Board Thread:Skyrim/@comment-11344160-20140124214414/@comment-24261859-20140125075921

I've done two pure archery builds. Most OP playstyle I've ever done without abusing anything.

It's weaker at first because you do less damage, fire fairly slowly, and can hardly move while you're preparing a shot, allowing melee enemies to close the distance and making it hard to dodge incoming projectiles, esp. magic.

However, with some levelling, perks, and better gear, that all changes. Sneak attacks with bows are the best in the game since you can snipe from far away and never be detected, or by the time you are you've gotten several high-damage shots off. When in battle, the quick draw and ranger perks let you kite indefinitely. The Power Shot perk (and optionally the Bullseye paralysis one if you want to be *really* OP) makes this even more successful. I've killed dragon priests while taking zero damage because a crossbow (with its built-in stagger chance) combined with Power Shot meant that it was almost constantly in the "stagger" state, unable to attack. You tend to take little damage in general with this build because once you get to the mid-game, nothing can get close enough to touch you.