Failing Pickpocket at 100% Chance

UrQuan · March 2016

Really? OK I know my Imperial DK isn't as stealthy as my Khajiit NB, but when he's stealthed right behind an easy pickpocket target and I hit the pickpocket key the second I see the chance jump from 85% to 100%, I expect that it's going to be successful - not that it's going to fail and give me a bounty

Turelus · March 2016

Was it the person who you were picking who noticed, or was there another NPC who witnessed the act and reported you?

UrQuan · March 2016

Turelus wrote: »

Was it the person who you were picking who noticed, or was there another NPC who witnessed the act and reported you?

The person I was pickpocketing was the only one around... And if someone else witnesses you then you get a bounty but you still get the item. The only way you don't get the item is if the attempt itself fails. So apparently 100% (which actually should have been higher than 100% due to my passives) doesn't really mean 100%... Just like a 75% chance of success for me (on hard pickpocket targets) seems to actually mean about a 50% chance.

Xendyn · March 2016

I've had this happen, too. So much for 100% right?

whiteshadow711jppreub18_ESO · March 2016

yes, I had this happen a few times as well, looks like once it hits 100% it then declines from there (if it is the green buff chance) and I have been caught a few times, even monkeys fall from trees ya know..

kevlarto_ESO · March 2016

Yep had that happen to me 100% and failed, this game really does hate me LOL

I guess 100% does not mean a 100%, must be like 99.8 or something

I_killed_Vivec · March 2016

I hope you killed 'em as soon as they noticed you

Zyle · March 2016

I've had this happen, I think it's a UI issue where it isn't 100% for a split second or vice versa, definitely a WTF moment though.

Moonshadow66 · March 2016

Welcome to the bounty club. I'm getting those when I'm 100% hidden ever since the Justice System came out. Pickpocketing doesn't work any better. It still happens, posted it on the forums and reported it as a bug way too often, no one cares, whatever.

TequilaFire · March 2016

Not like Skyrim where you could literally steal the pants off NPCs. lol

Xendyn · March 2016

You know @UrQuan , now I wonder if it's a timer issue, might be tied into this problem you found.

forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/2790958#Comment_2790958

rotaugen454 · March 2016

It could be lag related. I've had a success, walked a few steps, then suddenly have a bounty.

UrQuan · March 2016

I_killed_Vivec wrote: »

I hope you killed 'em as soon as they noticed you

I would have, but based on patrol routes I knew that a guard was going to come around the corner in about 10-15 seconds, and I didn't want to run the risk of being seen & attacked by the guard

Xendyn wrote: »

You know @UrQuan , now I wonder if it's a timer issue, might be tied into this problem you found.

forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/2790958#Comment_2790958

rotaugen454 wrote: »

It could be lag related. I've had a success, walked a few steps, then suddenly have a bounty.

I suspect that one of these is probably the cause.

Lysette · March 2016

Or there is simply a hard cap, which they do not show - like it was in many Bethesda games - like armor - 85% in fallout - and I think the pick pocketing cap in Oblivion was 95% - so even with the best gear and skills possible you could fail in 1 out of 20 attempts. I always disliked that - because if you fail 5% of the time, that is not mastery but just mediocre to me.

UrQuan · March 2016

Lysette wrote: »

Or there is simply a hard cap, which they do not show - like it was in many Bethesda games - like armor - 85% in fallout - and I think the pick pocketing in Oblivion was 95% - so even with the best gear and skills possible you could fail in 1 out of 20 attempts. I always disliked that - because if you fail 5% of the time, that is not mastery but just mediocre to me.

Well, if there wasn't a hard cap my chance would have been over 100% because of the skill points I've got in Light Fingers...

Miszou · March 2016

XCOM:
99% chance to hit....
miss...
squad wipes
gg

10/10 would play again.

Teridaxus · March 2016

Happened to me once.
It was an easy target so even without the bonus it's still or atleast supposedly be 100%, but i failed.
But yeah, was one case in like 5000.

Lysette · March 2016

UrQuan wrote: »

Lysette wrote: »

Or there is simply a hard cap, which they do not show - like it was in many Bethesda games - like armor - 85% in fallout - and I think the pick pocketing in Oblivion was 95% - so even with the best gear and skills possible you could fail in 1 out of 20 attempts. I always disliked that - because if you fail 5% of the time, that is not mastery but just mediocre to me.

Well, if there wasn't a hard cap my chance would have been over 100% because of the skill points I've got in Light Fingers...

I am not against a hard cap though, I just think that the chance of failure is too high for a master thief - no one in his right mind would try to become a thief with such a high rate of failure (referring to those 5% failure rate in Oblivion here). I do not know what it is in ESO - maybe it is better, I don't know that - but you will figure it out over time.

Edit: I experience real pick pocketing in Palma de Mallorca - they are not sneaking behind you, they do it right in front of your eyes while you are actually even watching their hand - it is amazing how they do it, right in your line of sight and in the focus of your eyes - just a few centimeters away from where you look at the thievery action happens - they took 400€ out of my wallet while pointing with a finger to a coin in my wallet, which they requested from me, and this finger redirected my attention away from where the act happened - its just amazing, right in front of my eyes it happened and I did not recognize anything.

Nestor · March 2016

I have noticed that the initial jump to 100% (or whatever it is going to jump to) can be very brief, I mean less than a second before it drops back to the initial value. So, now I wait for the second jump to 100% before I pick a pocket.

I don't know if this is any different than before, as before TG, I rarely picked any pockets.

GaldorP · March 2016

The increased pickpocket chance effect has a fixed duration and delay until it appears again, based on how difficult the target is.
On easy targets the delay is shorter and the duration of the increased chance is the longest.
On hard target the delay is much longer and the duration of the increased chance is the shortest.

All timers (duration and delay) run no matter if you're currently in stealth behind the target or not. That means if the total duration of the increased chance effect on an easy target is 3 seconds you might only have a split-second of the effect left when you initially approach the target. Only when you witness the moment when the increased chance effect starts do you know that it will run for the full duration.

That being said, NPCs can always turn around in the exact moment when you try to pickpocket them and spot you. Most NPCs announce their movement by performing a small emote before they move, but there are some exceptions. Drunk NPCs, ironically, are some of the hardest targets for pickpockiting since they are so unpredicabtle and turn around so much.

Autolycus · March 2016

UrQuan wrote: »

Really? OK I know my Imperial DK isn't as stealthy as my Khajiit NB, but when he's stealthed right behind an easy pickpocket target and I hit the pickpocket key the second I see the chance jump from 85% to 100%, I expect that it's going to be successful - not that it's going to fail and give me a bounty

I've been in this situation before. Honestly, though, it's most likely because you missed the window of opportunity, and your success rate dropped back to 85%. It happens fairly often. The window is narrow and sometimes even if you're sure you made it, you didn't.

Asherons_Call · March 2016

Don't be so negative, say it like this:

Succeeding at pickpocket 0% chance

Selstad · March 2016

What I've noticed is that you can sit perfectly close and wait for the "pling" and green text, but when you "pickpocket" with the use key, the character moves "slightly" to play the animation, and the chance drops. I've had a chance gone from 80 to 50% by simply pressing the "pickpocket".

That might be what happened here, the 100% is up, you press "pickpocket" and your character moves just slightly to execute, and at the moment of pickpocketing, the chance drops to 85%, yet still reports it as 100%, and you're caught and get a bounty.

dodgehopper_ESO · March 2016

Lysette wrote: »

UrQuan wrote: »

Lysette wrote: »

Or there is simply a hard cap, which they do not show - like it was in many Bethesda games - like armor - 85% in fallout - and I think the pick pocketing in Oblivion was 95% - so even with the best gear and skills possible you could fail in 1 out of 20 attempts. I always disliked that - because if you fail 5% of the time, that is not mastery but just mediocre to me.

Well, if there wasn't a hard cap my chance would have been over 100% because of the skill points I've got in Light Fingers...

I am not against a hard cap though, I just think that the chance of failure is too high for a master thief - no one in his right mind would try to become a thief with such a high rate of failure (referring to those 5% failure rate in Oblivion here). I do not know what it is in ESO - maybe it is better, I don't know that - but you will figure it out over time.

Edit: I experience real pick pocketing in Palma de Mallorca - they are not sneaking behind you, they do it right in front of your eyes while you are actually even watching their hand - it is amazing how they do it, right in your line of sight and in the focus of your eyes - just a few centimeters away from where you look at the thievery action happens - they took 400€ out of my wallet while pointing with a finger to a coin in my wallet, which they requested from me, and this finger redirected my attention away from where the act happened - its just amazing, right in front of my eyes it happened and I did not recognize anything.

Nice, I've been to the Balearic islands, and had a lot of fun there.

dodgehopper_ESO · March 2016

I love the new TG skill's Bounty Timer passives for those moments when you just get bad luck.

Lysette · March 2016

dodgehopper_ESO wrote: »

Lysette wrote: »

UrQuan wrote: »

Lysette wrote: »

Or there is simply a hard cap, which they do not show - like it was in many Bethesda games - like armor - 85% in fallout - and I think the pick pocketing in Oblivion was 95% - so even with the best gear and skills possible you could fail in 1 out of 20 attempts. I always disliked that - because if you fail 5% of the time, that is not mastery but just mediocre to me.

Well, if there wasn't a hard cap my chance would have been over 100% because of the skill points I've got in Light Fingers...

I am not against a hard cap though, I just think that the chance of failure is too high for a master thief - no one in his right mind would try to become a thief with such a high rate of failure (referring to those 5% failure rate in Oblivion here). I do not know what it is in ESO - maybe it is better, I don't know that - but you will figure it out over time.

Edit: I experience real pick pocketing in Palma de Mallorca - they are not sneaking behind you, they do it right in front of your eyes while you are actually even watching their hand - it is amazing how they do it, right in your line of sight and in the focus of your eyes - just a few centimeters away from where you look at the thievery action happens - they took 400€ out of my wallet while pointing with a finger to a coin in my wallet, which they requested from me, and this finger redirected my attention away from where the act happened - its just amazing, right in front of my eyes it happened and I did not recognize anything.

Nice, I've been to the Balearic islands, and had a lot of fun there.

Indeed, but beware of the flower girls in Palma, they have very quick fingers.

Volkodav · March 2016

UrQuan wrote: »

Really? OK I know my Imperial DK isn't as stealthy as my Khajiit NB, but when he's stealthed right behind an easy pickpocket target and I hit the pickpocket key the second I see the chance jump from 85% to 100%, I expect that it's going to be successful - not that it's going to fail and give me a bounty

Its happening to me a lot.I look to see if they are "aware" too,but nope.The little sound that lets you its ok to proceed is a liar too.

Volkodav · March 2016

Lysette wrote: »

UrQuan wrote: »

Lysette wrote: »

Or there is simply a hard cap, which they do not show - like it was in many Bethesda games - like armor - 85% in fallout - and I think the pick pocketing in Oblivion was 95% - so even with the best gear and skills possible you could fail in 1 out of 20 attempts. I always disliked that - because if you fail 5% of the time, that is not mastery but just mediocre to me.

Well, if there wasn't a hard cap my chance would have been over 100% because of the skill points I've got in Light Fingers...

I am not against a hard cap though, I just think that the chance of failure is too high for a master thief - no one in his right mind would try to become a thief with such a high rate of failure (referring to those 5% failure rate in Oblivion here). I do not know what it is in ESO - maybe it is better, I don't know that - but you will figure it out over time.

Edit: I experience real pick pocketing in Palma de Mallorca - they are not sneaking behind you, they do it right in front of your eyes while you are actually even watching their hand - it is amazing how they do it, right in your line of sight and in the focus of your eyes - just a few centimeters away from where you look at the thievery action happens - they took 400€ out of my wallet while pointing with a finger to a coin in my wallet, which they requested from me, and this finger redirected my attention away from where the act happened - its just amazing, right in front of my eyes it happened and I did not recognize anything.

In real life it is different. I've had it happen to me,in Athens.
But,we are dealing with a game.

Faasnu · March 2016

It's strange, I think I did it over a thousand times and it never failed when I got 100% chance. It sometimes changed very fast to a lesser chance, though.

makreth · August 2016

just happened to me...

RebornV3x · August 2016

I have bad luck pick pocketing I failed 3 times on 3 different people at 90% unless it says 100% in ESO assume everything is at least 15% less than whatever value they give