Does attacking from stealth (aka sneak attacks) add bonus damage in 2023?

lazloarcadia · February 2023

So I'm a relatively new player (returning) and I'm playing a Khajiit Vampire DW/Bow StamBlade. I play almost exclusively PvE content.
My question is if I sneak up on a mob (or boss) am I doing greater damage with that first shot than I would have done with a non-stealth attack?

Second question: If there is bonus damage from stealth, I'd love suggestions on the best opener to maximize on any stealth bonus.

lazloarcadia · February 2023

Almost forget, am I only going to get any bonus damage if I'm attacking from the rear or sides, or is direction not an issue?

RedFireDisco · February 2023

No

There is no native bonus stealth damage

biminirwb17_ESO · February 2023

One skill does more damage when you leave sneak.

"Slash an enemy, dealing 2323 Magic Damage. If you strike an enemy from their flank you set them Off Balance. When you leave Sneak, invisibility, or Major Expedition ends while in combat, your damage done is increased by 10% for 5 seconds. While slotted, you gain Minor Expedition, increasing your Movement Speed by 15%."

AndreNoir · February 2023

Yes there is bonus damage BUT only from sneak not invisibility itself. It works only against npc

lazloarcadia · February 2023

Ok, so bonus damage from stealth / crouching sneak but not when using magical invis such as potions or NightBlade Cloak (unless using an ability that specifically states otherwise), and only against NPCs. All of which is fine because i'm a PvE sorta guy.

Any idea how much extra damage?

Any suggestions on what spells or weapon skills I should be using to maximize on that initial damage?

Darkstorne · February 2023

Ooo, been a long time since I tried this so I'd be interested in an accurate answer too (so far you've been told yes, no, and only with a specific skill 😂)

I remember years ago I had a stealth character, and heavy attacks from behind an NPC when stealthed definitely had a noticeable damage bonus, and also stunned them. That was enough to make heavies my go-to opener. I dropped the playstyle when I got frustrated by other players sprinting past me in delves and ruining my stealthy setups 😛

Thunder Caller could be a great set to pair this with if heavies still stun though. It works from melee or range, calls an instant-damage lighting bolt to strike an enemy you heavy attack, and leaves a 4 second AOE on the ground for even more damage (perfect if they're stunned).

AndreNoir · February 2023

lazloarcadia wrote: »

Any idea how much extra damage?

If u need an exact number then: test it or find patchnotes somewhere 1 half of 2022

phaneub17_ESO · February 2023

Attacking from Sneak used to stun the target when used as an opener, that has since been removed which took out the only reason I ever used Sneak in the first place. Aside from stealing and pick pocketing, Sneak is kind of useless in combat or avoiding mobs as their aggro radius is easy to avoid especially since they display a detect animation you can simply move out of range and they leave you alone as if they're severely near-sighted, you are no longer visible from 2 yards away.

Araneae6537 · February 2023

phaneub17_ESO wrote: »

Attacking from Sneak used to stun the target when used as an opener, that has since been removed which took out the only reason I ever used Sneak in the first place. Aside from stealing and pick pocketing, Sneak is kind of useless in combat or avoiding mobs as their aggro radius is easy to avoid especially since they display a detect animation you can simply move out of range and they leave you alone as if they're severely near-sighted, you are no longer visible from 2 yards away.

I was sad when they removed the stun from stealth. Either that or it should be a guaranteed crit.

lazloarcadia · February 2023

So i was just testing this out on some Lamia / Naga looking things just outside the city of Hews Bane. So again we are talking about stealth / sneaking and not invis. My character CP15? with all the racial, guild, armor, etc skills for stealth maxed out. I have 3 armors sets equip'd, each of them are detection radius reduction sets (- 6 meters).

When I use a melee heavy attack as an opener it did in fact stun them, but only with melee. With bow I didn't notice any special effects regardless of my position when I shot them. Maybe a LITTLE damage buff? But definitely nothing significant. Spells / skills seemed like they were hitting normally.

So here is what I have so far: Stealth is a cool effect for sneaking around and stealing stuff, some builds even let you move REALLY fast while doing it. A melee heavy attack used as an opener from stealth on NPCs (haven't tried this on a boss yet) does add a stun for 4 - 5 seconds. Not bad for those monster NPCs that you can't simply take out with a blade of woe attack.

Stealth seems like it has strong applications in PVP where you can set up ambush scenarios so you hit them with high damage abilities before they even realize they are under attack.

Is a stealth build viable in dungeons at this time? Definitely no....unless all you want to do is sneak through and grab sky shards or quest items, etc.

Hopefully this was helpful to others. Perhaps in the future ESO will adjust stealth to give us back a solid first strike mechanic with some bonus damage to NPCs at least, but I won't hold my breath on that one.

gariondavey · February 2023

A lot of inaccurate information in this thread.

In 2021 I believe they re-added sneak attack bonus in pve.
I can do an onslaught from stealth and 1 shot a minotaur (130k or so hp).
This doesn't do anything extra in pvp, fyi.

lazloarcadia · February 2023

Well I've been testing this mechanic and can only assume (cautiously) that the difference in what I've seen and what you are suggesting must have something to do with your gear, CP, etc. The most I've seen from a sneak attack (even when using a heavy attack) is a few seconds worth of stun.

Can you share anything about how you are getting such high damage numbers?

lazloarcadia · February 2023

Another point I'm trying to understand is if hiding in an actual shadow has any additional effect against detection by NPC or Players.

I can confirm that it is far easier to stealth if you are behind for off to the side of a mob. Again, this one is NPC specific.

lazloarcadia · February 2023

Further testing:
Concealed Weapon -> nightblade skill line offers a stun like effect which will "set the foe off balance" for a few seconds.
Heavy Attack -> will stun for 4 - 5 seconds

Still looking for others with similar effects. Please feel free to comment if you know of any

lazloarcadia · February 2023

The best part of Concealed Weapon is it has no cool down, so you can spam it. Works will with a tank companion like Bastion or Isobel.

So if you open with a heavy attack (from the rear) and then hit them with Concealed Weapon a time or two, most NPCs will go down pretty smoothly.

Vevvev · February 2023

There is a bonus damage but it only applies to NPCs in PvE content.

There have been times in the past this bonus damage has been broken though, and whether it's working or not I don't remember.

Regardless of PvE or PvP the sneak attack is a guaranteed critical hit.

Edit to add that the bonus damage from sneak attacking is greater on melee attacks than ranged attacks.

Vevvev · February 2023

lazloarcadia wrote: »

Another point I'm trying to understand is if hiding in an actual shadow has any additional effect against detection by NPC or Players.

I can confirm that it is far easier to stealth if you are behind for off to the side of a mob. Again, this one is NPC specific.

Sadly no. Sneaking and Invisibility have set detection ranges with passives that make it easier or harder to sneak or detect someone that is.

Shadows have no hidden variable that makes sneaking better or worse.