Skyrim talk:Sneak

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Archive 1: Nov 2011 - Feb 2012
Archive 2: Mar 2012 - Dec 2012

Barking Dogs?

"Dogs bark, making them very poor companions if you wish to be sneaky."

I heard that the dog barks are ignored by the game? At least it said that about Barbas, not sure about other dogs. Is this confirmed? 87.115.8.151 13:57, 28 May 2012 (UTC)

The barking is annoying if you're listening for the enemies, but that's a good question. • JA^Talk 19:00, 28 May 2012 (UTC)

Well unlike humanoid followers,the dogs can not be equipped with clothing that will muffle them.As a result you are more likely to be discovered just because your dog is making to much noise.And I'm pretty sure their barking will not alert enemies.If so than every time you talked to a follower,like telling them to wait wouldn't the NPC hear you?--Skyrimplayer 15:03, 21 July 2012 (UTC)

No, because the Trope "Talking Is A Free Action" applies XD. Okay, it doesn't really apply in THAT way (That ended with Oblivion), but talking (and pain grunts, for that matter) is considered Not Noise by the game engine. Thus, talking is considered a "free action", in the sense that you can talk to your follower, possibly telling them to wait there, without letting it blow your cover. That's why, when being killed in Skyrim, no one hears you scream. They really only notice the NPC Takes Damage or NPC Dies, and come to investigate (Unless under attack). AI is weird like that. XP — Unsigned comment by Pupdude (talk • contribs) at 20:40 on 4 August 2012

Dual Wielding vs. One-Handed Sneak Attacks

This has always been a huge question of mine:

Which deals the most total sneak attack damage: A Dual Wielding 4-hit combo with two daggers or two attacks with one dagger?

Whenever I perform a sneak attack on an enemy that does not kill them with a one handed dagger, I can generally squeeze in one more sneak attack before the detection meter raises to a point where I can no longer. Using this logic, I can actually deal 3x damage (the first being a power attack, and then a normal followup) in addition to the sneak attack bonuses applied to the two hits. This led me to the question: If a 4-hit combo can land 4 devastating sneak attacks. After doing some research, I found that performing a power attack with one weapon while dual wielding only adds a 1.5x damage bonus to it. However, this effect can be countered by the Dual Savagery perk, which raises the bonus damage up to 2x, the same as performing a power attack with one weapon. I also observed that one can perform a 4-hit combo by power attacking with both weapons simultaneously. Combined with two perks to the Dual Flurry trait, one can perform 4 2x damage power attacks in quick succession. Using the logic with squeezing in two sneak attacks with one weapon, it may be possible to squeeze in 4 power sneak attacks while dual wielding. It would be great if someone could test this out, because it seems quite possible.— Unsigned comment by 67.85.230.48 (talk) at 21:19 on 15 January 2013‎

most times when try dual wielding sneak attack with two daggers, for some reason the enemy always(or as good as) detects me to a full eye lvl and no sneak damage bonus is applied... (probably because there's (if i'm not mistaken) some kind of loud voice from the attack\(shout\cry) from me(my char.) when i preform the attack even when my sneak skill is in the skies and i have plenty of buffs... if that's not the case for u than i think using dual wielding is great so long as u have enough 1 handed skill and will to invest the necessary perks, tho, i think that even without them it's still worth while.

Probably the easiest way to level sneak

Get a follower, tell them to wait, then sneak behind them and hit them. Wait a sec for them to calm down, rinse and repeat. I did this with Lydia. As long as you don't hit your follower in quick succession, they won't leave you or become hostile. I also did it unarmed, I don't know if that makes any difference. --108.27.17.117 08:59, 16 January 2013 (GMT)

To add, after you sneak attack your follower, they'll turn around and ask what you're doing. Just get behind them and attack again. Leveling sneak this way is, I think, the easiest way because a permanent follower is the perfect dummy for sneak attacking. If by some chance they do leave you (and btw they only become hostile if you hit them while they're not following you), you can just ask them to follow you again. Just be careful not to level sneak too much or you'll level up with a disproportionately high sneak skill. --108.27.17.117 20:31, 16 January 2013 (GMT)

Followers can become hostile if you attack them while they're following you. It's rare but it can happen with some followers anyway. --Morrolan (talk) 16:38, 1 February 2013 (GMT)

Height and line of sight

It seems to me that line of sight matters for sneaking, i.e. it's harder to sneak when there's an unbroken line of sight between you and the creature you're trying to sneak around. This means that shorter races (Breton, Bosmer) are better sneaks than taller races (Nords, Altmer) and also tend to level sneak faster because the shorter races can crouch behind shorter cover and still avoid detection. However I'm playing on XBox so I can't verify this from the CK; can someone who has the PC version see if my impressions are correct? --Morrolan (talk) 16:42, 1 February 2013 (GMT)

yes line of sight matters, if you put a bucket on top of someone's head, that person will never notice you. there are few objects where a tiny bit of height difference will matter though, and the speed bonus from height will make catch up to people easier. Dawn (talk) 02:03, 12 March 2013 (GMT)

The height difference between a Breton or a Bosmer and a Nord or an Altmer is not tiny, it's quite large; try standing Lydia next to Delphine sometime, it's quite remarkable how much variance there is. Anyway I was just wondering this because my Breton sneaks seem to just kind of speed directly to 100 Sneak, while leveling Sneak on the Altmer character I was playing then was tough. --Morrolan (talk) 21:48, 12 April 2013 (GMT)

Sneak attack multiplier, Armsman and Overdraw

Do the Armsman and Overdraw multiplier apply in a sneak attack? If so, how do they add up? — Unsigned comment by 93.146.65.130 (talk) at 11:05 on 9 February 2013

A: Short Answer, Yes.

I´ve tested it out on the PC and it allows you to 1 shot people at earlier levels :3 -sly — Unsigned comment by 189.182.143.202 (talk) at 03:32 on 22 March 2013

Short awnser: Yes, it increases your weapon base damage, which can be checked on your inventory by the weight and price values are, Ive also tested it out on the pc, it will help you one shot people earlier on the game With the stealth animation thingy.... -Sly — Unsigned comment by 189.182.143.202 (talk) at 03:28 on 22 March 2013‎

Power attack multipliers also affect base damage, before the sneak attack multiplier is applied. --Morrolan (talk) 21:49, 12 April 2013 (GMT)

Almost a cheat gaining sneak skill

Go to Goldenglow Estate, drop to walk mode and sneak around the outside of the building adjacent to the outside complex. You will be in the line of sight of as many as 9 enemies. Firing an occasional arrow or using the Throw Voice shout can further increase level gaining speed. Sniffles (talk) 05:26, 26 April 2013 (GMT)

June 2013 update on Steam rebroke the "stuck in sneak mode" fix?

Just to let you know what I've done: I've tried sitting, jumping off cliffs, swimming, checked all my caps lock and other buttons, etc. :The "stuck at sneak speed" happened when I was not overburdened, nor was my (annoying) NPC, and I had just finished clearing out the bandits in a cave.: It always seems to happen in caves or dungeons.: I've tried every fix I can think of, pared both myself and NPC down to bare essentials and stored everything else in my house and refuse to start the game over....for the fourth time.: I really hate to be the bearer of bad tidings here, so if anyone has any ideas I haven't mentioned already I'm willing to try anything, and with much gratitude!: I play on PC...a fully loaded custom gaming PC.:

Faedinout (talk) 21:20, 7 June 2013 (GMT)

Well, I am currently playing as a sneaky bastard, and haven't noticed anything broken except for one thing: if I fast load while holding shift for walking, by some reasons, I will be "always walking" when loaded. If I fast load while holding shift for running, when loaded, I will be "always running". It pisses me off

95.25.236.34 06:05, 16 June 2013 (GMT)

Sneak attacking dremora lord

I've been trying to use the conjure dremora lord method to level up sneak but it's very hit or miss. Sometimes I get a sneak attack and sometimes I don't. Is there a specific method to sneak attack every time? Olioster (talk) 19:16, 25 June 2013 (GMT)

Sneaking bug

I am stuck in sneak mode in the Golden Claw mission, and cannot exit it. I don't even have the eye cursor thing to SHOW I'm in sneak mode! What do I do??? — Unsigned comment by 142.197.82.233 (talk) at 21:29 on 17 July 2013‎

It's a normal bug. Head back to riverwood and activate the forge to begin the animation. Then exit out and the bug will be fixed. Dragon Guard (talk) 21:33, 17 July 2013 (GMT)

Sneak and quest followers

"There are many quests which give you temporary followers who—unlike regular followers—make your status "visible" (open eye) if they can see you, which may ruin your sneak attack bonus against enemies" Is this true? I've received sneak attack bonuses while my regular followers were in combat, and a bit closer to the point, I've received the "+25% while being undetected bonus" for pickpocketing for pickpocketing a target who couldn't see me while another character actually COULD see me (open eye). I thought the game tracked this stuff for individual npcs? I would be interested if knowing if this is true. — Unsigned comment by 24.200.26.45 (talk) at 15:41 on 2 September 2013 (GMT)

The conjured familiar also keeps the eye-cursor open when it sees me. It would be very useful to know if this doesn't affect sneaking or sneak bonuses. --Mendel (talk) 02:00, 3 February 2014 (GMT)

Sneak rating cap?

Is there a cap for how well you can sneak? For instance, with 100 Sneak skill, will wearing items that fortify sneak--for instance, Cicero's Cap, which gives 35% better Sneak--still reduce your chances of being seen? Or is there a soft cap where after a certain point there can't be any less of a chance to be seen? This information would help plan your gear. Thanks! --Mebestien (talk) 03:22, 31 January 2014 (GMT)

I don't know if there's a cap, but if there is, it's over 100. At a Sneak of 100, I find enchanted gear makes it easier still to sneak. Generally, you have to be sneaking either really close or in a moderately lit area for it to be noticeable, though. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 08:57, 31 January 2014 (GMT)

Sneak Bug (not on sneak page)

I am having an odd problem where whenever my character is killed and the game reloads near hostile enemies I gain some sneak XP when at no point during this I was sneaking. I experienced this on the steam pc version of the game and used a friends Xbox game and found that it happens on there too. This also seems to occur when you are followed into a new area (like a shop). This all happens without me using sneak and I have gained a few sneak levels because of it. Could someone confirm that this happens on their game as well? any Idea about what the cause of it might be? — Unsigned comment by Palminski (talk • contribs) at 01:22 on 9 March 2014 (GMT)

Muffled Movement Perk Boosted By Illusion Potion

Muffled Movement gets boosted by any Fortify Illusion potion effect on you when you take the perk (and the boosted magnitude lasts until you remove the perk). For example, an Elixir of Illusion (+100% Illusion) will boost Muffled Movement from 50% to 100% noise reduction. This works even with USKP v2.0.5a. -- Lid-Mop (talk) 06:26, 9 August 2014 (GMT)

Sneak attacks not registering?

So, I've had this problem quite a few times. I'm totally hidden behind an enemy, hit the trigger for a sneak attack (on 360), and it registers only as a regular attack. The eye instantly opens, the enemy turns around and attacks (in "Ha! Found you!" mode), and I only do the regular amount of damage. Yet I know I'm 100% hidden... Got sneak in high 80s and 3/5 Stealth perk, muffled w/ Ancient Shrouded Boots, Blade of Woe (dagger, so it should be silent) as only weapon, no follower in the area, no previous awareness or detection from said enemy, ~+22% fortify Sneak enchantment, even INVISIBLE from Shadowcloak of Nocturnal, and I still can't always land a sneak attack. Sometimes and in some dungeons it works just fine, but others it never does: I've had times where I'd be able to flawlessly sneak attack multiple enemies in a row, and times where no sneak attack would register as such no matter how many times I reloaded a save to try again. So I've got all my stuff optimized to be able to sneaky stabby stabby everyone I come across, but still random bandits or Forsworn insta-detect me as I land what should be a stealth attack... What's up with this? Bug, or is there some factor I'm missing? --Ecthelion74 (talk) 17:39, 29 January 2015 (GMT)

I've had this as well. Just based on casual observation, it seems that a sneak attack is guaranteed to fail if you have a follower and they've been discovered already. A sneak attack will usually fail if it's the second sneak attack (i.e., the target survived your first attack and didn't fully detect you). In these cases, I find if you wait for the eye to close fully, you're usually good to go after that. Even on a first attack without a follower, though, I've seen countless cases where a sneak attack just randomly fails. In those cases, reloading and trying again has always fixed it for me that I can recall. It's possible I'm wrong about that last, though, and just not paid close enough attention to it to remember. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 17:47, 29 January 2015 (GMT)

Thanks. I'll be sure to leave my follower behind whenever I'm trying to backstab. Another thing: I've found certain instances where I was absolutely unable to land a sneak attack no matter what I did or how many times I reloaded. It was some Draugr Deathlord in one of the Skuldafn Towers, I believe, and I just couldn't backstab him. I reloaded and tried with a bow, and that didn't register either. So I guess it's just some random thing. --Ecthelion74 (talk) 15:31, 9 March 2015 (GMT)

Casting Calm on alerted enemies

It seems intuitive that Illusion spells go hand-in-hand with the Sneak skill. Aside from the obvious of using Muffle and Invisibility, casting Calm on enemies that have already detected you will reset their alertness state and allow you to attempt to hide again. This is a great way to backstab entire groups of enemies, should the rest be alerted when you take out the first. You just need to make sure that your spell is powerful enough to work on the enemies you're facing. Your best bet is to dual cast Pacify with all the perks leading up to Master of the Mind. FrozenWolf150 (talk) 19:30, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

I must admit I am at loss trying to figure what kind of changes to the page you wish propose by this? —MortenOSlash (talk) 20:19, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

I think it was intended as a general tip, but I've added it to the Notes section of the page, since it's not something that is immediately obvious when you're sneaking. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 18:21, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

Light Foot Perk and Enemy Runes

I'm not sure why this text "† Also includes enemy runes." is there for the Light Foot perk, but it is incorrect. I just tested it since I had never noticed being able to walk across runes, and got a face full of fire rune... 68.3.36.88 01:46, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

Yep, I confirm. Is it supposed to work? 93.3.45.207 11:12, 17 October 2020 (UTC)

Still not the case in 2024, and I'm not running any mods that should affect that. Imma just remove that note. Weroj (talk) 06:48, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

Does this have anything to do with patches? I have the Special Edition with no patches and the runes still explode, but the damage doesn't take effect (I also never wore any elemental or magic resistance items going over said runes) though any nearby sneaking followers do. Sometimes runes do not explode, too, but followers still set them off and I also do not get any damage.TheOutsider (talk) 22:12, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

Having a max sneak skill does not work against hagravens

My sneak skill is at 100 now and after I killed a hagraven who was part of a ritual involving a fornsworn brianheart the other hagraven quickly detected me with the eye opening up fast.

I tell ya what the sneak skill was alot better and more realistic on Elder Scrolls IV because any type of enemy cannot detect you even when you're next to them. But it seems on this game a max sneak skill only prevents bandits and fornsworn from detecting you — Unsigned comment by PrinceRetro (talk • contribs) at 05:30 on 1 June 2018

Try boosting your sneak beyond 100 with Fortify Sneak equipment. It makes a fairly big difference. And, of course, make sure you've got all the relevant perks, especially Muffled Movement (or equipment with a full Muffle effect). – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 05:37, 1 June 2018 (UTC)

Propose adding sneak attacking your horse with a fork for Sneak training

In researching how to best/most easily train the Sneak skill I found some YouTube videos outlining some techniques, many of which overlapped what is currently listed on this Sneak article. However, I don't believe I've ever seen anything recommending both sneak attacking your horse and using a fork to do it. As far as I can tell, this is one of the very best/easiest/quickest/most hassle free ways to train Sneak (if you're not looking to also train another skill at the same time, say One-Handed or Archery, etc.). Since Sneak leveling does not depend on damage dealt, using the weakest weapon you can find seems ideal. Sneak attacking your horse with a fork has a number of benefits which you don't get using some of the other methods I've seen. Some of these are:

• You're not in danger of being discovered and your target going hostile, so you can keep sneak attacking and never need to stop (your horse won't go hostile and if say you were using the Graybeards instead, they will go hostile if you're discovered so you're constantly having to stop every time they start looking for who attacked them).

• As far as I know, the fork (unimproved) is the least damaging item that can be used as a weapon in the game. Attacking your horse with it virtually ensures that you'll not kill the horse regardless of how long you go so this allows you to very quickly level up in Sneak. This is not the case with most other weapons as with almost anything else you can potentially kill your target if you're not careful. Yes, you can wait for one hour, etc. but this only slows down the training whereas attacking with a fork you can just keep sneak attacking non-stop. — Unsigned comment by 76.167.106.232 (talk) at 01:42 on 17 November 2018

Shadow Warrior Broken

I got my character's Sneak skill up to 100, but when I buy the Shadow Warrior perk, it doesn't work. My character doesn't go invisible, and creatures in the vicinity still detect my character. Reloading the game didn't fix the bug. Silent Roll is working. I have my doubts that Silence is working. Should I add this to the bugs list? Valeria (talk) 23:13, 7 September 2024 (UTC)

Welp. That appears to be that. I had another character with 100 Sneak and enough perk points to buy the Shadow Warrior perk, and it didn't function for that other character either. So it seems that I wasted three perk points on a broken perk, Hesse cannot get a perk that was central to his build to function properly, and he cannot marry the only marriageable female of his species, I think it might be time to consign him to being the latest in a long line of Skyrim characters I abandoned because of bugs and glitches. I'm thinking it's time to boot up my PS3 and give Dragon Age: Origins another try. Valeria (talk) 01:10, 8 September 2024 (UTC)

You only turn invisible for a brief moment. I've used it successfully before --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 01:11, 8 September 2024 (UTC)

It may have something to do with what version you're using. I've never used any Mods, but my console is disconnected from the Internet, and I'm on an older version of Special Edition. Anyway, my character isn't turning invisible AT ALL. I have had this perk work in the past, so I know what it looks like when it works, but I simply cannot get it to work now. I ran a search on the Internet and found that others have had the same problem, so I'm going to go ahead and add it as a confirmed bug. Valeria (talk) 01:36, 8 September 2024 (UTC)

I've unmarked it as confirmed, as there is a known bug listing the reason as to why this is potentially happening already on the page. Spell Absorption can absorb this perk. I'm unsure if this is why it's happening for you from the details you provided, but it could explain many of the people who also experienced this. --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 02:58, 8 September 2024 (UTC)

I read about the Spell Absorption effect. This character has NO Spell Absorption from any source, and according to the guidelines RobinHood70 left on my talk page, the bug should be considered confirmed.