Ranger advice, general discussion

[llamahunta]

Hello, im fairly new to this game and i was hoping i could ask a few questions. im looking to make a ranged character thats a bit of a melee hybrid as well, what skills would be the best to have as my main? light armor kinda seems like it sucks so i was thinking heavy? also what bows tend to be the best the ones that are heavy or light? i was thinking black would have good synergy seeing as i will have high dex. really im just looking for any advice on things that have worked well for others.

Also general archer discussion thread

[Prickett]

Heavy weapons and armor made no difference to me when I made my ranged character.

[wolf3167]

Alright guys. A good ranger build is as follows:
Primary skills:

Accuracy- bows, throwing, etc

Environment Magic- important. Used to enchant which is your only means of survival a at high levels. Also useful for utility spells (Mark, recall, etc)

Heavy OR Light armor- heavy provides a greater base AC while light tends to have higher enchant storages which can more than make up for lower base AC.

Heavy and/or Light Weapons, Dual-wield or block- Here is where your choices open up. Use DW for greater Damage Per Hit or Block for greater defensive properties. Whichever you prefer. If you use DW, I recommend BOTH heavy and light weapons as you will probably use both a heavy and light one at the same time.
If you have another primary skill just pick and skill you like- persuade and alchemy are both good. Any questions, feel free to ask.