http://youtu.be/HPTTYqY_5uQ?t=1m25s

You can simply walk up to people and they won't spot you so long as its slightly dark.
This can be seen in other videos or you can try it yourself.

I like the fact that sneak is powerful, but you should still have to be out of their line of sight. no?

that's probably with the stealth perk tree maxed out. Perks are like overkill in this game I'm finding out.

Considering how long it takes to max sneak in comparison to other elder scrolls games, I would hope that it would be powerful. I used auto run to max my sneak the other day and it took about 7 IRL hours just to get to 78 skill which is [censored] insane for me because I play perma death, so if my character ends up getting killed I will have to do all of that over again.

That's so dumb why would you play like that? Starting over every time you die is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.

what is perma death? as in restart from the beginning of the game lol

I've never played like that, but I suppose it can make for exciting runs if one survives. It has to be exhilarating playing for a few days leveling up and knowing you've never failed a single time.

i highly suspect this video is on a low difficulty setting.

No, it makes the game more challenging for me. I play on Master difficulty too. I played Morrowind and Oblivion the same way, never used potions or healing spells either. No fast travel, no healing on rest, etc.

I make the game challenging for me because thats what makes it fun. To each his/her own, but I try and get the most mileage I can from TES games.

It's not stupid, it's a choice of gameplay to simulate real life. It's HIS choice. Be more open minded please.

I also think stealth is just a bit too powerful in shadows. It's like they added a times five sneak boost when you are in shadows.

Wait, what!? So if you're hit once, you're permanently weaker for the rest of the game!? That's insane! I've heard of games where you start over on death, but that's nuts!

He explains his gear and perks in the comments and that is pretty much a maxed out stealth character on adept difficulty. Impressive honestly, makes me want to make a pure stealth dude next time.

You could label me a savant when it comes to gaming, I appreciate all the minor details and I get $100,000 dollars worth of entertainment out of a $60 dollar game. Cognitively, I play on my own difficulty level because the journey means more than the reward, even if I never beat a game and see the ending I still get more satisfaction out of games than 99% of people ever will. The last game I finished on perma death was Far Cry 2 and it took me nearly two years to accomplish it, but the feeling I had when I completed it was unreal. I feel like I owe Ubisoft more money for that game because of how much I played it.

difficulty only changes mob health and mob damage. Not how well they detect you