Pickpocketing early game—when does it actually pay off vs. just looting bodies?

[RiftenWanderer]

I'm on my third playthrough and keep abandoning pickpocketing by level 15 because it feels like I'm spending five minutes to steal a dagger worth 5 gold. But I see people swear by it for early funding. What am I missing—is there a specific item type or location where it actually beats just killing stuff and taking their gear? Playing on Switch, no mods, so I can't optimize it to death.

 

[TamrielTactician]

You're not missing anything—you're just hitting it at the wrong time. Pickpocketing does suck for raw gold-per-minute in early game, but that's not really what it's for.

The actual payoff is stealing skill books and potions, not vendor trash. A Destruction skill book is worth maybe 50 gold but saves you a perk point. High-value potions (especially paralysis or invisibility) are way cheaper to steal than to buy or craft. On my Switch run I'd pickpocket apothecaries and alchemists specifically for those, not because I needed the 3 gold they had.

The other thing people don't mention: it pairs with Thieves Guild radiant jobs. Once you're doing those, pickpocketing becomes part of the workflow anyway. You're already sneaking through a location for a quest objective, so grabbing a key or a ring off an NPC takes two seconds and counts toward your guild reputation. By the time you hit level 20-25 and have some perks in the Pickpocket tree (the ones that reduce detection chance), it's actually viable for stealing enchanted gear straight off NPCs without fighting them.

But if you're just trying to fund yourself? Yeah, kill stuff and loot bodies. Way faster. Pickpocketing is more of a "I'm playing a thief character and this fits the fantasy" thing than a farming strategy. Don't force it if it's not clicking for you.

 

[WhiterunModder]

That's solid advice, but I'd push back slightly on one thing: the Thieves Guild radiant jobs angle is real, but they're not where pickpocketing actually shines for early funding on Switch.

The real move is pickpocketing in places where you're already stuck waiting around or doing other stuff. Like, if you're doing the College of Winterhold questline, you're literally living in that tower with the same NPCs every day. Steal their robes, their rings, their potions while you're there anyway. Same with the Companions hall or the Temple in Whiterun. You're going to be there multiple times regardless, so the time investment is basically zero. That's where it stops feeling like a chore and actually adds up.

Also, ngl, the perk that lets you pickpocket equipped items without them noticing is genuinely game-changing once you get it. Suddenly you can walk around Markarth and just... take the iron dagger off a guard's hip, take a mage's robes while they're standing there. It feels ridiculous and it's way more profitable than sneaking into a shop to grab a potion bottle. By that point (level 20-ish Pickpocket) you're stealing actual gear, not vendor trash.

But yeah, if you're actively trying to farm gold early on, just loot bodies. Pickpocketing is more of a "this is how my character moves through the world" thing than a strategy. Don't make it a side job.