So my charatcer is a level 70 sneak, i've taken the Assassins Blade perk.. But I'm struggling to make the sneak kill? What am I doing wrong, I've obviously got the knife in the back perk, but when I sneak up on an unsuspecting enemy/NPC I still only make a small amount of damage?

What am I doing wrong? I'm using an Elven dagger.

Any ideas?

only thing I can think of, is maybe you are not using a dagger? I believe it only works with a dagger, and not with say a sword...


*edit*

From perk description "Sneak attacks with daggers now do a total of fifteen times normal damage"

Idk what to say...my assassin does x30 damage with that perk, just...sneak and hit the npc.

EDIT: Yeah, this ^ also, the perk is only for daggers

Yeah I'm using a dagger, but on the two or three occasions that I've tried to sneak kill, I've only made a slight amount of damage, I'm thinking if maybe I'm stabbing from too far a distance, do I need to get very close to perform it correctly?

I also have this but have attributed it down to having lydia with me. I think they "detect" her but i am still "hidden". However because they are on alert for her, the sneak kill does not work. Have not tried it without her following though

well, if you try it and you are NOT close enough, it will alert the mob and then you blow your chance at a sneak attack...I'm usually right up in their "phonebooth" of space before I strike with my thief...

^^*edit* ^^and yeah, having a follower is more trouble than it's worth to try to make a sneak attack....if you do have a follower, make them wait a fair distance behind until you're done...

Well, sometimes if you get too close the mob will be alerted, but the crosshair will not open instantly, so you hit but get no bonus damage.
Also, the bonus is not static, like...if you just hit the trigger you do a normal hit x30...if you press and maintain the trigger, you do a hard hit x30...

Does a message get displayed in the upper left?

2 things ive noticed that cause sneak attack to fail.. 1st is having a companion they tend to get noticed even when you keep them back and around the corner, 2nd and more common is as you go to strike it seems to have a chance of detection and you end up doing minimal damage and a very angry man now facing you.. I countered this by speccing illusion pacifying my victim then sneaking behind him and trying again :ninja:

Thanks for the advice people, I don't normally travel with a companion, but I think maybe I'm not getting close enough.

Thanks again!

Also makesure you dont rush up to them those last few feet. They can notice you if you rush.

If you get detected before you get close or if you are still swinging you wont get the sneak attack, another thing to remember if you get too close you can bump the enemy making them aware of you nulling the sneak attack.

Cheers again, will give it a go tonight.

Hold down the attack button. A simple jab won't initiate the damage or the stealth kill.

Doesn't work every time, but will most.