Skyrim modder completely overhauls archery to make it more realistic


Some archers in Skyrim.

Modders have put an awful lot of effort into making sure Skyrim has continually evolved and expanded in the years since it was first released into the world.

Many have focused on changing the game by overhauling iconic quests, revamping menus, and adding interesting player homes to it, with a few even going as far as turning the province into a maze of mysterious doors or adding Pong to its loading screens.

However, sometimes the mods that stick around longest in load orders are the ones that can help you to fully immerse yourself in the world of Tamriel, with a new mod offering some adjustments which might aid archers in their quest to do just that.

Get ready to truly master the art of ranged combat in Skyrim

The mod in question is called ‘Skyrim Arrow Overhaul’, and is the work of modder MaGlas. Some of their previous work has given OG Skyrim’s books 12th-century fonts and brought a bunch of fresh retro fashion to Fallout 4.

This time, they’ve decided to switch up how archery works, adding new skills, arrow types and changes to stamina that you’ll have to master if you want to become the province’s top crack shot.

From the moment you pick up your first bow and start to learn how to take out foes from afar, you’ll be earning skill points to invest into upping your stamina in order to draw your bow more effectively and progress up a completely redesigned perk tree, which has been divided into separate lanes featuring abilities related to strength, focus, trickshotting and fletching.

All of these paths will give your character different strengths to exploit in combat, though some of the onus in those situations will be on you, with a newly introduced range of arrowheads making ammo selection much more important.

Try to shoot at an enemy wearing full plate without switching to arrows that can pierce armour? Get ready to watch your shots ricochet off them without doing much damage. Hunting a bandit dressed head-to-toe in fur at night? Switching to fire arrows might be a good idea. About to head into an ancient Nordic ruin? Silver arrows will allow you to be more effective against the undead.

Whereabouts you hit with your projectiles will also influence the kind of injuries you can inflict, thanks to the fact that the mod uses Tossapon’s ‘Archery Locational Damage’ to make blows to places like the head and neck much more deadly.

The mod also makes some immersive changes to quivers, allowing you to allocate a maximum amount of arrows that can be carried at once and eliminating some of the clipping issues that might affect your immersion.

Regardless of whether your Dragonborn is now busily scheduling some target practice sessions to help hone their aim, make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the interesting world of Skyrim modding. You can also check out our mods of the month for December 2022 and what we want from Starfield’s eventual modding scene.

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