There's lots of ways to play through combat in Skyrim. With multiple potential builds, skills to focus on, and infiltration methods to choose from, players have many varied methods to take down opponents in the game.
One of the most popular among these is the classic Skyrim stealthy archer build. By remaining hidden in the shadows, players can fire off arrows without their opponent knowing anything is coming, potentially landing sneak attacks for bonus damage that can turn the tide of battle dramatically in the player's favor.
However, that bonus only takes effect if the arrow actually connects, and that's where one player had a problem start. Redditor Rengee817 shared a clip of their frustration as they can be seen perched in the distance, carefully lining up their shot on a lone enemy. The on-screen HUD indicates that they're fully hidden, with no one in the vicinity aware of their presence. Yet when they release the string on their Skyrim bow to fire their shot, the opponent swiftly side-steps, avoiding the attack entirely.
Once would be annoying, but twice seems practically supernatural, and that's what happens next. After the first shot misses, the NPC begins to look around, somewhat aware that something is amiss. The second shot is loosed, and the NPC proceeds to slide back in the opposite direction, avoiding that one entirely, too. It isn't until the NPC's back is completely turned that the player successfully lands a shot, hitting the NPC for 3.0x damage with a successful sneak attack.
While this might seem like a one-off oddity, players in the comments note that it's anything but. Many of them point out that they've experienced the exact same problem, with Skyrim NPCs maintaining a preternatural sense of danger and avoiding shots as a result, even if they're allegedly unaware of being under attack. The only good thing here is that the NPC never becomes fully aware of where the player is, so their chance isn't entirely wasted. However, spending the time and effort only to have their shots be for nothing is surely frustrating.
The good news is that like with practically everything in Skyrim, there's a mod for this. Users pointed to mods like 'No magic ninja ai dodge,' which as the name implies, puts a stop to this behavior. Unfortunately, though, this fix won't work for everyone, including the original poster. Skyrim mods are widely available on PC, with a smaller selection available for select consoles. However, this player is on the Nintendo Switch, which lacks mod access, so they're stuck with this particular problem.
Skyrim is available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.