Should I Make Pickpocket Legendary in Skyrim? A Thief’s Guide
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The short answer: It depends on your play style and character goals. Making Pickpocket legendary in Skyrim can be a powerful move, allowing for continuous character leveling and perk point acquisition. However, it comes with a significant drawback: you lose all your Pickpocket perks and effectively reset your skill to 15. Weigh the pros and cons carefully, considering how crucial Pickpocketing is to your specific gameplay experience.
The Allure of Legendary Skills
The legendary skill system in Skyrim is a game-changer. Once you hit level 100 in a skill, you can choose to make it “Legendary.” This resets the skill to 15, refunds all perk points spent in that skill tree, and allows the skill to level up again. The primary advantage is that it enables continuous character leveling beyond the traditional soft cap. This means you can infinitely improve your character’s overall level, health, magicka, and stamina, and acquire more perk points, which can then be invested in any skill tree.
Pickpocketing: A Skill Worth Resetting?
Pickpocketing, unlike combat skills, is a utility skill. It doesn’t directly contribute to your ability to survive dragon attacks or defeat powerful mages. However, it can be immensely useful. A high Pickpocket skill allows you to steal valuable items, plant poisons, and even remove equipped armor from enemies.
Pros of Legendary Pickpocketing
- Continuous Leveling: As mentioned, making Pickpocket legendary allows you to continue leveling your character beyond the point where combat skills might stagnate. This is especially useful for characters focused on stealth and non-combat approaches.
- Perk Point Farming: Resetting Pickpocket gives you back all those perk points. You can then redistribute them into other skills you’re actively using. If you’ve already obtained the perks you want from Pickpocketing, this is a great way to gain additional resources.
- Skill Leveling Speed: Pickpocketing is a relatively fast skill to level, making it a good candidate for repeated legendary resets. You can power-level it again fairly quickly, generating more character levels and perk points.
- Character Specialization: If you are wanting to play as a pure mage for example, you may still have pickpocketing leveled up to 100. But this gives you the ability to gain those levels back to be used only for magic skills.
Cons of Legendary Pickpocketing
- Loss of Perks: The most significant downside is losing access to all the perks you invested in the Pickpocket tree. This includes perks like Light Fingers, Night Thief, Cutpurse, Keymaster, and Misdirection. These perks significantly improve your pickpocketing success rate, your ability to steal equipped items, and your capacity to carry more items.
- Reduced Success Rate: With your Pickpocket skill reset to 15, your success rate will plummet. You’ll find it much harder to steal anything, especially from high-level NPCs or those carrying valuable items.
- Increased Risk: A lower Pickpocket skill means a higher chance of getting caught. Getting caught can lead to fines, imprisonment, or even combat.
- Playstyle Impact: If you rely heavily on pickpocketing to obtain resources, earn money, or manipulate NPCs, resetting the skill will significantly impact your gameplay. You’ll need to adjust your tactics and be prepared for a period of reduced effectiveness.
Considerations Before Making Pickpocket Legendary
Before you decide to make Pickpocket legendary, ask yourself these questions:
- How often do I use Pickpocketing? If it’s a core part of your gameplay loop, think twice.
- Have I already obtained the perks I want? If you’ve maxed out the tree and are only using Pickpocketing for occasional tasks, resetting might be a good idea.
- Do I have alternative ways to make money or acquire items? If you’re heavily reliant on Pickpocketing for income or gear, resetting the skill will make things more difficult.
- Am I willing to re-level the skill? Leveling Pickpocketing again can be time-consuming, especially if you’re starting from scratch.
Alternative Skills to Make Legendary
While Pickpocketing can be a viable option, other skills might be better candidates for the legendary reset:
- Smithing: Smithing levels quickly, especially when crafting high-value items. It’s also a practical skill that benefits all character types.
- Alchemy: Alchemy can be leveled quickly by creating valuable potions. It’s also a useful skill for crafting buffs and poisons.
- Illusion: Illusion spells like Muffle can be used repeatedly to level the skill quickly. However, the usefulness of Illusion depends on your character build.
- Alteration: Telekinesis is considered one of the fastest skills to level up due to being able to be continuously cast.
Ultimately, the best skill to make legendary depends on your character’s build and play style. Consider your options carefully before making a decision. Remember that experimenting with your skills and combat is a skill within itself, especially when you are learning something new. The Games Learning Society encourages exploring learning through games, so don’t be afraid to experiment! Check out GamesLearningSociety.org for more insights.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Does making a skill legendary affect my character’s overall power?
Yes. While making a skill legendary resets that specific skill to 15 and removes its perks, it also allows you to continue leveling your character. This means you’ll gain more health, magicka, stamina, and perk points, ultimately making your character stronger.
2. How quickly can I re-level Pickpocketing after making it legendary?
The speed at which you can re-level Pickpocketing depends on several factors, including your character level, available resources, and the difficulty setting. However, Pickpocketing is generally considered a relatively fast skill to level. Targeting high-value targets and using perks that increase success rates can expedite the process.
3. Will making Pickpocket legendary make the game harder?
Initially, yes. With your Pickpocket skill reset to 15, you’ll find it much harder to steal items. This can make it more difficult to acquire resources and manipulate NPCs. However, as you re-level the skill and regain your perks, your pickpocketing abilities will return to their former glory. Plus, you’ll be a higher level overall.
4. Can I make a skill legendary multiple times?
Yes! There is no limit to how many times you can make a skill legendary in Skyrim. This allows for virtually endless character progression.
5. Does difficulty setting affect how quickly I level Pickpocketing?
The difficulty setting primarily affects combat. However, a higher difficulty might indirectly affect Pickpocketing by making it more challenging to acquire resources through other means, thus increasing your reliance on Pickpocketing and potentially leading to more leveling opportunities.
6. Are there any glitches or exploits to level Pickpocketing quickly?
Yes, there are several glitches and exploits that can be used to level Pickpocketing quickly. However, using these methods can be considered cheating and may diminish the enjoyment of the game. It’s up to you to decide whether or not to use them.
7. What are the best perks to get in the Pickpocket tree?
Some of the best perks in the Pickpocket tree include:
- Light Fingers: Increases your pickpocketing success rate.
- Night Thief: Increases your pickpocketing success rate when pickpocketing sleeping people.
- Cutpurse: Allows you to pickpocket equipped weapons and armor.
- Keymaster: Makes it easier to pickpocket keys.
- Misdirection: Allows you to plant poisons on NPCs.
8. Does armor affect Pickpocketing success?
Armor weight and noise do affect your ability to sneak, which indirectly affects your Pickpocketing success rate. Lighter armor and perks that reduce noise can improve your chances of successfully pickpocketing someone.
9. How do I know if I should make a skill legendary?
Consider the following factors:
- Have you obtained all the perks you want from the skill tree?
- Do you still actively use the skill?
- Are you comfortable with the temporary setback of resetting the skill to 15?
- Do you have alternative ways to accomplish the tasks the skill helps with?
If you answered “yes” to the first question and “no” to the next three, then making the skill legendary might be a good idea.
10. Can I undo making a skill legendary?
No, unfortunately, once you make a skill legendary, you cannot undo it. The skill will be permanently reset to 15, and your perk points will be refunded.
11. What level should I be before making a skill legendary?
There’s no specific level requirement, but it’s generally recommended to be at a relatively high level (e.g., 50+) before making a skill legendary. This ensures that you have access to a wide range of skills and perks to compensate for the temporary loss of effectiveness in the reset skill.
12. Does making a combat skill legendary make the game too difficult?
Making a combat skill legendary can initially make combat more challenging, as your damage output and survivability will be reduced. However, as you re-level the skill and regain your perks, you’ll become even stronger than before.
13. What’s the difference between Legendary difficulty and making a skill legendary?
Legendary difficulty is a game setting that makes enemies much stronger and reduces the damage you deal. Making a skill legendary is a mechanic that allows you to reset a skill to 15 and refund perk points, enabling continuous character leveling.
14. Does race affect Pickpocketing?
Yes, certain races have initial skill bonuses that affect Pickpocketing. For instance, the Khajiit start with a +5 bonus to Sneak, which synergizes well with Pickpocketing.
15. What are some alternative ways to make money in Skyrim besides Pickpocketing?
There are many ways to earn money in Skyrim, including:
- Completing quests
- Selling loot
- Crafting and selling items (e.g., potions, weapons, armor)
- Mining and selling ore
- Working for the Companions, Thieves Guild, or Dark Brotherhood
- Investing in shops
Making Pickpocket legendary in Skyrim is a complex decision with both advantages and disadvantages. Carefully consider your play style, character goals, and available resources before making a choice. The game rewards experimentation, so feel free to try out different approaches and see what works best for you.