My thief character is a Bosmer, and I was wondering if I should go with security or alteration. Security would fit my character more I suppose, but alteration could be more useful, since not only does it open locks, but it provides you shield as well. Bosmers also comes with a 10 point boost in alteration And should I bother with illusion? I was thinking about choosing illusion as one of my favorite attributes, in place of alchemy, just for chameleon alone, but they cost so much magicka points, even for a small chameleon spell. I don't think I'll have enough even for the small one.

Alright, so here's my build.

Race:Bosmer
Attributes:Agility, Luck
Birthsign:The Lady

Alchemy
Acrobatics
Blade
Light Armor
Marksman
Security
Sneak

I don't think I'm satisfied with my skills. I really wanna have block in there, and was thinking about switching Alchemy with Block. Should I do i?

For me , this would be a roleplaying issue. Some of my characters like to fiddle around with mechanical locks, others (at least 2 wizards so far) simply go the Alteration route. I've even had some characters who are not proficient with either method! If they pick a lock, they have to do so via the Auto pick method!

A theif character could go either way, so this is a choice you'll have to make, unfortunately. If you get your Alteration boosted up, and choose to use magic, you can easily open any door or chest or gate you find in your travels, but then this aspect of the game (picking locks) becomes non-challenging. If I'm playing a theif or an assassin, I enjoy the challenge of picking locks. :shrug: That's the point of playing a theif in the first place, right? There is such a thing as a "lazy" theif, though, who merely goes after the goods with no ego or fuss whatsoever.

I wouldn't choose Illusion or Alchemy for a Major (that's what I think you're asking in your 2nd question) because they both level up too fast, which eventually leads to the entire game leveling up too fast, which leads to ebony-wearing bandits. :thumbsdown: That's just me, though.

Should I drop alchemy for block then? Or perhaps I should drop it for athletics? Hmm...

We might have 2 seperate goals in mind. I'm thinking roleplaying, you may be thinking efficient leveling or some sort of stat-based approach. I don't know how new you are to this game, but the faster your character levels up, the more ridiculous the world of Cyrodiil becomes. In my opinion. Click spoiler button for a spoiler.



If I had to choose, I'd drop Alchemy for Atheletics. Levels up way-slow.

Hrm. Depends on which you prefer, really. If you don't mind the minigame, then Security really would be best for a Thief. On the otherhand, if you loathe lockpicking with a passion, then you'll find the Open Lock spells to be an absolute godsend.

I'm using FCOM btw, so I think it'll fix that problem for me.

And here's my seven major skills.

Athletics
Acrobatics
Blade
Light Armor
Marksman
Security
Sneak

As you can see, I replaced alchemy with athletics, and decided not to include block. So it evens out now with three agility skills, three speed skills... and one strength skill.

...Now something else is bothering me, regarding my attributes. Should I replace luck with speed? Then I'll have agility and speed as my two favorite attributes.

Yeah I really hate that lockpicking game. I don't how to be successful at it. I just start hitting the key when the lock gets to the top, but anyways, I just use the automatic thing.

It took me awhile to figure it out. It's all about timing. There are 3 or 4 different speeds the tumblers can rise at. You want to try to set the tumbler when it's rising at its lowest speed. You'll start to see it rise slowly, and when it gets to the top, press whatever button you press on your system to keep it there. Now move to the next tumbler...

I'm not gonna say I enjoy the mini-game, but I do enjoy picking a lock successfully for sure. I'll be like "PHEW, I did it!* It's miles better than the stupid disposistion mini-game we have to endure to make NPCs like us better (or not). :yuck:

I'll give the lockpick mini game another try, lol. I think I'm still gonna use the auto-feature for the most part though.