Bound Bow (Skyrim)

Bound Bow
School of Magicka	Conjuration
Skill Level	Adept (50)
Effect	Equips an ethereal Daedric Bow and 100 ethereal Daedric Arrows for 120 seconds
Magicka Cost	206
Spell Tome	Hidden under a lantern in a bucket in the north-northwest corner of Fort Amol Prison
Tome ID	000A26F1
ID	000211ED

For the spell in Oblivion, see Bound Bow (Oblivion).

Bound Bow is an Adept-level Conjuration spell in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. When cast, it equips an ethereal version of the Daedric Bow and 100 ethereal Daedric Arrows for 120 seconds. Damage is based on Archery skill, and may not be equivalent to a Daedric Bow.

Spell tome

Attributes

• Weight: 1
• Value: 335
• See Spell Tome for a complete table of spell tomes, their descriptions, and their values.

Acquisition

Loot

• Sometimes hidden under a lantern in a bucket in the north-northwest corner of Fort Amol prison. Take the first door on the left, when entering the fort by the main gate. The bucket with the tome is in the left corner of the first room.

Merchants

• Phinis Gestor at the College of Winterhold.
• Falion in Morthal. 
• Some Court Wizards in the major cities of Skyrim.

Level required

• A conjuration skill of 50 or higher is required before this spell tome becomes available for purchase.
• The tome can be found as randomized loot at any level.

Base damage

• The Bound Bow has a base damage of 18, which increases to 24 after the perk Mystic Binding is applied.
• The Bound Arrows have damage rating of 24, equal to their Daedric counterparts.

Skills

Casting the spell Bound Bow (in the presence of enemies) increases the Conjuration skill, and landing shots with the weapon increases the Archery skill. Thus, the Conjuration skill governs the magicka cost of the spell, and the Archery skill governs the damage ability of the weapon.

Perks

• Soul Stealer: automatically inflicts targets of bound weapons with Soul Trap.
• Oblivion Binding: conjured daedra attacked with bound weapons are banished. Reanimated Dead will flee when hit.
• Mystic Binding: Increases the base damage of all Bound Weapons.
• The Bound Bow is also affected by all Archery perks as well as the Sneak perk, "Deadly Aim."
• Casting Bound Bow creates noise, which may cause the detection of the player while Sneaking. This can be resolved by learning the "Quiet Casting" perk.

Usefulness

Advantages

• The spell can be held in one hand, allowing for a weapon or spell to be equipped in the other before summoning the bow. This allows for rapid switching of fighting styles; for example, an assassin can switch between long-range archery attacks and close-range backstabs.
• Poisons can be applied to the weapon, allowing them to be deployed at range. For example, a Drain Magicka poison can be used when fighting enemy mages from afar. This is particularly useful to mages who would otherwise have no use for poisons.
• Stealth-based mages can use the bow any time a long-range sneak attack is desired. Casting Muffle in illusion may increase the effectiveness of this tactic.
• With the correct perks in the Conjuration tree, including Mystic Binding, this bow is considerably stronger than the non-upgraded Daedric Bow .
• With Soul Stealer and Oblivion Binding, the bow can effectively be triple-enchanted with Soul Trap, Banish, & Turn effects, and requires no recharging. This also allows the player to continue attacking directly, without needing to unequip their weapon to equip these spells.
• Bound Arrows glow when fired, making it easier to see where they land, especially in dark areas. The player can use this to correct their aim when firing.
• Provides 100 Daedric-level arrows instantly, making acquisition of powerful arrows unnecessary.
• Other kinds of arrows may be equipped with the bow, but the only arrow stronger than the Bound Arrow is the Dragonbone Arrow.
• Unlike regular bows it can be used on a dragon while riding.
• Weighs nothing.

Disadvantages

• Summoning the Bound Bow makes a sound. This can be avoided with the Quiet Casting perk in the Illusion skill tree.
• The bow is not very powerful until the perk Mystic Binding is acquired.
• The spell cannot be cast while riding a horse.
• Cannot be upgraded through smithing. By extension, it cannot be exploited using the smithing/enchanting/alchemy mechanic like the Daedric Bow.
• The bow cannot be enchanted aside from the effect gained from perks.
• Takes 10 seconds to fully equip.

Gallery

A player shooting a bear with a Bound Bow

Bound Bow on Falmer.jpg

Bound Bow 3.jpg

Bound Bow 2.jpg

Bound Bow 1.jpg

Bound Bow 4.jpg

Bugs

• When a Bound Arrow is shot with the Bound Bow, the arrow may not disappear. They will begin to disappear if too many of them are lying around.
•  PC   360   PS3   Double-casting the spell in separate hands at the same time may conjure 100 to 200 Bound Arrows, but no bow. Which allows you to equip a stronger bow. Also the arrows do not have a despawn time. Single-casting the spell again will supply the bow.
• Sometimes, Bound Arrows do not appear with the bow. This can be fixed by rebooting the system.
• If the duration ends while the character is recovering from the knock-down of an Unrelenting Force Shout, the character's hands will be stuck in the position they were before being hit. To fix this, sheath the weapon and recast.
• Sometimes when crouching and conjuring the bow, the character will not be able to use it until changing to a standing position.
• Bound Bow does not benefit from the Quick Shot perk. It has a quick draw, but when fully drawn and fired, the arrows fire as if the bow has not been fully drawn back.
• While the bow is appearing, if a different weapon is equipped, that weapon will take the bow's place and will float in front of the player for a moment before the Dragonborn grabs it.
• Casting the Bound Bow spell and immediately crouching (before the summoning animation completes) causes the weapon to be permanently sheathed. The only recourse is to reload an older save (the bug persists even after changing weapons).

See also

• Bound Items (Oblivion)
• Bound Weapons (Skyrim)

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim