Simple question: does the player EVER get good at hitting things with a bow?

I seem to be totally incapable of hitting anything from outside of its detection range, and even then I miss constantly.

Occasionally arrows pass straight through my enemies (even when they're in ideal range)...

Switching weapons is a fairly slow process (though quicker than in G1, I believe), so shooting and then switching doesn't seem very viable considering I can't hit them until I'm pretty close.

It seems like bows are only really useful against enemies that I can down relatively quickly.

The range at which you can TARGET enemies is wayyy longer than the range in which I can hit things.

Oh, EDIT: I have 34 bow skill.

Since bows require DEX to be wielded properly, a few words about that first:

1. The higher the DEX. the better bow you can equip.
Example: Dragonbow requires a DEX value of 160.
2. Damage of a bow is equal to the sum of the damage of that bow plus your DEX value.
Example: Dragonbow (160 damage) + a DEX value of 200 = your total damage: 160 + 200 = 360.

** DEX / Bow mechanics are different from Gothic 1, so don't rely on knowledge from there:
- Bow skill measures how accurately you shoot a bow and the distance you can shoot from, not DEX (if you have 1000 DEX you'll still shoot only from 10 feet (I mean a short distance) with a 10% bow skill).
- Remember that with long range weapon such as bow and crossbow, every hit is critical (unlike melee).

Bows are my favorite weapons in G2. But as kojocel already explained, the chance to hit depends on your bow skill and the distance to your target.So if you are trying to hit on long distance with a low skill that will not be very successful. Early on I would not bother raising the bow skill. Only raise DEX. That way you can deal a lot of damage short range because every hit with a bow is critical. All you have to do is being creative with the terrain and get youself in a position where your enemy is close but cannot reach you. And later in the game with a high bow skill you can just take out almost anything from the distance.

Using a bow to weaken an enemy and then going to melee is not the intended way. A bow is not a secondary weapon. It is the primary weapon for a DEX build. If you want a secondary weapon for a STR build you should use crossbows or magic.

Yep, I actually thought that's how the dex mechanic worked in G1, but then I found out dex is not all that useful past around 50 in G1 (no damage bonus : /) So does the bow skill ever become reliable? I'm at Marksman rank and still missing shots WITHIN enemy detection range >: \

I really feel underpowered in G2, like nothing I do will actually make my character functional... Interesting, do you mean to say I shouldn't add ANY points to strength/melee? If I had considered this my build would probably be working better right now... I was totally under the impression that continuing to use a bow while an enemy is wailing on you was a bad idea.

It does. Just keep leveling it up. On the other hand, don't forget that aiming well from a high distance can't make much of a difference if your damage (DEX + bow) is too low.

G2 NotR is a hard game. The hardest of them all.
Also don't forget that the higher your skill / stats are, the higher the LP cost to further train them.

A DEX build should have points in melee to use it's secondary weapon. There are 4 one handed weapons in the game that raquire DEX instead of STR to use them. They do not get bonus damage based on DEX however. They still use STR for the damage. Your melee weapon will mostly be needed when you are fighting enemies you do not want to kill. You can't knock people out with a bow. But you do not have to max that skill. Most DEX based melee weapons also give a bonus to the one handed weapon skill.
As for points in STR... I usually spend the points up to 34. 1 LP for a point is almost for free after all... After that I only raise STR with the boni (Shrines, potions, tablets, apples, stew, ...). I guess you do not need to put the LP into STR but I do not think they are wasted that way.
Early in the game it is a bad idea to have an enemy wailing on you. That is why you should be tricky with the terrain. Bait the enemy. Climb a rock. And then shoot him while he is busy being mad downstairs. In the late game you will either kill the enemy befor he reaches you or you will have enough hit points to just keep on shooting when the enemy reaches melee range.

Let me ask another question:

WHEN does the bow skill start hitting consistently?

At 34 bow skill I tend to miss at enemy detection range, then slightly closer I start to hit more often (but by no means does it hit every time) and when they get close enough to melee me the arrow either misses or has this weird delayed damage aspect...

I just figured I'd at least be able to shoot a fellow when I've ranked up...

Alright, now I have something to shoot for (pun intended).