Ok I started playing this game with a 2-hand axe wielding Orc warrior. By the time he was level 15 I had the game pumped up to master difficulty. He is now level 40 and about to pop master level smithing. So the game is won for Mar'Tok the Orc Warrior as far as I am concerned. Now I have been playing RPG for 2 decades. I have always been the warrior type in most of them. So I decided to roll a wood elf assassin. First thing is I could not clean out that first quest from the companions guild to clean out the cave until I was level 15. I tried several times and just could not kill the final boss. So I must be doing something terribly wrong because I see many of you guys like those types of characters and are doing quite well. So here are my questions.

I want to build a female wood elf archer, dual wielding dagger, sneak, alchemy avatar.
Should I use light armor? Does light armor affect stealth? If I do use light armor should I drop perk points in the respective tree?
- Light armor seems kind of waist for this type. I really don't want her to get hit much if at all. I could be wrong though.
Does one-handed weapons tree and sneak-back stab work together with daggers? It seems with those two tree combinations you could get some seriously huge hits with daggers on stealth.
What if any type of magic should I look into with this toon?
What should my ratio of health and stamina be? I know she needs lots of stamina just not sure how much. 1:2, 1:3?

It's up to you if you want to use light armor.
The weight of the armor does affect stealth, but in the sneak tree, there is a perk that reduces the penalty from armor weight by 50%.
Personally I did not spend points in the light armor tree for the same reason you listed below. And I am doing fine.



Exactly. An assassin theoretically doesn't get hit at all. So an assassin should focus more on offense, and less on defense.

But. you do need some kind of protection against dragons. I have not yet determined how to get them on the ground and then sneak attack them. I may try invisibility potions.



Yes, sneak attack multiplies the damage from your dagger. If you take the first perk of one-handed tree, which increases damage from all one-handed weapons by up to 100%, the gains be multiplied by the sneak attack.
And yes, that is the whole point of the assassin. So be sure to put a lot of muscle into your dagger arm.



I personally don't use any magic, but I think Illusion magic would complement it nicely. There is a muffle spell that improves your sneaking ability.



Well as you mentioned, in theory you shouldn't even be hit. So you don't really need health.
Because enemies die in 1 hit, you also don't need as much stamina as a warrior in open-combat for power attacks.

I personally dump most of my stats in stamina for another reason, to carry more loot. But spend enough points in health for dragon fights.

About that boss you are having difficulty with, did you take the Assassin's Blade perk, which gives a x15 damage multiplier from sneak attacks with daggers?

I just buffed the Daedric armor on my thief with +47% sneak & OHW on boots/gauntlets/ring/necklace. Undetectable.

armor and weaons, spells and speed affect if you get detectet...if youre level 15 youre sneak should be well above 60 so no issue there others then that focus on light armor (less nois), daggers (and bows do no noise, one handed little noise, two handed lots noise), move slowely (the faster you move the more noise)

when they see you just run back and hide again...i havent spent one point in the sneak tree except the ones that increase damage and i could easily backstabb since sneak lvl 15 without ever getting hit (my light armor skill has gained 3 lvls and im lvl 19 now...) so just take your time - with an assassin you need MUCH more patience then with a two haned warrior

i myself had huge problems with my 2h warrior cause i died a lot without a shield...even 2 falmer allready killed me...

Good to know, I haven't ever tried a sneaky character. I always go full on baddass warrior with a little bit of magic. I might have to give this a try.

besides, if it is a falmer boss that comes with a companion - yea that one is HARD - trick is to kill him fast and then run away from the ohter guy...start sneaking around the falmer on the left side, land your 15x dualwield power sneak attack, then apply some paralyze potion and finish him, run a way from the big guy back (he cant follow hes to big) and hid until he walks back then sneak attack him

Ya I had it, just did not do enough damage to him on the first hit. So I had to run around kiting him with my bow. That did not go so well, even after the 10th time lol. I even was pumped up with the potion that gives +20% to one handed attacks. The thing is my Orc cleaned this place out at level 9 with out much of a problem. I just seem to be having a real hard time adjusting to this type of character.

As far as magic, Alteration for Paralyze is a godsend. Use Alchemy for that aswell, of course. http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=317 tool can help you with making poisons.

Also, be a coward. Look at the terrain and areas that you can potentially abuse. Enemies don't handle disparities in height very well, a small slope that you can jump up makes the large majority of enemies take the long way round. Use that to your advantage to kite them.

Ya Nemesis that is the boss I am talking about. So can you back stab and then run away and re-hide for another attack to finish him off? I have not tried that yet.

Yes you can do that.

You can even sneak attack him with a bow and arrow.

Or, try a power attack instead of a normal swing for your dagger sneak attack.

I have an easier time because I also level blacksmithing. Blacksmithing allows you to craft the best dagger, with the best improvement, for a really painful experience for enemies.

well you could do the first dark brotherhood quest (its very fast and simple) and you get the gloves that double your sneak attack...

i would recommend the following - use 2 daggers, get the x15 damage perk, get a paralyzis potion (1 for 3 sec should be enough...brew one (canis root and swamp fungal pot) or buy one

sneak on the very left side of the room...then you can sneak around the boss from the left side (you need to jump down behiind him) - use all light armor, cast muffle if necessary (can be bought in whiterun), then important - go slowly towards him and back stabb him - there is a high chance he will recognise you before youre there, but you can still sneak attack him if the eye isnt fully opend - land a dual wield power sneak attack with the paralyzis potion - if youre lucky and he gets paralyzed immediatly he will not activate big guy...if he does, doesnt matter...continue to land sneak power attacks until hes dead (but watch the steam attack), shouldnt take too long even on a low level - paralyziz is also important cause he heals himself...then run back to the tunnel, the big guy cant follow, hide until he starts walking back - sneak attack him and run back again (or kill him off)

its also possible to do it with bow sneak attacks (have done this) - i would take big guy first because he cant heal... then sneak attack bow the small one down to a low health (but not too low cause he will start healing himself) and then finish him off close

ps: i did that quest with my assassin on level 9 and the only things that were leveled were pretty much sneak nothing else, light armor on 16 or so and one hand 20 something...and i thought it was the easiest with the assassin simply cause i dont have to take them both on...was way harder and only doable later and with a companion for my 1h and 2h warrior ...have to try it with my mage

pps: of course you cant use a companion as an assassin...but i assume you didnt do that...

One-handed weapons tree and Sneak tree goes hand in hand really. The bonus are massive. If I get the jump on any mob they are gone instantly or at least very fast. My defense is poor and I rely heavily on potions alot of the times, especially if something goes wrong, but using a dragon shout and running away for cover works all the time. NPCs are terrible with terrain and like someone said, height detection. It's so easy to exploit this that lately decided to do more direct combat to make it a little tougher with easier mobs. Lol. Don't get me started on archery...most OP tree combined with sneak really. As for health and stamina ratio, I put most into stamina and a little in health, but I rely heavily on potions anyways, I felt its kinda pointless for me to put too much into health.

OMG I did not even join the dark brotherhood yet. Thanks for all the tips from everyone!

didnt had that done when i did the dungeon either...so its not a must have...im sure youll get the boss either way

If you want to really embrace changing over from previously being always a warrior.
Some things you'll need to reconsider;

- Companions ~ They ruin you sneak chance, so either don't use them or get really use to telling them not to follow you.
- Attack Methods ~ You can't do frontal attacks anymore. Embrace the sneak. Pick off people one by one and do alot of tradegic running away.
- Weapon usage ~ I'd recommend using poisons (paralyze), dual weapons and a bow (seems you already have)
- Armor ~ Use Light, this will help with weight and sneak. How ever, be sparse with how much you put perks up the tree.
- Perks ~ Focus mostly on what will help you offensively. Defensively is a secondary concern for you.

one thing, i would really recomend never using a bow...because the issue is simply, if you dont care and simply use whats easier, youll end up 90% using a bow which i think will hurt your efficiency in the end...i never use a bow, needs just a bit more patience...

If you are going to be a sneak... Join the thieves-guild and get the thieves rewards... Sneak-boots... Pickpocket-gauntlets... and Speachcraft hood. (I think that is what the hood was.)

Yes, armor does matter how fast you are detected... As does magic and I think magic items (As they seem to glow and add to the light you are in.)

If you have a few hours to kill... get your heavy armor up until it is weightless and undetectable, or get the Steed stone with +100 stamina and weightless armor. (However, I have never seen the +100 stamina.)

Something no one seems to be mentioning, if you dual wield daggers, your sneak attack is doubled. I think dual wielding you can get base dmg x 160 for sneak attacks with an added chance of criticals. (assuming you have 1h & sneak perks + db gloves)

Oh, and while you're still working on all those perks, with dual wield it's much easier to get in lots of hits quickly if they don't die right off. You can also get the two dual wield perks to hit even faster, something like six strikes in the normal 1h power attack time.