Skyrim - The Elder Scrolls V

[illram]

I wouldn't try thieves guild quests until you have decent sneak stats. I forget now but I think I started their quest line around low 40s in sneak. Seeing if you can sneak past the Ratway folks is a good test.

Spoiler :

(Use invisibility potions.)

Sneak is really easy to build up, all you need to do is... sneak alot.

 

[Thrawn]

Does anyone know if there is a hard cap to how high you can buff your weapon damage?
I currently have a Legendary Daedric Warhammer with relevant 2-handed perks maxed and it does 129 damage.

http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.ph...ng-smithing-alchemy-enchanting-only-31-perks/

You can get it a bit higher than that heh.

 

[uat2d]

I wouldn't try thieves guild quests until you have decent sneak stats. I forget now but I think I started their quest line around low 40s in sneak. Seeing if you can sneak past the Ratway folks is a good test.

Spoiler :

(Use invisibility potions.)

Sneak is really easy to build up, all you need to do is... sneak alot.

One sneak attack improves the sneak skill much faster than just sneaking. Just don't wear heavy armor and hit your enemies from behind and while in the dark, with a dagger preferably because those don't make noise when swinging.

The muffle illusion spells helps with this and it can be obtained from Farengar, not to mention that it also helps build up your illusion skills - which on its own are the most beneficial for a sneak gameplay as it's there where there is the perk that allows for quiet casting and spells like Calm or Invisibility.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Does anyone know if there is a hard cap to how high you can buff your weapon damage?

The hard cap is the value which makes your game crash from a stack overflow error. No idea what that is, I'm guessing it's in the thousands.

 

[Yeekim]

The hard cap is the value which makes your game crash from a stack overflow error. No idea what that is, I'm guessing it's in the thousands.

Hmm... I found the following about armor:

The armor cap in Skyrim occurs at an Armor Rating of 567 (80% damage reduction). With sufficiently high Smithing, most heavy armors and many light armor types can reach this cap. At high levels, the choice of armor thus becomes about aesthetics and the preference between Tower of Strength (50% less stagger) and Reflect Blows (10% damage reflected) versus Wind Walker (50% faster stamina regen) and Deft Movement (10% chance to avoid damage).

Now, I know you can get it show higher numbers (I have something just below 700), just that it presumably has no effect past the cited point... Or that´s what I make of it, anyway.
http://www.ign.com/wikis/the-elder-scrolls-5-skyrim/Heavy_Armor
Here seems to be a bit more in-depth calculation:
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Armor

 

[Blue Emu]

It worked the same way in Oblivion, where armor values over 85 or so had no additional effect.

 

[Akka]

Just wanting to rant about the lack of choices in the game.
Seriously, the amount of time there is only "yes, I agree" as a dialogue option, and the only way to "chose" something else is to tab-out of the conversation (you can imagine how much it feels like a real decision...) is really annoying. Especially during some quests where there is a pretty heavy and long-lasting decision to make and a choice would REALLY have felt much more adequate than a blind acceptance...

 

[Disgustipated]

I agree about lack of choices. My new nickname for the PC in Skyrim is the Yes man. Because no matter what the NPC says, your character says yes he (or she) can do it.

 

[Double A]

I like the quest in Oblivion where you could literally just laugh at the NPC who wanted you to go out, kill 5 slaughterfish, and bring him the scales.

 

[Azale]

Just wanting to rant about the lack of choices in the game.
Seriously, the amount of time there is only "yes, I agree" as a dialogue option, and the only way to "chose" something else is to tab-out of the conversation (you can imagine how much it feels like a real decision...) is really annoying. Especially during some quests where there is a pretty heavy and long-lasting decision to make and a choice would REALLY have felt much more adequate than a blind acceptance...

Ok, is there anything you actually LIKE about Skyrim?

 

[Akka]

Ok, is there anything you actually LIKE about Skyrim?

Yeah, but not as much as I would like...
Some games are rough diamond. This one feels like a broken diamond : it could have superb, but it rely too much on a few (admitedly BIG) qualities and hence let itself slips in SO MANY ways outside of these qualities, that you can't help but bump into flaws at every corners...

And honestly, it's already rather grating to find games where you can only answer "yes" or "no", but one where you can only answer "yes" and that's it, it's a new record in the lazy design department...

 

[Rub'Rum]

In a lot of games I guess you do have the option of saying "no", then the NPC sits there and the story stagnates until you come back and say "yes".

 

[Aroddo]

What level should you be before entering the Thieve's Guild? After entering Riften with my main character I created a second character (a thief) and went to Riften at 3rd level. I can't get past the initial two thugs in the Ratway.

I do recommend sneak level 30 with at least 2 points in stealth, 1 in backstab and whatever you can spare in one-handed.
Thieve guild jobs involve lots of sneaking.

 

[Disgustipated]

One sneak attack improves the sneak skill much faster than just sneaking. Just don't wear heavy armor and hit your enemies from behind and while in the dark, with a dagger preferably because those don't make noise when swinging.

The muffle illusion spells helps with this and it can be obtained from Farengar, not to mention that it also helps build up your illusion skills - which on its own are the most beneficial for a sneak gameplay as it's there where there is the perk that allows for quiet casting and spells like Calm or Invisibility.

I didn't realize sneak attacks raise it faster than just sneaking. but the catch is you need to be sneaking in order to do a sneak attack. So you need you sneak high enough to successfully perform one sneak attack.

 

[Rub'Rum]

I sneak all the time even with no sneaky characters. You just sneak around town and stuff. It goes up rather quickly. Sneak around sleeping people and stuff.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Just buy or make invisibility potions. Your relevant ingredients are Chaurus Eggs, Ice Wraith Teeth, Luna Moth Wing, Nirnroot, and Vampire Dust.

If you're a warrior, you can even take the enemies head-on. No penalties for that, surprisingly.

 

[Akka]

In a lot of games I guess you do have the option of saying "no", then the NPC sits there and the story stagnates until you come back and say "yes".

Yeah, but for many (most ?) of the quests, they didn't bother to even provide this minuscule amount of "choice"...

 

[uat2d]

I didn't realize sneak attacks raise it faster than just sneaking. but the catch is you need to be sneaking in order to do a sneak attack. So you need you sneak high enough to successfully perform one sneak attack.

If you don't wear heavy clothing, if you don't appear in his field of view, if you stick to dark places, if you don't walk too fast while sneaking and if you use a weapon like a dagger of a bow, you'll always get a sneak hit, no matter if your sneak skill is 15 or 100.

The more you do it, the more your sneak improves and the more perks you'll be able to get that help your sneaking, which will allow you to be more effective in your sneaking. It's just a matter of being more careful in the beginning.

I highly highly recommend you to improve your sneak by just trying to get sneak hits rather that grinding for it like always sneaking or running against a wall next to a sleeping enemy - not only is it more efficient, it's also much more fun and rewarding. I got to sneak 100 by turn 35, IIRC, and it could have been earlier if I had used Muffle or Invisibility more often.

 

[illram]

Sneak attacks with a bow and arrow are pretty easy and don't require much of a sneak skill. Or ranged magic. I usually always try to get as many sneak bow shots in on enemies as possible, unless I am in a lazy hack & slash mood.

As others said light armor is a plus and also, I believe one of the guilds, either Dark Brotherhood or Thieves Guild, gives you

Spoiler :

boots that muffle your footsteps upon joining

 

[uat2d]

Even better as the boots that have the Muffle effect (which can be also cast with an Illusion spell - which is good because it helps you increase two skills at once) is the double backstab gloves you can get in the Dark Brotherhood.

If you pair those gloves with the perk Assassin's Blade, you get a *30 damage bonus - it's pretty much a one hit kill if you are undetected. Just smith a dagger, improve it and get the enchantment that souls traps an enemy if it kills him in 1 second (which is all you need) and you'll not only kill everyone while sneaking easily, you'll fill up soul gems without any hassle.