Marksman

[dovajerk]

I was wondering s since i nevre hear anything about marksmen on here if it is a good skill or not? So is the marksmen skill just as good as any other? Can it holds it own agaisnt destruction and two handed?

[Ragnarok]

short answer ... yes, but it is insanely hard to level

one shot often does the trick on sneak attacks if you have a powerful weapon like a bound bow so with only one attack per enemy, maybe two at most before they close to melee, it's hard to level naturally. I prefer to leave it as a secondary skill and train it up. its quicker and easier that way.

[Dean]

The marksman skill is as good as any other weapon type, except it has the benefit of being ranged which makes it that little bit more sueful in certain situations.

It is NOT hard to level, no more then any other weapon skill so I'm not sure what Ragnarok is talking about. If you don't do the 'Bound weapon' route then it will level like the others... bound weapons will always level the skill up slower due to the fact it tends to be 1-2 shot kills on everything and anything.

Marksman is one of my favourite weapon types, it definitely holds it's own in this game. Destruction can be slightly more powerful depending on the spells used, but marksman does not require mana and therefore is like a melee weapon that shoots projectiles.
The only drawback is the fact you need to carry arrows around with you for ammunition, but this doesn't matter much later on when your Strength is higher(Strength effects carry capacity, and also actually effects the damage of bows and crossbows).

[ldnmaster]

I love MM myself. I find it pretty handy if I can manage to get myself on a nice outcrop, or using to break down the guards on the outside of tombs and such. In multilevel catacombs, it is quite helpful as well, esp when dealing with atronachs and winged twilights later on that can't run the whole path to get to you. You can easily dodge their magic attacks, yet maintain a good attack point.

[Ragnarok]

It is NOT hard to level, no more then any other weapon skill so I'm not sure what Ragnarok is talking about.

mostly the fact that the majority of combat is close melee combat regardless of weapon quality. when I do get that rare chance at a range opening shot, it's one or two shots, three at best, mostly if the enemy is far away before they actually close to melee and I have to switch weapons. ranged combat lets me trim down the enemy's HP and give them a shave off the top before entering combat which translates to an edge in melee combat. it's less effective in the way that without it a sustained melee fight might take several hits against heavily armored opponents wich tranlstaes to faster skill improvement. adding in the ranged component means a few shots ranged and then a few weapon hits. it's slower in regard and terms of splitting your weapon focus between two skills, ranged and melee, or forgoing ranged and just sticking with one melee skill for all damage. that was all I meant.

[Dean]

I normally create my marksman characters with high speed and agility(focusing on strength third) so I can both run backwards from enemies, and hit them frequently. This means I can avoid a lot of hits, and don't have to switch to a melee weapon in close combat. By level 8 this formula works wonders, and you literally run around a small room pew-pewing and avoiding even fairly quick melee fighters.

Dunmer, Bosmer, and Redguards make very good archers early on just because they are so quick on their feet. The hardest ranged character I ever made was a Breton Spellbow on max difficulty... being that slow, focusing only on bow skills for damage, and unable to hit much was a pain in the bloody arse. He did however turn into one of the most powerful characters I've ever played.

[Ragnarok]

sounds cool. my only concern would be not leveling defense/armor skills since you're basically avoiding combat and not taking melee hits. in that case I'd be tempted, if not hard pressed, to do what I said above about marksman and leave armor skills as secondary skills instead levelling them using trainers. seems like an unavoidable "either/or". either take marksman as primary and level defense secondary, or take active defense and level ranged as a secondary.

*edit*

I could also see conjuration fitting in here as well by summoning melee fighters to tie up enemies while you stand back and snipe. you'd just have to be careful not to hit your summons.

[CptSpacelazor]

I always loved the combination of conjuration and marksmen, maybe cause I played a hunter in WoW for years. To answer your question yes, it's extremely good. if you're used to oblivions archery than it will take some time to get used to. Crossbow's are pretty great too, and much easier to aim then bows imo, but there's only 2. blegh.

[jaxawier]

Marksman is pure fun sometimes,and area arrows got some fun arrows,specially fond of long time lasting arrows with various effects.
Among the funniest experience in the game is to roaming insidethe ghostfence and hunt,should have soultrap on target tho somehow,I use spell+light and eventually calm,then they got a few arrows As training goes,the master trainer is awesome,so I get training up to 70 or somesuch.besides it is very usefull in the bloodmoon expansion too.

[Zan]

.

Yep, Marksman is the bomb!

They are the snipers of Morrowind.

Marksman is the best skill to have particularly for exterior sorties because you can kill an enemy before they even see you.

A good archer can down a cliff racer from 200 yards with one shot.

If you use the bone mold long bow (which actually enchants to a higher level than a Daedric bow) coupled with Daedric arrows, you will have a formidable weapon.

If you couple that with enchanted arrows, your victims will likely die from freight before they even feel the sting of the needle.

The only drawback is

Spoiler:

once you get inside the Ghost Gate, the zombies will be able to activate a type of force field which will deflect your projectiles, meaning, you have to down them in one shot before they become alert to you presence, otherwise evade (run backwards) long enough for their force field to expire, then hit them again, or else get in close, switch to a sword and finish 'em off.

Besides all that, a long bow is just so refined and elegant, not as clumsy or random as an egg miner's pick axe a romantic weapon from a mythological age.

.

[inzgary]

Very useful skill in TES 3. Your strength will increase missile weapon damage unlike in TES 4 where it is purely agility. This is more realistic because you need to be STRONG to pull back a longbow all the way. There is also a good variety of marksmen weapons. 1 handed darts and knives are much quicker than firing the bows but bows can do a great deal of damage and knock people down. By contrast to ranged destruction spells it is much easier to hit the opponent with a missile weapon than destruction spells that travel much slower. Also you can have your arrows enchanted to deliver the destruction spell to the target.

[AddictedtoMorrowind]

I always take Marksman as a Major or Minor Skill, in almost all of my characters. It's so useful, and IMO, it's smoother and such than Destruction Spells or whatever.

[Kerr]

I prefer using it over destruction. I use it as a backup weapon type with long bladde being my main type. Sometime ranged weapons are the way to go and crossbows are awesome. Really every character should have some way to fight in close quarters and at range.