Elder Scrolls Oblivion: Best Bow Build

Discover everything you need to know about the Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered, including some valuable tips and tricks to maximize its effectiveness.

The Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered is a unique setup that blends stealth and archery for a high damage and tactical playstyle. Using a bow and arrows is essential to deal massive damage from a safe distance. Sneak, Marksman, Light Armor, Blade, and Illusion are the major components of this build, including Khajit and The Shadow. Choosing the best class, attribute, specialization, birthsign, race, and skills is essential, as your gameplay mostly depends on them. From faction and specialization to weapons and armor, everything is crucial for the Bow build. In this guide, we’ll discuss the best Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered, including the best weapons, armor, race, class, specialization, and attributes.

Everything About the Bow Build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion

The Bow build in The Elder Scrolls Oblivion is a highly effective and immersive playstyle that combines ranged combat with stealth tactics. Our build includes skills like Marksman, Sneak, Blades, Light Armor, Illusion, Blade, and Security. Khajit is the best race to choose for this build because it provides you with more stealthy approaches with a bow. Daedric Bow and Daedric Dagger are the best weapons to choose due to their capability to deal massive damage in combat. Use the Sigil Stone’s effects like Frost Damage to eliminate enemies with the frost effect on your weapon.

Weak Potion of Antivenom, Potion of Alacrity, and Strong Potion of Agility are the best potions for the Bow build because they provide more bonuses to your character. Focus on attributes like Agility, Speed, and Strength to enhance the effectiveness of your build. Invest points in Speed to increase your movement speed during combat or while exploring. However, this build has less defense due to the light armor and requires resource management.

Bow Build Pros	Bow Build Cons
Stealth Capabilities	Resource Management
Increased Mobility	Less Defense From Armor
Massive Damage

Build Key Aspect

Below are all the essential aspects of the Bow Build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion:

• Class: Archer
• Race: Khajit
  • Origin: Anequina
• Birthsign: The Shadow
• Attributes: Agility, Speed, Strength
• Major Skills
  • Marksman
  • Sneak
  • Blades
  • Light Armor
  • Illusion
  • Blade
  • Security
• Minor Skills
  • Restoration
  • Mysticism
  • Acrobatics
  • Armorer
• Weapons: Daedric Bow, Daedric Dagger
• Armor: Glass Armor, Shrouded Armor
• Faction: Thieves Guild
• Trainer: Astrid
• Potions: Weak Potion of Antivenom, Potion of Alacrity, Strong Potion of Agility

Class

Archer is the best class to choose for the Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered because it offers major skills like Marksman, Sneak, Blade, and Light Armor. This class is powerful for players who want to focus on stealth and use potions. Archers excel at dealing damage from a distance. Poisons also enhance an Archer’s damage output while battling against tougher enemies. Archers can also equip melee weapons for close-range combat and a bow for long-range engagements. Use the combination of Archery and stealth for devastating sneak attacks.

Use Archer as your best class in the game to enjoy ranged combat and tactical gameplay. Creating a Bow build requires you to select essential things during the early stages. You can choose and make a Custom Class and select the 2 attributes yourself, but the Archer class offers the attributes of Agility and Strength. Also, you need to decide which playstyle you want to optimize for the build. You also have minor skills that boost other attributes, especially Intelligence and Willpower.

Best Race

Khajit is the best race to choose for the Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered. This race is ideal for a pure Bow build, allowing you to excel at sneaking, sneaky melee, or ranged attacks. It offers high agility and speed to become faster and stealthier. You gain +10 bonuses to Sneak, Agility, and Speed. Selecting the best race is essential to enhance the effectiveness of your build. Khajiit start with higher base stats in Agility and Speed. This is beneficial for their agility and movement, making their build more powerful. They have a racial ability called Claws, which deals 15 points of damage and has a 2.5x damage multiplier when power-attacking. This is one of the best playable races due to their natural agility and stealth, which makes them a good choice.

Bosmer (Wood Elf) is also a good option to choose for this build, but it’s less effective than the Khajit. It is less sneaky than Khajiit at first, but better with a bow. Acquiring this race will provide you with bonuses for all the major skills of the Bow. This race grants stats to Agility, Strength, and Endurance. We recommend you choose a race that enhances your attributes and complements other things in your build to become a pure Bow character. The male Khajit is more powerful than the female one because the male has more Strength and Agility. It’s best to choose the Male for Khajit to gain more Strength from the initial stages of the game.

Origin

Anequina is the best origin to choose from the Khajit to complement the Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered. “The harsh region where you lived and trained hardened your body and taught you how to defend yourself, with your bare fists or any weapon you could find”. It’s worth mentioning that stats do not allocate until you select the respective Origin. Male is better for a Bow due to its high Strength and Agility. Each race comes with two origins that determine the background of the character. The male type of Khajit has an additional 10 points than the female Khajit in the game. You will be using a dagger while fighting the enemies in melee range, so having more Strength is essential.

Best Birthsign

The Shadow is the best birthsign to choose for a Bow build in Oblivion Remastered because you gain the ability to become invisible. It provides the Moonshadow that grants a single daily use of Invisibility for 60 seconds. Brithsign is basically a constellation that grants players unique magical bonuses or powers that complement their playstyle. They have lasting effects on your character, so it’s crucial to choose the best one that works well with your Bow build. This allows you to make stealth attacks or reposition yourself in tougher combat.

The invisibility for a duration is extremely useful for sneaking past enemies, ambushing them, or escaping difficult situations. Bow builds usually focus on skills like Sneak, Marksman, Acrobatics, Athletics, and Blade. The Shadow can complement these skills as well, making them even more effective in combat. This is a powerful option for all the players out there to perform stealthy and surprise attacks with the daggers. Choosing the birthsign for your character is the last choice to optimize your Bow build. You need to make some earlier choices while creating a character before leaving the sewer to explore the world.

You can also choose the Thief birthsign for this build because it grants you 10 points to Agility, Speed, and Luck. Agility increases your Marksman and Sneak effectiveness. While Speed makes you move quieter and faster, Luck gives a general bonus to all actions. This is crucial for stealth and quick escapes. +25 Agility is a key attribute for Archers because it enhances their Marksman skill and overall combat effectiveness. This Brithsign grants a solid foundation for a versatile Archer build that can excel in different combat situations and stealth.

Best Attributes

Agility, Speed, and Strength are the best attributes to invest your points in because they increase your damage output, movement, and survivability. The more you invest in these attributes, the more your character becomes a stealthy character. The capacity to carry items will increase, allowing you to carry heavier items easily while exploring the world.

Agility and Speed give you deadly accuracy, top-tier sneaking, and the speed to dominate ranged combat. The other attributes that you can invest in are intelligence, Endurance, Willpower, and Luck. However, these attributes don’t affect your stealthy playstyle more. You can increase three attributes by a total of 5 points at each level and Luck by 1 point. Keep in mind that the attributes are capped at 100.

1. Agility- This skill governs Sneak and Marksman skills.
2. Speed- allows you to increase your movement speed, making it easy to reposition and move around the combat.
3. Strength- allows you to deal massive damage using a dagger in melee combat.

Major Skills

Marksman, Sneak, Blades, Light Armor, Illusion, Blade, and Security are the best major skills to choose for the Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered due to their ability to increase your damage potential, mobility, and survivability. Skills in Elder Scrolls Oblivion are a set of seven skills that you choose at character creation. These skills are initiated at a higher base level. These skills level up faster than the Minor Skills and impact your attribute bonuses along with the character’s leveling. Marksman is the best skill that we recommend using because it increases your damage potential from a bow at a ranged distance.

Blade is a pure combat skill that allows you to deal more damage using sharp weapons. Using weapons like Daggers, Shortswords, Longswords, or Claymores will allow you to deal destructive damage at close range. Make use of Light Armor skill for fast movement, giving you more mobility in tough combat. Skills are unlocked by repeatedly using them, training with NPCs, and reading special books. The primary way to level up skills is by actively using them.

1. Marksman- It allows you to deal massive damage from a safe distance while using a long-ranged weapon.
2. Sneak- It is used for sneak attacks and to avoid being detected in challenging areas.
3. Blades- Grant a solid melee option for close-quarters combat. This is more effective when combined with sneak attacks.
4. Light Armor- This skill allows quick movement, making it crucial for the Stealth playstyle.
5. Illusion- It grants utility spells like invisibility and chameleon to increase stealth and survivability.
6. Blade- Increases the overall damage for sharp weapons like daggers, shortswords, longswords, and claymores.
7. Security- Use it for picking locks and opening chests.

Minor Skills

Restoration, Mysticism, Acrobatics, and Armorer are the best minor skills to choose for the Bow build because they enhance the effectiveness of your setup. The Minor skills are not that effective, but they support your character in other aspects. Minor skills have a slower rate compared to Major skills in leveling up your main level, but these passives are greatly helpful in overall performance. Minor will also not be chosen in character creation, but rather will be assigned via your level. Still level them up, but don’t expect your level to increase. Here’s your priority:

1. Restoration- Use this skill to gain healing, and it can be useful for survival.
2. Mysticism- This skill helps you find enemies in an area.
3. Acrobatics- It grants agility and evasion, making you harder to hit.
4. Armorer- Use this skill for repairing enchanted gear and improving your armor.

Sneaking

When you are sneaking, enemies have a harder time detecting you. You can use this to your advantage to pass by enemies, pick their pockets, or perform deadly sneak attacks. To increase your chance of remaining undetected, avoid being in front of enemies, and prefer shadows over bright areas. Avoid noisy actions such as running, picking locks, wearing heavy boots, and interacting with items when enemies are close by. The amount of damage you deal when performing sneak attacks depends on the kind of weapon you use. While daggers have the biggest damage bonus, one-handed weapons, Bows, and bare hands still have a decent damage bonus. Two-handed weapons do not get any damage bonus for performing Sneak Attacks.

Equipment

Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered equipment consists of weapons, armor, clothing, and other items. Players can equip them to increase their character’s abilities and stats. Weapons are crafted from different items, and each has different stats and appearances. You can even enchant the weapons with magical effects like damage, debuff, or health regen. Use the soul gems to recharge the enchanted weapons. Armor is another equipment that protects you from incoming attacks from enemies. Each piece of armor has an armor rating, which determines how much damage it can absorb. You can equip up to 9 pieces at one time. Light armor is the best option available for the Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered because it provides high mobility.

Best Weapons

Here are the best weapons for the Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered.

Daedric Bow

• Damage: 20
• Value: 3200
• Health: 420
• Weight: 22

Daedric Bow is the best bow to include in your Bow build for the Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered. This weapon offers the highest base damage in the game, making it a perfect choice for stealth. It’s even better when enchanted with powerful effects, like draining health or damage. This weapon is found in higher-level locations but can also be obtained through quests. Although the weight of this bow is more, it deals significant damage with the right approach.  Use the Daedric Arrow with this weapon to deal high damage in combat. These arrows can be found as loot from certain enemies, particularly in bandit dungeons.

Daedric Dagger

• Damage: 19
• Health: 532
• Base Value: 2700
• Weight: 10

The Daedric Dagger is a one-handed weapon that has the highest base damage among any other dagger in the game. Daggers are the fastest melee weapons, allowing you to deliver their enchantments faster. Use this dagger to take down enemies in melee range or for a stealth take-down. You can enchant the Daedric Dagger with effects like Poison, damage, or fatigue. Daggers are lightweight but deal less damage than swords or maces. Pair it with skills like Blades to enhance the effectiveness of this weapon, allowing it to complement your Bow build. Upgrading this weapon regularly is essential to increase its potential damage.

Best Armor

Here are the best armor options to choose for your Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered.

Glass Armor

• Armor Health: 5275
• Base Armor: 50
• Base Value: 5300
• Class: Light Armor

Glass Armor is the best armor to choose for the Bow build. It offers excellent protection while remaining light, allowing for agility and stealth. You want to prioritize light armor as a Scout to benefit stealth and movement speed. Glass armor provides a high armor rating, which is crucial for surviving encounters with enemies. You will be fighting the enemies in close range and having this armor equipped increases your survivability. It reduces the effectiveness of the incoming attacks from the enemies. This amor also helps you level up your light armor skill, which is important for increasing your armor rating.

Shrouded Armor

• Armor Health: 520
• Base Armor: 17.5
• Base Value: 0
• Class: Light Armor

Shrouded Armor is another good option to use while running a Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered. This armor set consists of two parts, the Shrouded Armor and the Shrouded Hood. It offers several enhancements that favor stealth-oriented characters. The Ancient Shrouded Armor is relatively easy to acquire. Shrouded armor is a single piece of equipment that covers the whole body except the head. It also has unlevelled stats and enchantments, meaning the effectiveness increases as you level up in the game. This armor includes the enchantment that boosts backstab damage and poison resistance.

Best Unique Weapon and Armor

Here are the best unique weapons to choose for the Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered.

Bow of Infliction

• Damage: 18
• Health: 364
• Base Value: 5240
• Weight: 20

Bow is Infliction is a unique enchanted ebony bow in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered. You can purchase it from Daenlin at The Archer’s Paradox in Bravil. It can soften targets before full engagement. You can pair it with the poison to deal damage over time to enemies. Bow if Infliction is a useful weapon if you enjoy using stealth and weakening enemies before striking. However, it’s not the strongest raw damage bow in the game, but it fits the Bow archetype. It can be shot empty of charges and still be effective.

Bow of Infernal Frost

• Damage: 8
• Health: 100
• Base Value: 7000
• Weight: 14

Bow of Infernal Frost is a unique, enchanted weapon that deals frost damage. It’s generally a good choice for early to mid-game play, especially if you enjoy using frost damage. After equipping, you can draw your bow and use the “Shoot” action to fire arrows. The Infernal Frost effect is likely a special ability that causes damage over time or other effects on your enemies. You can get the Bow of Infernal Frost from M’raaj-Dar in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary in Cheydinhal. This is a trader, and you can buy it from him. It’s the best way to get a better, unique weapon early game.

Birthright of Astalon

• Armor Health: 800
• Base Armor: 11
• Base Value: 3100
• Weight: 13

Birthright of Astalon is a light armor that fortifies the wearer’s Agility by 5 points and their Magicka pool by 50 points. You can purchase it from Claudette Perrick at The Gilded Carafe in the Imperial City Market District. You can equip this armor if your Glass Armor and Shrouded Armor aren’t working properly. Birthright of Astalon provides excellent defense to your character from the incoming damage in combat. You can obtain it while progressing through the game. If you acquire this armor, you can also choose to sell it to the vendor to earn some money or buy other useful items.

Best Potions

Weak Potion of Antivenom, Potion of Alacrity, and Strong Potion of Agility are the best potion to include in your Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered.

• Weak Potion of Antivenom- Resist poison for 15 seconds, with 15 magnitude.
• Potion of Alacrity- it restores speed for 20 points.
• Strong Potion of Agility- Fortify players’ agility for 30 seconds, with 20 magnitude

Best Sigil Stones

Fortify Agility, Frost Damage, and Disintegrate Weapon are the best Sigil Stone’s effects to include in a Bow build because they allow you to deal frost damage and enhance your survivability. Sigil Stones are magical items obtained by closing Oblivion gates, which are portals that connect Nirn to the plane of Oblivion. You can use them to enchant weapons, armor, and jewelry with a variety of effects. This offers powerful and unique enchantments that can be more potent than those created using Soul Gems. You can obtain the Sigil Stone after defeating the Daedra that inhabit an Oblivion gate.

• Fortify Agility- Fortifying an attribute temporarily raises that attribute’s points for a short duration.
• Frost Damage- Use frost to damage the target’s health for a short duration. However, this damage does not decrease by armor. It is reduced by Frost Shield and Resist Frost.
• Disintegrate Weapon- Damages the health of the target’s equipped weapon by a few points.

Leveling Strategy

Focus on skills like Sneak, Security, Blade, and Marksman to effectively level a Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered. You can also level up other skills like Acrobatics, Light Armor, and Illusion. You must focus on leveling your Major Skills when you level up to get the most out of your character. Jump around to raise your Athletics skill. It’s best to sneak around to level up your Sneak skill, making it even more effective. Your Birthsign gives a significant bonus to your stats. You must sleep in a bed to level up.

Leveling in Oblivion can take time, so try to balance your activities between exploring, combat, and practicing skills. Keep in mind that enemies also scale when you level up, meaning they become more powerful. Every time you level up, you will get to increase three attributes. Focus on attributes that align with your playstyle. Complete all the available side quests to level up your character. Leveling up is based on Skill Increases and the Attributes you assign.

Factions

Thieves Guild is considered one of the best factions to choose for the Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered. It provides opportunities to practice stealth, lockpicking, and pickpocketing. This faction complements a stealthy playstyle in dangerous scenarios in the game. You can even use Dark Brotherhood, as it offers opportunities for Thievery and marksmen practice. This allows you to hone your skills with a bow from a distance. The Thieves Guild rewards players for their stealth skills. The Thieves Guild provides access to fences, who are essential for selling stolen goods. Each faction offers a unique gameplay experience, so choose the one that complements the setup. Factions also have guild halls where you can interact with members.

Trainers

Astrid is the best trainer for the Bow build, as she helps train Sneak, but she isn’t as commonly available early in the game. She is the leader of the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim. Trainers allow you to spend gold to increase your skill levels, which can help you level up your skills. Different types of trainers allow you to reach different skill level caps. These trainers can train a specific skill for a set number of times per character level.

How to Play the Bow Build

You need to level up your skills like Marksman, Sneak, Blades, Light Armor, Illusion, Blade, and Security to enhance the effectiveness of your Bow build. You can hide behind a wall or any obstacle when enemies approach. Upgrade your weapon regularly to make it more effective in combat, where you want to deal high damage. Use potions that are crucial during long fights, so always be prepared. Use a Dagger like a Daedric Dagger to deal melee damage in close-quarter combats and a bow to deal damage from a distance.

Light Armor, like Glass Armor and Shrouded Armor, helps protect your character from the incoming damage in tough combat. Use the unique weapons to deal massive damage when your other weapons aren’t working properly. We recommend you join the faction to support your playstyle, making you an unstoppable sneaky character in the game. Focus on attributes like Agility, Strength, and Speed to boost your effectiveness. Boost Strength to deal massive damage with your dagger and carry more items while exploring. Agility affects your daggers and enhances maximum fatigue and regenerates fatigue.

Best Gameplay Tips and Tricks for the Bow Build

Here are the best gameplay tips and tricks for the Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered.

• Experiment with different skills and builds to find what works best for you.
• Maximize your stealth to sneak attack the enemies without being detected.
• Use a dagger while fighting the lower-level enemies, as they take fewer hits to be eliminated.
• Make use of Illusion spells to paralyze enemies during combat. Use this advantage to strike additional hits on the target.
• Use run and tactics to dominate the enemies with your dagger. This gives you an opening where you can use your sword to defeat the enemy.
• Practice your lockpicking skills to access valuable loot and secrets.
• Focus on leveling your Marksman, Sneak, Illusion, Light Armor, and Blade to become a powerful Bow character.
• Use the bow to deal damage to enemies from a distance and equip a dagger when near the enemies.
• Use a lightweight weapon as a backup while fighting enemies in close range.
• Use Stealth to get the jump on enemies and deal increased damage with sneak attacks.
• Choose the faction, race, and specialization that complements your playstyle and synergizes with the build.
• Use your speed and agility to evade attacks and reposition yourself.

FAQs about Bow build in The Elder Scrolls Oblivion

What is a Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered?

The Bow build in The Elder Scrolls Oblivion is a highly effective and immersive playstyle that combines ranged combat with stealth tactics.

Which is the best weapon for a Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered?

Daedric Bow is the best weapon for a Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered due to its capability to deal massive damage from a ranged distance. 

Which is the best race for a Bow build in ESO Remastered?

Khajit is the best race to choose for the Bow build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered. This race is ideal for a pure Bow build, allowing you to excel at sneaking, sneaky melee, or ranged attacks.

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