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Consistently being caught pickpocketing with 100% chance?

ecru
ecru
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Does 100% mean something different to zos than it does to me? This seems to happen to me at least once a day. I can't be the only one who this happens to, right?
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  • de_naaimachine
    de_naaimachine
    Soul Shriven
    Does the person you are pickpocketing notice you or does someone else notice you? 100% means the chance for the person you are pickpocketing to stop you, but a bystander can still notice you if you are in their los.
  • ecru
    ecru
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    Does the person you are pickpocketing notice you or does someone else notice you? 100% means the chance for the person you are pickpocketing to stop you, but a bystander can still notice you if you are in their los.

    Nah, that isn't what is happening here. It's usually a NPC with a lower than normal chance (Noble) that will drop to under 100% after the first pickpocket, but they will still catch you during the first pickpocket when you have a 100% chance. It's not being caught by a bystander either, it's the NPC you're pickpocketing turning around and agroing on you.
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  • anitajoneb17_ESO
    anitajoneb17_ESO
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    It's never happened to me, and I do a lot of pickpocketing.
  • ecru
    ecru
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    It's never happened to me, and I do a lot of pickpocketing.

    I find it hard to believe that it's just my character.
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  • Asardes
    Asardes
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    You have to be almost directly behind the NPC, the eye reticle closed or almost closed, and the numbers shown to be green for the 100% to really work out. Otherwise yea, you tend to get caught quite often :)
    Beta tester since February 2014, played ESO-TU October 2015 - August 2022, currently on an extended break
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  • Violynne
    Violynne
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    ecru wrote: »
    Does 100% mean something different to zos than it does to me? This seems to happen to me at least once a day. I can't be the only one who this happens to, right?
    It's not you. It's the game. There's something flawed with the timing.

    When you see 100%, and start your pickpocket, ever notice that tiny animation that "scoots" you forward and then perform the swipe action?

    That small delay is just enough to allow the 100% to drop back to the original 80%, allowing the NPC to notice you.

    The pickpocket doesn't count until you actually have the item, not while you're swiping it.

    I wish this mechanic would be fixed. In the book, Wolfmare's Guide to Better Thieving, it even says to get in and out within 5 seconds.

    100% is a guarantee, but only if the timer stays active long enough during the swipe.

    It's one of the reasons I don't pickpocket much. I got tired of racking up bounties on 80% and 90% chances. :angry:
  • ecru
    ecru
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    Asardes wrote: »
    You have to be almost directly behind the NPC, the eye reticle closed or almost closed, and the numbers shown to be green for the 100% to really work out. Otherwise yea, you tend to get caught quite often :)

    I felt like I had made myself pretty clear that this was the case, but I guess not. It happens when no other NPCs are around, the reticle is completely closed, and the chance is both green and 100%.
    Gryphon Heart
    Godslayer
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  • ecru
    ecru
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    Violynne wrote: »
    ecru wrote: »
    Does 100% mean something different to zos than it does to me? This seems to happen to me at least once a day. I can't be the only one who this happens to, right?
    It's not you. It's the game. There's something flawed with the timing.

    When you see 100%, and start your pickpocket, ever notice that tiny animation that "scoots" you forward and then perform the swipe action?

    That small delay is just enough to allow the 100% to drop back to the original 80%, allowing the NPC to notice you.

    The pickpocket doesn't count until you actually have the item, not while you're swiping it.

    I wish this mechanic would be fixed. In the book, Wolfmare's Guide to Better Thieving, it even says to get in and out within 5 seconds.

    100% is a guarantee, but only if the timer stays active long enough during the swipe.

    It's one of the reasons I don't pickpocket much. I got tired of racking up bounties on 80% and 90% chances. :angry:

    Interesting, this kinda makes sense. The few NPCs I know of that it seems to happen on regularly in Vvardenfell are actually in chairs and I'm usually right up behind them so there's no movement, but if the chance isn't calculated until the item is actually in your bags, then I suppose it could go from 100% back down to 80% in the time between you hit the pickpocket key and the item is in your bags. It did happen earlier on a NPC where I was at 100% and my character moved towards them though--they caught me instantly and immediately went hostile.

    Maybe the best solution to this issue is to hit the key as quickly as possible after your chance turns green.
    Gryphon Heart
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  • anitajoneb17_ESO
    anitajoneb17_ESO
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    ecru wrote: »
    It's never happened to me, and I do a lot of pickpocketing.

    I find it hard to believe that it's just my character.

    I don't know, I can only assure you that it has never ever happened to me, in spite of doing a lot of pickpocketing, in the same places as you (Vvardenfell, NPCs sitting in chairs, etc.). I never get caught at 100% (even if not green). Ever.

  • Chilly-McFreeze
    Chilly-McFreeze
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    Cant say about 100% but I can tell that 80-90% doesn’t really feel like a safe bet.
  • Prof_Bawbag
    Prof_Bawbag
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    This game suffers from the same duff percentages as Skyrim did. There's one particularly prevalent place to try this, the noble that's located on the 2nd landing in Vivec City. Whilst it says 80%, there's absolutely no way it's an 80% chance to succeed. Feels more like 80% chance to fail. I fail almost all the time and I can count on 2 fingers how many times I've succeeded with the second pickpocket. Saying that, I have never failed with a 100% chance unless I've been spotted a split second before attempting it.

    Percentages are also out with the improvement of gear odds when doing anything under 100%. Same goes with force lock. I fail doing more simple force locks than i do doing intermediate ones. Some intermediate ones are off too. The ones found during the TG heists.

    I get we tend to focus more on the failures than the successes when doing these types of things, but I spent an age once on the noble I mentioned further up. My success rate felt more like 20% than the 80% stated. However, the nobles in Wayrest felt more in line with the odds given. But some npcs odds are just downright out of kilter.

    I'd prefer if they removed the numbers when pickpocket and just stated something along the lines of "next skill point greatly increases your chance of success". That way, no one is left scratching their heads.

    Edited by Prof_Bawbag on April 25, 2018 11:35AM
  • imnotanother
    imnotanother
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    Use auto loot if you are not already.
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  • Reverb
    Reverb
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    Are you experiencing this everywhere? I don't think I have ever failed a 100% chance outside of Vvardenfell. With Vvardenfell npcs though this will happen on 1:5 pick attempts at 100%. I think that even after the "fix" that the numbers in that zone are false. A 100% chance there is really 90, and 80-90 are really 50.
    Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. ~Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Violynne
    Violynne
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    I don't go by percentages in this game anymore. They're stupidly miscalculated. There's no reason why a rate of 90% should fail so much. There's something else going on behind the "math". Drives me nuts.

    I also realized I just wasted a skill point on that "footpad" exit. I should have known there was an interactive button to engage it, rather than actually running into an actual footpad to escape.

    Damn thing is pointless when running from a guard because you can't interact with the option if you've been hit within 3 seconds.

    However, if you didn't get hit in 3 seconds, you don't need it anymore because you're on your way out of the hostile situation. :angry:
  • Tan9oSuccka
    Tan9oSuccka
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    Make sure your weapon is put away. I’ve noticed the percentage can change in that small amount of time it takes to holster your weapon.

    Also, other NPCs in the area have spidey senses and will bust you.
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  • Fleshreaper
    Fleshreaper
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    The 100% doesn't stay 100%, it will jump back down to the lower % in gray, usually after a few seconds. You have to watch it, and hit it as soon as it turns green.
  • DMuehlhausen
    DMuehlhausen
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    ecru wrote: »
    Does the person you are pickpocketing notice you or does someone else notice you? 100% means the chance for the person you are pickpocketing to stop you, but a bystander can still notice you if you are in their los.

    Nah, that isn't what is happening here. It's usually a NPC with a lower than normal chance (Noble) that will drop to under 100% after the first pickpocket, but they will still catch you during the first pickpocket when you have a 100% chance. It's not being caught by a bystander either, it's the NPC you're pickpocketing turning around and agroing on you.

    I think your mistaken in what is happening. If a bystander notices you the NPC you are pocketing will still turn on you.
  • Sting864
    Sting864
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    ecru wrote: »
    Does 100% mean something different to zos than it does to me? This seems to happen to me at least once a day. I can't be the only one who this happens to, right?

    Maybe you're just lucky... (I never said it was good luck...

    I have yet to be caught at 100%... Is the eye partially open?? don't you have to have both 100% and the eye completely shut to ensure a clean getaway??
  • Sting864
    Sting864
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    ecru wrote: »
    It's never happened to me, and I do a lot of pickpocketing.

    I find it hard to believe that it's just my character.

    Here's a novel idea: timing... As was explained earlier the % fluctuates... If you wait 'til it shows 100% it may already be too late.... Try starting to pickpocket a tick before it hits 100%. That way when you actually do the swipe animation, you'll be on 100%... If you aren't careful, crime DOESN'T pay... Crime's a hard way to make an easy living....
    Edited by Sting864 on April 25, 2018 4:55PM
  • strangeradnd
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    I have had this happen a few times, not regularly but often enough. I have found that when it does happen I tend to have a high ping rate so I always chalked it up to lag. My assumption has been that the % dropped and I just never saw it due to the lag.
  • Hippie4927
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    I can't believe so many people are saying it never happens to them. It has happened to me and the funny thing is that it has happened on NPC's that start at 100% then on the second pick go down to a grey 100% and the third pick is a grey 95%. There is no one else around to see anything, not even a goat!
    PC/NA/EP ✌️
  • Ley
    Ley
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    This happened to me when I was having connection issues and my ping was 500+. Was clearly a lag issue in my case.
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  • swippy
    swippy
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    @ecru i think i've come across exactly what you're talking about. unfortunately i don't have good news:

    i've been blaming it on lag. it really seems to happen to me most often before or after i notice that my menus are acting sloppy, and when it becomes combat it's even easier for me to notice the lag. i'm guessing that even though i hit my button right with the green *ding* and see the animation, that the server isn't actually receiving my action until after the percentage drops down to 80.

    i realize this is completely worthless as it's guesswork based on anecdote, but i firmly believe that's what my problem is, after hundreds of closely observed failures.
  • Karm1cOne
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    The pickpocket interface is a horrible relic from the skyrim game. I believe lag is your issue. If on pc you may want to look for an addon that overrides the eye close system. It might help.
  • Tholian1
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    I’ve encountered some type of lag or something when pickpocketing on occasion. I will be behind the NPC and completely hidden and when I hit the button to pickpocket they will suddenly flip around (not turn) to face me as if I was lagged and they catch me doing it.
    PS4 Pro NA
  • Fleshreaper
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    How many points do you have in light fingers skill from the Legerdemain Skill line? The more points you have in that skill the more stable the green % chance is. So for example if you have max (4) points in light fingers, the green 100% will stay green longer.
  • Tabbycat
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    Perhaps ZOS needs to extend the "window of opportunity" as it were to make up for animations and server lag.
    Founder and Co-GM of The Psijic Order Guild (NA)
    0.016%
  • Violynne
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    Tabbycat wrote: »
    Perhaps ZOS needs to extend the "window of opportunity" as it were to make up for animations and server lag.
    I don't agree with this. The best solution is to remove the changing percentage.

    As Ron Popeil used to say: "Set it, and forget it!"

    Edited by Violynne on April 25, 2018 6:06PM
  • Marcus684
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    Violynne wrote: »
    ecru wrote: »
    Does 100% mean something different to zos than it does to me? This seems to happen to me at least once a day. I can't be the only one who this happens to, right?
    It's not you. It's the game. There's something flawed with the timing.

    When you see 100%, and start your pickpocket, ever notice that tiny animation that "scoots" you forward and then perform the swipe action?

    That small delay is just enough to allow the 100% to drop back to the original 80%, allowing the NPC to notice you.

    The pickpocket doesn't count until you actually have the item, not while you're swiping it.

    I wish this mechanic would be fixed. In the book, Wolfmare's Guide to Better Thieving, it even says to get in and out within 5 seconds.

    100% is a guarantee, but only if the timer stays active long enough during the swipe.

    It's one of the reasons I don't pickpocket much. I got tired of racking up bounties on 80% and 90% chances. :angry:

    This is my experience as well. I’ve had to train myself to not jump on the green 100% chance that often pops up when you first get within pickpocket range. I now wait for it to cycle down to the normal percentage then back to green before pickpocketing. I’ve gotten a bounty so many times because I try to beat the clock on that first green percentage and lose.
  • mike_skleinub17_ESO
    you have a 100% chance to pick a pocket. ..NOT a 100% chance to not get caught
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