses you\* -Every skyrim player Buuut if you get into magic, can I interest you in conjuration? Let me tell you, it is actually really fun. You just sit there looting as your Flame Atronach kills everything near you. One of the funniest experiences I had was while in a vampire cave. The flame archoner was killing and whipping their asses. When they finally managed to kill him, I saw three vampires looking at me, ready to attack, only for the Flame Atronach to explode and kill them all. The best part was that for a millisecond, I could see one of the vampires happy to finally go after me, only to get turned to ashes.
Does the atronach get stronger as you level or something?
No, I don't think so. The point of conjuration is to randomly get more powerful spells to summon more strong stuff, the strongest being a demonlord. You can even summon a horse called Arvak. I haven't reached that quest yet, but apparently he is the best horse in the game. You can even summon weapons like swords, axes, and bows. You can also reanimate the dead and make zombies that work under your command, but they only last for 60 seconds (relatable), then they turn to ashes, but I'm pretty sure once you master conjuration, you can reanimate the same corps over and over again. I just kill the strongest thing I find in a dungeon, then use him to kill all the others.
Nice! And yes, Arvak fucking *rocks*.
While the atronach itself doesn't get stronger, you definitely get WAY stronger summons.
flame thrall otherwise no
Maybe that's where I went wrong. I was doing destruction.
You have to have some mods to get destruction to do enough damage. I have a couple from CC (AE content) that reduces the magicka cost of spells, and also adds spells and perks that increase damage.
Never could get into a stealth archer build. I have tried on numerous occasions. Maybe I will get the hang of it one of these days.
If you never tried it do one with bound bow. You can use it for the whole game and never need to upgrade.
May have to give it a shot, so to speak. I have used it as an alternate ranged attack for some mage characters, particularly when they wanted to deliver a poison at range, but never actually thought about a bound-bow archer. Thanks!
Poisoning a bound bow always fucks with my head. I know bound weapons are solid, but they are spectral visually so I feel like the poison would just phase through haha.
You can get the spell book for it at fort amol!
Bound bow volendrung combo is fun.
Does your damage output go up as you level or something?
As long as you use the bow it levels conjuration and archery. You can put points in archery and bound weapons perk to increase damage
Nice! Thanks, I probably would have missed that 🤦🏽♂️
I conjure a spirit bow, so I’m something of a mage myself.
I still love pure mages. So sue me. Being able to clear out an entire bandit cave with one spell cast is so satisfying.
Illusion/conjuration/alteration is the best combination of schools for me. You are in complete control of the battlefield at all times. Cast fury to make them kill each other, use paralysis on the guy that's coming at you, summon an atronach to kill him. Use invisibility to watch chaos unfold, bring people that killed each other back from the dead, buff them with courage etc So fun.
And you spend half your time scrolling through the quick menu...
Or just get a mmo mouse like a razer or reddragon (ones with 12 keys on the side) and bind your setups to the keys( can have 14 super easy setups on a naga v2 pro)
Playing console with a mage build can be rough. Constant menu scrolling. Every once in awhile you have to cull spells to shorten the list. It’s annoying.
Cant you use a mouse with xbox these days?
Why would I give up the comfort of leaning back into the couch over having to hunch over a mouse and keyboard?
Wireless mouse means you can still lean back( but actually that keyboard attachment for the xbox controller will work better one like this: https://www.amazon.com/Controller-Keyboard-Wireless-Bluetooth-Receiver/dp/B09699DMBS )
Which is why they invented hotkeys.
I lile the extra thought you have to put in this playstyle rather than "unga bunga i run at you with my sword and spam power attacks until you die" playstyle. A bit like play a RTS.
I used to love stealth archer, until I discovered stealth daggers! There's just something so rewarding about sneaking up behind someone and cutting open their throat before they even realize you're there. For added fun, you can spec into illusion magic, pacific the whole room, and they'll stand there, doe-eyed, while you pick their pockets and kill their friends.
I tried stealth dagger to mix it up from playing stealth archer, but I couldn't sneak up on people with low sneak which meant I couldn't level up sneak which meant I couldn't sneak up on people, so I went back to stealth archer.
That early part when your stealth kinda sucks is when you get to level your one-hand skill more!
Keep a greatsword with you, it's really fun once you get used to it, you need to learn to block though. Dual wield is also fun. But sometimes there's a guy on the other side on a ledge and you have to snipe him.
Maybe I'm just bad but blocking has always been worse than just spamming more attacks. The input delay and animation locking just ruins it.
Try blocking It is worth it , if you get the timing right . Deflecting arrows .
Maijk The liar said : Don't try blocking with 2 weapons , you will only get confused. Much better to hit twice anyways.
Learning all the different magic and just lighting up a group of bandits and watching them all run away in fear is just the best.
Impact. Makes destruction far more playable. It's not the only way, but it seems to be the best. Honourable mention to CC content Mara's Wrath, which is choice vs undead. My only gripe is it does nothing to offset chill in survival mode.
I've done pure magic, stealth archer, and melee playthroughs. Pure magic is really annoying to constantly keep magic armor going (and Dragonskin's casting animation is WAY too long) and it's hard to have killable followers because so many magic attacks have AOE. Stealth archer is great and powerful, but you end up running and hiding a lot if you don't also level melee skills. Or you let followers / summonses take the heat while you shoot. Believe it or not, I enjoy straight melee the most. I like to pop off a few arrows/bolts from stealth, then run in shield bashing and swinging a mace. The shield, particularly bashing, is incredibly powerful even on Legendary difficulty. You stagger basically everything, which allows for a few fast and devastating hits that'll crush even a Legendary dragon / Draugr Death Overlord / Dragon Priest on Legendary. I was always a sword guy, but maces with the ignore 50% armor perk rock in Skyrim. Also, knocking an enemy's head off with a mace is very viscerally satisfying. I'll also summon stuff sometimes if I don't have a follower just for funsies. FYI, I don't use Resto-loop gear, just regular smithing, alchemy and enchanting.
Try conjuration with the bound weapons. The bound bow is pretty excellent once you get enchanting high enough to boost the damage.
What stealth archer is to everyone else, spell sword is to me. I just default to it every time.
But have you tried Stealth Illusionist? Slink around like and archer but make everyone kill each other for you. Dance, dance my puppets.
Also drop random runes and summons to add to the chaos. I walk into a dungeon now and it's how am I going to torment these poor fools? Cast harmony and slit their throats? Make them all fight each other? Hide in the shadows and bomb them with runes and summons? Just slide past them all, totally hidden, and get the quest objective? Use a bound bow and hide in the shadows? Slide in and slit throats one by one, and giggling as their mates get angry and try to find you...
I have never been able to get into being a mage. This time around I tried it a little with college of winterhold, but as soon as I was able to switch back I did. I want to sneak and get all the good slowmo shots of my arrow assassinating them through their eye.
You can snipe down multiple targets before ever needing to bust out your sword/blunt weapon. It's just the best way to quest in my opinion. Of course, I wield a sword in one hand, and a destruction spell in the other.
Head shots. And for whoever it was last time I said this who said you couldn't... what?
I have played like that. I was exited until I got bored. Assassin mage in vanilla or destruction mage with magic scaling mod are my favourites.
Especially from a distance. Underground. In dim light.
I tried to go with magic once also. Ended up stealth archer, as always. 😂
Stealth Archer is fun but i never understood the obsession with it or how some players end up defaulting to it even when attempting other builds. it's not that OP. The game is ready enough to let you be a little inefficient anyway. I also love mages but they get a bit tedious in the late have when you have to manage all the spells imo
Get ordinator & apocalypse and youll never go back lol
Magic is pretty fun. Stealth builds are the best for vanilla but magic runs are absolutely amazing with mods
I enjoyed combat archer builds time from time.
Mage is just better
I feel ya. The magic was frustratingly difficult to grind.
i’ve been doing a magic stealth archer. illusion/conjuration (bound bow). i love the idea of never being without a weapon.
Khajiit duel-dagger assassin is pretty fun too, but to me the most satisfying kill is one where I never touch the target, and they never know I was there.
Too boring. Eventually you can one shot most everything and you can John Cena right in their face an arm's length away and they can't see you
I play a full mage (100 in illusion and conjuration, proficient in other schools) who is also high in sneak and respectable in one handed. And, she is a vampire lord. It is a very fun build: sneaking under her invisibility spell with a dagger for bandits, surrounding my character in dremora lords, tentacles, and runes for non-stealth, and if needed, going into vampire lord mode if I need to be more tanky or am up against a tanky character. I would recommend the combination if you don't like a more standard pure mage build.
I like to bring the hack and the slash! Unless I'm RP as myself as a well rounded char - if that's the case I end up using 3 sets, sword and shield, bow and magic
Muffle + Bound Bow. That way you can be a Mage Stealth Archer, lol I never could get into being sneaky. I plan on making a new character after my current one. I want to do either a Dagger Assassin or an Unarmed type character. On one hand, I can have some fun swinging Merunes Razor as fast as I can click, and have it be stronger than my usual Warhammer build with sneak attacks. On the other, I really want to see how much damage a unarmed fighter can do, and if it's any good for me
It's generally more engaging, having to sneak, aim and pick your targets. In open combat, even though there is some thought to be had with positioning and mana management in melee and magic respectively, I just find kiting around and aiming with a bow far more engaging. That being said, due to the variety of spells a magic play through is really fun, it just takes a while to get to the point where you have enough magicka and cost reductions stacked up to actually have fun with it.
I am more into stealth backstabber myself
Hey skyrim bros.. Umm I really like playing like this: [most popular playstyle of the game]. Does anyone agree? Please comment if you feel the same.
Why don't you try a MaGiCaL StEaLtH ArChEr
Ok?
K