Assassin/Theif build.

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sirenssixx

New Member
Okay so after playing through my main character till about level 39, i have completed the main story line, the companions, the imperial legion, and even the dark brotherhood story lines. My main character is summoner/archer so obviously things like the thieves guild is out of the question if i want to do it easily. So i decided to make a new character to experiment with pick pocketing, sneaking all that.

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this is what I was thinking the build would be like, i plan on still being an archer..just a sneaky 1.

i know what race it'll be and all that i just need help with the build.

I was considering investing a few points into conjuration and illusion, illusion for silent casting and conjuration for the bound bow but I'm not to sure about that since the current build is already over level 50.

so..opinions?

edit: id be open to just doing 1 handed weapons maybe dual wielding, I've just noticed things are easier for me with a bow
 

Streets

The Gentleman Owl
You don't need 5/5 in Sneak, you will be just fine with 1/5, I think the other 4 are wasted perks you can apply elsewhere. You don't really ever need any perks in the Lockpicking tree, but if you want them definitely take them. I would say if you want to cut some perks out, just take the 5 to get to Treasure Hunter and ignore the rest.

If you want Illusion to Quiet Casting, you might as well take One Handed and use Muffle/Invisibility/Calm for the close quarters times. With an Archer you don't really need Quiet Casting, unless perhaps the Bound Bow is your only bow you ever carry on you.
 

Crooksin

Glue Sniffer
There is definitely a lot of things you could cut out to free up perks (if you are open to it, of course).

I'd probably get rid of 2-3 perks in "Agile Defender" and like Streets said only put 1 into Sneak. At Lvl 100 sneak you are practically invisible even without those perks. Since you've got all the way into the Sneak tree you definitely want to get "Assassin's Blade", I don't know what kind of assassin wouldn't have that perk.

Personally, Lockpicking and Pickpocket trees are laughable at best but completely useless, unless you're into the fun little things you can get through them (While not really adding anything to your character). With all those extra perks, look into one-handed (depending on your playstyle), Illusion and I always like to put a little somethin into Restoration tree just because its useful in every situation.

Here's a build I just cooked up going off your description there:

Skyrim Perk Calculator - Plan the perks for your Skyrim character before spending them!

I took the useless perks off of Archery like Hunter's Discipline and Ranger because arrows aren't a problem to get and you are not looking to move faster with a bow, you want to kill faster with a bow. Sneak + Archery damage perks and you will rarely ever have to move when your bow is out.

Put some of those perks into one-handed because you never know when they get ya.

Shaved some perks off Light Armor so you aren't dumping them in there for no reason, and mainly to free up perks for other trees.

You are probably wondering why I took off the left side of the Sneak tree. Imo, its kinda pointless. At Level 100 Sneak with the invisibility spell + muffle boots, none of those perks even matter and you'll barely notice a difference. Also, always get Assassin's blade, its one-hit kills all around.

With the remaining perks, I put them into Alteration for the magic resistance, never hurt anyone. You could also take these perks and put them into Restoration tree.

All these are my own recommendation and its pretty similar to what I had for my Nord assassin who was pretty OP by level 15. Maybe you find it helpful, maybe you use it as a guideline. I've never tried an Illusion assassin but I am tempted now because it sounds like a lot of fun.
 

ShadowGambit

Active Member
I totally agree with what Streets said (as usual), as well as what Crooskin said.

If you really want to play a sneaky archer, then there is nearly no need for Light Armor skill, you can go around in clothes and you will be fine.

I would invest in Alchemy and Enchanting though, that will give you a big boost in your damage output, mostly with +132% Fortify Archery equipments.

The left side of the tree in Sneak is an overkill with Invisibility (spell or potions) and muffle enchantment.

If you go Illusion, you should take also all illusion perks outside of the Apprentice-Adept-Expert-Master illusion. For mana cost reduction, I found that 4 pieces of +25% Fortify Illusion are more efficient. With Illusion, uses spells like Fury/Frenzy and Calm/Pacify. Those will take you out of tight spots when you are outnumbered.

I wouldn't take the Critical shots perks. For me is useless, because of the mechanics. The difference in damage overall, even with sneak attack, will be off 20pts max. Not worth it when your bow is doing hundreds or even thousand of damage.
 

sirenssixx

New Member
I'm wanting to go full on stealth mode on this character I'm talking ezio auditore of the dovahkiin lol. I'm going to follow all of your advice in taking out the left side of the sneak tree because it does seem useless, however i am going to put 5/5 in stealth (mainly because it only takes like 20 min at the beginning of the game to get sneak up to 100 and i want to see just how sneaky i can be). Ill be maxing out illusion as well which Isn't a problem being able to max that out in about an hour. What I'm confused about is whether to do enchanting and alteration, or light armor, or light armor and enchanting and so on, you get my point, i know ill be putting plenty of perks into archery and a few into one handed, only problem now would be defenses.
when it comes to lock picking and pickpocketing, those i suppose ill look into as I go.
 

ShadowGambit

Active Member
Your defense is being invisible.

And Frenzy/pacify when needed.

You shouldn't get hit that often to need an armor if you know what you are doing.
 

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