Tips for aspiring thieves!

Lone_Wolf

Hello, if you clicked this thread no doubt you're having some trouble stealing from people and evading capture from the guards. No more worries as this is a guide that will help you learn how to become an excellent thief and make tons of gold.

Step 1: Familiarize yourself with your surroundings.
Walk the streets of your target. Learn every corner, hiding spot or any heights you can jump to in case you get spotted. Learning where to go is probably the best advice anyone can teach you.

Step 2: Find the Outlaws Refuge.
When you enter a city or town, open your map and find the location of the Refuge on your map, mark the one inside the city if you need to. When things go south that's the place you need to get to. Stay here until your notoriety wears down or you can bay off your bounty.

Step 3: Learn Guard patrol routes.
Nothing ruins a good heist more than a guard standing outside a house or right beside someone you're pickpocketing. Learn which way the guards walk and where they stand at post for long periods of time. The less attention you draw to yourself the better.

Step 4: Build up your Stamina and ready your supplies.
Sneaking and running drains your stamina big time (unless you're built for sneaking and running). Bring Stamina potions in case you need a quick jolt to get away from a bad situation. As for breaking and entering; most houses have locks on their doors and inside may be a strongbox. Bring plenty of lock-picks for situations like this. In extreme situations have a couple potions of invisibility on stand-by (I can't tell you how much these have helped me).

Step 5: Attempting theft
When pickpocketing always be behind your target, or find a corner to hide behind. As long as you're close to them you have a chance at nabbing something. People doing their daily tasks are easily distracted and waiting for them to continue their work gives you a better chance at picking their pockets.

For breaking and entering, be sure to check for passers-by or patrolling guards as lock picking is a pretty loud activity.Picking a lock requires sight and sound to get the tumblers in the correct place. When inside, no doubt the homeowners will be inside. Avoid contact with them as much as possible unless you're feeling brave and want to attempt their pockets. As long as you're out of sight you can take as much as you like without fear. When leaving it also helps to have a scout outside to make sure the guard hasn't patrolled in front of the house, but assuming you weren't seen in the house this won't be a problem.

Step 6: Getting captured
Getting caught? That's not good for a thief. If a Guard spots you it isn't the end of the world. With your expertise in sprinting and if you brought those invisibility potions, a guard is just another obstacle to overcome. If you've followed steps 1-4 your get away should be fast, easy and simple.


Step 7: Selling your stolen goods
Assuming you avoided capture by the guard, you have a treasure trove of stolen goods. Regular merchants have magical enchants around their carts and stores that can detect stolen good and do not want to be associated with them. You'll need to make your way to the Outlaw's Refuge to trade your goods to the fence.
The Fence also offers a Laundering service where you can pay for the item's value and you get to keep it without fear of it being confiscated by a guard incase you get caught.

Well that's all there is to it. If you have any questions about anything, let me know. Hopefully this will teach some of the aspiring young thieves out there.

Dar'Rinja
Nightblade

Kartalin

Night's silence set plus concealed weapon ftw.

Level 6 legerdemain now.

Alphashado

Many people may find this helpful. Thank you for taking the time to do it.

whiteshadow711jppreub18_ESO

Right now, level 9 (and a 1/2), working on getting to 10 tonight, I want this skill line done ASAP. Made over 100k from stealing so far.

ShadowDisciple

I love being a Thief...NB's Cloack really shines here...i can literally pass 2 feet awwy from a guard and not get caught...makes life easier

driosketch

Here's my trick for those containers near NPCs that never move or in crowded rooms. Don't waste a potion. Instead try and jump to the other side if you can and duck down. They'll lose line of sight and you empty that dresser or wardrobe from the far side or even from behind.

Alphashado

Yeah, crates n such make great cover. The system seems to be very well designed in regards to line of sight mechanics. For the most part.

Iago

Boundless storm makes for a quick get away

whiteshadow711jppreub18_ESO

I saw a Sorc Khajiit in Rawl'Kha using Bolt escape to get away from a guard today, it was so funny watching as the guard continually tried to catch up. The Sorc kept playing with him at times and then would just Bolt far far away and the guard would reset, it was pretty cool..

Lone_Wolf

Glad to see others using my guide and suggesting other ideas based on their chosen skill sets. Would like to see how crazy some thieves can be.

Kartalin

Level 11 legerdemain now. Here's some more tips: I'm at the point where I no longer even fence white items, just green and blues (no purple yet:( ). This helps maximize financial gain. Also notice you have a limit of the number of items you can fence and launder each day. Laundering is just as important because it raises legerdemain at a similar pace as fencing. I launder a lot of lock picks and food ingredients, but to fill in the gaps? Trait stones. All that adamantite, nickel, molybdenum,etc that you find can be laundered for 1g each. You don't even have to keep it afterwards.

One more tip: those special lock boxes usually contain gold and 2 green or blue items. They are not instanced like other containers, but the key to finding more of them is to look for a vendor. Anyone selling stuff may have one close by, even in the Mage or fighters guild hall. Just be careful with positioning, that is sometimes the tricky part.

I hope this is helpful.

Junipus

Handy tips:

1. Loot stacks of provisioning materials where possible. You can then split the stack and sell each item to raise your skill quicker without needing to loot as many containers.
2. Those big houses in towns with multiple doors? Just lockpick one, enter, exit, move to another side and another door and repeat. They typically have intermediate locks so it's possible to get as many as 9-12 points from one house.
3. Your bounty drops at a consistent rate of 400g per hour. Plan your crime spree before bed to include the possibility of a large bounty while making sure it's gone when you log in the following day.
4. Avoid the lockpicking passive since good thieves can unlock doors without forcing the locks.
5. Guards can be pickpocketed, just expect to run if things go wrong.

Kartalin

dap_robertb16_ESO wrote: »

Handy tips:

1. Loot stacks of provisioning materials where possible. You can then split the stack and sell each item to raise your skill quicker without needing to loot as many containers.

Good tips there, I hadn't thought of the multiple entrance thing

As far as stacks go, at least when laundering, selling 10 lock picks whether they're separate or in a stack of 10 still counts as laundering 10 items. Have you seen fencing the goods working differently?

Junipus

Picked that tip up from a PTS video so haven't checked. I know it counts towards your daily allowance but will double check when I get home if it also counts for legerdemain points.

Btw, anyone noticed if the fence passive works or not at level 2? It's meant to allow 140% of your normal allowance, i.e. 140 items, but mine bugs and is stuck on 120. Can't check level 3 for a little while yet for comparison

Ourorboros

Keep in mind that there are achievements for killing citizens and livestock. If you have a healthy bank balance, there is an achievement for paying off your bounty. You can pay either a fence of a guard, but if you get nabbed by a guard, you also lose your stolen loot. Since murder results in KOS, best to plan your murders away from guards, and immediately get to a refuge. I usually pickpocket victims until they have nothing left, then kill them. I don't mind paying the gold, I sell plenty of stuff to offset the cost.

I'm waiting for my invite to the Dark Brotherhood.....bwahahahaha

Junipus

If you're planning on a murder spree, the lion guard redoubt in northern Glenumbra in DC is a good spot. Starting from the cliff next to the way shrine and with some patience you can work your way around most of the encampment killing NPCs while incurring little bounty. A very useful way of getting those achievements.

Kartalin

dap_robertb16_ESO wrote: »

Btw, anyone noticed if the fence passive works or not at level 2? It's meant to allow 140% of your normal allowance, i.e. 140 items, but mine bugs and is stuck on 120. Can't check level 3 for a little while yet for comparison

Base amount of fencing you can do is 50 items? If it increases by 140%, that means you take 50 + 1.4*50 = 120 items fenced.

Did it start at 50 or 100? Can't remember anymore.

driosketch

Remember to check wood crates. They contain more than just ingredients, and it's how I got my epic (purple) larceny achievement.

Cazic

Great advice, thanks OP!

Do we know how long Bounty takes to decay when you're outside of town? And, how far outside of town do you have to be in order for that to happen?

I'm wondering if there are any good ways of getting rid of your Bounty besides just encountering a guard on purpose and paying up.

Contraptions

If you have a bounty in a crowded area and don't want to risk getting spotted by the guard while escaping, follow these steps.

1. Go into stealth in a safe corner.
2. Travel to a player. You'll end up at a wayshrine. Guards usually don't patrol next to wayshrines but to be extra safe travel to someone in Coldharbour as there are no guards there.
3. Once done, teleport to either Sentinel Wayshrine if you're DC, Stormhold Wayshrine for EP, or Rawlkha Wayshrine for AD.
4. Go to the outer entrance for DC, the entrance behind the bank for EP and the one under the house for AD.
5. Pay or wait out your bounty.

I chose these 3 cities cause if done right there is almost no chance of running into a guard on your way to the refuge (except for Rawlkha, better to go under the bridge then up the hill to be safe). You'll lose some gold, but at least you'll keep your items.

Might release a lockbox location guide soon, once I gather enough data.

Happy thieving!

Junipus

milthalas wrote: »

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dap_robertb16_ESO wrote: »

Btw, anyone noticed if the fence passive works or not at level 2? It's meant to allow 140% of your normal allowance, i.e. 140 items, but mine bugs and is stuck on 120. Can't check level 3 for a little while yet for comparison

Base amount of fencing you can do is 50 items? If it increases by 140%, that means you take 50 + 1.4*50 = 120 items fenced.

Did it start at 50 or 100? Can't remember anymore.

Base amount is 100, this increases to 120 (120%) with the first tier. Second tier at 140% should give 140, or some variation depending on how you figure it. Instead it's still stuck at 120 so I'm wondering if someone else has unlocked that second tier in that passive and what their current launder/fence limit is.

Nestor

Cazic wrote: »

Great advice, thanks OP!

Do we know how long Bounty takes to decay when you're outside of town? And, how far outside of town do you have to be in order for that to happen?

I'm wondering if there are any good ways of getting rid of your Bounty besides just encountering a guard on purpose and paying up.

From what I can tell the bounty just goes down if your not doing things to gain it. People say to get out of town while it is happening as there are no guards outside of town. You could hide in a house in town and get the reduction, as long as no guards walk in or NPCs that will go ballistic.

Someone posted above 400 Gold an hour, and that seems about right, but I have not measured it. I only got a bounty once, by accidentally clicking on a lock box and not an Alchemy Station. But it dropped some when I went to answer a phone call and I was just chilling in Belkarth. I must have been away from any guard patrol paths.

Nestor

Here is a hint for getting to a Refuge and avoiding the city. Most zones have a city that has a Wayshrine just outside of it or pretty close to the town. Daggerfall is one, Evermore is another one off the top of my head.

With the one is Daggerfall, the Wayshrine just outside the Eastern gate is close to the entrance to the Refuge. So you can port to that, then walk over to the entrance never entering the city and never have to worry about the guards. Some of the Refuge Entrances that are outside of town are quite a ways from the town, so look for the wayshrine near the exterior entrance if you need to avoid guards.

Erock25

Nestor wrote: »

I only got a bounty once, by accidentally clicking on a lock box and not an Alchemy Station. But it dropped some when I went to answer a phone call and I was just chilling in Belkarth. I must have been away from any guard patrol paths.

I have accidentally pressed E on quite a few 'steal from' containers and have never received a bounty. Are you sure you get the bounty for looking inside the container and not for actually taking anything?

UrQuan

dap_robertb16_ESO wrote: »

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milthalas wrote: »

dap_robertb16_ESO wrote: »

Btw, anyone noticed if the fence passive works or not at level 2? It's meant to allow 140% of your normal allowance, i.e. 140 items, but mine bugs and is stuck on 120. Can't check level 3 for a little while yet for comparison

Base amount of fencing you can do is 50 items? If it increases by 140%, that means you take 50 + 1.4*50 = 120 items fenced.

Did it start at 50 or 100? Can't remember anymore.

Base amount is 100, this increases to 120 (120%) with the first tier. Second tier at 140% should give 140, or some variation depending on how you figure it. Instead it's still stuck at 120 so I'm wondering if someone else has unlocked that second tier in that passive and what their current launder/fence limit is.

No, the base amount is definitely 50 items.

The first tier is a 120% increase over the base amount (note that this is not the same thing as 120% of the base amount), so at the first tier you get the base of 50 items plus 60, for a total of 110 items.

The second tier is a 140% increase over the base amount, so you get the base of 50 items plus 70, for a total of 120 items.

Junipus

Lockboxed might be treated differently to containers.

You get no bounty for looking in containers, but plenty of threats from NPCs

Smeeboo

Erock25 wrote: »

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Nestor wrote: »

I only got a bounty once, by accidentally clicking on a lock box and not an Alchemy Station. But it dropped some when I went to answer a phone call and I was just chilling in Belkarth. I must have been away from any guard patrol paths.

I have accidentally pressed E on quite a few 'steal from' containers and have never received a bounty. Are you sure you get the bounty for looking inside the container and not for actually taking anything?

Looking in closed, typical containers (e.g. sacks, barrels, crates) but not taking from them is legal. Even touching a lockbox, and getting caught, is illegal regardless of whether you take the items from it. You get a bounty for getting caught touching one, and a separate and additional bounty for getting caught removing its contents.

LegacyDM

Anyone else think the success vs failure rate math is wonky when pick pocketing? I feel like a 75% success rate actually feels more like 45% and 60% feels like 30% I haven't actually done any stat analysis but the perception of success vs failed seems off. Just curious if anyone else feels this.

Kartalin

joshdm2001_ESO wrote: »

Anyone else think the success vs failure rate math is wonky when pick pocketing? I feel like a 75% success rate actually feels more like 45% and 60% feels like 30% I haven't actually done any stat analysis but the perception of success vs failed seems off. Just curious if anyone else feels this.

Welcome to ESO RNG.

Nestor

Erock25 wrote: »

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I have accidentally pressed E on quite a few 'steal from' containers and have never received a bounty. Are you sure you get the bounty for looking inside the container and not for actually taking anything?

In Belkarth, go to the Alchemy Station in the Building (where the Dye Station is) and look just to the right of the Alchemy Station. There is a lock box on the floor. The camera offset was such that I was facing the table, but my focus was on this lockbox that I did not see. Go to click on the station and instead activate the lockbox and the lock pick screen popped up. I immediately exited out the lock picking screen but was already nailed and determined to be disreputable. I changed my position at the station and tried again and got the stupid lock box a second time. Now the NPCs were punching me. I don't make potions there anymore.

So, no I was not looking inside that container, and I never even tried to move the lockpick.

I have looked in dozens of containers since 1.6 came out to see what is in there, sometimes right under a guard's or banker's or merchant's nose, while standing and not in sneak mode. They don't care if you look. Jiggle a lock and all heck breaks loose.

Lone_Wolf

Dar'Rinja, the poster here.

Love that people are using these tips to further their thieving careers, but let it be known that this one does not condone murder of random citizens. There's no sport in putting a knife in someone while their back is turned, nor does this one think it ethical. Please don't use these tips with the intent of harming your marks, they don't get any gold while they're dead.