Care to shoot your shot?
Wanting to be a stealth archer like every other playthrough in Skyrim?? Well, sadly, ESO don’t work like that (lol), but it doesn’t make bow-builds any less cool and viable! Look through this list to see a mix of all sorts of bow-builds from beginner-friendly to a lil harder builds to cater for the more experienced ones. I don't know with you, but back in the early days of ESO, bow builds weren’t really viable but now, we’re certainly in ESO’s era where bow builds are cool and well worth a shot ;).
10. Hack the Minotaur Crossbow build
This build is a unique take on the bow fantasy of the game. Hack The Minotaur offers one of the only crossbows builds in the game with his stamina necro crossbow build. Just a heads up, the reason why there aren’t that many crossbows builds is due to the existence of better and more practical builds out there. But this specific build earns its spot in this list due to its uniqueness in the MMO, one that I’d like to see more as the game progresses.
What this build is good for:
Offering you a unique crossbow build that is not seen much in the game
Almost all of the buff you’ll need is given passively, thus making the rotation easy
Best for grinding CP
Build Details:
- Race: Khajit
- Buff food: Lava Foot Soup and Saltice
- Attribute Allocation: 64 Stamina
- Mundus: The Thief
- Gear
- Head: Slimecraw
- Shoulder: Velidreth
- Chest: Leviathan
- Gloves: Leviathan
- Waist: Leviathan
- Legs: Leviathan
- Boots: Leviathan
- Necklace: New Moon Acolyte
- Ring 1: New Moon Acolyte
- Ring 2: New Moon Acolyte
- Skill bar 1 (New Moon Acolyte Daggers): Razor Caltrops, Blighted Blastbones, Camouflaged hunter, Silver Shards, Hircine’s Fortitude/ Shrouded Daggers, Pestilent Colossus
9. Aryzel Gaming (Templar PvE Bow Build)
Templars aren’t the first class I’d think of when thinking about a bow build. But hey, representation, I guess? The best thing about being a templar is the survivability and sustainability that the class naturally provides. However, due to their jabs skill, you’re not incentivized to go far from the boss, thus negating the major pro that the bow can provide to the build. Regardless, if you’re looking for an ultra-safe archer and you’re just trying to level the bow skill line, this might be worth looking at.
What this build is good for:
- Survivability and sustain is unparalleled
- There's flexibility when it comes to the range due to the gear sets
- The gear sets are relatively easy to grind and replaced depending if you want to do solo or group content
Build Details:
- Race: Dark Elf/ Orc/ Khajit
- Buff food: Artaeum Takeaway Broth
- Attribute Allocation: 64 Stamina
- Mundus: The Thief
- Gear:
- Head: Slimecraw/ Velidreth
- Shoulder: Slimecraw/ Velidreth
- Chest: (Perfected) Arms of Relequen
- Arms: (Perfected) Arms of Relequen
- Waist: (Perfected) Arms of Relequen
- Legs: (Perfected) Arms of Relequen
- Feet: (Perfected) Arms of Relequen
- Necklace: Deadly Strikes
- Ring 1: Deadly Strikes
- Ring 2: Deadly Strikes
- Skill bar 1 (Deadly Strikes Bow): Biting jabs, Power of the light, Barbed trap, Ring of preservation/ Razor Caltrops, Camouflage Hunter/ Resolving Vigor, Flawless Dawnbreaker
- Skill bar 2 (Perfected Thunderous Volley): Endless hail, Poison Injection, Ritual of Retribution, Consuming Trap, Restoring Focus, Empowering Sweep
8. Hack the Minotaur "Toxic Raider" (Nightblade One Bar Setup)
The Nightblade is a very popular DPS class available to all being one of the four original classes the game has to offer, so it should come as no surprise to see the nightblade in a list such as this. This build is a one-bar setup that focuses on poison and disease damage. Don’t expect to top any DPS parses though as this build is more focused on teaching you the fundamentals of the game such as light attack weaving, buff management, and positioning thanks to the simplistic rotation and the synergy of the gear sets and the Nightblade’s passive.
What this build is good for:
- Teaching fundamentals of the DPS including light attack weaving, buff management, and positioning
- Fulfilling the ranged assassin fantasy
- simplistic rotation thanks to its one bar setup while dishing out a lot of damage
- A forgiving build thanks to the added range offering you extra security in group content
Build Details:
- Race: Orc, Dark Elf, Khajit
- Buff food: Lava Foot Soup and Saltrice
- Attribute Allocation: 64 stamina
- Mundus: Lover
- Gear
- Head: Kinra’s Wrath
- Shoulder: Slimecraw
- Chest: Kinra’s Wrath
- Arms: Kinra’s Wrath
- Belt: Kinra’s Wrath
- Legs: Harpooner’s Wading Kilt
- Foot: Kinra’s Wrath
- Necklace: Swamp Raider
- Ring 1: Swamp Raider
- Ring 2: Swamp Raider
- Skill bar 1 (Swamp Raider): Lightweight Beast Trap, Poison Injection, Lethal Arrow, Relentless Focus, Killer’s Blade, Toxic Barrage
7. Hack the Minotaur "Arcane Archer" (Sorcerer)
A common fantasy for any RPG, the arcane archer combines the realms of magic and strength and this class successfully fulfills that fantasy. Using the pets of the Sorcerer class, this class offers the playstyle of you sniping your enemies from afar while your pets do all the tanking work. Hence, this allows you to focus on ditching out as much damage as you can even in solo situations. Besides the pet, you also have a lot of magically-themed abilities in the kit which helps in the arcane archer feel.
What this build is good for:
- Having a pet tank for you makes this a viable solo build
- Fulfills the arcane archer fantasy with its magically-themed skills
- The sorcerer kit provides you with a lot of options for damage and survivability making your build unique from yours
Build Details:
- Race: Redguard
- Buff food: Bewitched Sugar Skulls or Tri-Stat Food
- Attribute Allocation: 64 stamina
- Mundus: The Thief
- Gear
- Head: Maw of Infernal
- Shoulder: Maw of Infernal
- Chest: Deadly Strikes
- Arms: Deadly Strikes
- Belt: Deadly Strikes
- Legs: Deadly Strikes
- Foot: Deadly Strikes
- Necklace: Gladiator
- Ring 1: Gladiator
- Ring 2: Gladiator
- Skill bar 1 (Gladiator Bow): Poison injection, Endless Hail, Unstable Clannfear, Focused aim, Camouflage Hunter, Werewolf Berserker (or Ballista)
- Skill bar 2 (Gladiator Sword and Shield): Barbed trap, Heroic Slash, Echoing Vigor, Power Surge, Unstable Clannfear, Storm Attronach
6. Luckyghost Stamina Warden "Bowzerker"
Protecting nature like no other
Another CP grind bow build, this Stam Warden-based bow build is perfect for grinding out those CP come mid-late game to get stronger as a character. Not only do you have one of the strongest bursts in the game through Subterranean assault but you also get the safety net of bull netch allowing you to grind on end. On a bonus note, you have a cute (?) friendly bear beside you.
What this build is good for:
- Amazing survivability and sustainability thanks to its animal companion passives allowing you to efficiently grind for hours
- High burst with subterranean assault
Build Details:
- Race: Khajit
- Buff food: Lava Foot Soup and Saltrice or Dubious Cameron Throne
- Attribute Allocation: 64 stamina
- Mundus: The Lover
- Gear
- Head: Slimecraw
- Shoulder: Slimecraw
- Chest: Dagon’s Dominion
- Arms: Dagon’s Dominion
- Belt: Dagon’s Dominion
- Legs: Dagon’s Dominion
- Foot: Dagon’s Dominion
- Necklace: New Moon Acolyte
- Ring 1: New Moon Acolyte
- Ring 2: New Moon Acolyte
- Skill bar 1 (New Moon Acolyte Bow): Subterranean assault, Growing Swarm, Camouflage Hunter, Bull Netch, Acid Spray, Bear
5. Skinny Cheeks Stam Sorc Bow/Bow Setup
One of Skinny Cheek’s possible weapon setup is the bow/bow stamina sorcerer. Like other sorcerer builds, this one uses pets which helps in your survivability as a DPS. Unlike the other Arcane Archer in this list, this one uses a double bow setup, so there will be more DOT/Buff management happening around. But mastering that will be a sure fun time.
What this build is good for
- Easy switch from one setup to another
- Reliable DPS and survivability due to the sorcerer's kit
- Satisfying blend of the arcane and the bow
Build Details:
- Race: Orc
- Buff food: Lava Foot Soup and Saltrice
- Attribute Allocation: 64 Stamina
- Mundus: The Shadow
- Gear:
- Head: Arms of Relequen/ Yandir’s Might
- Shoulder: Arms of Relequen/ Yandir’s Might
- Chest: Leviathan/ Dragonguard Elite/ Tzogvin
- Arms: Leviathan/ Dragonguard Elite/ Tzogvin
- Belt: Leviathan/ Dragonguard Elite/ Tzogvin
- Legs: Leviathan/ Dragonguard Elite/ Tzogvin
- Foot: Leviathan/ Dragonguard Elite/ Tzogvin
- Necklace: Arms of Relequen/ Yandir’s Might
- Ring 1: Arms of Relequen/ Yandir’s Might
- Ring 2: Arms of Relequen/ Yandir’s Might
- Skill bar 1 Vateshran/ Blackrose/ Master’s Bow: Unstable Clannfear, Twilight Tormentor, Barbed Trap, Lethal Arrow, Bound armaments, Dawnbreaker
- Skill bar 2 Maelstrom/ Blackrose/ Master’s Bow: Unstable, Twilight, Endless hail, poison arrow, hurricane, atro
4. Alcast "Toxin" (Dragonknight Bow/Bow)
For Alcast’s toxin build provides well thought out DOTs as well as important passives through the Dragonknight’s kit. You’d find yourself managing a lot of buffs typical for a dragonknight class, so if you’re looking for that poison archer fantasy, this may be the build for you. Just a little heads up though, this build requires you to be close due to the range of some of the abilities.
What this build is good for:
- Consistent damage through numerous Damage Over Time abilities
- A unique playstyle for the Dragonknight class
- Due to its necessity to be close, missing buffs from a healer would rarely happen (ie. Combat Prayer)
Build Details:
- Race: Orc/ Khajit/ Dark Elf
- Buff food: Lava Foot Soup and Saltrice
- Attribute Allocation: 64 Stamina
- Mundus: The Thief
- Gear:
- Head: Tzogvin’s Warband/ Stormfist
- Shoulder: Tzogvin’s Warband/ Stormfist
- Chest: Perfected Arms of Relequen/ Hunding’s Rage
- Arms: Perfected Arms of Relequen/ Hunding’s Rage
- Belt: Perfected Arms of Relequen/ Hunding’s Rage
- Legs: Perfected Arms of Relequen/ Hunding’s Rage
- Foot: Perfected Arms of Relequen/ Hunding’s Rage
- Necklace: Tzogvin’s Warband
- Ring 1: Tzogvin’s Warband
- Ring 2: Tzogvin’s Warband
- Skill bar 1 (Perfected point-Blank Snipe/ Tzogvin’s Warband): Molten Whip, Noxious breath, Lethal Arrow, Venomiys Claw, Flames of Oblivion, Dawnbreaker
- Skill bar 2 (Perfected Thunderous Volley/ Tzogvin’s Warband): Endless hail, Poison Arrow, Soul splitting trap, Acid spray, resolving vigor, Standard of Might/ Ballista
3. Xynode "Yogi" Warden Bow/Bow
This dominantly single target-focused build is easy to use thanks to its straight, hard-hitting abilities. Like the previous Bow warden in this list, it takes advantage of the Warden’s hardest-hitting skill, Subterranean assault, to obliterate your enemies. Consider this an upgraded version of the other Bowden though as it utilizes both skill bars rather than one. So, feel free to transition to this build once you’re done with your CP grinding ;)
What this build is good for:
- Offers great buffs passively through its class skills which can passively heal, add damage, and add survivability to your character
- Smooth transition to a late-game bow build for a Warden
- Fulfills the nature-archer fantasy typical for a lot of high fantasy setting
Build Details:
- Race: Wood Elf
- Buff food: Artaeum Takeaway Broth or Dubious Camoran Throne
- Attribute Allocation: 64 Stamina
- Mundus: The Thief
- Gear
- Head: Kjalnar’s nightmare/ Stormfist
- Shoulder: Kjalnar’s nightmare/ Stormfist
- Chest: Arms of Relequen/ Gryphon’s Ferocity
- Arms: Arms of Relequen/ Gryphon’s Ferocity
- Belt: Arms of Relequen/ Gryphon’s Ferocity
- Legs: Arms of Relequen/ Gryphon’s Ferocity
- Foot: Arms of Relequen/ Gryphon’s Ferocity
- Necklace: Tzogvin’s Warband/ Mechanical Acuity
- Ring 1: Tzogvin’s Warband/ Mechanical Acuity
- Ring 2: Tzogvin’s Warband/ Mechanical Acuity
- Skill bar 1 (Tzogvin Bow/ Mechanical Acuity): Bull netch, Subterranean assault, Silver shards (or Camouflage Hunter), Bird of Prey, Lethal arrow, Wild Guardian (Ultimate)
- Skill bar 2 (Master’s Bow/ Maelstrom): Ring of preservation (or echoing vigor), Poison Injection, Subterranean Assault (Or ice fortress), Bird of Prey, Endless hail, Wild
2. Deltia Necro Build
The best thing about the necro? Well, in my opinion, it’s the class that contains a good combination of survivability, sustain, and damage. Among all the classes, you can see how this class was well thought out which makes sense considering that this is the latest class that Zenimax provided. The same is true to its bow build which gives you a combination with the class’ unique corpse mechanics while you snipe them from a distance. Deltia shows this efficiently with his take on the necro archer.
What this build is good for:
- Good damage if you master the corpse systems of the class
- Flexible positioning with the gear sets
- The passives increase your general damage, survivability, and sustain by adding in your class skills
- As a necromancer, you’ll have access to very good skills
Build Details:
- Race: Dark Elf
- Buff food: Artaeum Takeaway Broth or Essence of Weapon Power
- Attribute Allocation: 64 Stamina
- Mundus: Thief
- Gear
- Head: Kinra’s Wrath
- Shoulder: Kinra’s Wrath
- Chest: Kinra’s Wrath
- Arms: Kinra’s Wrath
- Belt: Kinra’s Wrath
- Legs: Tzogvin’s Warband
- Boots: Tzogvin’s Warband
- Necklace: Tzogvin’s Warband
- Ring 1: Tzogvin’s Warband
- Ring 2: Tzogvin’s Warband
- Skill bar 1 (Perfected Point-Blank Snipe): Blighted Blastbones, Skeletal Archer, Detonating Siphon, Lethal Arrow, Acid Spray, Flawless Dawnbreaker
- Skill bar 2 (Perfected Caustic Arrow): Razor Caltrops, Endless hail, Mortal Coil, Poison Injection, Echoing Vigor, Pestilent Colossus
1. Hack the Minotaur Nighblade Bow/Bow
Last but not least is the classical stamina double bow build. This assassin-style class would come on top when it comes to bow builds with its perfect blend of passives which give off that sneaky playstyle and the active skills to complement what the bow wants you to do (light attack and stay at range). With the class passively adding to your penetration and additional damage modifiers with how you play this DPS class, you’ll be certain to feel the power when you play the bow with this class.
What this build is good for
- Good synergy with bow and the nightblade skills
- Incentivizes you learn the fundamentals of the game such as light attack weaving through Relentless focus
- High burst damage and sustain through the nightblade skills
Build Details:
- Race: Orc/ Dark Elf/ Khajit
- Buff food: Lava Foot Soup and Saltrice
- Attribute Allocation: 64 Stamina
- Mundus: The Shadow
- Gear
- Head: Kinra’s Wrath
- Shoulder: Slimecraw
- Chest: Kinra’s Wrath
- Gloves: Kinra’s Wrath
- Waist: Kinra’s Wrath
- Legs: Harpooner’s Wading Kilt
- Boots: Kinra’s Wrath
- Necklace: Swamp Raider
- Ring 1: Swamp Raider
- Ring 2: Swamp Raider
- Skill bar 1 (Swamp Raider Bow): Poison injection (or camouflage hunter), lightweight beast trap, lethal arrow spam, relentless focus, killers blade (execute), toxic barrage (ultimate)
- Skill bar 2 (Maelstrom Bow): Poison injection, arrow barrage, lightweight beast trap, circle of scorn, camouflage hunter (or leeching strikes), Incap strikes
