Bugged Sneak/Stealth? WTF

[RSnider]

Is it just me, or is it impossible to sneak up on bandits not in a cave or dungeon? My sneak skill is in the mid 80's, overall level is 39, all sneak perks except for shadow warrior and light armor perks up to the silence perk, full Nightingale armor, creeping along in the slow sneak position, daggers sheathed, in the middle of the night, and a Bandit Marauder HEARS me from inside his little building about 50 feet away. The instant he pops through the doorway, my sneak indicator goes wide open and shows "Detected", and he makes a b-line straight to me.

 

However, if you take the exact same scenario except taking place inside a cave or dungeon instead of out in the open, I can carelessly sneak around and get behind them for a sneak attack easily 9 times out of 10.

 

 

Has anyone else encountered this behavior? If so, is there a fix or is it just another stupid bug? It's really bloody annoying to spend so much time getting good at stealth (and no, I did not use the cheap exploits to level sneak) for it to be a complete waste in certain scenarios.

[rpger30]

Yeah I think the detection mechanisms are a little screwy too. A tip to help you out though: get some muffle enchanted boots if you're not already wearing a pair. Sneaking will then actually seem sneaky. You'll still get detected in high-light situations in line-of-sight, but that's as it should be IMO.

 

I think most of the detection problems come from sound. They should have a good look at that, unless they really intend for us to need muffle.

 

Also, your distinction between exteriors and interiors is spot-on. You're detected from much farther away in exteriors, which seems foolish. If anything, having a bazillion trees and rocks to hide behind should be helpful.

[Perraine]

Ahem ... It's a "Game Feature" not a bug (you really gotta learn 'Bethesda speak' )

[Sheralynn]

Bandits and Forsworn and so also seem to do scripted movements when you sneak into a camp. Even though they don't hear or see you they for instance get up from where they're sitting, sometimes resulting in a continuous loop where they keep on standing up and sitting down again. Others run towards a guard position at the entrance just when you are sneaking in. So without being seen or heard you still trigger behavior that has a high probability of spotting you.

 

It's not really bugged, just the limited AI that results in seemingly psychic bandits.

[RSnider]

Yeah I think the detection mechanisms are a little screwy too. A tip to help you out though: get some muffle enchanted boots if you're not already wearing a pair. Sneaking will then actually seem sneaky. You'll still get detected in high-light situations in line-of-sight, but that's as it should be IMO.

 

I think most of the detection problems come from sound. They should have a good look at that, unless they really intend for us to need muffle.

 

Also, your distinction between exteriors and interiors is spot-on. You're detected from much farther away in exteriors, which seems foolish. If anything, having a bazillion trees and rocks to hide behind should be helpful.

 

I was wearing muffle boots, which is what makes this particularly frustrating.

[rpger30]

I've personally kinda given up on being "fair" with my opponents when sneaking. I now rely on muffle, +60% sneak boots and shadow warrior. I'm working on my illusion magic now that I've gotten powerful enough with 1h melee attacks to stop dual wielding. DW is so unwieldy anyway with all the hotkey issues.

 

Really sucks that you're having so much trouble even when muffled. You'll have a much easier time when you get shadow warrior. It can help save you from the massive detection dogpiles of doom. You quickly assassinate the enemy who detected you, and often the others will cease their alert status.