Pickpocketing is secretly the most broken skill and nobody realizes it

[DragonbornVet]

I just hit 100 pickpocket on my current playthrough and I'm genuinely baffled this skill doesn't get the same "broken" conversation as alchemy or conjuration. Like, you can literally steal people's weapons mid-combat. Their potions. Their armor pieces. I watched a dragon priest just... stand there confused because I'd lifted his robes off him while he was casting.

The perks are insane too. Once you get the ones that let you pickpocket equipped items without getting caught, the game just stops being a challenge in any traditional sense. I'm not even talking about cheesing - just the base mechanic is fundamentally busted if you actually invest in it.

Why does everyone talk about alchemy exploits and conjuration spam but pickpocket gets ignored? Is it just because it feels less flashy than summoning two dremora lords or chugging a potion that makes you invisible for 10 minutes?

 

[WhiterunModder]

you're not wrong that pickpocket is absurdly powerful, but I think the reason it gets less hype is just... it's not as immediately satisfying to pull off? like yeah you can strip a dragon priest naked mid-fight and it's hilarious, but it requires you to be in melee range and it takes time. alchemy and conjuration let you just... win from a distance without thinking about it. you don't have to do anything after you drink that potion or summon that daedra.

pickpocket is more of a "you have to actually play the game differently" thing. it rewards positioning and timing and knowing when to steal what. alchemy is just math - brew the strongest potion possible and suddenly nothing matters. that's why people talk about it as broken. pickpocket is broken too but in a way that requires engagement, so it feels less like exploiting a flaw and more like just being good at the game.

that said, once you get the perks that let you steal equipped stuff without detection, yeah it's pretty stupid. I've done the same dragon priest thing. the game just stops having teeth if you commit to it. but at least you had to invest the time to get there and you're actively interacting with enemies instead of just buffing yourself into godhood.