Skyrim Sneak perks
Moving unseen and dealing sneak attack damage. Sneak is a thief skill with 9 perks and 13 perk ranks.
- Perks
- 9 perks, 13 perk points to complete
- Skill type
- Thief (Stealth)
- Race bonus
- Khajiit +10; Argonian, Wood Elf, Dark Elf +5
- XP 15 → 100
- 142,401 skill XP
- Training 15 → 90
- 120,450 gold (75 sessions)
Sneak perk tree
| Perk | Rank | Skill | Requires | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stealth | 1/5 | 0 | — | 20% harder to detect when sneaking |
| 2/5 | 20 | Stealth 1 | 25% harder to detect when sneaking | |
| 3/5 | 40 | Stealth 2 | 30% harder to detect when sneaking | |
| 4/5 | 60 | Stealth 3 | 35% harder to detect when sneaking | |
| 5/5 | 80 | Stealth 4 | 40% harder to detect when sneaking | |
| Backstab | — | 30 | Stealth | Sneak attacks with one-handed weapons do 6x damage |
| Muffled Movement | — | 30 | Stealth | Armor makes half as much noise |
| Deadly Aim | — | 40 | Backstab | Sneak attacks with bows do 3x damage |
| Light Foot | — | 40 | Muffled Movement | You no longer trigger pressure plates |
| Assassin's Blade | — | 50 | Deadly Aim | Sneak attacks with daggers do 15x damage |
| Silent Roll | — | 50 | Light Foot | Sprinting while sneaking performs a silent roll |
| Silence | — | 70 | Silent Roll | Walking and running do not affect detection |
| Shadow Warrior | — | 100 | Silence | Crouching briefly stops combat and makes enemies search for you |
When a perk lists two prerequisites, you need only one of them.
Planning your Sneak perks
Completing the whole Sneak tree costs 13 of the roughly 80 perk points you get by level 81, so most builds take only the perks they will really use. Start with the perks at the bottom of the tree, then follow the branch that suits your play style up to its top perk.
The highest perks in the tree need a skill of 90 or 100: Shadow Warrior (100).
How to level Sneak
Every time Sneak goes up, your character earns experience equal to the new skill level, so a high Sneak skill also helps you level up quickly. Raising it from 15 to 100 takes about 142,401 skill experience in total. Trainers can take it to 90 for about 120,450 gold, five sessions per character level. Use the skill XP calculator for exact numbers between any two levels.