Is archery this hard?

[Inafog]

There is on YouTube a 4.5 minute item called "Oblivion -- The Power of an Archer." Can anyone let me know if this is what archers can expect at higher levels? Because I--a new player--was planning to be an archer, but if this is typical I may take up something else. Perhaps herbology.

 

http://youtu.be/BTGQ4-_C1o4

 

N.B.: He starts with 145 arrows

[Lanceor]

Goblin warlords and Goblin Shamans have among the highest health at high levels. They are leveled which means that if you are something like level 55, their hit points are quite ridiculous. Even with an overpowered melee weapon, it takes forever to kill them.

 

Archery does tend to have lower DPS than melee weapons in general. This is made up for by the fact that you can use sneak attacks from a distance and stay undetected far more easily, allowing for follow-up sneak attacks. They are also the ideal weapon with which to deliver poison, and with a high Alchemy skill, you can create some obscenely powerful poisons.

[Maskar]

Although I don't usually use archery myself it's imo not underpowered compared to the blade/blunt skill, but as already said, Goblin Warlords level with the player character and have 30 health for every level. So, at level 30 they will have 900 health. A Daedric Warhammer (hardest/slowest hitting 2 handed weapon) does about 30 damage when having 100 strength and 100 blunt skill. A Daedric Bow + Daedric Arrow does about 37 damage when having 100 agility and 100 marksman skill. If anything, it seems bows are slightly stronger than melee weapons.

[JudgeD]

My personal preference with Goblin Warlords is to have 85 armor (max) along with damage reflect/resist normal weapons, though this takes getting certain armor/amulets/rings and is more probable at lvl 25+ (unless you use mods). They will kill themselves before you will a good bit of the time I've found. If sneak/archery/agility is high enough, you can get in 3 or 4 sneak attacks before they even come close to you. Having said that, at lvl 25-30 and higher, goblins will all be Warlords and Shamans, making a stealthy approach the best way to take them out, though another (and messier) way I've found are large scale destruction spells. Sneak attack with a high level elemental enchanted sword + paralyze may also work.

Edited August 11, 2013 by JudgeD

[TenShadows]

As usual with Oblivion's more unlikeable design choices, you can just mod it out if it bothers you. Deadly Reflex and a bunch of other mods are available to add to its power.

 

And honestly, bows aren't that much worse than melee weapons: basically everything becomes ridiculously weak in unmodded Oblivion at higher levels, except maybe magic.

[Inafog]

I have installed Francesco's mod, which should alleviate much of this levelling problem. I'm glad I learned about the problem before I progressed past level 5 or so.