So I have played a couple of other Bethesda games (Skyrim, Obilivion) and I saw Fallout 3 on steam for sale so I figured what the heck. My play style has always been a Sneak type character with long range attacks so I created a character put points in Agility and Perception, then as I leveled I have been putting points into Sneak, Lockpick and Small Guns (well Repair too as I maxed the others out).

My problem is that even though I now have 100 in Sneak I still find that just about everything in the game is able to find me no matter what. I sneak into tunnels and before I can even see raiders I get a [DANGER] and the whole room is running at me, around corners and from other levels too. Out in the wastelands if I am sneaking around even if I can't see something, it will see me and come a running and next thing I know I have 5 super mutants whaling on me. Even if I get lucky and no one spots me as soon as I fire my first shot (VATS or otherwise) if I don't kill them right away I get the rest of people in the area. Night time doesn't make a difference, trees and shrubs don't really help, rocks do a bit but if they are close they just run around it and on to me. Sure with a stealthboy I can sneak around like I should but those don't last long and have been hard to come by. There is no stealth clothing (unless I haven't found it yet).

Basically the game is almost unplayable for me. For my style I get one shot and then I am dead if i don't kill the other guy, and if any others are near they just run and kill me. Is there something wrong with sneak in Fallout 3? I don't run in sneak, I found a note about the pip boy light and it's off but it seems like sneak is completely worthless in this game.

I can sneak right up to enemies in this game and tickle their bellies in broad daylight at level 100 Sneak. Granted, Sneak is not OP like it is in Skyrim.

Do you have any mods? Are you using Followers? Are you using silenced weapons?

i wear the chinese stealth suit or stealthboys when i sneak around.

No mods that I know of (Steam only includes DLCs?). No followers, I have found from the other games they just bring unwanted attention, its just me and my gun. No silenced weapons. In fact I don't think I have seen any in the game. I''m level 14 now, I keep an assortment of small guns and use then depending on which has the most ammo. The hunting rifle has been my working weapon mostly, followed by the combat shotgun. I have a scoped magnum but ammo for that has been in short supply.

Well, sound is one thing that triggers the enemies, and shooting a gun is loud. If you can kill the NPC before it alerts the others, then sometimes you can get away with shooting the place up.

From the Wiki

Firing the silenced 10mm pistol will not increase your chance to be detected. It is therefore useful for killing weaker enemies like http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Radroach_%28Fallout_3%29, http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Mole_rat_%28Fallout_3%29, and sometimes even http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Raider_%28Fallout_3%29, without drawing attention from other enemies. A high enough Small Guns skill makes it a useful close-quarters weapon in office building type settings, such as the http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Bethesda_ruins and the http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Museum_of_History.

The only other ranged silent weapons are the http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Dart_gun, http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/BB_gun_%28Fallout_3%29, http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Infiltrator_%28weapon%29, and its unique variant, the http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Perforator.

In other words, you need to get to the Pitt to get a decent gun that will not get you detected. Otherwise, figure your first shot is the last one that reveals you.

Ok I tried the dart gun but it wouldn't kill in one shot so after using it I am left with trying to kill up close without the advantage of sneak. is there a way to make it better?

Also I guess this character is a wash then because even without firing a shot I still have the npc's all finding me when I am sneaking. If anything is even partially facing my direction it will see me and come a running. i thought the silent running perk would improve sneak but I haven't noticed a difference. Just as a example, just last night I was in Vault 87 and I can only recall one time that I managed to sneak up on a super mutant and it was because it was facing away from me and I got the shot off with the scoped magnum and nothing came a running. Every other time I came close to anything in there, I hear them say something like "found you!" and then I am getting shot at or whaled on with sledge hammers.

May be obvious, but is your Pip-boy light on?

and,

line of sight.

How much yer carrying.

Also I believe walking when sneaking helps as well as having a few sneak perks. I really do not have any experience with sneaking since I never play as a sneaky character. I play the Han Solo type of charging in with guns blazing into a den of Death Claws and then a real fast runnnnnnnnn awayyyyyyyyyyyyyy screaming like 98 pound weakling.

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How far away are from the enemy. I believe some enemies can detect you from quite a distance. Death Claws are quite nasty for this.

Carrying weight wise? I am very light. I wear Vance's duster with the +10 to small guns and a Storm chaser hat. I carry the Vault 101 jumpsuit since it gives a +5 to repair. I carry four guns Assault rifle, combat shotgun, hunting rifle and scoped magnum and any ammo I can find for those four. Aid will be anything I can find, misc I keep to bare minimum unless it has a value. The only time I get heavy is at the end of a tunnel or area or whatever and I have looted a bunch of stuff to sell as soon as I get back to town.

Line of sight? so no matter how good my sneak is if they are facing me they see me? (unless I have a stealth boy on) so ya then sneak is worthless as far as I am concerned.

ya I have found deathclaws earn their names. The first time I died was from one, I was sneak walking at the base of the Anchorage war memorial and a deathclaw up top "heard" me or whatever and came jumping down on top of me and *slash* one strike and I was flying through the air dead.

Let me expand on this last statement. Even in real life, in broad daylight with no physical obstructions two people can be far enough apart that they can not see each other without visual aid (scope, binoculars, etc). So it seems to me if in a game in broad daylight if I am far enough away from something that I can't see it, it shouldn't be able to see me. Doubly so if I am trying sneak or be stealthy. If I crawl in real life, hide behind bushes, rocks, it provides cover. In Fallout 3 I have found that rocks, shrubs, trees provide absolutely no perception cover (trees and rocks only keep you from getting shot) and even sneak walking around doesn't seem to help. Also it would seem that darkness, fog, smoke should help (as it does in real life) but sneaking around in a vault, tunnel or building it doesn't. The fog, smoke or darkness only affects my ability to actually see NPC's on the computer screen and I end up getting spotted before I can even find where they are. At the low levels it wasn't too bad and I attributed the failure of sneak to its skill level but now its at 100 and I die more often because everything leveled with me and I seem to be at a disadvantage. It's gotten so bad that I have a timer on my phone by me while I play set to go off every 15 mins so I can remember to save often enough that I don't have that far back to go when loading from death.

That is the way it works, until you shoot something with a non silenced weapon, then someone is going to be looking for you.

There are many things that work against Sneak in this game. But, you can be Stealthy, you just have to work for it.

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

I must have a bug or something, The explanation before is what happens to me before shooting my gun. I sneak walk all the time in capital wastelands and stuff is always attacking me. I haven't ever even tried pickpocketing anyone because I can't stay hidden to not get caught.

Yes, because the only things that can sniff me out from a distance without doing anything are Deathclaws, and even then I have to close enough to smell them (I figure they are pretty rank).

Load up an earlier character and see if you have this issue. I also think, but I have not found anything that supports this, that if Sneak is buffed over 100, it works against you. Try this, use the lightest Armor you can find, clothing if needed, and only have your lightest weapon readied, and make sure you are in a shadow. You should be undetected at that point if you are not moving around. If you have not taken the Silent Running Perk, add it with the console and see if it changes anything for you when you move. The command is player.addperk to add it, and player.removeperk to take it away. Find the code at the Vault.

The best place to test your Sneak is the Super Duper Mart as it is possible to move through that entire place undetected if you don't bump into anything and stay in the shadows. Even at a low Sneak Skill. Of course, once you engage combat with any NPC, then all bets are off. This you could test with a relatively new character.

Also, you might shift your strategy. Use Sneak to get set up in an advantageous position, placing mines if needed, and then initiate combat once your ready. Also, use the Terrain to your advantage.