Power attacks....

I'm guessing left/right mouse buttons are right/left hand mappings? I'm console so we use triggers (and right trigger is right hand... I'm guessing opposite mapping on mouse cause left mouse button is primary button and right hand is primary hand in Skyrim)

Anyways....

Holding down a hand's mouse button, left or right, will power attack with the weapon in that hand. Holding both will power attack with both weapons.

You can add left right forward or back movement timed with the power attack in order to execute varied Power Attacks.

In a new game, I normally make a character and he becomes my training guy. Just trying things, learning the skill trees, different skills, etc. I read the forum a lot to pick up some tips - and not all tips are good, btw. But you need to kind of figure out what makes sense.

Then, at about level 10-15, I build a new character, and this is the character I play with the rest of the way.

So, my level 32 assassin/thief is a bow user. His skill is up to 3X damage because of sneak attack. I also take enchanting, so he has an enchant on the bow that hits for 25 stamina. Most NPCs I can one- or two-hit. Also have a helmet that adds 20%, heavy armor gloves adds 25%, and ring that adds 25% more bow damage - so total that's a 70% increase in damage. Now yesterday, I went up against some pretty powerful priest guys on the next to the last quest for the mage guild, and it took a few more hits to kill them. But again, two sneak attacks with 3X damage and one was also a critical hit, so only needed 3 more hits after that - easy.

So, I put perk points in archery since that's my primary weapon. I also carry a 2H enchanted sword in case I have to go toe to toe (last resort type of thing lol) but I don't put perk points in 2H - level as I use it). I sneak everywhere. One thing about sneak, if there's no NPC or animal around that can detect you, your sneak skill will Not increase. You can almost bet that any old fort you find is full of enemies - so sneak approach, bow, 1-2 hits and dead. Inside dungeons, sneak all the time (except if the dungeon is empty). It levels quickly.

I put a few points in light armor and enchanting. The first few points in light armor will increase your armor level and really help. Level enchanting slow and careful. Lock picking and speech I don't put points in, that can also level itself.

I also play a level 21 pure mage, so I switch characters every other day. Do different quests/guild quests. But, you can learn from each other. The mage wears light armor that I enchant.

Hope this helps a little.

Good luck.

PS: I play slowly, so sneaking around etc., fits my play style. If you're one of those players that does everything quickly, a lot of what I wrote won't help you.

didn't konw about forward or back thanks.

but is the damage any different?

For decent light armor:

Go to Riften. Join the Thieves Guild. You will get a nice starter set of light armor that helps some of your thieving skills. As for how- just go to the city and walk in. The game practically leads you by the nose to join the guild from there.

I use sneak character with archery, light armour and one handed. Works pretty well. But then there are enemies which are way above your level so you should avoid those until you are stronger.

As for sneak, 50 and light armour should be enough to be able to sneak on anybody. Of course if he faces your direction, no sneak is gone help you. You need potion of invisibility. If you can not sneak on somebody, use bow while sneaking. Shoot him and hide yourself. Repeat. Works well as AI is not extremely clever in this. There of course will be situations when you can not use stealth. But that is why you need to develop also some other skills.

Also remember that what is important are perks, not skill points. Perk which increase your skill 20% is as good as 100 skill points.

Sneak skill is good but you can not expect to survive if that is only skill you develop.

ok thanks.

where can I get invis potions? Are they from vendors or hard to find? I am guessing alchemist experts can only make them and they cost lots of mats.

Craft your own:
http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Potion_Recipes

You can buy the ingredients for less than the pots... and level your alchemy at the same time.

Well.... I just started making my pots now at high level (40) with enchanting maxed like I told you already.... so it was pretty easy for me to pop out 30-45 second invis potions and I had a huge stock of ingredients already.

Still... there is profit to be made from pure alchemy... just use the link above to create the best/most profitable pots you can to pay for your invis pot ingredients.

I thought all levels of the Armsman perk in the 1h tree affected dagger damage?

You can make them at any level, combine any two of the following ingredients: luna moth wing, nirnroot, chaurus eggs, ice wraith teeth. Usually the ones you buy will last longer though.

Alternately, find the Shadow Stone, which lets you turn invisible once a day. I believe it's just south of riften.

Also, to use muffle you don't really need to invest in the associated skill tree, just level it up a bit. What I find also works is using my heavy armor, but on the occasion I want to sneak I just take it off, and I no longer make much noise. It's a bit of a pain to switch a lot, but if you've already invested in heavy armor perks it will let you continue in that tree without wasting the points. Otherwise, go find the thieves guild or dark brotherhood and you can get some footwear that muffles your noise, they're lightweight so it's not much of a problem to just carry them all the time and equip as needed.

1. A little bit of alchemy can help. No need to perk it. Imp stool + canis root - both cost like 3 septims at the shops.
2. Don't stand still when you have 5 oponents. Shoot 1 and run (sprint). Find a good place - a narrow ramp for example and deal with them 1 at a time.
3. "Dance" with opponents who use slower weapons than you - wait for them to swing - step in - hit them - step out of reach - repeat. It takes a little practice, but once you master it no heavy hitter can touch you.

I've heard the same.

There are no perks FOR daggers (like there are for swords axes & maces) but all the common 1-hand perks should work for daggers.

They ARE 1-handed weapons after all.

Now... you prolly don't want or need anything past the stamina reduction perk... just 5/5 armsman and the stamina power attack stamina reduc should satisfy your needs as a dagger assassin.... and leave you well suited to using a sword for a face2face fight should you choose.

For Archery... which is recommended especially for dragons... you'll want +damage. You CAN, but do not NEED to go down to the +30% draw speed. The zoom and knockback effects on the way are nice though. I'd skip on paralyzing with bow... most of the time you're using the bow will be against targets immune more than likely. You may want 1-2 ranks in slowing zoom time if you go for the speed boost... but totally optional. Ignore the right side of the Archery tree unless you're a pure archer.

And yah... Muffle is your best friend. If you're trying to dagger backstab. You should have a fresh cast after every fight.

How fast are you moving in sneak when you try to sneak up on people, I didn't have much trouble at sneak level 54, you just have to be mindful of the lighting, line of sight and your speed.