Skyrim - Ranged Weapons
Ranged weapons are one of the main ways to fight. Ranged weapons in Skyrim primarily include bows and arrows, and crossbows and bolts. These weapons strike enemies from a distance, which gives an edge in many fights.
The Archery Skill decides how well these weapons perform. As the Archery skill rises, these weapons deal more damage. The damage rises further through smithing, weapon enchantments and Sneak Skill.
Bows
Bows are a ranged weapon used by archers in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Bows come in various types across Skyrim, each differing in damage, arrow speed, weight, how quickly they shoot, and their value. They are always held with both hands while in use. The table below lists every standard and unique bow in Skyrim and where to find it, to help pick the best bow for a character build.
The overall damage a bow does is based on the base damage of the bow, the player's archery perks and skill level and the base damage of the arrows being used. Arrows can also land critical hits, which raise the damage even further. When sneak attacks are taken into consideration, faster attacking bows like Zephyr are capable of outputting more damage than others.
| Name | Image | Damage | Speed | Weight | Value | Enchantment | Item ID | Level | Upgrade Material | Crafting Perk | Skill | Unique | DLC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Nord Bow | 
|
8 | 0.875 | 12 | 45 | Enchantable | 000302CA | 1+ | Steel Ingot | Steel Smithing | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Angi's Bow | 
|
7 | 0.937 | 7 | 50 | Cannot be enchanted | 000CC392 | 1+ | Steel Ingot | Steel Smithing | Archery | Yes | Skyrim |
| Auriel's Bow | 
|
13 | 1 | 11 | 1000 | 21 points of sun damage. Undead targets take triple damage | XX000800 | 1+ | Refined Moonstone | Elven Smithing | Archery | Yes | Dawnguard |
| Bow of the Hunt | 
|
10 | 0.937 | 7 | 434 | Animals take 20 points of extra damage | 000AB705 | 1+ | Steel Ingot | Steel Smithing | Archery | Yes | Skyrim |
| Daedric Bow | 
|
19 | 0.5 | 18 | 2500 | Enchantable | 000139B5 | 47+ | Ebony Ingot | Daedric Smithing | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Dragonbone Bow | 
|
20 | 0.75 | 20 | 2725 | Enchantable | XX0176F1 | 47+ | Dragon Bone | Dragon Smithing | Archery | - | Dawnguard |
| Drainspell Bow | 
|
14 | 0.875 | 6 | 458 | Absorb Magicka 15 points | 000F82FC | 1+ | Cannot be Upgraded | None | Archery | Yes | Skyrim |
| Dravin's Bow | 
|
7 | 0.937 | 7 | 50 | Cannot be enchanted | 0006B9AD | 1+ | Leather Strips | Steel Smithing | Archery | Yes | Skyrim |
| Dwarven Bow | 
|
12 | 0.75 | 10 | 270 | Enchantable | 00013995 | 12+ | Dwarven Metal Ingot | Dwarven Smithing | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Dwarven Black Bow of Fate | 
|
13 | 0.75 | 10 | 1446 | 50% chance for each attribute to absorb 25 pts. of Health, Stamina, and/or Magicka | XX02C01A | 1+ | Ebony Ingot | Dwarven Smithing | Archery | Yes | Dragonborn |
| Ebony Bow | 
|
17 | 0.562 | 16 | 1440 | Enchantable | 000139AD | 36+ | Ebony Ingot | Ebony Smithing | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Elven Bow | 
|
13 | 0.687 | 12 | 470 | Enchantable | 0001399D | 19+ | Refined Moonstone | Elven Smithing | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Falmer Bow | 
|
12 | 0.75 | 15 | 135 | Enchantable | 00038340 | 1+ | Chaurus Chitin | None | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Falmer Supple Bow | 
|
15 | 0.75 | 20 | 410 | Enchantable | 00083167 | 1+ | Cannot be Upgraded | None | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Firiniel's End | 
|
13 | 0.687 | 12 | 785 | Target takes 20 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina | 00017059 | 1+ | Refined Moonstone | Elven Smithing | Archery | Yes | Skyrim |
| Forsworn Bow | 
|
12 | 0.875 | 11 | 145 | Enchantable | 000CEE9B | 1+ | Steel Ingot | Steel Smithing | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Froki's Bow | 
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 307 | Does 10 points of Stamina damage | 000C0186 | 1+ | Iron Ingot | None | Archery | Yes | Skyrim |
| Gauldur Blackbow | 
|
14 | 0.875 | 18 | 972 | Absorb 30 points of magicka | 000F5D22 | 36+ | Steel Ingot | Dwarven Smithing | Archery | Yes | Skyrim |
| Glass Bow | 
|
15 | 0.625 | 14 | 820 | Enchantable | 000139A5 | 27+ | Refined Malachite | Glass Smithing | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Glass Bow of the Stag Prince | 
|
16 | 0.625 | 14 | 375 | Wielder receives an increasingly powerful blessing for every 20 animals killed by the bow | XX018ED5 | 1+ | Refined Malachite | Glass Smithing | Archery | Yes | Dragonborn |
| Hunting Bow | 
|
7 | 0.937 | 7 | 50 | Enchantable | 0010E2DD | 1+ | Leather Strips | Steel Smithing | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Imperial Bow | 
|
9 | 0.75 | 8 | 90 | Enchantable | 00013841 | 1+ | Steel Ingot | None | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Karliah's Bow | 
|
25 | 0.625 | 9 | 5 | Cannot be enchanted | 000DEED8 | 1+ | Cannot be Upgraded | None | Archery | Yes | Skyrim |
| Long Bow | 
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 30 | Enchantable | 0003B562 | 1+ | Firewood | None | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Nord Hero Bow | 
|
11 | 0.875 | 7 | 200 | Enchantable | 00068C57 | 1+ | Steel Ingot | None | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Nordic Bow | 
|
13 | 0.6875 | 11 | 580 | Enchantable | XX026232 | 26+ | Quicksilver Ingot | Advanced Armors | Archery | - | Dragonborn |
| Orcish Bow | 
|
10 | 0.812 | 9 | 150 | Enchantable | 0001398D | 7+ | Orichalcum Ingot | Orcish Smithing | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Stalhrim Bow | 
|
17 | 0.5625 | 15 | 1800 | Frost Enchants are 25% stronger | XX026231 | 35+ | Stalhrim | Ebony Smithing | Archery | - | Dragonborn |
| Supple Ancient Nord Bow | 
|
14 | 0.875 | 18 | 235 | Enchantable | 0005D179 | 1+ | Cannot be Upgraded | None | Archery | - | Skyrim |
| Nightingale Bow | 
|
19 | 0.5 | 18 | 3405 | Freezes the target for 30 points and shocks the target for 15 points | 000F652C | 46+ | Ebony Ingot | None | Archery | Yes | Skyrim |
| Zephyr | 
|
12 | 1 | 10 | 670 | Fires 30% faster than a standard bow | XX00CFB6 | 1+ | Dwarven Metal Ingot | Dwarven Smithing | Archery | Yes | Dawnguard |
| Bow of Shadows | 
|
19 | 18 | 2500 | Weapon draw is 20% faster and casts invisibility for 30 seconds. | XX000807 | 1+ | Ebony Ingot | Arcane Blacksmith | Archery | Yes | Creation Club | |
| Ruin's Edge | 
|
12 | 0.875 | 7 | 750 | Randomly applies one of these effects to the target: - Demoralize, 100 pts for 20 seconds - Drain Magicka, 1000 pts for 20 seconds - Frenzy, 100 pts for 20 seconds Frost Damage, 25 pts - Paralyze, for 15 seconds Paralyze, for 1 second |
FEXXXD63 | 1+ | Daedra Heart | Daedric Smithing | Archery | Yes | Creation Club |
| Madness Bow | 
|
21 | 0.5 | 21 | 3050 | Enchantable | XX000BE5 | 1+ | Madness Ingot | Quest | Archery | - | Creation Club |
| Amber Bow | 
|
20 | 0.5 | 14 | 2925 | Enchantable | XX000BDC | 1+ | Amber Ingot | Quest | Archery | - | Creation Club |
| Dark Bow | 
|
13 | 0.5 | 10 | 495 | Enchantable | XX000802 | 1+ | Quicksilver Ingot | Daedric Smithing | Archery | - | Creation Club |
| Golden Bow | 
|
11 | 1 | 10 | 495 | Enchantable | XX00080F | 1+ | Gold Ingot | Daedric Smithing | Archery | - | Creation Club |
Bow Types
The Long Bow is the lightest and lowest tier bow in the game. It draws fastest of the common bows but deals the least damage. The Hunting Bow sits just above it.
Heavier bows hit harder but draw more slowly. A Daedric Bow takes much longer to draw than an Imperial Bow, so its higher damage per shot is partly offset by fewer shots. The Dragonbone Bow from the Dawnguard DLC has the highest base damage of the forged bows.
Each bow is improved at a Grindstone with its own material. The Long Bow uses Firewood, and the Hunting Bow uses Leather Strips. Metal bows use an ingot of their metal, such as a Dwarven Metal Ingot for the Dwarven Bow. Bows that need a perk to forge also improve much more once that perk is taken.
Unique Bows
Auriel's Bow is the ancient bow of the elven god Auri-El. It is the reward at the end of Touching the Sky in the Dawnguard DLC. Its enchantment deals sun damage, which harms undead. Shooting the sun with a Sunhallowed Elven Arrow makes it rain beams of light on nearby enemies. A Bloodcursed Elven Arrow blocks out the sun instead.
Zephyr belonged to Katria, an adventurer who died exploring the Dwarven ruin of Arkngthamz. It rests on a fallen tree at the edge of a chasm, found during Lost to the Ages in the Dawnguard DLC. Its enchantment makes it draw much faster than a normal Dwarven Bow.
The Nightingale Bow is Karliah's reward for the Thieves Guild quest Blindsighted. Its enchantment adds frost and shock damage and slows the target. The bow is leveled, so its power depends on the character's level when it is received.
Several bows come from smaller quests. Angi gives Angi's Bow after her archery challenges at her camp. Froki's Bow lies in Graywinter Watch, where Froki sends the hero during Kyne's Sacred Trials. The Gauldur Blackbow is held by Sigdis Gauldurson in Geirmund's Hall, and it is leveled as well.
Other bows wait in hidden places. The Bow of the Hunt rests on an altar in Clearspring Cave beside an Archery skill book. The Dragonborn DLC adds the Dwarven Black Bow of Fate, found in the Dwarven ruin of Kagrumez after its gem puzzles are solved.
Bound Bow
Bound Bow is a Conjuration spell. It summons an ethereal Daedric Bow along with a supply of Daedric arrows for a limited time. The bow vanishes when the spell ends or when the weapon is sheathed.
Because it copies a Daedric Bow, the spell gives a low level character very strong ranged damage. The Mystic Binding perk in the Conjuration tree makes bound weapons stronger still.
A bound bow stays at its base damage, while a real bow keeps improving at a Grindstone. Once Smithing climbs, a well improved real bow eventually deals more damage. A character who trains both Conjuration and Archery can still use the bound bow as a quick backup.
Smithing with Bows
Bows are a common way to train Smithing. With the Dwarven Smithing perk, forging and improving Dwarven Bows gives a lot of experience from cheap Dwarven Metal Ingot. Ebony Bows give even more once the Ebony Smithing perk is unlocked.
Forged bows run from Imperial and Orcish up through Dwarven, Elven, Glass, Ebony and Daedric. The Dawnguard DLC adds the Dragonbone Bow, and the Dragonborn DLC adds the Stalhrim Bow and the Nordic Bow.
A bow can also carry an enchantment, added at an Arcane Enchanter. Enchanted bows need the Arcane Blacksmith perk before they can be improved. The Augmented Flames, Augmented Frost and Augmented Shock perks from Destruction raise elemental bow enchantments as well.
Crossbows
Crossbows are the most powerful ranged weapons in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and they use bolts as ammunition. The table below lists every crossbow in Skyrim and where to find it.
Bows Vs Crossbows:
- Damage: Crossbows have higher base damage than bows.
- Fire Rate: Crossbows have a slower fire rate than bows.
- Accuracy: Crossbows are slightly less accurate than bows.
- Armor and Enchantment: Enhanced crossbows ignore 50% of enemy armor and can still be enchanted. Every crossbow has a 50% chance to stagger.
- Noise: Crossbows create more noise when fired than bows, making them hard to sneak with.
The Dawnguard Crossbows
Crossbows arrive with the Dawnguard DLC. They are the weapon of the Dawnguard, an order of vampire hunters based at Fort Dawnguard. Even the plain Crossbow has the same base damage as a Daedric Bow, which makes it a strong early ranged weapon.
The Dawnguard DLC adds four crossbows. The Crossbow and the Enhanced Crossbow are the basic pair. The Dwarven Crossbow and the Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow are heavier and hit harder. Every Enhanced crossbow ignores half of the target's armor, and it can still take a normal enchantment.
These four are forged only at Gunmar's forge in Fort Dawnguard. That forge appears after the hero sides with the Dawnguard in A New Order. Sorine Jurard then teaches how to make the basic Crossbow. The Crossbow needs Steel Ingot and Firewood, and the two basic crossbows use the Steel Smithing perk.
Ancient Technology
The better Dawnguard crossbows come from a chain of tasks for Sorine Jurard called Ancient Technology. She asks for Dwarven schematics hidden in ruins across Skyrim. Each schematic she receives unlocks a new item at the forge.
The first schematic unlocks the Enhanced Crossbow, which is made from a Crossbow and Corundum Ingot. A later schematic unlocks the Dwarven Crossbow, built from Dwarven Metal Ingot. The last one unlocks the Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow, which adds Quicksilver Ingot. The Dwarven crossbows use the Dwarven Smithing perk.
The same tasks also unlock exploding bolts. Fire, ice and shock bolts each burst with elemental damage on impact. Exploding bolts are forged only at Gunmar's forge, and they can be picked up again after they are fired.
Creation Crossbows
The Expanded Crossbow Pack Creation adds eight new crossbow types. They come in Imperial, Orcish, Silver, Nordic, Glass, Stalhrim, Daedric and Dragonbone. All of them are sold at the Fletcher in Solitude. After one has been bought, it can be forged at any Forge, along with its Enhanced form.
The Elite Crossbows Creation adds the Elven Crossbow and the Ebony Crossbow. Reading Kragrash's Letter at Ironback Hideout, a bandit camp in Haafingar, starts the quest Night Hunter. The quest opens a hidden cellar that once belonged to an Orc vampire hunter. After the quest, both crossbows and their Enhanced forms can be forged.
Bolts and Combat
Crossbows fire bolts instead of arrows. The Steel Bolt and the Dwarven Bolt are the two common types. One piece of Firewood and one ingot make a batch of ten normal bolts at any Forge.
Bolts fly faster and straighter than arrows, which makes it easier to hit a moving target. Members of the Dawnguard can also buy bolts at Fort Dawnguard.
Crossbows use the Archery Skill, so the skill raises their damage just as it does for bows. The Eagle Eye and Steady Hand perks also work with a crossbow for zooming in and slowing time. Crossbow hits often stagger an enemy, which arrows do much less.
The trade off is speed. A crossbow takes longer to reload than a bow takes to draw. Each shot needs to land, because a miss leaves a long gap before the next one.
How a Shot Works
A bow shot deals the bow's damage plus the arrow's damage. A better arrow therefore raises damage as much as a better bow. The gap between Iron and Daedric arrows is wider than the gap between most Iron and Daedric weapons. Switching to better arrows is a quick way for an archer to raise damage.
The draw matters too. Releasing an arrow before the bow is fully drawn cuts its damage sharply. A full draw always deals full damage. A drawn arrow can be put back without firing by pressing the sheathe button.
Arrows fly in an arc and lose height over distance. Shots at long range need to aim a little above the target. A moving target needs a lead, because arrows travel fairly slowly. Every hit deals the same damage wherever it lands, so a head shot is no stronger than a hit to the foot.
Arrows can often be recovered. Some of the arrows that hit an enemy end up in its inventory, and missed arrows can be picked up from the ground. The Hunter's Discipline perk doubles the number recovered from bodies.
Archery Perks
The Archery Skill tree starts with Overdraw. Its five ranks raise bow damage step by step, and the fifth rank doubles it. Critical Shot adds a chance of critical hits in three ranks.
Several perks help with aiming. Eagle Eye at 30 skill lets the archer zoom in by pressing Block while aiming. Steady Hand at 40 skill slows time while zoomed in, and its second rank slows it further. These two perks make long shots at moving targets far easier.
Power Shot at 50 skill makes arrows stagger all but the largest enemies half of the time. Quick Shot at 70 skill draws the bow thirty percent faster. Ranger at 60 skill lets the archer move faster with a drawn bow. Bullseye at 100 skill gives each hit a chance to paralyze the target for a few seconds.
Sneak attacks multiply bow damage as well. The Deadly Aim perk in the Sneak Skill tree makes bow sneak attacks deal three times damage. A hidden archer can often kill a target before it ever finds the shooter.
Bows or Crossbows
Bows are the main ranged weapon of the base game. They use arrows, draw fairly quickly and come in every common material. Heavier bows usually hit harder but draw more slowly. A few unique bows, such as Zephyr and Auriel's Bow, draw faster than any normal bow.
Crossbows come with the Dawnguard DLC. They fire bolts, hit harder than most bows and fly faster and flatter. They reload more slowly than bows, so each shot needs to count.
The Dawnguard faction uses crossbows against vampires. The Crossbow and the Dwarven Crossbow are forged only at the forge in Fort Dawnguard. The Enhanced Crossbow and other Enhanced types ignore half of the target's armor, and they can still be enchanted.
Two Creations add more crossbow types. They come in the materials of the normal weapon ladder, from Imperial up to Daedric and Dragonbone. Unlike the Dawnguard crossbows, these can be forged at any Forge once one has been obtained.
Ammunition
Arrows come in the same materials as bows, from Iron and Steel up to Daedric and Dragonbone. Special arrows also exist, such as the Bound Arrow conjured with the Bound Bow. The Dawnguard DLC adds Steel and Dwarven bolts, plus exploding bolts of fire, ice and shock.
With the Dawnguard DLC installed, ammunition can be forged. One piece of Firewood and one metal ingot make a batch of arrows at a Forge. Bolts are made the same way.
Archers who prefer not to craft can buy arrows from blacksmiths. Iron Arrows can be bought at every character level.
Training Archery
Archery rises with every damaging hit. The gain depends on the bow's base damage. Perks, enchantments, sneak bonuses and arrow quality do not change the gain per hit.
Trainers teach Archery for gold. Faendal in Riverwood covers the early levels, and Aela the Huntress of the Companions trains to the expert level. Niruin of the Thieves Guild in Riften is a master trainer. With the Dawnguard DLC, Sorine Jurard at Fort Dawnguard also trains to master.
Angi offers free training at Angi's Camp. She sets a series of target challenges, and each one completed raises Archery. Five skill books raise the skill as well. They are The Black Arrow, v2, Father of the Niben, The Gold Ribbon of Merit, The Marksmanship Lesson and Vernaccus and Bourlor.
Subcategories
This category has the following 13 subcategories, out of 13 total.
Pages in category "Skyrim - Ranged Weapons"
The following 26 pages are in this category, out of 26 total.
E
- Skyrim:Ebony Crossbow
- Skyrim:Elven Crossbow
- Skyrim:Enhanced Daedric Crossbow
- Skyrim:Enhanced Dragonbone Crossbow
- Skyrim:Enhanced Ebony Crossbow
- Skyrim:Enhanced Elven Crossbow
- Skyrim:Enhanced Glass Crossbow
- Skyrim:Enhanced Imperial Crossbow
- Skyrim:Enhanced Nordic Crossbow
- Skyrim:Enhanced Orcish Crossbow
- Skyrim:Enhanced Silver Crossbow
- Skyrim:Enhanced Stalhrim Crossbow