Why was this mission created? It relies on something that bethesda still doesn't seem to understand or know how to really do well. Stealth. Enemies are continuiously getting triggered while in seperate rooms, or from pretty much anything I do that isn't standing perfectly still while sneaking, even walking 1 step seems to set them off through walls...

I AM THE THIEVES GUILD MASTER, I HAVE FULL GEAR FOR SEAKING PLUS MUFFLE ON MY BOOTS. I AM A NIGHTENGALE FOR FRICK SAKES...

Do I really have to resort to using console command to add a ton of those dumb invisibility potions that make my 70+ hours of playing as a stealth character a waste? Fuck this part of the game, so far any interesting thing the game has tried to do besides 'having a big world and lots of shit in it' has just been some sloppily put together mess of game mechanics bested by games made over a decade ago.

Super bummed right now :(

maybe something broke, i didn't have any problems.

I had no problems sneaking even in heavy armor. Sounds like a bug.

Had 100 sneak and 45% sneak enchant. Dudes didn't even see me jump in front of them.

There is only 1 enemy there that is guaranteed to detect you. The dude leaning on the only door you can go through. And even he can be sneaked past with an invis potion and some careful movement.

I sneaked right through this. Sounds like you hit a bug.

Doesn't matter anyway, you can murder your way through it just as well.

I'd also say the thieves guild quests are the best sneaking since Thief.

Maybe I'm too impatiant, and that there are no mechanics for doing sneaking things like peeking around corners. If I look around a corner I get seen instantly etc. Especially from THIS guy, who seems intent on standing awkwardly against the corner of that wall and staring at the stairs I'm coming up from...

@Tennmuerti said:

There is only 1 enemy there that is guaranteed to detect you. The dude leaning on the only door you can go through. And even he can be sneaked past with an invis potion and some careful movement.

i managed even that okay, just kinda slid round the corner and jumped through the door as quickly as possible before he triggered seeing me properly. did the wedding contract in the same way actually, just shot her in pretty plain sight and fast-travelled back to base the instant the arrow hit, in the moment before anyone aggro'd

The guy escorting you through the back door bugged on me twice. He told me to follow him but he just stood by the desk. Fucking quest.

I never had an issue. Stealth past some guys, shoot the rest with sneak shots from a bow, done. The guy you have shown there was quickly dispatched with a single arrow.....

wow... seem like the skyrim backlash is already growing.

betting by the end of the year its as hated a oblivion was

This is one of the few missions that is actually designed for you to sneak, which means patience, waiting for patrols and all that stuff. I saw it just a showcase of what could be done with the game, which forces you to play this one differently than you would any other dungeon here you have to sneak not "sneak". 
My character was not a sneaky guy at all and I got through it with just some fortify sneak pots and careful planning.

@DJJoeJoe said:

Maybe I'm too impatiant, and that there are no mechanics for doing sneaking things like peeking around corners. If I look around a corner I get seen instantly etc. Especially from THIS guy, who seems intent on standing awkwardly against the corner of that wall and staring at the stairs I'm coming up from...

But you're doing exactly what you need to do to look around corners in the first picture, just go into third person and rotate the camera

Tried sneaking past it all but there always seemed to be this one guard who saw me regardless of what I did. I made him feel my wrath!

i ended smiting everyone.

@Jothel: Ah so I should just tcl 1 my way through these areas then, cause that is what I'm doing in those images there to get right up in that dudes eyes lol.

There's the room below where you have to open a door and hope the guys aren't looking at the door. once you do that you have to watch some guy star at an empty bookcase for almost a minute, if you're waiting to see his patrol, when he turns around he sees you instantly. This whole section requires you to reload saves if you 'actually want to stealth through it' which at some point doesn't make me feel sneaky at all. The added frustration is when you are seen, instantly everyone in that area whether they are in the room or not turns hostile and runs directly for you... just poor AI in general going on right there, they don't feel like they are reacting to anything. Hey now I'm in combat, the music suddenly roars up as I hear 2 dudes yell at be from upstairs intend on murdering me for existing in this room.

@jetsetwillie: the worst thing this can do for me is just end my current gaming session with the game that day, which it did at the time, I hardly 'hate' the game for it or anything that rubs me the wrong way. I don't understand anyone that actually, truly, hates a video game. I'd only hate a game if someone forced me to play it for a set amount of time every single day, like if it was my job to play it or something. I play games for fun, the reason I felt the need to post this is because the game made me stop playing the game, which is a weird feeling and I assume most gamers who've played many games have experienced at least once before.

You're given license to kill upwards to 2 dozen Thalmor, and you chose to sneak past them? You people are weird.

Once you have 100 sneak you can pretty much stand anywhere and never be seen, even when you are seen, just crouch and you're given a quick bit of invis which you can use to stealth kill with.

I did this pretty early on with a low(ish) Sneak skill, and only had trouble in the courtyard, which an Invisibility Potion helped me out.

Also, if you're sneaking, Aura Whisper is your best friend.

Murder them all. Problem solved.

I just stumbled in with heavy armor, got detected with the first step, then started cracking skulls.

Did you forget to put buckets on their heads?

I just stumbled in with heavy armor, got detected with the first step, then started cracking skulls.

I killed everyone, no one cared afterwards.

@Beforet said:

You're given license to kill upwards to 2 dozen Thalmor, and you chose to sneak past them? You people are weird.

Seriously, what the fuck?

I've never had a problem with any stealth in bethesda games..in fact i think they do it pretty well

You don't have to stealth, I just killed everyone.

@TobbRobb said:

I just stumbled in with heavy armor, got detected with the first step, then started cracking skulls.

I'm actually about to do this mission right now. I think I'll go with this strategy. Shouldn't be too hard. =P

I think the bigger problem with this quest, at least for me, is that it doesn't offer any elegant alternatives to sneaking for characters like a pure Warrior-type with Heavy Armor, a sword and a shield. So running into the embassy and just kind of killing everyone who attacked me was kind of lame. But it's all I could do since I hadn't a single point in sneak.

You dont know what you're talking about. I'm doing a 100% stealth and that is where I have most of my points. I am almost a 70 in it and I am level 17. I sneak up on bitches and fuck there shit up all day. I can even sneak up on the front of dudes when I am coming out of a corner or shadow. My stealth is really high and as long as I am in a corner they will often times run right past me. The stealth in this game is awesome and you havent put points into it if you think otherwise.

You dont know what you're talking about. I'm doing a 100% stealth and that is where I have most of my points. I am almost a 70 in it and I am level 17. I sneak up on bitches and fuck there shit up all day. I can even sneak up on the front of dudes when I am coming out of a corner or shadow. My stealth is really high and as long as I am in a corner they will often times run right past me. The stealth in this game is awesome and you havent put points into it if you think otherwise.

The only real bad guys in the game are the Thalmor.  Kill them, don't sneak.

@DoctorWelch: My character was level 49, with something around 80-85 sneak. Might have something to do with the leveling system or something, I don't exactly one shot people 100% of the time like you imply, even with my smithing/enchanting upgraded gear and all that jazz.

@animathias said:

I did this pretty early on with a low(ish) Sneak skill, and only had trouble in the courtyard, which an Invisibility Potion helped me out.

Also, if you're sneaking, Aura Whisper is your best friend.

@DJJoeJoe said:

@DoctorWelch: My character was level 49, with something around 80-85 sneak. Might have something to do with the leveling system or something, I don't exactly one shot people 100% of the time like you imply, even with my smithing/enchanting upgraded gear and all that jazz.

Sounds like a glitch to me then. I'm obviously way early on not facing nearly as tough of dudes but its really hard for enemies to see me and I one shot almost everything I've come across with my dagger. Maybe there is just something in that quest that purposefully prevents you from being all sneaky, or like other people said maybe its your game being stupid.

Ive been using aura whisper which is invaluable to a stealth and so far has not given me away. For this quest i stealthly killed and sneaked past them with a sneak skill of 60 and the muffle spell.

yes just went through this with swords blazing so to speak..

I had enough health/armor that I just booked it, grabbed what I needed and got the hell outta there, with like 10 people chasing me the whole time. It was pretty great.

I also attended the party in my loincloth, it was pretty funny seeing how cool everyone at this classy party was about it.

i had 100 sneak and 50% less sound from armor in light armor AND drank a potion for increased stealth.. The guys saw me before i even fully went through the door.. Wasnt a problem killing everyone but it did confuse the hell out of me since I was supposed to be stealthy about it.

I had no problems running in and stabbing everybody to death. Maybe try that?

I shot ice storms all up in there.

@asian_pride: You probably already did it by now. :P

But I remember it being fairly hard, there was a dick mage somewhere towards the end who kept killing me. I think this was the first time I used a potion in the game.

I just murdered all of them. why would you spare Thalmor lives?!

Thalmor are dicks, show them what maces are good for.

I hope you got through the chapter, nice little mission. Personally I just took out my two-handed sword and said "no mercy...". Fucking hate Thalmors.

I snuck through, save for like one dude I accidentally walked into and had to kill, with a sneak skill of only like 50. I think it's just a patience things. There were parts where I really had to hunker down and wait for someone to walk by. But I always enjoyed wait-y stealth games like Thief, so there's that.

hummm i couldn't sneak for sh*t on this mission either. Right from the get-go there is a hallway with a door open and 2 guards in there. They would see me every time. I killed them all. Oh well.

What is dumber is when you escape down the hatch in the prison and your AI companions run straight to the Frost Troll guy and get killed instantly.

I just killed everyone. *shrugs*

Sneak better I think because I didn't have this problem.