I’m a big fan of the Bow skill line in The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO), and it’s actually the primary weapon on my Nightblade build.
What I like the most about the Bow skill line is that it can be a good secondary weapon for literally any class, especially melee builds that need a ranged option. It’s good for magicka builds as well, since you can use it to burn your stamina while your magicka regens.
There is one combination in the Bow skill line that is pretty amazing too when it comes to AoE XP grinding in ESO, and that’s Scorched Earth (morph from Volley) + Bombard (morph from Arrow Spray).
Scorched Earth – Morphed from the Volley ability, is easily accessible early on in the Bow skill line. It sends fire arrows into a 5 foot radius, which is easily large enough for any three enemy pack which is pretty common in the game. The skill also lights the ground on fire, causing enemies in the zone to have a six second fire DoT.
Bombard – Morphed from Arrow Spray, it’s an AoE damage, immobilize, and snare.
Why This Combo Is Great!
I’m sure you’re beginning to see why this is such a great combination. You’re raining fire arrows into an area of mobs, and then stunning them to keep them there until they die. You can alternate light attacks between Bombards to conserve stamina, so that the stun will refresh and you’re still doing gradual AoE damage until they die.
It’s important to time your first Bombard to hit right as the first arrows rain down to keep any teleporting enemies from coming out too quickly.
Since Bombard will take the longest of these to acquire, your best practice at first will be to make sure the enemies are on the back side of the circle, that way they have to travel through the majority of the circle to get to you.
I like to throw in Scatter Shot or either of its morphs as well to knock them back into the fire if they come out too quickly, and then immobilize them again with bombard. Scatter Shot is also a great skill for soloing Elites and other Bosses, so it’s a wise investment either way.
Mix It Up
You can throw just about anything else into this combination that you like. If you have other AoE abilities in your class build, toss them in for more damage. If you’re running a melee bar, use this as an opener and run in for your AoE kills. It can be used in a lt of different ways.
Here is an example of the Bow build I use as a Nightblade Archer for leveling:
Nightblade Archer / Duel Wield Leveling Build
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