Skyrim talk:Sneak

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Barking Dogs?

This has been marked as a question that needs to be answered.

"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

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)