Attacking from Stealth

[CherokeeRed]

Hey guys pretty new to this game, I have noticed that when I try to get up close and attack I am not given the option to attack and by the time I can leave the range of an enemy they are alerted wasting my surprise attack.

What am I doing wrong why can I not attack at close range or is the game setup that it only allows for ranged surprise attacks?

[psychotron666420]

You just click the attack button on the enemy and it will instantly put you in combat mode, but you'll still be hidden and you have a surprise round (meaning enemies turns are skipped for the first round).

[BigRockWall]

Your stealth skill and the enemy perception skill directly impact how close you can get before discovered. It IS possible to walk directly behind them and lead off combat with melee sneak attack, and a surprise round will ensue. But it is much easier to get surprise round and sneak attacks from stealth at range.

To clarify since you're new, surprise round means combat starts and your party gets to take a full round while most of if not all of the enemy doesn't. It triggers when you attack an enemy before being discovered. Sneak attack requires the enemy be disadvantaged. That can be due to attacking them from stealth, or an ally standing adjacent to the target, or a number of other spells and effects that cause disadvantage.

[guard65]

Once in range, while still stealthed I always pause the game. Then click the weapon for a manual attack. Click the target and then then un-pause. Always works for me if I managed to remain stealthed up to the game pause.

I think if you just click the target without the manual weapon attack it weight you feeling them up or something. What is that, handsy, pickpocket not sure but it gets their attention.

[CherokeeRed]

Thanks for the input, I will try again and use pause once I am behind the enemy and if it doesn't work for me this time I will stick to just using ranged stealth attacks since it seems easier/ more reliable.

[Soteria]

The game has a... I don't know about bug, but limitation? You can't attack unless you're in combat. So when you choose to attack from stealth, the game first puts you in combat, applies combat detection rules, and then lets you move. So typically it's impossible to do a true stealth melee attack. You'll surprise all the enemies and get a free round, but won't be stealthed or have advantage in that first attack.

[silvergriffon]

With a high enough stealth I routinely position my rogue directly behind an enemy and initiate combat by clicking my weapon and then the target. It works as long as you are not detected. As stated by others though, if you just click to attack them while still out of melee range that will trigger combat mode, the red squares that mean automatic detection will pop into existence and you have to walk through them to reach the target. To summarize, you have to manage to avoid detection and position yourself while still in exploration mode and then trigger combat with the sneak attack.

For even more fun, use Community Expansion 2's pickpocket options to give all humanoids and some undead pickpocketable loot. I try to see how many enemies I can steal from before getting detected. Quite often, I get to pick all of their pockets before repositioning myself behind one to sneak attack. (Full disclosure: that's a shameless plug since I wrote that part of CE2.) Picking pockets is a Sleight of Hand check.