Though I've played Fallout 3 numerous times, I've always dismissed the sneak skill, figuring that it hasn't been worth investing in as I've never specialised in melee weapons, nor had any interest in stealing things. I've never had any need to get close to people. Now, I wonder if I might have been missing out a bit. Do you think it would be worthwhile for a marksman type of character to get the sneak skill? Would sneaking grant me sneak attack bonuses when attacking with long-range weapons? Have any of you had other positive experiences with the sneak skill for your long-range, non-thief characters? In other words, should sneaking be part of a good marksman build?

Thanks.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Sneak_attack_critical

Thank you, most admirable bovine.

The Wikki link has all the info you need

but.....

With a high sneak it's also worth trying to drop nades in pants, or giving the sand man perk a go although that wouldn't strictly be in keeping with your character build - but still worth the fun trying it out. Due to the crit multiplyer I would say a good sneak skill is very useful for a marksman build.

Sneaking lets you see them before they see you.

Sneak is great for a Sniper type character, and not only for the sneak crits and such.

On my stealth/range characters (pretty much all my characters), my biggest difficulties are buildings, metro tunnels, constricted streets, etc. Anywhere where I cannot engage the enemy from range and cover there is a high probability of death.

With Sneak, I can move around at will (once it's high enough), either to scout the opposition and find advantageous firing positions, and/or to set up traps. I heart Mines.

Plus there's the whole dropping 'nades in peoples pants, which is pretty great.

I have always liked building the sneak skill. One thing I always overlooked was the roboticsixpert perk. I always thought to myself it would be useless. When I got the GOTY edition and got the level 30 cap out on a whim I grabbed it. I have to say it is awesome. I have always hated dealing with sentry bots. Now ,considering my sneak is at 100, I can creep up behind them and shut them down. Better than wasting three mags for the infiltrator. I should have gotten that a long time ago. The level 30 cap almost makes it too easy. Without trying too hard I've got several skills at 100, and almost all of them are above 90.

Most certainly. You get an automatic 2x sneak critical if you hit an opponent while sneaking with any weapon. And the higher your skill, the closer you can get to an enemy in order to get more accurate shots at them. It's much harder for them to spot you if your Sneak is at 100 rather than 25 so you can get better range. As well, your aim is better if you're sneaking. You sway less when firing. If you're into playing as a sniper, you most definitely want to put points into that skill. It's not just something a thief type character will benefit from.

i just started playing a couple of weeks ago, but I tend to sneak up on the enemies and hit them with that death claw or Jin sword, most of the time they die quick and i get my 50 exp.
except for the overlords which i set a bunch of mines and run back through after i attack
i also noticed that if i would go out a main door and wait a little and crouch back down or sneak when i go back in i am hidden and at full vats, that is if you use vats

when i have three or four guys to attack all at once i do that, go back and forth through doors with full vats, on very hard gets me either 50 or 83 exp.

I've always had small guns specialist type characters, and I've always maxed sneak as soon as I could. I consider it essential.

There are times and places in the game, such as the metro and some buildings, where creeping around is the preferred option.

Yes. I use the WMK mod and I just love sneaking around with my silenced .44 Magnum. There's something perversely satisfying about dropping an enemy with a single shot.

A Sneak attack critical with a good weapon will deal absolutely devastating damage. It also allows you the option of avoiding combat in some situations. However, it is far less useful during daylight. At night, or in a tunnel, you can devastate nearly any foe with it. Using the Lincoln repeater or the A3-21 Rifle, I've found you can kill a Super Mutant with a torso shot, or a Brute with a head shot.

Perhaps this is because I play with the sound off, but I drop into sneak every once in a while to see if anything is around and is hittin me. Maybe that is 'cheating' but since I can't hear when with the sound off, it helps.

I love the single shot kills from sneak.

At high levels with a good gun, better criticals and the other perks you will kill all standard enemies from the base game except sentry bots and giant radscorpions.
One tips then engaging a group of enemies in VAT from sneak mode is to assign a shot to all enemies in the group, this is generally true even if the chance of hit is pretty low as you would get sneak bonus to all hits in the first VAT round.

Thanks for all the helpful feedback guys, I appreciate it. Now I intend to tag guns, repair and sneak for my next character (in New Vegas), and to make agility my priority stat along with perception. I figure sneaking will probably be one of the most valuable skills for hardcoe mode, for when you cannot instantly heal or mend limbs, and have very limited ammunition. Will probably have to sneak off to safety on numerous occations, and scouting out an area will be of higher value. In any case, thanks again.

Just to add to what's already been said, a very high Sneak skill combined with additional bonuses can be absolutely lethal. With maxed Sneak and good gear, along with the right perks, you can pretty much run through any building at full speed, and kill any enemy with one hit. A Sneak critical to the head with the Terrible shotgun can end a Super Mutant Behemoth, if every pellet hits the head (since the bonus is applied individually rather than to the spread as a whole). It's basically not much weaker than the Fat Man is outside of Sneak mode... Of course the Terrible Shotgun isn't a great primary weapon for a stealthy character, but using something like Blackhawk, the Dart Gun, and your favorite melee/unarmed weapon, in conjunction with a high Sneak skill, will vastly minimze the damage you take and the risky situations you find yourself in. And personally I just find it to be very fun, because there's such a solid system around the skill (sound, speed of movement, weight carried, weight of armor, lighting, distance from enemy, and enemy perception ALL impact the likelihood of detection, along with a couple of perks that can help improve your ability to stay hidden).

you don't really have to max it out to make use of the sneak skill.

Just have it high enough so you can position yourself into place where you can open with a sneak attack. Saves alot of ammo and sways the battle in your favor.

The wiki didn't mention using sneak attacking w/ 'nades which is also very effective. I believe the game treats 'nades as a "semi" silent weapon.

Stabhappy with a sneak critical is highly spectacular.

Don't try it on overlords or albino radscorpions though...it ain't that good.