Ultimate Thief/Assassin Guide!

[Afatguiarist]

Hey, I want to start an Assassin, but I am stuck between races. I really like the Argonian and the Khajiit, the Khajiit starts off with much better stats and an amazing racial ability, while the Argonian only has the looks. Any help on choosing?

Argonians have hitskin which provedes 10x health regen for a minute, it essentially provides invincibility which is great for an assassin, pick argonian


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[Skarv]

I picked Argonian, and I was browsing pictures of the and I wanted to share this awesome one

 

[Zxylex]

Hey i have some suggestions first i suggest a nord as the race even though this is not a typical assassin race bear with me as nords frost resist is brilliant against frost dragons so you can still zoom in with the bow and their bonus to light armor is a plus. for the link to my adjusted perk guide Click Here
even though i suggest nord i honestly play a kajit because i masted potions so stamina aint a problem and night vision is quite useful as it is multi use

 

[Holl0WxOrigin]

why we need that much stamina?

I recommend 40% health/60 % stamina and also try and get your magika to 150 for casting illusions such as invisibility

 

[Necromis]

really in all honesty there is not race that is better than others when it comes to any build. At least in the long run. I mean a breton is better to start for conjuration, a altemer is better for mage to start, but in the end I could take a kittah and make it as good a mage/conjurer as either of the above mentioned. It is more a matter of skills and stat alocation. This is why it is always good to go with a good stamina for an assassin/thief as you won't be able to handle straight up fights and will need the stamina to run away from your enemy if/when you are caught early on in the game.

 

[Squirrel_killer-]

really in all honesty there is not race that is better than others when it comes to any build. At least in the long run. I mean a breton is better to start for conjuration, a altemer is better for mage to start, but in the end I could take a kittah and make it as good a mage/conjurer as either of the above mentioned. It is more a matter of skills and stat alocation. This is why it is always good to go with a good stamina for an assassin/thief as you won't be able to handle straight up fights and will need the stamina to run away from your enemy if/when you are caught early on in the game.

While this partly true, most people don't play characters very long, also those special racial abilities pay off. Altmer Highborn is the most important mage ability in the game. That magicka regeneration is invaluable. I normally pick races for their special ability rather than their stats. Any race can be any build, however certain races are much more effective with that build due to their racial abilities. For example Breton have amazing passive magic defense, while Orsimer have their Berserk Rage once a day doubling their damage out put while having the damage they take. Meaning an Orsimer at the armor cap can avoid 90% of the damage they take.

 

[Necromis]

While this partly true, most people don't play characters very long, also those special racial abilities pay off. Altmer Highborn is the most important mage ability in the game. That magicka regeneration is invaluable. I normally pick races for their special ability rather than their stats. Any race can be any build, however certain races are much more effective with that build due to their racial abilities. For example Breton have amazing passive magic defense, while Orsimer have their Berserk Rage once a day doubling their damage out put while having the damage they take. Meaning an Orsimer at the armor cap can avoid 90% of the damage they take.

Actually I couldn't disagree with you more. Most of us play our characters quite far. In fact a good portion try to max out their character in most if not all areas, especially related to thier area of expertise. That being said a mage with altemeri benefits will not be any better than a nord, when both have mana within 50 of each other and both have their casting reduced down to to around 25-50% of normal thru perks, equipment and/or enchanting. Neither one is gonna run outa mana and neither one is gonna not be able to cast the same exact spells. The magic defense can also be gained thru items and stones to equal that. Also the berserker rage really is not all that great. it lasts only for one minute, and most fights you need that in last much longer. also it is only 50%, not 90% FYI. Trust me two races over level 15ish in the same class with different races will be equally good or bad based on skills and stats, race wil l not matter.

 

[Squirrel_killer-]

Actually I couldn't disagree with you more. Most of us play our characters quite far. In fact a good portion try to max out their character in most if not all areas, especially related to thier area of expertise. That being said a mage with altemeri benefits will not be any better than a nord, when both have mana within 50 of each other and both have their casting reduced down to to around 25-50% of normal thru perks, equipment and/or enchanting. Neither one is gonna run outa mana and neither one is gonna not be able to cast the same exact spells. The magic defense can also be gained thru items and stones to equal that. Also the berserker rage really is not all that great. it lasts only for one minute, and most fights you need that in last much longer. also it is only 50%, not 90% FYI. Trust me two races over level 15ish in the same class with different races will be equally good or bad based on skills and stats, race wil l not matter.

Armor cap reduces only 80% of the damage, half of that 20% is 10%. 80%+10%=90%. I specified at the armor cap. However Many people don't play a character past roughly level 40. Because at that point you're just adding additional skills. The 50 bonus magicka can quickly translate into 50 more health or stamina. Each race has the same potential for any given build, however their abilities make them slightly better for different builds and can help emanate the need for some perks or enchantments. I use a Khajiit as my main. He's primarily an assassin build with a splash of conjuration (not illusion so he's not a Nightblade). Not a typical build at all. He is proof that you are right that any race has high potential for any build. But another race would be more optimal for his build. I have been playing this game on master since day 5 (I spent the first few days on adept to learn the control and game play changes from oblivion), so I am well aware of how important perk placement and stats play into things. However I have found race plays a rather surprising role depending if you the abilities or not. However the passives can allow you to completely pass up on certain enchantments or perks.

My personal formula for making an ideal build is 40% perks, 30% stat placement, 20% enchantments, and 10% race. Race matters. Just not very much.

 

[Necromis]

again, race only matters for maybe level 1-10, and like you said even then only a matter of 10%. after that, you won't be worried about any of the extra things they give. I have played almost every race on every build on master level and have never ran into a need for any of their special abilities. I would say the only exception to this would be the night sight of kittah. But that is more asthetics than need cuz I could always use a spell if it was too dark. I just happend to be getting lost in this one cave. LOL

 

[DemonLord4418]

Also if you just want to look cool use the nightingale armor with the blades of woe.

 

[theoperation]

Currently trying out this build and it's starting to become a lot of fun. In order to not get my arse handed to me straight away I put the perks in archery, one-handed and light armour for the first few perks, which I recommend if you're also following the storyline and need to slay a dragon or two, as well as beating the tough draugr and the frost trolls and bears on the high hrothgar path.
Now that I've gotten in the thieves guild I'm building the sneak, pickpocket & lock picking. The guild offers experts that you can learn off, and now that you have a fence, it's quite easy to go and steal lots of loot, go back to the guild, sell it and use the cash to train. It's very easy to become a master thief extremely quickly using this method.

 

[Jake Johnson]

"I highly suggest using Alchemy and using the perks I chose in the tree above."

Where are those choices?

 

[Jake Johnson]

I believe PROShadowThief (the author of this guide) wants us to be capable of reading minds.

For example, under Alchemy, he says:

"I highly suggest using Alchemy and using the perks I chose in the tree above. This will help to maximize your poison damage, which can be very helpful when combined with the pickpocket perk, Poisoned. Reverse pickpocketing a poison onto a target then watching them slowly suffer never gets old."

Tree above? Where is it?

 

[PROshadowthief]

I believe PROShadowThief (the author of this guide) wants us to be capable of reading minds.

For example, under Alchemy, he says:

"I highly suggest using Alchemy and using the perks I chose in the tree above. This will help to maximize your poison damage, which can be very helpful when combined with the pickpocket perk, Poisoned. Reverse pickpocketing a poison onto a target then watching them slowly suffer never gets old."

Tree above? Where is it?

http://skyrimcalculator.com/#67745

I think someone is a little butthurt. If you took the time to read the entire guide, you'd notice that literally the second line, in all it's off-color, large-font-size glory is a link directly to the calculator.

 

[Jake Johnson]

Sorry. Doing that now.

 

[casines49]

Have any tips on making some expensive potions to level up alchemy fast?

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[skyrrimepi]

Thank you very much for the guide. I loved the tips under the'Dragon' section. The guide really helped me.

 

[awesomeshark552]

Wow, this guide was super helpful! I've been searching for thief/assassin builds for days, this was super helpful but I want a pure thieves guild character. I might use this guide as a template for a pure thieve's guild build though!