Magic vs. Bows

[cyronarxes]

I have been pondering awhile on what the differences are between using magic and bow. The only difference i saw was that bows could use a sneak shot and magic can not. as a matter of fact, this is the only advantage bows have over magic. Even then, stealth shots do not inflict that much more damage. To me, i find that magic is superior in every other way. here are a list of reasons

 

1) magic is weightless, bows and arrows are not and can be cumbersome

 

2) magic can regenerate and is infinite, bows must be repaired and arrows are finite

 

3) Magic does more damage and can have an area affect

 

4) Magic is not as expensive as bows and arrows such as ebony (What i mean is to learn magic, you only have to pay 100,000 gold once, with arrows, you have to keep buying

 

5) Sometimes, spells don't cost money, you can learn them from books (You must have the official spell Tomes mod) yet arrows on enemies is so few that you usually have to buy them.

 

These are the main reasons why i would prefer magic over bows. Anyone who objects may gladly propose there opinion as long as it is in a reasonable and polite manner. So tell me, if any of you prefer bows, Why?

 

P.S.- no flaming please, everyone is entitled to they're own opinion and i don't want this thread closed because of immature behavior so please be polite and have fun 8).

[Vagrant0]

You forgot something. Bows require some skill to judge distance, movement, and the weight of the arrows, Magic is mostly point and die. Sure, magic has an advantage, until you tweak some bow settings and get good with using one. There are few things more entertaining than being able to shoot one arrow after another and have them hit at the same time due to adjusting the angle of firing. Can't do that with magic. Also, you can run out of magic faster than arrows since when you're using magic you have to keep casting till it's dead, as well as try to keep yourself alive, with Bows, you have as many shots as you have arrows, and can go back and pick up your missed shots, as well as any that are on whatever you killed (another setting everyone should have changed). Besides, bows are cooler.

[ninja_lord666]

Simply put, bows are better:

 

1) While the magic itself is weightless, potions weigh a lot more that arrow do, and it's impossible to rely on magic for all your damage output if you don't have a decent stock of potions.

 

2) While mana *can* regenerate, it's very slow at lower levels and can't be relied upon in the midst of battle. Arrows, on the other hand, can be carried in surplus as they typically weigh only .1 pounds. Arrows can also be retrieved from enemies.

 

3) While magic *can* do more damage, the mana cost skyrockets if you have too high of a damage.

 

4) One spell: 100,000+ gold; One iron arrow: 1 gold...It's obvious which is a better deal. 100,000 arrows will last you a LONG time...probably forever.

 

5) You can't compare modded spells to vanilla arrows. Also, I'd have to disagree on your theory of "arrows are rare." I have in a chest at home over 2K iron arrows, 6K steel arrows, 2K silver arrows, 1K dwarven arrows, 2K elven arrows, 1K daedric arrows, 600 ebony arrows, plus a bunch of different types of dremora arrows...and that's all from enemies.

 

6) Also, bows are a must for stealth units. If you cast a spell, you're found, and thieves and assassins don't have enough defense or health to face off toe to toe against a bandit or dremora. With bows, if you're far enough away, you can sneak attack the enemy and not be found. Thus, you could possibly take out the enemy without being seen.

 

That is why bows are better.

[cyronarxes]

Simply put, bows are better:

 

1) While the magic itself is weightless, potions weigh a lot more that arrow do, and it's impossible to rely on magic for all your damage output if you don't have a decent stock of potions.

 

2) While mana *can* regenerate, it's very slow at lower levels and can't be relied upon in the midst of battle. Arrows, on the other hand, can be carried in surplus as they typically weigh only .1 pounds. Arrows can also be retrieved from enemies.

 

3) While magic *can* do more damage, the mana cost skyrockets if you have too high of a damage.

 

4) One spell: 100,000+ gold; One iron arrow: 1 gold...It's obvious which is a better deal. 100,000 arrows will last you a LONG time...probably forever.

 

5) You can't compare modded spells to vanilla arrows. Also, I'd have to disagree on your theory of "arrows are rare." I have in a chest at home over 2K iron arrows, 6K steel arrows, 2K silver arrows, 1K dwarven arrows, 2K elven arrows, 1K daedric arrows, 600 ebony arrows, plus a bunch of different types of dremora arrows...and that's all from enemies.

 

6) Also, bows are a must for stealth units. If you cast a spell, you're found, and thieves and assassins don't have enough defense or health to face off toe to toe against a bandit or dremora. With bows, if you're far enough away, you can sneak attack the enemy and not be found. Thus, you could possibly take out the enemy without being seen.

 

That is why bows are better.

:closedeyes: True, but you kind of forgot something. with mages and spell swords, they have mucher higher intellegence and willpower so therefore can use they're magic for a long time before needing o use any potions. also, the potions are evened out and should not be used in the argument. Why? because fighters and rouges depend on health potions a lot. While magic oriented characters hold a lot of mgic potions, they carry little to none health potions as they use they're magic to replenish lost health. Therefore, the potion factor is canceled out. and obviously a iron arrow won't cost much as it sucks. but when buying daedric and ebony, it can be very expensive. Vagrant0, i did not forget that factor. Rather i see that as more of a disadvantage. You see, with bows, you must hit the person exactly. with magic, even if you miss them and only hit near them, they will still recieve splash damage. also cating and throwing spells is quicker than stringing and releasing a bow. In my opinion, magic is like a gun, while bows are just bows.

[Rhydderch Hael]

... :closedeyes: True, but you kind of forgot something. with mages and spell swords, they have mucher higher intellegence and willpower so therefore can use they're magic for a long time before needing o use any potions.

There are many things to be remembered, and forgotten, when trying the press an argument so obdurately. Rogues have great sneaking and acrobatics skills which place them in positions where they're relatively safe from attack. So while you try to take a rogue to task about their mana reserves and regeneration, I have to ask how many mages you've seen kill a someone while perched atop the crumbling walls of a ruined fort?

 

Remember Castle Kvatch and the Dremora archers raining arrows down on you from the battlements? How much of a pain, how much effort did we expend to attack those guys because we could neither get a consistently clear shot, nor get close enough so that terrain no longer mattered?

 

also, the potions are evened out and should not be used in the argument. Why? because fighters and rouges depend on health potions a lot.

Fighters need health potions in order to remain standing on the line. A rogue simply doesn't get hit in the first place.

 

 

 

... and obviously a iron arrow won't cost much as it sucks. but when buying daedric and ebony, it can be very expensive.

The cost of an arrow has absolutely no bearing on just how deadly that double-damage Silence poison is going to be once its introduced into a Necromancer's bloodstream from fifty yards out. And by the time you need Ebony and Daedric arrows to fight the fight, you will have more than a few opportunities to scavenge such rounds with safety and ease— if you're savvy to the ways of your character.

 

That's your underlying fault. You're a mage who thinks rogues suck because when you try to imagine what a rogue's life is like, you're thinking of a mage holding a bow who's still worried about mana and numbers and what'll happen if the bad guy closes to knife-fighting range.

 

A rogue, thinking like a rogue, is thinking about using vertical terrain for an advantage, and the best approaches that magnify his advantages while negating his target's.

[ninja_lord666]

:closedeyes: True, but you kind of forgot something. with mages and spell swords, they have mucher higher intellegence and willpower so therefore can use they're magic for a long time before needing o use any potions. also, the potions are evened out and should not be used in the argument. Why? because fighters and rouges depend on health potions a lot. While magic oriented characters hold a lot of mgic potions, they carry little to none health potions as they use they're magic to replenish lost health. Therefore, the potion factor is canceled out. and obviously a iron arrow won't cost much as it sucks. but when buying daedric and ebony, it can be very expensive. Vagrant0, i did not forget that factor. Rather i see that as more of a disadvantage. You see, with bows, you must hit the person exactly. with magic, even if you miss them and only hit near them, they will still recieve splash damage. also cating and throwing spells is quicker than stringing and releasing a bow. In my opinion, magic is like a gun, while bows are just bows.

Even with a high intelligence, you can still only cast powerful spells a couple times while bows can be used as many times as you have arrows.

Actually, a successful rouge has no need of potions. period. If he can remain hidden well enough, he'll never get himself into a melee battle.

Iron arrows are actually quite good. They can be bought almost anywhere, and if you remain hidden well enough, you can keep shooting over and over and over.

As for the arc of the arrows, that is quite good. If you have detect life, you can be in sneak mode behind a short wall or rock and shoot over it while magic can't.

One more thing, while magic *can* have area of effect damage, adding it will very quickly bolster up both the gold cost and mana cost of spells. It's really only effective to have either damage or splash.

 

Edit: is seems Rhydderch Hael beat me to it :P

[poopgoblin]

Bows are better for stealth characters, and funner and more satisfying to use, but for me, magic is more practical. Because you can quickly and easily cast spells in Oblivion, I usually put a spell into my enemy, block, slash with sword, back-off while throwing another spell, and repeating.

[Vagrant0]

Vagrant0, i did not forget that factor. Rather i see that as more of a disadvantage. You see, with bows, you must hit the person exactly. with magic, even if you miss them and only hit near them, they will still recieve splash damage. also cating and throwing spells is quicker than stringing and releasing a bow. In my opinion, magic is like a gun, while bows are just bows.

Adding area effects to spells increases their requirements and magicka usage... If you rely on such things to kill you'll really be in trouble when you face something strong. With bows, you always have to hit, so you get good practice making your shots count.

 

Then there are poisons, which can do neat little things like paralyze, damage strength, damage speed, damage fatigue, which can all buy you that extra advantage when you need it. With magic, such things only further deplete your ability to kill. Sure, you could probably poison a melee weapon to get the effect, but if they're already that close, you've got problems.

 

Personally, I go with a more hybrid, approach, Magic (alteration and restoration) to keep me alive and improve my abilities when needed, and bows to do damage. If I run out of arrows, I usually have a damage/absorb health spell in my book as a last ditch effort.

[cyronarxes]

Vagrant0, i did not forget that factor. Rather i see that as more of a disadvantage. You see, with bows, you must hit the person exactly. with magic, even if you miss them and only hit near them, they will still recieve splash damage. also cating and throwing spells is quicker than stringing and releasing a bow. In my opinion, magic is like a gun, while bows are just bows.

Adding area effects to spells increases their requirements and magicka usage... If you rely on such things to kill you'll really be in trouble when you face something strong. With bows, you always have to hit, so you get good practice making your shots count.

 

Then there are poisons, which can do neat little things like paralyze, damage strength, damage speed, damage fatigue, which can all buy you that extra advantage when you need it. With magic, such things only further deplete your ability to kill. Sure, you could probably poison a melee weapon to get the effect, but if they're already that close, you've got problems.

They're are also spells that poison, paralyze , put people to sleep, damage attributes and do much more you know.

[Vagrant0]

They're are also spells that poison, paralyze , put people to sleep, damage attributes and do much more you know.

Yes, and as said, those reduce your amount of magic available, so aren't too practical in the long run. They also require increasing of the related spell skills, while poisons can be bought, looted, or made with only one skill.