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Archery + Destruction combo—does it actually work or am I spreading myself thin?

RiftenWanderer

New Member
I'm on my third playthrough and want to try something different from pure stealth archer. The idea is to use a bow for regular combat but also grab some Destruction perks for crowd control / kiting when things get hairy. I'm level 18 right now on Adept difficulty. Is this a viable hybrid or does it fall apart once you hit the 30s? Worried I'll end up mediocre at both instead of good at one.
 
Yeah, this actually works better than you'd think. The key is that you're not trying to be equally good at both—you're using Destruction as a utility tool while Archery stays your main damage dealer.

Frost Destruction is your friend here. There's a perk in the Destruction tree that slows enemies down, and paired with the perk that makes frost spells cheaper, you get a really solid kiting setup. Cast a frost spell to slow a pack, back up and pepper them with arrows. Once you hit the 30s and enemies get tankier, that crowd control becomes more valuable, not less. Pure archers actually struggle more at higher levels because everything just walks at you.

The stamina drain isn't really a problem either since you're not relying on power attacks—you'll have plenty left over for spells. I'd grab the perk that lets you cast while moving (Quiet Casting, I think it's called) so you're not standing still to cast.

One thing though: don't spread your perks too thin trying to boost both skills equally. Pump Archery first—get the damage perks, then branch into Destruction utility. By level 30+ you'll have enough perks that you can afford to grab maybe 3-4 Destruction perks and still have a solid archer. Damage scaling matters way more early on.

What difficulty are you playing on? That'll change how much you actually need the crowd control.
 
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