2011-11-25

Skyrim Archery Tweak: More Like Real Archery Now

Learn how to make the archery in Skyrim feel much more like real archery and medieval combat.

This post and the video below shows a Skyrim archery tweak making bow and arrows work much more realistically and intuitively. Tweak makes arrows fly thru the crosshair and then fall (as in Oblivion and most other games), and not over the crosshair like it does by default, and make the archery feel a lot more like real archery.

As far as I know, this tweak is safe (doesn't break save games) and you can "uninstall" by removing the lines you add, and arrows behave as by default again.

By default, bow is automatically tilted up and arrows fly over the crosshair, making the bow to work a bit like gun (you hit where you aim). This is usually fine, especially in close distances, but if you want to "snipe" from a distance, it comes really hard to figure out where to aim.

Plus, I think it's just better that the archery works more the way it works in other games and in real life - Thus, I like really liked how this tweak changed how archery works.

Skyrim.ini Edit

1) Find Skyrim.ini (not SkyrimPrefs.ini), which is located in 'My Documents/My Games/Skyrim' after running Skyrim once.

2) Backup Skyrim.ini before editing (take a copy of it).

3) Add to Skyrim.ini (or edit the lines are already there) [1]:

[Combat]
fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0
fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0
f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7
f1PBoltTiltUpAngle=0.7
f3PBoltTiltUpAngle=0.7

The latter two (*Bolt*) lines are for the crossbows added via Dawnguard DLC.

4) And if you want the arrows to fly really far (not in use on the video), add this to Skyrim.ini as well [2]:

[Actor]
fVisibleNavmeshMoveDist=12288.0000

Because of gravity physics, arrows fall as they fly, this tweak doesn't change that.

As a result, with the tweak arrows behave more intuitively and you can compensate longer distances by aiming higher without guessing how high the arrow will fire - and on shorter distances, hit exactly where you aim.

Here's a video I made showing how the archery works by default (0:00) and how it changes and works after the tweak (3:35 onwards):


Skyrim Archery Tweak: How to Make Arrows Behave More Intuitively




Watch the video in YouTube (HD): Skyrim Archery Tweak

References

I couldn't find who came up with the tweak first to give proper credit, but I found it from Bethesda Forums when the tweak was posted by spookyfx.com:

17 comments:

Guest said...

Great, Thanks!

Joshua Gano said...

Many thanks for this info! :D I'm keeping this Bookmarked until I can put it to use in Skyrim when I eventually get it! I've heard of the Auto-Aim Feature screwing up shots too for those that are skilled in manual compensation of motion, does this address that too, or is that a separate tweak? :) I appreciate the thought of Bestheda trying to be helpful with the Archery, but it sounds like their good intentions mighta kinda backfired & caused trouble instead... plus it seems to me that having to learn to manually compensate for target movement is part of the immersion of Skyrim Archery... vs Auto-Aim hand-holding for non-moving targets & screwing up shots that shoulda been good on moving targets. :(

Black Sithis said...

Hi, will the last tweak change if I adjust the Actor slider on  Skyrim ingame settings?

Antti Kokkonen said...

I think bound bow is just like any other bow when it comes to this tweak, it's just "summoned" instead of taking it from the inventory.

Antti Kokkonen said...

No, the actor slider in the launcher options (advanced) menu is different and affects the distance actors are visible. The fVisibleNavmeshMoveDist affects how long (a distance) arrow "exists" in the game world

Black Sithis said...

 Ok, thanks.

Archer said...

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=10037:)
Archery Overhaul

Alex Decker said...

Apparently this actually makes archery less realistic, since in real life arrows *do* fly higher than you aim at short distances. Quote:
"Oh….my…god…. Has any one here actually done archery in real life? This
tweak makes archery super unrealistic. What you’re demonstrating here
is something called “loft”, which real life archers (like me) take into
account when firing at a target. That is why in real life, you aim below
a target to actually hit it…"

source: http://goodcreditsecrets.com/skyrim-archery-tweak-more-realistic-aiming/#comment-53095

jdhtuominen84 said...

This is a good tip.. knew it already though.. was trying to find out the way to make arrows little less hitscan.. don't get me wrong, this doesn't make the bows hitscan weapons but...

Need to tweak it a little bit. :)

BlkWhirlWind said...

im actually have a problem with aiming still after doing this. My arrows still shoot just as high as before. It might be that in my skyrim folder is doesnt have skyrim.ini it only has skyrim_default, and i am also running windows 8. But if someone can help me that would be awesome.

Zemalf said...

You're editing the wrong file/dir. 'My Documents/My Games/Skyrim', or similar, like it says in the instructions, not the Skyrim game dir :)

BlkWhirlWind said...

thank you, lol i feel stupid now...i am in the process of becoming a game designer, so i feel as if i should know something that simple. :P thanks again

superfuntime said...

don't feel stupid , it's common sense to think that a config file .ini for a game is in the same folder as the game itself , it fooled me too at first , i like this new system as it save the save game and config of games i play , it's helpful to me since im a compulsive deleter (something i should really stop doing) i guess i got scared of hoarding somehow and now im doing the exact opposite LOL

superfuntime said...

just a little comment about those tweak : the F3 ( f3 mean third person view ) lines may not be the best tweak , i suggest doing a research on it since i saw somewhere that they may not be accurate ... thats only if you play third person view ( i sure dont )

BTK said...

Wish I had discovered this earlier... still... this is awesome, archery feels much better now. Thank you!

smokingpacman said...

It doesn't work even after I made sure is everything is right. Could the fact my Skyrim is cracked be the reason?

Viventes Mortua said...

This tweak Works correctly ! However Arrow May Seem "too heavy" atleast it seem to be heavy as long you use CROSSHAIR.. DO NOT USE CROSSHAIR if you wish to aim and hit properly . Watch over the tip of your Arrow. i am super serious i find out this method accidently and i am using crosshair no more specially not for Long range archery !! crosshair WILL ONLY Confuse you on long range archery ! Try out And Let me know if you are better on archery ! You must take time for little practice to make it clear where arrow willd land . Specially on close range Targets but i mastered it after 30 shot arrows ;)

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