Thieves Guild questline hits way harder on replays when you know what's coming

[RiftenWanderer]

I just finished the Thieves Guild stuff on my current playthrough and man, knowing the twist with Mercer Frey ahead of time actually makes the whole thing better, not worse. Like the first time through you're just doing jobs and it feels kind of grindy, but this time I was watching his dialogue differently, paying attention to how he talks down to you, and it completely reframes those early quests.

Also the radiant jobs actually make sense now? Before I thought they were just filler but they're basically you proving yourself to people who have zero reason to trust some random Nord who just walked in. By the time you get to the actual story beats it feels earned instead of just "okay time for the plot now."

Ngl the Thieves Guild questline still gets overshadowed by Dark Brotherhood and Companions in people's rankings but I think it's genuinely the tightest faction story in the game. Every quest does something. Even the boring ones.

 

[EbonyWarrior]

Yeah I get what you mean about Mercer. The first playthrough you're just like "okay guild guy, cool" but once you know he's actively sabotaging you the whole time, stuff like him sending you into traps or picking jobs that weaken rival guilds all clicks into place. He's not even subtle about it if you're paying attention.

The radiant jobs thing is a good point though. I'll be honest, I used to skip a bunch of them because they felt tedious, but you're right that they're doing actual worldbuilding work. You're not just some chosen one - you're grinding reputation with people who've heard stories about the guild being a joke. That's the whole reason Brynjolf even approaches you in the first place, right? The guild's been gutted.

I don't know if I'd call it the tightest faction story though. The structure is solid but Dark Brotherhood still hits harder emotionally, and Companions has way more character depth with the Aela / Vilkas / Farkas dynamic plus the whole werewolf angle. Thieves Guild is more about the plot twist and the heist stuff, which is fun, but it's leaner on the character side. That said, you're definitely underselling it - it's way better than people give it credit for, especially compared to how samey the radiant jobs can feel on a first run.