(although, if you keep spamming bash while you are reloading, you will bash the enemy with the crossbow and do the same amount of damage as firing a bolt would do, you still have the bolt loaded and it gets your archery skill up). I also did one handed, for the Dawnguard war axe as, for me at least, no matter how careful and sneaky i am, there are some times when you can't avoid a close quarters fight, and there is almost nothing worse than the crossbow for this. I went with Restoration and Destruction as i don't plan on investing too many perks into them, but illusion or conjuration could be just as good. One or two of the magic schools would also work well. I would also go into sneak, up to the deadly aim perk. I went with Light Armour, so you can move quicker and quieter. I am currently doing the dawnguard quest line using mainly crossbows. You will only need 2 of the perks on the heavy Armour smithing side to make the crossbow and the bolts, and one of them (steel) is needed regardless of what side you choose. Just my 2 cents, will edit if I think of anything else. The Summoner perk lets you drop your buddies farther away so you can start a fight with more distance. I'm theorycrafting here)Ĭonjuration- An all-around useful school of magic if you want to give your enemies something else to think about while you stay back and pew pew at them. Crossbows are slower to shoot, everything that makes your shots count more is your friend (I assume, PC here so I've yet to get my hands on one. Yum.Īlchemy, with a focus on making poisons. This might be good, more so if you go heavy armor and can't get Wind Walker. Respite and some investment into restoration magic.

I really would just go light armor though, you spend less perks on it, more of which are useful, -and- you spend less perks getting to dragon smithing. Arguably even more so than a normal archer. I know it's a heavy investment to get fists of steel and cushioned, which are a bit on the meh side, but if you want to focus on crossbows you'll want to stay light on your feet.

If you are gonna stick with heavy armor, I would recommend Conditioning. Stealth->Backstab->Deadly Aim might be worth considering (Also possibly Assassin's Blade, always a pretty nice perk) Well, I imagine it'd be mostly like an archery build, right? I'd go light armor and take Custom Fit, Unhindered, and Wind Walker.

Skyrim automatic crossbow mod