If your a warrior, perhaps you want the braveheart approach. But see, again this comes down to personal experience, perspective and preference. Sneak is easily managed without its tree if supplemented with illusion spells which eliminates most of the sneak perk benefits. I usually only level up the sneak, but use equipment for the bonuses, or boost the weapon skill directly. But I make the best use of my perks that I can for my particular character. I personally use most every skill in my playthroughs (that I always stop at level 49). A crossbow is for the warrior/mage in a tight spot wanting a quick shot. someone could realistically find any reason that either is better than the other. Such as the DPM if a player had an entire armory of crossbows vs an archer with a single bow (difference being the need to reload your ammunition). So I started listing off random frivolous things that could make a difference in the damage output. I thought we were attempting to see from a base perspective what weapon was better. What archer doesnt have the 100% bonus from perks?Īctually the 3x multiplier with bows during a sneak attack falls under sneak skill not archery and is required to get the assassin's blade perk so it is entirely in the realm of possibility that a non archer would have this perk. In their tongue, he is Dovahkiin - DRAGONBORN!!!' Also as a side note the Throw Voice shout is one of my favorites for 2 reasons because 1) it shows you how many enemies are near and their relative location and it helps draw targets to a vulnerable location and lead them with an arrow so the two get to the location at the same time.

Also I used to be a stealth melee fighter but now I am almost entirely ranged stealth and then destroy in close range when I am spotted by someone near me. I 100% agree with you I was just stating that it's not just archer who would have this perk so the fact that it only affects bows is a moot point. Maybe I'm alone in thinking a 2 perk dip for something like this is a steal or maybe I'm in the minority that doesn't feel compelled to entirely fill out every tree I utilize, but still it seems a no brainer to me that stealth and archery go hand in hand. It however flows with archery like conjuration flows with being a mage and takes very little real effort to get (lvl 40 sneak doesn't take long when sneak attacks will level it).

It isn't an archery skill, that much is true.

Skyrim crossbow overpower