The Archer, one of Skyrim's most favored playstyles, will never lose its charm!

In the mountainous terrain of Skyrim, precise archers who stealthily subdue enemies have the greatest advantage. And at Master difficulty, almost all builds gravitate towards the simplicity of effortlessly head-shotting unsuspecting bandits while their friends are none the wiser. By focusing on varying archery styles, today we explore this year’s five most fun archer builds.

5. The Avenger

Skyrim SE Builds - The Avenger - Remastered Build by FudgeMuppet

Origin Story:

Raised by a huntress and a patriotic father, The Avenger’s earliest memories are of training for the hunt, motivated by his father’s stern encouragement to remain true to their Bosmer culture. After his father’s outspoken political words against the rulership of the Aldmeri Dominion, The Avenger’s parents were assassinated by the Thalmor, leaving him orphaned and alone. Now filled with rage, The Avenger traverses the land of Skyrim in search of Thalmor mages and officials to annihilate.

The Avenger seeks to take vengeance for the weak and protect the vulnerable from the Dominion’s cruel rule. Constantly feeling as though I’m cleaning up the streets of Skyrim, I found myself entering combat as though I was a Bosmer Batman. Concerning gameplay, playing as an archer in open combat challenges the cliché Stealth Archer and brings a new thrill to bow-wielding.

In my opinion, The Avenger is a well-built, immersive character that combines the exhilaration of engaging warfare with the satisfaction of slow-motion headshots. There’s no sneaking around the beauty of this build. And its heart-wrenching backstory only brings further gratification when bringing down the Thalmor Embassy and making desolate the Dominion’s strongholds.

Build Strengths:

• The Avenger is a Bosmer with a +10 starting boost to Archery, the ability to command animals for 60 seconds, and 50% resistance to poison and disease.
• The Avenger has a large health pool and sufficient stamina for consistent bow firing in open combat.
• Optional use of Werewolf form using Hircine’s Ring allows him to switch from arrows to claws for access to greater strength and stamina when outnumbered.
• Zephyr fires 30% faster and can be combined with Quick Shot to attack faster than any enemy.
• The Atronach Stone protects The Avenger from 50% spell damage, which is effective against most Thalmor enemies who use Magicka exclusively.
• The Avenger’s focus on the Smithing and Enchanting skill trees enables him to refine his armor and place the necessary enchantments as early as possible.

Build Details:

• Standing Stone:

- The Lover Stone (All skills improve 15% faster) (Beginning stone)

- The Atronach Stone (+50 Magicka, absorb 50% spell damage, recover Magicka 50% slower) (Final stone)

• Stats:

- 60% Health

- 40% Stamina

• Factions:

- Stormcloaks

- Dawnguard (Dawnguard DLC)

- Companions

• Skills:

- Archery

- Light Armor

- Smithing

- Enchanting

- Dragon Shouts:

- Whirlwind Sprint

• Gear:

- Glass Armor (Fortify Stamina and Fortify Stamina Regeneration)

- Glass Boots (Fortify Stamina and Fortify Stamina Regeneration)

- Glass Gauntlets (Fortify Archery and Fortify Smithing)

- Krosis (Dragon Priest Mask) (Lockpicking, Archery, and Alchemy are 20% better)

- Ring + Necklace (Fortify Archery and Fortify Stamina Regeneration)

- Hircine’s Ring

• Weapon:

- Zephyr (30% faster arrow firing than standard)

- Glass Arrows

4. The Pathfinder

Skyrim SE Builds - The Pathfinder - Remastered Build by FudgeMuppet

Origin Story:

After a childhood rivalry turns to lust for blood, The Pathfinder protects her brother by murdering an envious enemy who tries to slit his throat. In an attempt to flee the suspicions placed upon him, The Pathfinder’s older sibling leaves Valenwood, leaving her to pick up the pieces of his disappearance and find him along his path of misery. Chasing after her brother, this masterful huntress will encounter situations that test her loyalty to Y’ffre and the Green Pact.

Try not to get too distracted as you hunt down enemies playing as a scantily clad Wood Elf huntress, who is as adept an archer as she is beautiful. This build is a classic Stealth Archer with a strange twist as most of your targets will find themselves consumed by the huntress soon after they’ve met their demise. Personally, this build was a challenge to complete due to the unique items that she uses and the great lengths you have to go through to acquire them. However, it is the only build I’ve encountered that seamlessly integrates the lore of Bosmer hunting traditions with a weapon that perfectly fits these traditions.

In combat, the expert choice would be to remain in the shadows, using effective stealth to precisely subdue your enemies from a distance. And stopping for a quick bite on the battlefield to replenish Health before taking down your next target. The Pathfinder is weak in close combat, so evading pursuit and sneaking back into the shadows when detected is your best option. 

Build Strengths:

• Bosmer archers begin with the greatest skill boost to Archery, allowing perks to be acquired faster in the Archery skill tree. 
• The Pathfinder uses her Savior’s Hide and natural resistance to reach 100% poison and disease resistance.
• Her use of The Atronach Stone allows the Magicka stat to be ignored completely, focusing instead on a large pool of health which is useful when evading detection.
• Cannibalism increases health and health regeneration during combat.
• Her bow, the Glass Bow of the Stag Prince, increases health and stamina by 25 points if used to kill 100 animals.

Build Details:

• Standing Stone:

- The Atronach Stone (+50 Magicka, absorb 50% spell damage, recover Magicka 50% slower)

• Stats:

- 70% Health 

- 30% Stamina

• Factions:

- Dawnguard (Dawnguard DLC)

- Companions

- Dark Brotherhood

• Skills

- Archery

- Light Armor

- Sneak

- Smithing

- One-handed

• Gear:

- Savior's Hide (Increase Magic Resistance by 15% and Poison Resistance by 50%) (Ill Met by Moonlight Quest)

- Gauntlets of the Old Gods (Bows do 20% more damage)

- Boots of the Old Gods (20% better at sneaking)

- Ring of Namira (+50 Stamina, and feeding on corpses grants increased Health + Health Regeneration)

• Weapons:

- Glass Bow of the Stag Prince (5 points health + stamina received for every 20 animals killed by the bow) (obtained from Falas Selvayn by pickpocketing) (Dragonborn DLC)

- Nordic Sword (Dragonborn DLC)

3. The Relic Hunter

The Relic Hunter [Skyrim Vanilla Rogue Build] S1E5 by Skypothesis

Origin Story:

Raised on the harsh streets of Wayrest, a young child honed her skills in stealth by stealing from prominent citizens and trading her acquisitions for food. Eventually, while crawling through nearby caves and ruins, The Relic Hunter would be born. She discovered that her early thieving skills perfectly allowed her to pursue her passion for finding archaic relics. Sneaking around Draugr with excellent mastery, The Relic Hunter now raids underground tombs and hunts down ancient items lost to history.

The elven Lara Croft takes third place in this list for her brave exploration of Skyrim’s treasure troves and use of a nightmarish bow. Even in the darkest depths of Draugr catacombs and Dwemer bunkers, Auriel’s Bow ignites enemies in a brilliant flame while being backed by impressive base damage. Personally, these dungeon-crawling builds often fail to catch my attention but this one perfectly blends Shouts and stealth to produce a balanced archer. 

As a side note, I would suggest using The Steed Stone found North of the Statue of Merida for an added 100 carry weight, enabling her to remain true to her roleplay and acquire every relic weapon or armor piece she finds. These ancient items can then be displayed beautifully in her Markarth home, Vlindrel Hall. And thankfully for this relic huntress, Skyrim and its DLCs have more than enough opportunities for finding artifacts.

Build Strengths:

• The Relic Hunter makes use of Auriel’s Bow, the most powerful weapon in the game.
• The use of Aura Whisper as a stealth archer is immensely immersive because naturally when approaching targets, whispers would be used but not shouts. 
• Minimal use of Magicka allows more points to be spent on a larger health pool and greater stamina. She only uses simple Restoration magic, allowing her to focus purely on weapon-based combat.
• The Relic Hunter can sell most of her wares to easily acquire the home in Markarth, Vlindrel Hall.
• Focusing on stealth, archery, and one-handed enchantments, The Relic Hunter has greatly enhanced attack and stealth damage.

Build Details: 

• Stats:

- 10% Magicka

- 45% Health

- 45% Stamina

• Factions:

- Thieves Guild

- Dawnguard (Dawnguard DLC)

- College of Winterhold

• Skills:

- Archery

- One-handed

- Smithing

- Enchanting

- Restoration

- Light Armor

- Sneak

• Gear:

- Ancient Falmer Cuirass (Fortify Archery + Fortify Health Regeneration) (Dawnguard DLC)

- Dawnguard Boots (Fortify One-handed + Muffle) (Dawnguard DLC)

- Dawnguard Gauntlets (Fortify Archery + Fortify One-handed) (Dawnguard DLC)

- Copper and Ruby Circlet (Fortify Archery + Waterbreathing)

- Ring and Necklace (Fortify Archery + Fortify one-handed)

• Weapons:

- Auriel’s Bow (20 points sun damage to all enemies and 60 to the undead) (Dawnguard DLC)

- Keening (Chance of absorbing 10 Health, Magicka, and Stamina on strike) (Recommended Soul Trap enchantment)

• Shouts:

- Aura Whisper

- Throw Voice

- Cyclone (Dragonborn DLC)

- Storm Call

• Follower:

- Steadfast Dwarven Spider (Found in Kagrumez)

2. Ghost of Atmora

The Ghost of Atmora [Skyrim Vanilla Archer Build] S1E1 by Skypothesis

Origin Story:

In the dense snow of Atmora, a hunter emboldened by the spirit of the All-maker steadied his shot to carefully and calmly kill a deer in his sight. A trained archer, the Ghost of Atmora is an incarnation of Shor, the creator of the mortal plane of Nirn. He is filled with the spirit of ancient Nord warriors and shares a soul with Ysgramor, the revered leader of the 500 companions. This ethereal hunter represents the Atmoran naturalist way of life in all he does, and he understands the gravity of each kill he makes.

Fighting as an ethereal hunter never ceased to challenge me as most of his armor provides little to no protection and his Forsworn Bow is not even close to being the mightiest in the game. Instead, this build forces you to focus on formulating battle tactics and correctly placing your summoned Atronachs for maximum damage. However, I did find myself in many tight situations where heavier, protective armor would have been more appreciated, but this problem was easily overcome by using Whirlwind Sprint.

The only drawback of this archer build is that the Ghost of Atmora is weak against hordes of enemies; however, effective use of Become Ethereal and a fair amount of sprinting allows you to easily evade your lumbering attackers. Additionally, I found that by remaining undetected and stealthily sniping my targets, I could get through most quests without conjuring a single Atronach. And for combat support, I believe Aela the Huntress suits the Atmoran Ghost’s playstyle and lore best.

Build Strengths:

• Using weakness to frost poison on arrows makes enemies vulnerable against the attacks of your conjured Frost Atronachs.
• Using conjured Atronachs in battle, the Ghost of Atmora can easily take out distracted enemies from a distance.
• The Ghost of Atmora played is a Nord, with 50% Frost resistance and the ability to send enemies fleeing with Battle Cry
• There is incredible lore integration in all areas of the build. For example, the Ghost of Atmora, an incarnation of the bloodthirsty warrior-god Shor, uses a shout called Kyne’s Peace. In Nordic lore, Shor and Kyne are married, which is likely why the Ghost knows this shout.

Build details:

• Stats:

- 33.3% Health

- 33.3% Stamina

- 33.3% Magicka

• Factions:

- Dawnguard (Dawnguard DLC)

- Companions

• Gear:

- Skaal Coat

- Skaal Gloves

- Skaal Boots

- Helmet of the Old Gods (+30 Magicka)

• Weapons:

- Forsworn Bow

- Glass Bow of the Stag Prince (5 points health + stamina received for every 20 animals killed by the bow) (obtained from Falas Selvayn by pickpocketing) (Dragonborn DLC)

- Forsworn Arrows

• Potions:

- Fortify Marksman and Regenerate Health

- Weakness to Frost Poison

• Shouts:

- Ice Form

- Frost Breath

- Kyne’s Peace

- Become Ethereal

• Skills:

- Archery

- Alchemy

- Conjuration

- Light armor

- Smithing

1. The Jade Huntress

The Jade Huntress [Skyrim Vanilla Combat Archer Build] S4E3 by Skypothesis

Origin Story:

In search of adventure and freedom, a beautiful Bosmer huntress escapes her destiny as the next Wilderking, leader of the Greenshade tribes, and chooses instead to battle dragons and crawl through Dwemer caves. This determined Jade Huntress enters battle with wild flair, pinning her enemies to trees and calling for support from the beasts of Skyrim’s vast lands. Some day she may return to her natural roots and accept the throne, but right now she’s more than satisfied to use her innate abilities to traverse Skyrim’s woodlands and dragon-infested mountains.

Finally, this list is graced by a true archer. The Jade Huntress doesn’t use any other weapon but her trusted bow to blaze into battle, dodging fatal spells and arrows while sending a barrage of attacks at her opponents. By incorporating some sly glitches with the Amulet of Talos, this dextrous huntress can consistently bombard exposed enemies with fierce offensive Shouts. She’s a truly overpowered archer who uses her agility and precision to find success in any situation.

Personally, this build proved to be the most fun on the list because I rarely used Shouts in open combat which always proves challenging. And this build can entice new and even veteran players with its thrill and excitement; your heart will never beat faster than when attacks flash past you as you pick off your enemies one by one. This build offers the best balance an archer could ask for, sufficient protection, a powerful bow, and enough stamina to run circles around an army. The Jade Huntress doesn’t waste time in the shadows; she initiates war with all standing in her way.

Build Strengths:

• The Jade Huntress implements speed and agility to prove herself as a masterful huntress in open combat who can easily surpass her enemy’s skill.
• She has a masterful array of shouts, allowing her to dash around the battlefield and evade enemy attacks.
• Her use of Animal Allegiance speeds up the acquisition of the health and stamina boosts from killing 20 animals with Glass Bow of the Stag Prince as animals will become docile and approach the huntress.
• As a Bosmer, The Jade Huntress receives 25 Archery from the beginning allowing her to wield a bow as soon as possible.
• Using the Amulet of Talos glitch, she doesn’t need heavy armor as barely any opponents can attack faster than the huntress.

Build Details:

• Weapons:

- Glass Bow of the Stag Prince (5 points health + stamina received for every 20 animals killed by the bow) (obtained from Falas Selvayn by pickpocketing) (Dragonborn DLC)

- Iron Arrow

• Gear:

- Leather Boots

- Leather Bracers

- Temple Priest Hood (Dragonborn DLC)

- Glass Armor

- Amulet of Talos (20% Reduced time between Shouts)

- Ring of Peerless Magicka

• Spells:

- Whirlwind Cloak (Dragonborn DLC)

• Shouts:

- Cyclone (Dragonborn DLC)

- Whirlwind Sprint

- Animal Allegiance

• Potions:

- Slow Poison

• Stats:

- Health 33.3%

- Stamina 66.7%

• Standing Stone:

- Steed Stone (+100 carry weight and no movement penalty from armor)

• Skills:

- Archery

- Smithing

- Destruction

- Light Armor

- Alchemy

You may also be interested in:

• [Top 15] Skyrim Best Builds of All Time
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• [Top 10] Skyrim Best Builds for Legendary Playthrough