sneaking, and more

[berninicaco3]

Hi forum!

 

I began playing this game 2 weeks ago, hah, probably like 90 hours of gameplay in that time!

 

I started as a mage, went squish a bit too often, and started sneaking everywhere and sniping with a bow to survive... so I'm more of a rogue/assassin now with an inordinate amount of mana.

 

To optimize, I need to understand some things better.

 

1) If I can choose between gloves of 2x sneak (but single handed) damage, and 2x backstab damage, which will do more damage? Can you backstab without sneaking (just staying behind the enemy)-- which would make the sneak attack more versatile. If you can swing two knives at exactly the same time though, the backstab bonus might have a better chance at one-shotting a squishy mage boss while invisible, before he gets a chance to heal, ward, or summon.

 

2) Armor! As a sneaky character, i'd assume leather is better. But I don't understand. Is it based on class? (all light armor has one noise value, all heavy another louder noise value, and robes and hoods and tiaras and handwraps -cloth- make no extra noise), or strictly on weight, such that 20lbs is louder than 10lbs? If you take the "heavy armor weighs nothing" perk, does that make heavy armor quiet, too, then?

And if you get boots of muffling, does that make all your heavy plate mail just as silent and sneaky as any leather? ...the description SEEMS to imply so, but I'm unsure.

 

3) Attack speed. All daggers are one speed, all warhammers another? Or is it weight-based: a 14lb warmhammer slower than a 12lb one? Can a lighter bow fire faster than a heavier weight bow? I use daggers because, I think, they're the only ones with special sneak or backstab 15x bonuses (x2 again for x30 with the aforementioned gloves), but for my tanky follower, do I give her a greatsword, a sword, a warhammer, an axe...? What class does more dps and if looking at an axe that does 28 damage and a sword that does 20, which does more damage per second on average?

 

4) Enchanting! Early game I got a weapon that trapped a soul if they died within 4 seconds. I learned the enchantment, and I can enchant things with a poorer 3 second value now.

Now I've got a couple weapons of "malediction," with a nice 15 second window.

But too late! I've learned that enchantment already. Would it have been better to destroy a superior-enchanted weapon to learn with, or does it not matter --so I should always destroy the lousiest-- and if I cannot enchant a 15 second soul trap, it just means my enchanting needs to be leveled higher, and someday, I WILL get there?

 

5) Requirements to level a skill. To level my summoning skill, do my summoned creatures need to do damage? Or just summoning archons and familiars while strolling between towns, enemies present or now, might level it faster? Likewise with the other schools of magic. Does it require actually damaging something or healing something, to level the skill: a context: or will just casting muffle on myself any time and every time at all continuously, improve alteration; and fireballing the sky, improve destruction; and summoning perpetually and outside of battles, level that fast too?

 

 

thanks for the clarifications!

-Bernard

[AnkhAscendant]

My disclaimer of not actually knowing for sure aside, these are my understandings:

 

1) Sneak doesn't actually affect backstab damage, so get the 2x backstab ones. Sneak just makes it easier to get to them. You have to be undetected to backstab, so I think you have to sneak. I've never tried to backstab with two daggers at the same time, so... o.O

 

2) I'm about 65% sure armor noise is based on weight, rather than weight class. The more I think about it the surer I get. I'm not sure if armor weighing nothing applies to sneaking, but muffling does. If you are completely muffled, forget leather, your chain and plate is as quiet as cloth :P

 

3) I think in vanilla attack speed is based on type rather than weight, though there are mods that change that. Daggers->swords->axes->two-handed versions . If her primary skill is in 1-handed (as most are), I'd give her a sword. I don't know the exact math, but faster is better to me.

 

4) Always disenchant the lousiest; you learn the same effect, and magnitude and duration depend on your skill and the soul used.

 

5) Summons need to enter combat and spells need to take effect. Fireballs have to inflict damage (or at least have a valid target), detect life needs to detect life and the more the better, you have to be in swimmable water for waterbreathing, mage armors have to protect you from damage. And, of course, basically the more magicka it uses the more experience it's worth.

 

Finally, check the skill pages at http://uesp.net - I'm pretty sure that's where I got the information and I know it answers better than my faulty memory.

[Deleted3507349User]

Speaking of smithing, enchanting, and alchemy....when you're making stuff, the more expensive the item is the faster that skill increases.

[berninicaco3]

Speaking of smithing, enchanting, and alchemy....when you're making stuff, the more expensive the item is the faster that skill increases.

 

I'd heard that before.

Got a lot of ebony weapons off of various deathlords that I don't need: would adding petty enchantments to already inherently more valuable weapons, also speed up enchanting?

 

Another question. Passive bonuses, like "muffle," that have no percentages, and no drainable charges: should you just go ahead and use a petty gem and not better, since the enchantment is the same: or am I missing something?

[CasperTheLich]

Speaking of smithing, enchanting, and alchemy....when you're making stuff, the more expensive the item is the faster that skill increases.

 

I'd heard that before.

Got a lot of ebony weapons off of various deathlords that I don't need: would adding petty enchantments to already inherently more valuable weapons, also speed up enchanting?

 

Another question. Passive bonuses, like "muffle," that have no percentages, and no drainable charges: should you just go ahead and use a petty gem and not better, since the enchantment is the same: or am I missing something?

 

for your fist question, it's the value of the enchantment not the value of the item you're enchanting, i think. i could be wrong though.

as for the next question, i think that would be true of something like muffle, though using a better soul might make the item your enchanting more valuable (not sure there). now if it's something like 2x backstab damage it might increase the 2x to 3x or more. (not sure about that cause i've never had an item i could use the 2x backstab enchantment on) now enchantments that add 50 health or stamina; those can give you more powerful versions of enchantments while using better gems with better souls, it’s not just the %50 skill bonus that can improve with higher quality souls. (I’m having more trouble explaining myself then usual cause my chair keeps dropping an inch at a time as I’m typing… it’s quite distracting)