For whatever reason, the ability to use stealth while in Werewolf form is disabled. This may have been inspired by Skyrim's Werewolf implementation, but it wasn't always this way. In this thread, I'll outline the reasons why Werewolf should be allowed to sneak.
Werewolf "sneaking" animations already exist in-game. Below is a screenshot of a player who is crouched. Due to a visual bug, they are shown on the client side as being in Werewolf form, when in actuality, they are in human form. This allows me to see the "unused" Werewolf stealth animations that would otherwise never be seen.
EDIT: Here is a video of some of the usually inaccessible Werewolf animations, courtesy of
@IncultaWolf. This is only possible with the aforementioned visual bug; I am not actually in Werewolf form in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2xkQSbr6io
- 0:00 to 0:18: I toggle between crouching and uncrouching. To get an idea what the uninterrupted idle crouch animation looks like, see the next video.
- 0:18 to 0:38: I showcase the movement animations for crouching with weapons sheathed and toggle walk enabled. This is the prowling animation that werewolf NPCs use.
- 0:38 to end: I showcase various animations using emotes. In chronological order, they are /kneelpray, /begone, /crouch, and /playdead. Additionally, other emotes like /take, /smash, and /cower have been known to work, but those are not shown in this video.
Further, you can see this animation for yourself in-game if you use an Invisibility potion while in Werewolf form and sheathe your weapons. Here is a video of what that idle stealth animation looks like:
https://youtu.be/eYMqCqBr1zQ
Also notice the animations of the NPC werewolves in the background. They use different animations than the player does, but the fact that these animations already exist in the game means that allowing Werewolf to sneak wouldn't require new animations to be made.
Werewolves were able to sneak in past Elder Scrolls titles. For instance, here is a video clip taken from The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, from the Bloodmoon DLC. In this video, I demonstrate how crouching in Werewolf form looks in first and third person:
https://youtu.be/lDmSwCruQFE
Notice the pickpocketing icon on the lower left that appears whenever the character uses stealth. Werewolves were able to sneak in TES III, but for whatever reason they were not given that functionality in their next appearance in TES V. Given that ESO's implementation of Werewolf is heavily inspired by the implementation in TES V, it's not surprising that the functionality just wasn't considered.
The inability to sneak causes problems in certain content. The most infamous example is in the March of Sacrifices dungeon, where during the indrik hunt phases, you must "crouch down" in order to avoid being detected. Werewolves can receive a boon to become immune to the teleporting magic, but they must first complete the 2nd side indrik hunt in their human form to receive it.
Furthermore, the Graven Deep dungeon has a crouch mechanic for the 2nd side boss. In the corridor to reach it, there are laser traps, and some of them are designed to only let you through if your character is crouching, or otherwise ducking under them. This is an annoyance for werewolves, because they cannot get past these lasers without dropping form.
Werewolves cannot complete content which requires players to crouch, as they currently have no ability to crouch.
Werewolves cannot engage in stealthy playstyles without invisibility potions. Since they cannot use stealth, and their only source of invisibility comes from potions, they must rely on potion cooldown builds to mimic the capacity for stealth that other builds have access to. Even if you play a Nightblade Werewolf, your options for being sneaky are limited, so Werewolf ganker builds just do not work. Granting Werewolf the ability to sneak would bring them on a more level playing field, and it would grant Werewolf access to sets which proc off of crouching, like Sentry and Darloc Brae, increasing build diversity.
Sneaking is thematically appropriate for werewolves. As hunters, werewolves need to be able to get the jump in on their prey. They have the supernatural endurance to chase their foes down, but as it is now, they will always be spotted first. Werewolves shouldn't have their ability to sneak taken away from them just because they transform into a beast that is supposed to be better suited for hunting.
Thank you for reading my post. I sincerely hope that we can receive some developer comment on why the ability to sneak was taken away from werewolves. If it took us receiving the Wolfhunter DLC in order to be able to resurrect our allies while in Werewolf form, then I hope that we soon receive some other relevant DLC to give us the ability to sneak.
PC/NA — Lone Werewolf, the Templar Khajiit Werewolf
Werewolf Should be Allowed to Sneak