This guide for Elder Scrolls V Skyrim will cover an efficient method of boosting your Sneak skill, giving a brief overview of ideal methods or locations from which you can easily creep about. Using these methods, you can train your character to become the master thief or assassin they were always meant to be.
Step 1 – Introduction to Sneaking
Initially you will probably have a little bit of experience with thieving or sneaking about if you have come here, however if not, it’s best to get a feel for the concepts now. Sneaking is raised primarily through the actual act itself, by crouching your character down and crawling about. For PC players, the CTRL key will enter sneak mode and the Shift key will trigger stealthy movement for your character when held down. Using these two keys, you will want to find places where you can move stealthily around the immediate vicinity of other NPCs, be it creatures of humanoids, friendly or hostile. You will notice a eye icon on your crosshairs while sneaking, which opens up when you are detected by movement or noise and will close when you are successfully hidden. Heavier armors will make you easier to detect, while the less you wear makes you harder to find.
Step 2 – Leveling your Sneaking
Sneak skill is leveled up in Skyrim only when you are within line of sight to another living being, while also currently being hidden from them. Each step taken in this state will add some points to the progress towards your next level in Sneak. The farther you travel will hidden, even if in circles, the more your skill raises. If you however move out of line of sight from the target, or become detected, you will not gain anymore Sneak skill until these qualifications are met once again. Also note, it must be a decent line of sight, being able to see the target’s ankles or a few bits of their body around a corner is typically not enough to count.
Step 3 – Best Locations to Sneak + Joining the Thieves Guild
If you haven’t already, join up with the Thieve’s Guild in Riften to net yourself a really sweet suit of light armor that will actually help augment your Sneaking ability. From there you can actually find several spots in the Ragged Flaggon that are perfect for sneaking, as there are many dark alcoves in the Thieves Guild hideout which are dark and away from other NPCs, however allow you to hide with ease. You can find this demonstrated in this video. Alternatively, and less specific, you can often break into houses, or just find locations where there are sleeping characters. Sneaking around sleeping NPCs is beneficial since they don’t move, won’t detect you as easily (just keep your finger on the stealth move key or Shift for PC) and still count towards your sneak skill. Plus, you can find sleeping characters everywhere as long as you check at the right time.