Been playing a dark brotherhood dArk elf bowman
On adept
Been doin alright
As long as i have room to maneuver i can hide and never be seen
I also use sounds to my advantage such leadin one from a group astray with a bucket so i can get a backstab finisher
Only tough time i had was when i ran into a well lit room that was small
And had a bandit chief in it...
Lol i felt like i was gearing up for a mob boss fight
I had health regens goin, poisions at the ready, stamina boosts and the elment of surprise
And i still died 3 times before i said F it and equipped a 2h hammer and wooped him down...
Only reason he beat me so bad was because he had a shield....AI with shields are deadly in skyrim
They block 98% of everything you throw at'em unless u got a weapon that can split a tree in half

Your doing something wrong then, because I have it on the default difficulty and I am running around with a Wood Elf Ranger who uses nothing but light armor, and I have only died 3 times in 8 hours, just gotta use your perks carefully. I use a bow from range then switch as they get closer to a sword and shield, once your block gets up you can block and parry with great success! Level 6 btw.

I completed the main quest using a pure thief build with no magic on Adept level. As long as you spec into it, you should be fine.

I play an archer/thief and I feel like the game is too easy.. playing on default setting. Using light armor. Try carrying potions? Use a shield? Get a companion? Use shouts?

Being a thief requires patience.

I was going to make a beginners guide (first 10 levels) on how to be a successful thief/stealth character later, but I'll share some tips to anyone listening.

-Sneaking is HARD early on, but you have to work at it. Doing sneak attacks, backing off while still in sneak and hiding until you are 100% hidden builds sneak really easy early on. Once you hit the 40 mark you will really see the difference.

-Wear all light armor. While you can eventually wear all heavy armor with zero weight, that will take a lot of time and leveling that you can't afford. Wearing light armor makes you faster, longer.

-Sneak is KEY! Your first step in this game should be joining thieves guild. All the missions and side missions bring in good coin, loot and are the fastest and funnest ways to level your sneak skill.

-Your primary starting weapon should be the bow. Later on in the game, when your sneak is ranked a lot higher, you can start dealing some devastating backstab damage.

-Poor all of your first 10 level points in Stamania and Endurance.

-Build your bow to do 60% damage, add the zoom perk; without it you cannot to extreme long distance damage.

-Build your stealth up to at least 25% harder to detect, get the bow damage x3 perk.

It will be hard early on, as it probably is for any class, but once you hit level 10 and 40 on Archery/Sneak, you will become a dangerous foe.

EDIT - spelling =)

Some players do well others not try going to different areas.

I have a dark elf assassin. And it is all right. Some days are better than others.

And anyone who says they have only died three times or what not are lying.

Low level assassin or thief can be very hard sometimes even in normal difficulty.

I don't consider myself to be an uber skilled gamer but on the default difficulty I do alright as an archer/rogue-type character. Poisons help, sneaking works best at night and try to avoid line of sight. I think I have only died like twice so far, and only because I got myself out of position or failed a sneak. I am concerned about the perk system, as I don't really know how many perk points I get to spend and/or if there is a limit to how many skills I can max out.

In the IGN extended gameplay, his level 41 mage character got owned by a Elder Dragon because he didn't use his protection spells. He then came back to the same dragon and completely destroyed it with his fire attacks. So lesson is, you may be very vunerable, but you are VERY strong.

I play dunmer spellthief and I use combination of light armor and robes ... have no problems, but DON'T go against some hard enemies, this ain't Oblivion! Some enemies are impossible to kill on lower levels...

I've just hit level 17 as a dual dagger, bow and sneak build and only sometimes having a bit of trouble, playing on expert, but have to just play tactically. It's more like playing the game "Thief" than World of Warcraft type of stealth. Watch enemies patrols, sneak up on them etc. Super fun.

The problem I can forsee is if youtake the Thief guardian stone, and level up sneak too quickly ahead of your combat skills...

The only way difficulty on skyrim could be a problem is if it was too easy. If you drop the difficulty right down and your still having problems ... Well then you have problems.

My only worry is this game remaining challenging at higher levels with all the perks.

I play imperial assassin/thief with light armor and dual wield (Dagger/Sword and Dagger/Dagger combo) on master difficulty. I rarely use spells other than illusion and restoration.

And yes its no walk in the park, but all the more satisfaction when you backstab a boss for 2/3rd of its health in one hit. After silently having cleared out minions and sneaked up behind him.

Take Lydia as a companion and use bows, she will take most of the damage, and you will pwn everything. I do that.

Putting perks to sneak and bow is essential for thief-characters. It eases a lot when you have few perks invested in those.

My Nord warrior with only light armor handles himself quite well. Sure, I don't have to try taking on a Dwemer Centurion yet, but that's okay as I'm only level 13.

Man its okay to die a few times, even to the same enemy, just keep trying ... Once I had to really use alot of potions on 1 boss guy, but I could own him, expert difficulty, but yeah im a heavy armored guy so..

I went through a rough patch from 1-15 on Adept, after that it all got better as my sneak increased.. Right now I can raise the difficulty and not break sweat with him, long as I play properly.