So I'm about level 10, a few things I've noticed. One I had to tone the difficulty down from Adept to Apprentice. Even coming from years of gaming back to Wolfenstein 3D, WC 2 3 and WoW from launch, CS from launch, TF from launch etc. I found that sneaking around was like Bilbo from the hobbit sneaking into that dragon cave only my dragons were frostbite spiders and sabres. I would kill them but just barely and if they got that last bite in before I got my arrow off I'd often die. This was with me dodging, kiting, etc. Should I have to be worrying about enchanting or poisoning every single arrow at level 10? I dropped the difficulty to Apprentice and it seems much more balanced, I don't have to put 10 arrows in a spider to kill it.

Another thing, as an assassin every single person I come across I usually kill (in the wilderness). I'll usually save the game, kill them, loot, then google their name to find out if I've killed someone useful to me or for a quest. As an assassin I can't afford sheathing my weapon and walking up to someone and having them be hostile and/or a bandit (I've not played Oblivion and don't know all the armor types yet). Am I missing the ability to see them closer or a friendly/enemy icon? It seems like if you're in assassin the rule of thumb is to kill everyone you meet in the wilderness or risk being killed due to missing your sneak shot.

Advice?

the greatest assasins approach tenativly but the remain in the shadows while they observe their potential targets :ninja: (sneak up to them and see if they are "bandit" or not)

My sneak is maxed out at about 2/5 and I'm in all light armor yet still haven't been able to get close to a single target for a backstab.

Stealth is a bit hard early on but unstoppable later.

And people who belong to a quest cant be killed. Well most of them can't. A few of the might be able to.

Fire an arrow near them (not in them ) if they are hostile they will be alerted and try to look for you, if they are friendly they will be indifferent.

This, if you fire it off to the side, they'll go in alert mode. Then you can kill them from the shadows with a well placed arrow, while their imagination plays tricks on them.

The Throw Voice shout is excellent with this approach. Plus, using Throw Voice won't result in one of those "Ah [censored], I didn't really mean to shoot that guy" moments.

Detect life spell color codes hostiles and friendies for your convenience although it's cost is really quite heavy for it's effect.

Stealth is OP from start til finish imo.

Start : Always make sure the enemies back are against you, and use Shift (if it's the PC). There's sneak "walking" and sneak "sneaking" for extra sneakiness.
Dark areas are important, you see a torch? Remove it asap. You can attack an enemy from behind without his friends noticing, though you'll be in trouble if you attack one early on when they are eyeballing the person you're attacking.
Btw if you're lvl 10 and you're an assassin your sneak should be quite high, so you should have the DMG bonus perks already, with that you'll need 2-3 hits on medium mobs on master.


Later on : just duck and kill everything that moves.

Thank you!

Does Aura Whisper determine friendlies form hostiles? I haven't used it yet.

To OP; Throw voice works really well also the arrow trick. You will get to a point that you will literally be able to sneak up behind them (or stealth roll) and end their life easily.

EDIT: Also joining the Thieves guild or Dark Brotherhood, should help you out alot.

join the dark brotherhood when you get a chance. those gloves are ungodly

I got 2 words of Aura Whisper, and no it doesn't differentiate friendlies from hostiles.

You're level 10. I play on Master difficulty. I'm over level 10 and I can get 1-shot by a sabre. Some enemies you need to just bypass until you're a higher level. The only thing I do right now with giants is run away from them. As for 10 arrows vs. a spider-- make sure you're always looking for a more powerful bow, and when you're in town buy the most damaging arrows you can. If you're always using iron arrows, you're not going to do a whole lot of good. Pick up appropriate perks. It doesn't take long to get the x3 damage multiplier from the bow, which is awesome. Even on Master difficulty, it isn't long until you're 1-shotting groups of enemies with an enchanted bow and never be detected.

Unfortunately not

Use V.A.T.S.

if you are level 10, try going around some enemies, or avoiding them altogether. You don't have to kill everyone. Don't reduce the difficulty, or you'll get bored...you don't get xp for kills.

Join the thieves guild.. I think their armor is good for the level And if i remember correctly, their boots are muffled so you move even more quiet.. At level 11 i could easily sneak up and backstab a bandit or such with their gear on..

This^ is a good method for determining friendlies. It is an advantage over the shout and a reason I still keep it. Don't shoot blues, shoot reds.

Thats something...else.



The Thieves boots are some easer pickpocket percentage.

OP, the idea of the assassin is to kill them in either 1 or 2 sneak attacks with your dagger. Ideally you should lose very little or no health at all as an assassin, because you kill them without them landing a single strike on you. From the sounds of it, your sneak attack damage barely hurts them, and you then have to kill them off "like a warrior" in a long open combat.

If you haven't gotten the necessary equipment and perks to make your first dagger strike lethal, you can try the following:

1. Sneak attacks from afar
You mentioned that you had to kite. That is not the way of the shadows.

What you should do is sneak attack with an arrow, then move away from your starting location.
Wait till the enemy stops searching for you, then go back and sneak attack him again. Then move away again from that spot.
Rinse and repeat till he dies.

Unlike in Oblivion, if you do a sneak attack, you are not yet detected. The enemy has to find you first. That is why you have to move away from the spot where you launched your arrow.

2. Don't wear any armor.
If you find that you are being detected too easily while sneaking, it is because your sneak skill is low and it is not enough to offset the noise that your armor makes.

Assassins shouldn't get hit, so you can just wear normal clothes to sneak around.

Once you find that you can sneak very well, you can then consider using some armor pieces.

3. Perks and equipment for future improvement.
If you are not doing well, chances are it is due to you not getting the right perks.

If you are being detected too easily, you just need the Stealth and Muffled Movement perks, and just a higher sneak skill.
If your single dagger strike isn't taking away a lot of their health, you just need a stronger dagger and the Assassin's Blade perk (x15 damage multiplier for dagger sneak attacks!) Deadly aim increases your sneak bow attacks from x2 to x3.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Sneak

At the start, just sneak attack with a bow.

Oh my bad then.. But i do remember getting a pair of boots from either thieves guild or Dark Brotherhood that makes a muffled movement, since i dont do dungeons alot it has to come from any of those two

I personally love being an assassin. I have killed every target by way of sneaking and backstabbing them, or slicing their throats after once again, sneaking. I find the entire outfit rather useful, the boots for their muffling of sound as you walk, the Shrouded cowl for its secrecy and mystery, the armor for the look of it(and if you have high light armor it really stands up, and of course lastly the gloves for their bonus to backstabbing people. I wish however I could sneak on a certain "Master Vampire". I guess I will have to bypass him til I can level up a bit and then take his A$$ out...

What is the problem? You cannot sneak up on him?
You cannot kill him in 1 or 2 shots?

I believe the DB's boots do as well