Everything you say in here aside, the reason is because Orlando Bloom as Legolas in Lord of the Rings made using a bow fashionable and sexy, and elder scrolls was the first game series that let us live that fantasy with good bow mechanics.

This is how I tend to play all RPGs.

I don't remember when i was playing below master difficulty and perma death tbh. The only reason for no legendary is just the thing that fights become too drawn out, so that's that XD

It must be because of that satisfying “tung!” Sound on a sneak attack

I’ve never played an archery build

6:19 bro became a crackhead

is your two handed reverse strike a mod?

Holy Crap! This. Video. Hit. Hard. In ways I wasn't prepared for.

The most satisfying time playing a stealth archer was in Far Cry 3. Taking out entire platoons of dudes with guns as a stealth archer is chef's kiss

Literally no reason yo not love Elden Ring. May be the greatest game ever made.

I think the thing about these systems, even if they could've been better implemented into the game is just to have them there optionally, in case you want to use them. Part of the selling point/purpose of a game like Elder Scrolls is that it's a living, breathing world. So even if you never use something... the fact it's there is what makes it a living space. There are plenty of things that you CAN do. But what makes them valuable, often times in this kind of game, is that you don't ever have to play with them at all. It's there for you to discover, if/when you either need or want it. To me this is the sign of a good replayable game. And not just because there are things you don't have to do... but because if you choose not to do them, you can still more than effectively get through the experience without frustration. Many of my favorite games, even ones that aren't as huge and expansive as Skyrim, I find fun because the difficulty and playability is such that you can EASILY play with/without using certain mechanics to make the experience more or less challenging and just make it interesting. I love RE4 b/c the enemies are just smart enough to pose a threat initially, but dumb enough to be consistently beatable with almost anything you want to use with practically no damage taken on your part (once you learn their behaviors). And it's all within reason. It may be more or less difficult to play the game using certain tools over others, but everything is doable (just about). This is kind of how Oblivion and Skyrim feel to me as well. And it's how other games like early Zelda games, Gothic 1/2, and some early horror games like RE and Silent Hill feel for me as well. Their first experiences may be different and end up fitting into their own genres... but at the end, on subsequent playthroughs they ALL exhibit this trait more or less. And it's becoming more and more difficult, unfortunately, for me to find experiences that feel that way anymore. I'm not saying they aren't out there, but I'm just not finding them as enjoyable in this regard, or they don't handle balancing this way.

Honestly its kind of surprising that nobody has tried to make a whole game that builds on and refines Skyrim's Stealth Archer gameplay. It would be awesome to get a game where you could be like the Archery version of John Wick. I guess that is just Legolas or Robin Hood.

Knowing Bethesda, they are going to take the entirely wrong lessons from the Stealth Archer in Skyrim. And do something dumb like nerfing Stealth/Archery and then failing to significantly improve/differentiate melee combat.

Not sure how often you check your comments, but I think it would be fun to hear from someone who is this dedicated to one profile what mods you are using (Edit: by mods I mean the 2 that you said you were using). I love the greatsword animation that would half-sword (flip the sword and use it like a baseball bat) but I personally can't find the mod.

Ah yes, truly engaging with the game... By completely ignoring the most prevalent mechanics. What you are enjoying is not what Skyrim really is, this challenge run has a much tighter focus, specifically because it is ignoring the core features of skyrim. Skyrim is not a good foundation, it is a rotten apple core, dipping it in caramel (modding) or just eating the less rotten bits around the edges (challenge runs) does not change that, but it is more enjoyable. And apples are cool, we all want to love skyrim. So any bits we can love are worth seeing how much you can get out of them. Speaking of small mechanical mods, one that really encourages closer to this behavior that I recommend many try to just see if it is fun for them: Gold has Weight. It helps mitigate the looting and shopping inflation that the base game suffers from. I think durability mechanics might also help, those are hard to implement in a satisfying way though. Anyway, this looks like a good challenge run, I would be up for it, but honestly I will probably only look at Skyrim again in VR, the game is so clunky just to control, that it never seems worth it.

Its because archery is the only actual satisfyingly combat option with weight to it. Stealthing is not only immersive, but also deals more damage and lets you get more shots in before they find and reach you.

19:44 This is the “merciful” option that horrified me the most

The thing about Skyrim is that a lot of people say "It's a weak RPG" or "It's a really shallow game" and they keep comparing it to games like Oblivion or Morrowind. And I think they're missing the point. Yes, the game is very simplistic, and sometimes it does feel like you're doing the same thing in a new save as you did in the last. But the point is, Skyrim presents you a very linear experience and then basically says "Go do something else." Of course it's gonna be the same if you pick a sword and shield, have armor, spec on those, then decide to pick a bow for long range, which slowly causes you to morph your build into a stealth archer, and from there you just fall down the spiral of following the same path as you did before. But instead of that, why don't you try focusing on leveling up your Alchemy by collecting ingredients, or seeking ways of easily filling Soul Gems to make levelling up Enchanting easier and more useful? Maybe you actively try to avoid bows altogether and find different ways to deal with enemies from a distance? Ignore some Skill trees, and actually focus on very specific things that will make the new playthrough feel fresh? Sure, the game doesn't block you from being everything all at once and doing everything that's available. You can be Harbinger of the Companions and Leader of the Thieves Guild, but just because the options are there, doesn't mean you _need_ to do it all. Skyrim is more of a sandbox game then it is a RPG. More of an exploration game than it is a story driven one. You have so many options in this game, just choose what's more fun and unique for you and run with it. And in a new playthrough, try something else. I found in all my years of playing Skyrim that limiting yourself on what you will do makes the game much more enjoyable. The game drops so much stuff on your lap and basically says "Go nuts. You can literally do anything." The game is not perfect. There's a lot of things that could've been handled better. But the things that are there, albeit simple, are still very interesting. And you can choose which of these things you actually want to partake in. There's no intended way to play Skyrim. Play it however you like. Limit yourself, do things you actually want to do, and try different things. That way, you'll find that Skyrim is much more than a shallow RPG. In the end, you'll always kill Alduin, beat Miraak, stop Harkon. But those are the destination. The journey to those things can be as interesting as you want it to be.

Unpopular opinion... Dark Souls' melee combat was outdated for it's time as well. Most attacks barely affect enemies (or do so almost identically to one another), with the only real difference being that the animations are somewhat different on your character, but the end result is almost always the same. And this has probably gotten worse throughout the series as more enemies are phased less by damage, so the differences between two weapons feel even less important. Games like DMC and Ninja Gaiden by extension (especially DMC) tend to make different weapons feel/play far different and serve a genuine different gameplay purpose DURING the fight most of the time compared to Soulslikes. So realistically yeah, Skyrim was pretty far behind... but so was Souls.

Important to note, as soon as you have access to Soul Trap, you caj immediately use it over and over on a corpse to level to 90 Conjuration and gain access to the Sigil Stone.

Honestly hardly ever used the bows. Magic, werewolf and vampire forms were my jam. Might try archer in my next playthrough

Stealth archer: "Because it's easy, and does a lot of damage."

I was a stealth archer once, but then I took an arrow to the knee.

I don't think any game has a larger disparity in how many internet critics like to shit on the game vs. how much of a masterpiece it actually is like Skyrim

It's always really bothered me people criticize Bethesda games for there being mods that make them better. Literally if any game dev supported their modding community as much as BGS their games would be a lot better with mods. Because literally every game has room to improve. Games don't haven't infinite development time, but they can have infinite modding time.

Stealth archers and snipers... All cowards and pussies with no honor! But do you 😂 lol

Huh, and there I was with a staff and sword not stealthy at all, my only ranged attacks being giant fireballs... My only tactic being face to face murder. I don't think I touched a bow once.

Necromancer mage is my favorite with ritual stone. Minion mage is the best way to play imo.

Funnily enough, in one playthrough, i probably had over maybe 5000 arrows on my person lol hell i just made another Archer build again lol

You weren't wrong though. Skyrim is a very shallow roleplaying game. The entire premise of the game is that you are effectively on a rollercoaster, the entire path is linear, when doing questlines. There isn't much of a room for player choice in the matter. The only upside to Skyrim is the lore, exploration and combat system, and the combat system is pretty barebones as is. Skyrim has so much lore for any Elder Scrolls nerd, but it lacks any depth to the gameplay mechanics and player choice. Sure you can make virtually any build you want, but without mods not all builds are viable for the late game unless you spec into enchanting and smithing. Whilst the exploration is where the game truly begins to shine as what sees like a simple cave quickly turns into a huge dungeon, that usually rewards you with a word wall, a boss and boss chest or some unique gear. and then the countless amount of lore from dialogue to books. But once you look past the pro's, it's nothing but cons.

I literally just add mods as ideas pop into my head while playing. Adding more light sources and particle effects is actually worth it

I couldn't imagine killing a foe and not running those pockets.

I love the drawbacks of melee weapons. The game is too easy, I have so much fun packing the most damage I can into a single Warhammer blow and then missing, it's hilarious. Dual wielding is very versatile and fun, in my last playthrough I used the mace of balrrog and mehrunes razor. Running a shield build can be very fun trying to weave shield bashes in between sword pokes, also the new mods that come with the base game (anniversary edition) fix some of your problems by adding in scaling summons and new destruction magic! My current playthrough I'm running light armor, destruction magic offhand and sword main hand. I realized being on fire makes targets take extra damage so I'm running fire magic and a shocking sword.

26:50 ig i could do a permadeath legendary difficulty XD

I liked subscribed and left a comment very rare for me starting to feel like a bot kinda

I've always seen the Outsider as a Loki type of god.

"Decide if ignorance is a death sentence." Oooh damn.

Skyrim player discovers major part of the game for the first time then thinks he's found something new lol

Skyrim brought me here, but your personality kept me here. This is a great video.

I was here for the end of this stream, and I just finished watching all the Skyronman VODs. This was so much fun... Waiting for the next time you go live... Please, keep making great content.

I had no idea you could make your own spell tome. That insane. My mind is blown that I never knew that

i always feel like the game has failed in its design if the players have to arbitrarily limit themselves or make up new rules in order to have fun (to be clear, doing this to increase your fun or spice up a replay is not the same as HAVING to do it to have ANY fun). I think the Atronach Forge really exemplifies this. It's a really cool and fun concept, but almost nobody ever engages with it because you basically have to force yourself to use it. All they had to do was make it actually useful in a normal playthrough.

Every time I'm like "I want to use this type of magic" or "let's try good old melee and put third person to not suffer from chinetosis", but at the end I'm always crouched with a fucking bow, because my health is low and my number of arrows doesn't XD

12:07 thunderbolt supremacy