Sneak Cap?

[DirtySki]

Hello All,
I apologize in advance if I'm walking on previously covered ground but I couldn't find anything related when I searched.
Is there a level of sneak where, if reached, will give maximum "sneakiness" & anything beyond said number would then be worthless or even give diminishing returns? For example, I've searched around a bit on the net for an answer on some less than reputable places & have seen people post 250 as a sneak cap. Some say that anything above 250 will in fact make you less sneaky, i.e. more likely to be seen. Others say that when you hit 250, you should stop enchanting sneak because though it may increase your sneakiness, it does so at a rate which would provide very little difference compared to <250. Any insight would be welcome, thanks very much.

 

[xSuoiveDx]

The sneak perk only goes to 100 as do any of the other perks. The perk at 80 is Silence " Walking and running does not affect detection ". The perk at 100 is Shadow Warrior " crouching stops combat for a moment and forces distant opponents to search for a target".

You can enchant any of the boots at the Arcane table to increase sneak or if you are really lucky you will find a pair of Light Armor Predators Grace Boots " Wearer is muffled and moves silently. Stamina regenerates 1% faster". I had these on my last character, I found them in some random chest somewhere.

 

[DirtySki]

Yea I gotcha on that. Now that I reread what I wrote, I should have clarified where I pulled the 250 from.
Lets say you're maxed on sneak at 100 & you enchant boots, gloves, necklace & ring at +47% (which idk if you can go higher but thats where i'm at), I'm seeing that as 288, which would be 100 max sneak + 47(gloves) + 47(boots) + 47(necklace) + 47(ring).
So to backtrack a bit, is there a number of the sneak skill where you would no longer benefit from that much sneak or if the benefit wouldn't be as helpful as when you were below that number?

 

[Dagmar]

I don't know if there is a way to really test for a hardcap to Sneak skill because there are at least 2 factors for being detected when sneaking, aural and visual, and while we can isolate one for testing with Falmer, I'm not aware of any subject that can be used for isolated visual detection testing. I'm also not sure how we can test how the strength of local light sources would factor in visual detection.

As a practical matter, there may be a number where it might not make much sense to invest in anymore sneak skill and someone who plays an assassin build can probably provide some guidance in that regard.

 

[brandon]

i didnt go that high with my sneak. i had all perks except the last one and my sneak was at 100. i was wearing nightingale armor which increases your sneakiness. and i was a vamp which increases it another 25%. but when it came to being detected i didnt notice any diff. i had draugr and guards alike run into me and actually push me out of the way and still not notice me. it got really silly after awhile. but if i was in the light then they could see me.

 

[DirtySki]

I appreciate the feedback folks, thanks, very helpful.
I went out & experimented for around 4 hours today w/different npc's, both hostile & friendly in day & night so heres some notes in case it comes up again, we have a kind of starting point, more or less.
1. The max number of sneak I can personally achieve is 313; that is 100 base + 47X4 on boots, gloves, neck & ring + Cicero's jester hat which is +35.
2. I didnt seem to find a hard cap; in fact, the more +sneak gear I put on, the more hidden I became. Example: I could roll into friendly npc's over & over at max but if I take the neck & ring off, i'm spotted by walking in front of them.
3. The muffle (sound dampening) effect, if anything, seems to have a cap. I didnt mess with any heavy armor, just clothes & light armor, but it seems muffle is obsolete once you've perked it in the sneak tree. I tried this w/falmer, friendly & hostile npc's & that blind guy in the cave east of whiterun.
4. Obviously you're more likely to be seen in the day & almost always are, no matter what you're wearing. I'm not saying it can't be done because I did it quite a few times today myself. Angles & sticking to the shadows are critical if you're trying to daylite sneak. I would recommend being proficient w/a bow if you plan to sneak alot in the day.
5. Certain npc's seem to be "lookouts" for a particular location & are more likely to compromise you than others. I didnt notice any pattern to the type of hostile (i.e. Bandit vs Bandit Thug) but I did notice their position & moreso actions have a definite affect on detection. I started off by putting myself in a spot that was equally distant from 2 hostiles, 1 sitting around, 1 walking around. (These were forsworn btw if anyone cares to know.) The guy walking around saw me 5/5 times. Then I tried sitting a few feet in front of the sitting guy(nearly in his friggin lap) & again, the walking guy got me again 5/5 times. You would think that this being a video game, all things would be equal. It could also be that it was just a coincidence. I will tell you that from now on, I will always prioritize the walking guy over the sitting guy tho.
6. This is probably common sense but once you are compromised, npc's become more alert & will detect you more quickly than you would be before you were detected. Btw this is after that initial "HOLY $%#@!" period of time when theyre actively searching for you. Once the eye closes & sends you the "HIDDEN" message, they are still keeping one eye open.
7. Again, probably common sense but higher level npc's have a higher detection rate than lower. Sneaking up on an ancient dragon aint the same as sneaking up on a novice ice mage. And again, I'm not saying it cant be done because again, I did it . Angles & shadows, angles & shadows.

Theres more but those are the major points & this has already turned into an epic. Hope this helps someone. I'm sure I'm not the resident sneak expert but if theres any questions, I'll either answer or do my best to find you an answer. You can always find me at New Sheoth palace wandering the halls w/a load of poo in my pants muttering something about sneak multipliers.

 

[Jessica]

Wow! That is cool! Thanks!

 

[DirtySki]

Wow! That is cool! Thanks!

Thanks for that, much appreciated.

 

[Rohan Sinha]

Obviously this is 3 years old but I recently got back in to Skyrim and was looking for the percentage increase cap to sneak.
I can say for a fact that there is some sort of cap because I created a ring which increases my sneak by 2,853,998% using the restoration potion glitch (you can look it up) and then making a potion of fortify enchanting. When wearing the ring I'm always detected no matter what in places where I would not be detected without the ring.
Also @brandon just so you know Nightingale armor doesn't increase sneak percentage however it does muffle your movements. If I figure out the cap I'll post it here.

 

[Rohan Sinha]

With Nightingale Armor and All Sneak Perks I can say it's below 7000% for sure

 

[Forgot]

Hello there! Rest assured that the highest sneak is a fair amount higher than 313%!
From the methods used in this thread: http://skyrimforum.com/sf/threads/maxed-character-guide.67731/
I can achieve a ridiculously high sneak skill. Let's see just how high.

100 Base
83 * 4 From Enchantments
35 From Cicero's Hat

Total of 467 without potions!

I have a set with this sneak boost, and when playing I don't realize a drop off in effectiveness, even when I boost the sneak skill up to about 700 while using a potion. Broad daylight or dark caves, it doesn't matter. You are not going to be seen using this setup. I can even roll directly into enemies and they are still clueless.

 

[Daelon DuLac]

I have a question. Why do you need a sneak level that high? Who are you sneaking up on? Molag Bol or Akatosh?

Good grief. I love sneaking and always get my sneak up to 100. I never use potions but occasionally use invisibility and muffle and have never, I repeat NEVER, had a problem. As a matter of fact, with sneak at that level, I can kill just about anything (including dragons) without them ever knowing I am even there and can pretty much break in to anywhere and either loot the place while people are actually awake and active or assassinate someone in the middle of a crowd and never get caught.

I just don't understand why you would feel the need to have your sneak that high. It's not like anyone in Skyrim is particularly observant. As a matter of fact, it's my impression that most everything is pretty oblivious to everything (okay, so Frostbite Spiders, Mudcrabs, the ULTRA-paranoid elk/deer and Skeevers are paying attention, but nothing else).

 

[Forgot]

I need it because... I'M BATMAN!






(Harvey Dent. Can we trust him?)

 

[Scenedesmus]

[QUOTE="Daelon DuLac, post: 1977561, (okay, so Frostbite Spiders, Mudcrabs, the ULTRA-paranoid elk/deer and Skeevers are paying attention, but nothing else).[/QUOTE]

You forget Couriers. They find me no matter what sneak level and even while invisible.

 

[The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass]

I have a question. Why do you need a sneak level that high? Who are you sneaking up on? Molag Bol or Akatosh?

Good grief. I love sneaking and always get my sneak up to 100. I never use potions but occasionally use invisibility and muffle and have never, I repeat NEVER, had a problem. As a matter of fact, with sneak at that level, I can kill just about anything (including dragons) without them ever knowing I am even there and can pretty much break in to anywhere and either loot the place while people are actually awake and active or assassinate someone in the middle of a crowd and never get caught.

I just don't understand why you would feel the need to have your sneak that high. It's not like anyone in Skyrim is particularly observant. As a matter of fact, it's my impression that most everything is pretty oblivious to everything (okay, so Frostbite Spiders, Mudcrabs, the ULTRA-paranoid elk/deer and Skeevers are paying attention, but nothing else).

You forgot Big Brother. He's always watching.