PSA: Bows are really really good.

I am relatively new to Valheim (about 100 hours over last two months) and have played almost exclusively solo. By chance and personal preference I have used bows almost exclusively. I have created and upgraded my Axes and Pickaxes but haven't made any other weapons. I will occasionally use my Axe in fights but its rare.

I struggled a bit at the start of dark forest and swamps, but once I got the full root set my momentum shifted and the game has been a cakewalk since. Mountain and plains biomes have been exceptionally easier than what my experience was in sunken crypts and burial chambers… here's why.

While I am not familiar with all game mechanics I think the bows skill may scale better than any other weapon skill. This is taken from the wiki:

Bows have 2.5 seconds of draw time at skill level 0, which decreases to a draw time of 0 seconds by level 100. The firing animation adds an additional 0.8 seconds. Therefore the seconds per single attack ranges from to 3.3 to 0.8 based on skill level.

This means that going from 0 bows skill to 100 bows skill will increase the speed of attack by over 4x. It also means that each level in bows has a bigger % impact on bow speed relative to the level before. Going from 0 bow skill to 1 bow skill will increase attack speed by 0.7% but going from 99 bow skill to 100 bow skill will increase attack speed by 3%.

My bow skill is now around 92 with the roots armor and I can stand in open field, fire at a lox from about 100 yards and easily kill it before it reaches me. Same thing with fuling beserkers. The only thing I have to be afraid of is fire damage (fuling shamans), and I can mitigate that with fire resistant potions. Everything else is easy to kite and dies quickly. Most mobs die in one hit from a surprise shot far away and don't get a chance to pose a threat. I have farmed loads of black metal, tar and lox resources with ease as a solo player.

But what about the arrows, and farming feathers, etc?

Here is what I recommend: use the basic wood arrows. Save all your feathers until you are nearly finished with mountain biome, and then use all your saved up feathers to make obsidian arrows. With exception of fire arrows for The Elder and frost arrows for Bonemass, I don't think making any arrows other than obsidian was worth the feathers. Regular arrows are really cheap (just 8 wood) and good enough in almost all cases. Leveling bows skill and making sure you have the best bow available and upgraded as top priority will be enough. Even if you are already at endgame, if your bow skill is low just level it up using regular wood arrows. Save the good arrows for the really hard fights.

Hope this helps new players get more enjoyment out of the game, especially in endgame!