Why Do Bows Have Terrible Aim?

[Damedius]

Seriously. A toy bow from a store is better than either of the first two bows.

[jonnin]

have a go at it then. Walk outside, and using only a pocket knife, turn a stick or sapling into a bow. Ill even let you use anything you like for the string. See how well it shoots, extra points if you make your own arrows. If you can hit a cow sized target at 10 yards, I will be impressed.

[Damedius]

So for immersion then?

It would probably take days to make the bow and arrows. Should you have to wait hours to make them for immersion?

[rexpiscator]

What about when you point straight down at a target, the aim is extremely pulled to one side and overshoots the reticle; perhaps that is part of the observations? Aim disregards the reticle when closer??

The closer the target, the worse the aim mechanic; is that immersive too, I suppose? I can't hit crap 5' in front of me pointing down but I can bullseye from 75 yards away?

[Hatsune Neko Gaming]

actually that is immersive.
when i used to try and learn to use a bow for hunting. i couldn't hit the broadside of a barn if i stood in front of it. that is if i could even hold onto the arrow.
the only thing not immersive is the fact with just a couple arrows, i can hit my target at level 0. Bows are pretty inaccurate until you have a lot of experience with them.

[Dwarflord]

Bows get better, skill gets better, you get better, accuracy gets better. You don't get a dark age sniper rifle just for cutting down your first tree.

[Imhotep]

Ya know i'ma be real, i never had a problem with the accuracy with the bow. I actually quite enjoy it. I do wish for 1st person but that also would completely change the aiming of the bow too.

[umop-apisdn]

The bow fires in an arc. When the targets are within melee range, or directly below you, aim down instead of up.

As for the accuracy... yeah, it's pretty pathetic. It's made worse by the fact that every time you move to a new bow, you have to figure out where the new bow is actually aiming... I didn't hit anything for a while after I upgraded to the second bow (finewood).

[SuperDave]

In the beginning, you bow skill is just too low for great results but will get better as you progress in game and does make all the difference later on. When starting out, you'll need to be a little closer to your targets to account for the range of potential drift but that drift. It starts getting noticeably better after skill 20 and by skill 40 to 50 I hardly ever see drift and can even do partial pulls to shoot the same distance as earlier full pulls.

[warrenchmobile]

A bow cannot aim any more than a firearm or a ballistic missile can aim. Aiming is all done by the end user.

Why do you have such terrible aim?

[umop-apisdn]

Originally posted by warrenchmobile:

A bow cannot aim any more than a firearm or a ballistic missile can aim. Aiming is all done by the end user.

Why do you have such terrible aim?

If the sights are off, even an experienced marksman will need to adjust, and even after learning where the sight picture actually is (compared to where it should be), will be less accurate than a properly sighted weapon.

The bows in Valheim have built-in inaccuracy. You not knowing this means you don't use bows in-game, and you spouting off like you know what you're talking about when you obviously don't... well that says things about you that you would probably rather it didn't.

[RBJ]

It's a skill issue, when you have your skill up a bit even the crude bow shoots straight.

[Damedius]

Originally posted by RBJ:

It's a skill issue, when you have your skill up a bit even the crude bow shoots straight.

So it's like an RPG. Where you can't aim with less than 10 skill but become a marksman when you hit 90+?

[Hondo]

You need to increase your skill level and adjust your aim. As mentioned earlier, arrows travel in an arc. You have to adjust your aim above the target based on distance to allow for the drop as the arrow travels. The bow can be a very useful tool. It just takes some practice.

[Shaken_Widow]

the way the bows aim is trajectory prediction based.

if you are aiming at a specific spot, your character will try to arc the shot to hit that exact location.

you still need to lead and give extra height to shots though, because while you are aiming at the direct spot it still has drop.

aiming at a deer around 20 meters away and if you shoot above it where you're aiming over it and not actually with your crosshair on it, the bow will overshoot, but if you aim right at the deer it will try to arc at it and undershoot.

this can end up causing frustration being that there is no middle ground between aiming right at the deer, and aiming right above it.

my experience is to hunt up hill, because you will always be aiming high and the arrows will always undershoot, thus landing shots more precisely.

[Faceplant]

Originally posted by Damedius:

Originally posted by RBJ:

It's a skill issue, when you have your skill up a bit even the crude bow shoots straight.

So it's like an RPG. Where you can't aim with less than 10 skill but become a marksman when you hit 90+?

I don't think character skill has any affect on accuracy, only damage, draw time, and stamina usage.

Mostly you just have to practice and learn how to aim it. Mostly that just consists of aiming some distance above the target depending on range and angle of attack (aiming down requires less additional height). Fortunately, mobs very seldom detect a missed shot, even if it flies right over their head, so you can normally take a second shot if you miss the first time.

The crude bow is not very good, but the finewood bow is not bad. Upgrade to the Draugr Fang as soon as you can because it's a major improvement over the finewood bow. I've never tried any of the other bows.