Conjuration is a fun skill to couple with archery because of the Bound Bow skill (Level 50 Conjuration needed).Coupling that with a critical hit is extremely damaging. Deadly aim, a level 40 sneak skill, multiplies sneak attack damage by three. Needless to say, close-quarter combat with a bow and arrow is less than optimal. This avoids a complete brawl, which will save you potions and arrows. Sneak is important because, once you level up your archery and get stronger bows and arrows, you can kill people in one or two hits.
For some info on armor, check out my article on Light Armor vs. Deft movement is also extremely useful (what level 100 perk isn’t useful?), letting you avoid 10% of all melee damage. You can walk just as quickly in Heavy Armor, but only after you get the Conditioning perk (Heavy Armor 70), which takes quite a while to get. You need speed as an archer, to strafe, and light armor is always better than heavy sets for stealth purposes. Critical hits, as well as staggering and paralyzing enemies, are some of the most fun things to do with an archer (usually, at the beginning of the game, archery isn’t as fun because the enemies just sprint at you and kill you.
