Weapons For Thief, Only use one, 1hander?

[SpaceBoat]

Hello everyone, so I am making a Thief/Ranger type class utilizing daggers/swords and bows, I am just wondering what is everyones recomendation on which combo to use.

Dual Daggers? Dual Swords? One of Each? Should I use a shield? Is the blocking ability of only using 1 weapon worth it? As in would it be worth using just 1, 1-handed sword, so I can block with it?

Is it worth the block ability to not dual wield? In terms of a class that will be using bows and stealth, what would you suggest for melee weapons.

Also in terms of armor, should I go into light armor, and that tree for a thief class, or should I stick to lighter clothes and non armors?

Any advice or tips would be appreciated!

[Crusaderkvw]

hey man, what i would advice(weapons): dagger for close-combat sneak attacks and melee-combat. a bow for the sneaky stealth shots. you can ofcourse use dual-daggers for sneak, but i find a single dagger way better myself(personal prefrence).
then my advice on skills: one-hand+archery+light armor for as your combat skills. and then the real thief skills: sneak, pickpocket, lockpicking. hell, maybe even alteration or illusion magic for the nice mind-♥♥♥♥ with enemies. adviced quests: thiefs guild(obvius), dark brotherhood(stealth combat training), course the main-quests and last: some(if not all) deadra quests(depending on what kind, or even if, of RP elements you want with you're caracter).

hope to be of enough advice for now, if you want to know more feel free to PM me
greetz from a fellow killer and a thief,
crusaderkw

[sjamesashton]

Daggers are supposedly the sneaky-thief specialty, however ...... their damage only goes up using the Assassins Blade perk from the Stealth skill (and whatever smithing improvements you make to your blade) (plus some extra damage when wearing rare gloves). Using a one-handed light weight sword on the other hand, gets five Armsman and three Bladesman levelled perks and several more critical damage improvements (Fighting Stance, Critical Charge, Savage Strike and Paralyzing Strike) - on top of smithing improvements. The cherry on top is that you can add enchanted stuff to improve your 1H skill, but it does NOT count on daggers.

[Ombudsman]

A thief should not use weapons, that would make you an assassin.

[SpaceBoat]

I am going for hybrid.

I think I am going to go with bows, light armor, and 1 handed swords for my melee. I was planning on going Thiefs guild, dark brotherhood, but was wondering if its worth doing the companion quests on an assassin?

Can you do the companion questline without becoming a wearwolf? I do not want to be a vampire or wearwolf on this character.

Also I got dawnguard and I thought I heard there was quest to join a group of vampire hunters or something so I will probably do that as well.

Thanks for the tips.

[sjamesashton]

Originally posted by J3X:

A thief should not use weapons, that would make you an assassin.

Heh, a Thief without weapons won't last very long. But it would make for an entertaining playing style.

You can start the Companions questline, but after a very short time you WILL become a werewolf. There IS a quest sequence to cure yourself (and a few others) if you choose to.

AFAIK, you can choose to fight the vampires instead of becoming one - but I haven't done that yet.

[Final]

the companoin quest line doesnt make you a werewolf i think thats only the dawngaurd questline bye rufusing harkons gift of vampirism

[Navarre]

The Companions questline DOES make you a werewolf if you want to do it entirely, but you can cure your lycanthropy at the end of it.

On the main topic, daggers. X15 damage from sneak attacks, and damage on par with other OH weapons once you've worked your Smithing skill. They do slightly less damage but the difference is negligible on Legendary stuff. And they do less noise when used than other weapons, so you can sneak kill an enemy and stay hidden more easily.

But if your only concern is to be a good thief, you just don't kill anyone during the Thieves missions, so the point is moot.

[SpaceBoat]

I plan on being a thief/assassin hybrid, so I definitely need good weapons.

I used to make pure thiefs in Oblivion but I always found that you ended up too weak, and could get stomped by a lot of things.

In this case, I would like to be able to handle myself (mainly retain the ability to kill dragons), as well as be a good thief.

Is the companions worth doing for a thief/assassin? If I can cure the werewolf I do not care then, I just dont plan on investing into it.

Can I cure myself as soon as I do said Quest (its fairly early if my memory serves correct) to become a werewolf? Or do I actually have to do the entire companion questline before curing?

@tandifreed the companion questline DOES make you a werewolf fairly early on, I was asking if it was avoidable.

TL;DR: Werewolf aside, is the companion questline worth doing for a thief/assassin?

[Varinius]

I always find myself in this exact situation you are when I'm sat debating my next character build. I've never, ever, rolled a character that depends on daggers as their melee weapon. In my opinion Bethesda has always made them very redundant. I dispose of them to vendors lol.

It's really a shame, as a dagger is very suited to a sneaky thief or assassin... But as you put it, you'll only ending up regretting it later when you're weak and "getting stomped on by a lot of things".

Sword it imho. :)

[frogprincess_q4]

Illusion is a very handy skill for the stealth character. I have at high level been able to pacify bandits then sneak hit them with my dagger for 15x damage, then pacify them, then stealth hit them. I had kit that was enchanted up the wazoo, but it was seriously entertaining.

Muffle, Invisibility and calming/pacifying spells are invaluable when getting away clean from a crime spree, too. If you go for an Illusion tree build for a stealth character, make sure you invest in the silent casting perk as early as you can.

[radbass2]

i use illusion/alteration in my left hand as a stealth character. detect life is very handy, unless youre constantly using Aura Whisper. the ____flesh alteration spells are also very handy for non-combat focused characters because sometimes stealth isnt an option.

[The Hatman]

Get good at sneak of course, if your going to be a theif, and high alchemy would be good for advanced invisibility and paralysis potions. For weapons? Use the dagger for backstabs and sneak attacks, and the sword for when your caught and dont have any distance between the target. The bow is good for stealth kills from a distance, probably most useful in dark brotherhood contracts. It also can be used when you are seen killing someone and you are either behind cover, or from a distance and under pursuit. Alteration and illusion also help. Cloaks from the destruction area can keep people away, and the call of valor shout can buy you some time. Building high illusion as a theif could get you paralysis, which is the holy grail of escape plans. Also, you can use illusion to make enemies run away, allies take more punishment, and nuetral people come to your aid or hack away randomly. Alteration could help you escape by allowing you to breath underwater and swim away, you could increase armor rating to make a stand, and you could go invisible and easily escape. It all depends on what your priorities are. Stealth, or Speed.

[ArdimalYroth]

if you plan on stealthy take outs use a bow if not near other targets eles use a dagger for bigger multipler sor sneak attack, a 1-h weapon is good for travel. use a sheild only if you find you need an extra armour enhancment space. ultimatly you have to envision your charictor yourself

[Spawn of Totoro]

I usualy go for bow, dagger (main hand) and dagger/sword (off-hand). The dagger is in the main hand for ease of use to sneak attack with the 15x damage. That is the most powerfull strike you can make in the game. If you sneak is high enough, you can kill everyone in the room with a single hit. Almost kills a dragon in one hit too, if you can get to him.

[Darkfiro]

dont forget the glove that double sneak attack damage you can have 30* damage