how does the aiming dot work with the bow?

[Sito]

I have read steam discussions about shooting an arrow and having to adjust for distance and wind, but with the way the game mechanics change since pre-release I wonder if that is still applicable. 

as far as I can tell if I set the aiming dot right on the butt of a dear or the face of a wolf no matter how close or far away I am, the arrow goes right to the target give or take. it seems that when I pull the bow and release, the angle of the arrow is adjusted for the distance. is that right? or do I have to offset the dot first to compensate?

I ask because I just shot a wolf point blank in the head from really close, with the dot right between his eyes, but the arrow hit him in the back just above his head. which was higher than my aim. arrows fall in flight so I would expect a lower hit if I am needing to adjust for distance. 

similar thing happened when shooting a deer in the butt from just outside their detection range. aiming dot right on the butt, pull the trigger, and arrow hits slightly above the target area. about 1/2 the time I get an instakill so I guess that the aiming is compensating for distance and the variable in where the arrow hits is due to me being a whimp and wobbling around while I pull the bow.

instalkills are very satisfying btw

watching a wolf run out of my sight with my arrow is not

 

[selfless]

There is no "aiming dot".  There is a selection dot, for selecting things.  But it's not for targeting.

But it is in the center of the screen.  And it does stay lit when you hold the bow.  So it acts like a targeting aid.  And it's "supposed to".(?)(!)  Origin story: the selection for used to always be on.  A lot of HUD elements used to always be on.  Then someone read somewhere that HUDless games were super-edgy.  So Hinterland made all the HUD objects disappear as much as they could.  But players had learned to aim the bow based entirely on the selection dot.  So there was outrage.  Partly because the original bow placed the arrow on the side of the screen when aiming so there was very little to gauge alignment when zoomed.  So the Studio just put the dot back as a hotfix to save their ratings.  And never looked back apparently cuz it's still there.  Even though they changed the bow zoom to be easy to aim (just point the arrow where you want it to go).  So, yeah.

The basic aim point of any ranged tool in the game is the center of the screen.  And the exact location of the selection dot is the center of the screen.  So you may notice some coincidences when comparing it to shot placement.  But it's not intentional.  There are better clues available when sighting the bow zoomed, but they are complex and nuanced. And the bow is currently set to be perfectly aimed at the center of the screen when you first pull it back (quickscope).  So releasing quickly is far better than trying to hold or adjust.   So use the dot.  It's great.  But it's also wrong.  

[Sito]

Thanks for the background. makes sense.

anyway I find it almost always works to target the dot where I want the arrow to go then do a quick pull and release. in the case of a deer, it usually hears me and starts to run but the arrow still scores.

I'm playing on a laptop with a mousepad. impossible to fine tune my aim after pulling the bow. Hinterland, don't take my dot away please!