Skyrim How To Increase Archer Dmg

How

For The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on the Xbox 360, a GameFAQs Q&A question titled 'What are the Arrow and Bow Damage Calculations?'

For almost all character builds, knowing the best weapons in Skyrim for each type is going to be worthwhile. Some are available early on, too, through side quests or otherwise, which can be a massive help for playthroughs on harder difficulties, or for those with a burning desire to power through to Skyrim's late-game content.

Skyrim best weapons explained

Whether you're looking to tackle some of the more bizarre Daedric quests, or power-level your Smithing to craft Dragonbone and Daedric weapons, the weapon rankings below should be of some use to you, but before you dive in there are a couple of quick things to bear in mind about how we've structured it all:

  • If you're looking to craft or enchant your weapons, be sure to check out our detailed guide to power-levelling Smithing and Enchanting skills to hit that level cap and craft the best weapons in the game as quickly as possible.
  • An 'N/A' for Perk means you need to boost your Smithing past 100 with Alchemy to improve it beyond Flawless - specifically, you need to max your Smithing level to 100 and then use potions of Fortify Smithing to boost it beyond that, at which point the weapons in question, which don't benefit from any of the Smithing skill Perks, can then be improved beyond Flawless quality.
  • The weapon sections below, excluding the Bows and Crossbows, are in order of lowest to highest damage and weight - so daggers first, with their low damage and low weight, moving ending with the heaviest and highest-damage Warhammers.
  • For bows, higher weight means faster arrow travel speed, and normally a slower nocking speed.
  • For one- and two-handed weapons, a higher weight means a slower swing speed, so for the most damage-per-second you'll want a combination of high base damage and low weight.
  • If a weapon is listed as not enchantable, that will generally mean it's not disenchantable, either.
  • We'll give a little extra context for our rankings in each section, but bear in mind we're considered damage-per-second here, too, so in many cases weight is just as important as raw damage!
  • Unique items are marked with an asterisk * and we've briefly explained how to get them in that section's notes. Standard items like Daedric weapons, meanwhile, can always be found through either random loot or crafting.
  • Stalhrim weapons' Frost Damage bonus is actually more powerful than it looks - the 'Chaos Damage' enchantment, which has a 50% chance of dealing 25 fire, frost, and shock damage simultaneously, is also boosted, making it an extremely potent choice for skilled enchanters.

The best Bows and Crossbows in Skyrim

A couple quick things to note about the bows and crossbows below:

  • The Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow is part of the Dawnguard questline, and can only be obtained if you side with the Dawnguard over the Vampires. This specific type of crossbow is available to craft or buy after finding the schematic in one of the sis 'Ancient Technology' quests.
  • Crossbows, whilst generally more powerful than bows in terms of damage, take a fair bit longer to fire each shot. They can also be equipped with exploding bolts of various damage types, too, which stack with any enchantments on the crossbow itself.
  • Zephyr is found in the Dwemer ruin Arkngthamz during the Dawnguard quest 'Lost to the Ages'.
  • The Nightingale Bow is found in the Inner Sanctum after you've defeated Arch-Curate Vythur in the Dawnguard quest 'Touching the Sky'.
  • Note that with bows, there is generally a tradeoff between rate of fire and damage, and the choice depends on your playstyle. For stealth characters, higher damage bows like the Dragonbone, Daedric, and Nightingale bows are preferred, as they give you a greater chance of taking characters out in one hit from stealth and remaining undetected. For archers who expect to get in the mix a little more, attack speed is preferred, with bows like Zephyr and Auriel's bow, to help you maximise the stagger effect of your Perks, and deal sustainied damage as quickly as possible in extended combat.
  • In the table, 'DPS' refers to the damage-per-second of the bow, taking into account both the bow's total speed to fully nock and fire and arrow, and it's base damage.
WeaponDamageWeightDPSUpgrade withEffectEnchantable
Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow2221N/ADwarven Metal Ingot, Dwarven SmithingIgnores 50% of armorYes
Dragonbone Bow202015Dragon Bone, Dragon ArmorNoneYes
Auriel's Bow*131113Refined Moonstone, Elven Smithing20 Sun Damage, tripled if target is Undead. Can use Sunhallowed and Bloodcursed ArrowsNo
Zephyr*121012Dwarven Metal Ingot, Dwarven SmithingFires 30% faster than a standard bowNo
Daedric Bow19189.5Ebony Ingot, Daedric SmithingNoneYes
Nightingale Bow*19189.5Ebony Ingot, N/A30 Frost Damage, 15 Shock DamageNo

The best Daggers in Skyrim

Daggers have the highest attack speed and lowest base damage of all weapons in Skyrim, but that doesn't mean they should be ignored. In fact, for all One-Handed skill users, they can be essential:

  • Dual-wielding means that the swing-speed of the fastest weapon is applied to both. So, for duel-wielders, equipping one of the below daggers like Mehrune's Razor, which has a tiny weight of just 3, will apply that same weight to a massive Daedric Mace when put in the other hand.
  • Blade of Woe is acquired from either pickpocketing or killing Astrid of the Dark Brotherhood, or completeing the Dark Brotherhood quest 'With Friends like These'. If you pickpocket it from her before completing that quest, you can in fact obtain two copies of the weapon.
  • Mehrunes Razor is a reward for completing the quest 'Pieces of the Past', if you opt to kill Silus Vesuius.
WeaponDamageWeightUpgrade with ingot, PerkEffectEnchantable
Dragonbone Dagger126.5Dragon Bone, Dragon ArmorNoneYes
Blade of Woe*127Any, Steel SmithingAbsorb 10 healthNo
Mehrune's Razor*113Ebony Ingot, N/A1.98% chance to instantly kill, infinite chargesNo
Daedric Dagger116Ebony Ingot, Daedric SmithingNoneYes
Stalhrim Dagger104.5Stalhrim, Ebony SmithingFrost Damage enchantments 25% strongerYes

The best Swords in Skyrim

Swords are, as you'd expect, the most popular weapons in Skyrim thanks to their versatility and balance of both speed and damage. They're the fastest non-dagger one-handed weapons, but have lower damage than their mace and war axe counterparts.

  • Windshear, firstly, benefits from appears to be a bug, whereby every attack with it will stagger your opponent - even dragons - rendering them completely unable to attack or reatreat as long as you continue to strike them with the right timing. It is only possible to obtain during the Dark Brotherhood quest 'Hail Sithis' on board The Katariah, where it's lodged, Excalibur-like, right at the very top of the ship's prow.
  • Miraak's Sword is obtained by killing Miraak in the Dragonborn quest 'At the Summit of Apocrypha'.
  • Chillrend can be found during the quest 'The Pursuit', inside the tunnels under Riftweald Manor in Riften, and can also be obtained by breaking into Riftwead Manor and accessing the tunnels from inside, after doing a spot of roof-hopping to get inside. Chillrend is levelled, too, meaning you get the stats we've detailed below at level 46 and over.
  • Nightingale Blade is acquired as a reward for completing the Thieves Guild quest 'Hard Answers', and is also levelled, with the maximum stats we detail below gained if you're at level 46 or above.
WeaponDamageWeightUpgrade withEffectEnchantable
Windshear*1110Steel Ingot, Steel SmithingStaggers opponent with every hit; 39% chance to paralyze opponent with block-bashNo
Miraak's Sword*163Ebony Ingot, Daedra Heart, Dwarven SmithingAbsorb 15 StaminaNo
Chillrend*1516Refined Malachite, Glass Smithing30 Frost Damage, Chance to paralyze for 2 secondsNo
Dragonbone Sword1519Dragon Bone, Dragon ArmorNoneYes
Nightingale Blade*1415Ebony Ingot, N/AAbsorb 25 Health and StaminaNo

The best War Axes in Skyrim

There aren't too many exciting options for those who prefer to bear a one-handed axe in Skyrim, but there are still one or two things to note:

  • The Dawnguard Rune Axe is rated first because the 110 damage to undead can in fact be locked in by tempering the axe at a grindstone. It can also be improved with only the Steel Smithing Perk unlocked, making it an exceptional early-game choice. In certain situations, it's one of the best one-handed weapons you can get your hands on.
  • The Rune Axe is acquired by completing the Dawnguard quest 'Lost Relic'.
WeaponDamageWeightUpgrade withEffectEnchantable
Dawnguard Rune Axe*1113Steel Ingot, Steel Smithing10+n damage to undead, where n = number of undead killed since sunriseNo
Dragonbone War Axe1621Dragon Bone, Dragon ArmorNoneYes
Ebony War Axe1517Ebony Ingot, Ebony SmithingNoneYes
Daedric War Axe1518Ebony Ingot, Daedric SmithingNoneYes
Stalhrim War Axe1516Stalhrim, Ebony SmithingFrost Damage enchantments 25% strongerYes

The best Maces in Skyrim

  • The Mace of Molag Bal is acquired from the Daedric quest 'The House of Horrors'.
  • Molag Bal is only 1 damage lower than Dragonbone Mace but is much lighter, meaning a higher overall DPS - but this can be overcome with strong enchantments to the Dragonbone Mace.
  • Same with Stalhrim, this time with the bonus enchantment damage making it a stronger choice overall.
WeaponDamageWeightUpgrade withEffectEnchantable
Mace of Molag Bal*1618Ebony Ingot, N/A25 Magicka and Stamina damage, Soul Trap for 3 secondsNo
Stalhrim Mace1618Stalhrim, Ebony SmithingFrost Damage enchantments 25% strongerYes
Dragonbone Mace1724Dragon Bone, Dragon ArmorNoneYes
Ebony Mace1619Ebony Ingot, Ebony SmithingNoneYes
Daedric Mace1620Ebony Ingot, Daedric SmithingNoneYes

The best Greatswords in Skyrim

Greatswords operate as the fastest, but lowest base damage weapons of the two-handed class. There are few unique ones of note, although the Bloodskal Blade provides an intriguing option.

  • The Bloodska Blade is located next to Gratian Caerellius' corpse in Bloodskal Barrow, during the Dragonborn quest 'The Final Descent'.
WeaponDamageWeightUpgrade withEffectEnchantable
Stalhrim Greatsword2321Stalhrim, Ebony SmithingFrost Damage enchantments 25% strongerYes
Dragonbone Greatsword2527Dragon Bone, Dragon ArmorNoneYes
Daedric Greatsword2423Ebony Ingot, Ebony SmithingNoneYes
Bloodskal Blade*2116Silver Ingot, N/ARanged blast of energy with power attacks that deals 30 damageNo
Ebony Greatsword2222Ebony Ingot, Ebony SmithingNoneYes

The best Battleaxes in Skyrim

The middle tier of heavy weapons, the battleaxe class also plays home to one of the best weapons in the game, Wuuthrad.

  • Wuuthrad is obtained during the Companions mission 'Glory of the Dead' - note that you'll need to place it in the hands of a statue of Ysgramor during the quest, but can be immediately removed after doing so.
  • The HEadsman's Axe can be acquired from two people, Ahtar from Solitude, and the Imperial Headsman in the opening prisoner sequence. It can only be obtained from Ahtar, by their gaining him as a follwer and taking it from him for free, pickpocketing it from him, or killing him and looting his corpse.
WeaponDamageWeightUpgrade withEffectEnchantable
Wuuthrad*2525N/A1.2x Damage vs. Dark Elves, Wood Elves, High Elves, Falmer, and OrcsYes
Stalhrim Battleaxe2425Stalhrim, Ebony SmithingFrost Damage enchantments 25% strongerYes
Dragonbone Battleaxe2630Dragon Bone, Dragon ArmorNoneYes
Daedric Battleaxe2527Ebony Ingot, Daedric SmithingNoneYes
Headsman's Axe*1711UnupgradeableNoneYes

From visual upgrades, to console mods and levelling skills.

Want more help with Skyrim? Find out how to join every guild and faction, how to earn Gold fast, learning about XP and levelling to 100, max Crafting skills, max Warrior skills, max Thief skills and max Mage skills, how to get married, where to buy a house, how to start Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn DLC expansions. If you're on PC, we have a list of console commands and cheats, and you can learn about the remastered version and how to install mods with our Skyrim guide. Finally, with Switch owners, we have Skyrim amiibo support explained to help unlock special Zelda-themed items.

The best Warhammers in Skyrim

The heaviest of heavy weapons, warhammers are the slowest to swing but deal the greatest amount of damage per hit.

  • Volendrung is one of the Daedric artifacts, obtained for completing the Daedric quest 'The Cursed Tribe'.
  • The Longhammer is acquired from the cave Liar's Retreat, southwest of Solitude. It's located next to the body of Rahd, it's former owner.
WeaponDamageWeightUpgrade withEffectEnchantable
The Longhammer*2118Orichalcum Ingot, Orcish SmithingSwings 30% faster than a regular warhammerYes
Volendrung*2526Ebony Ingot, N/AAbsorb 50 StaminaNo
Stalhrim Warhammer2629Stalhrim, Ebony SmithingFrost Damage enchantments 25% strongerYes
Dragonbone Warhammer2833Dragon Bone, Dragon SmithingNoneYes
Daedric Warhammer2731Ebony Ingot, Daedric SmithingNoneYes

Fundamental to any combat-based character you may own, levelling Warrior Skills in Skyrim will often happen naturally. However, occasionally some skills are left behind, like Light Armor on an archer or spellcaster, or blocking for those with strong enough weapons not to need it.

For that reason, we've assmebled all of the best, fastest ways to power-level each of the combat-oriented Warrior skills in Skryim down below - but be sure to have read through our fundamental guide to Skyrim power-levelling, and our guide to maxing Enchantment, if you want to be fully prepared!

The fastest way to max level Block, Light Armor, and Heavy Armor

How to reach level 100 Block

Although often ignored, the Block skill tree can be surprisingly useful, particularly with the level 100 Perk, Shield Charge, which lets you knock down most enemies by sprinting at them with your shield raised. There are a few interesting ways to level it up rapidly:

  • According to the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages wiki, it's possible to reach level 100 Blocking in just 13 minutes. The method involves crafting a full set of Fortify Block enchantments, with the maximum of 40% on each of your shield, hands, finger and neck slots, and using the Aetherial Crown method mentioned above (by the Standing Stones table) to receive all three experience boosts possible. You can then crank the difficulty up to Legendary and attack a Giant, which will see your block rapidly rise to level 100 - we should note that we haven't tested this method ourselves yet however, so results may vary - be sure to save in advance!
  • An alternative is to stun-lock an opponent with shield bash, which you can perform ad infinitum with some strong Fortify Stamina Regen potions or vegetable soup. You gain much more experience from bashing than from blocking, so pick a relatively tough opponent with low attack to use it against repeatedly - summoned Frost Atronachs are one example of a high-health enemy, along with Mammoths and Dwarven Centurions for those at a higher level.
  • Standing behind a training dummy whilst an NPC attacks it means you can take hits without the NPC realising they're hitting you. The Companions' training ground in Whiterun is a good place to start.

How to reach level 100 Light Armor and level 100 Heavy Armor

Light and Heavy Armor are great skills to level for any character who use them, and can be done in a similar fashion to blocking:

Best Archer Skyrim

  • Giants are, again, the best way to level your Light and Heavy Armor skill, as the experience is granted according to the base damage of the damage which hits you - not the actual damage dealt after armor and resistances are calculated.
  • In early levels Giants can kill you in one hit however, particularly in Light Armor, in which case your (hopefully) already levelled Enchanting and Alchemy skills can come in handy: Fortify Health enchantments and potions, coupled with the use of Restoration spells, should be enough to keep you alive.
  • Blocking will mean that you gain no experience towards Light or Heavy Armor.
  • Light or Heavy Armor skill experience is increased the more items of Light or Heavy Armor that you wear.

Skyrim Increase Archery Damage

From visual upgrades, to console mods and levelling skills.

Want more help with Skyrim? Find out how to join every guild and faction, how to earn Gold fast, learning about XP and levelling to 100, max Crafting skills, max Warrior skills, max Thief skills and max Mage skills, how to get married, where to buy a house, how to start Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn DLC expansions. If you're on PC, we have a list of console commands and cheats, and you can learn about the remastered version and how to install mods with our Skyrim guide. Finally, with Switch owners, we have Skyrim amiibo support explained to help unlock special Zelda-themed items.

The fastest way to max level One-Handed, Two-Handed, and Archery

How to reach level 100 One-Handed

One Handed works much the same as defensive skills like Heavy Armor - albeit in reverse. You'll need to deal actual physical damage to a valid enemy to gain experience.

  • The fastest method for levelling One Handed is to attack a target which can take damage, but can't be killed, such as Shadowmere.
  • The experience depends specifically on the base damage of the weapon you use to deal the damage, and not the damage received by the thing you're attacking. That means you should simply choose the highest-damage weapon to attack with for maximum experience gain.
  • Combine this with Restoration spells if you want to level that up too, or simply keep your targeted NPC alive!

How to reach level 100 Two-Handed

Two-Handed works in exactly the same way as One-Handed, and so the same method as above is the most efficient means of levelling it up.

How to reach level 100 Archery

Skyrim How To Increase Archer Dmg Free

Finally, Archery, despite being affected by the Thieft Stone's bonus as opposed to the Warriors, is still officially classed as a combat skill, and so we've kept it here in our Warrior Skill guide.

Skyrim How To Increase Archer Dmg In Windows

  • Much the same as One-Handed and Two-Handed, Archery's XP yields are decided by the damage dealt by each blow, found by the base weapon and, in this case, ammunition damage.
  • In that case, you'll want to follow the same levelling principles as above too: find the highest-damage weapon and ammunition, and either attack a target like Shadowmere, or crank up the difficulty to increase NPC health, and attack a friendly one like a follower who'll never turn on you, then wait for them to heal, and repeat.
  • As above, this combines well with Restoration levelling, as you can alternate between healing and attacking - although it's a little slower to do here as you'll have both hands occupied with your bow or crossbow.

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