Stealth archer fatigue is real and I'm switching to something stupid

[DragonbornVet]

Playing my 6th run and I just realized I've done the sneaky bow thing on like 4 of them. Not even on purpose - I just default to it because it works and the game doesn't push back. You can literally sneak past everything or one-shot it from a roof. There's no friction.

So this time I'm forcing myself to play pure melee, no sneaking, no bow, just walking up to stuff and hitting it. And honestly? The game feels completely different. Dragons actually scare you when you can't just hide behind a rock. Bandits feel like a threat instead of target practice. I'm getting wrecked by stuff that would've been trivial before.

The problem is the early game is absolutely brutal without sneaking. I'm level 12, my One-Handed damage is garbage, and I'm burning through potions just to survive bandits in Bleak Falls Barrow. Does it get better once you get some actual perks, or am I just going to suffer for 20 levels? I've got Bladesman and I'm working toward Power Bash but right now I feel like I'm playing on Legendary with my hands tied.

Anyone else break the stealth archer cycle and actually stick with it? How do you survive the early slog?

 

[TamrielTactician]

Yeah the early game melee grind is rough, but it genuinely does get better once you hit like level 20 and start stacking perks. Right now you're basically playing with training wheels off - you don't have the damage output or survivability perks yet, so everything takes forever and hits harder.

The stuff that actually helps: get Savage Strike (the perk that lets power attacks ignore armor) and grab Conditioning from Heavy Armor or Light Armor depending on what you're wearing. That alone makes a huge difference in your effective tankiness. Also don't sleep on bashing - Power Bash is good but even basic shield bashing staggers most humanoids, which gives you breathing room. On my current melee playthrough I'm basically alternating power attacks with bashes to keep things locked down.

For the early slog specifically, potions are your friend but also lean into positioning. You don't have invisibility but you can still use terrain - fight in doorways, use narrow corridors, pull one enemy at a time instead of letting groups swarm you. Bleak Falls Barrow is honestly one of the worst early dungeons for pure melee because it's so open. The bandits there hit harder than you'd expect.

One thing that helped me was taking Elemental Protection or whatever it's called (the perk that reduces magic damage) because mages wreck melee builds way harder than they wreck archers. At level 12 you're probably still a few levels away from that though. Also make sure you're using a shield if you aren't already - the damage reduction is actually significant early on.

Stick with it though. Once you get Devastating Blow and a few ranks in your weapon skill, the power fantasy kicks in hard. Melee feels way more satisfying than "hold sneak and click" ever did.