I think it has all been said before regarding sneak's overpoweredness. What I want is to find a way to have fun with it either by self-gimping or some creative character build.

Is sneak + destruction also overpowered once you get silent casting?

Aside from not taking any archery perks, there isn't much you can do.

Stealth archers are basically snipers, and picking off targets in one shot is what they do.

I actually do something seemingly unique with sneak- I play as an ambusher-type toon. Melee-only, heavy armor, and sneak. Bows and arrows are for puzzle-solving, or if I truly run into something that I can't fight toe-to-toe and I have the range to run back. Which happened only once.

My whole tactic is to get within melee range of an enemy, hit as hard as I can, and then the rest is standard warrior-type tactics. This actually makes sneaking fun without becoming overpowered- there's alwasy the chance that I can mess up my attack, or the enemy is too good for my sneak skill.

As for sneak+destruction... can you get a sneak multiplier with spells? If the answer is yes... then that means it'll probably be overpowered with the high-end spells.

my current build is sneak+illusion+destruction first i sneak up on people and hit them with frenzy (which is totally funny to watch them fight each other) then while there distracted fighting each other i shoot them with magic

If you're going to use Archery with Sneak, you can help balance it by using the lower damage / higher fire rate bows, e.g. Longbow, Hunting Bow, instead of the 50 CAL Ebony Bow. On my archer character I've always enjoyed being able to lay down fire quickly rather than having the 1 every 2 seconds Ebony Bow shot. Not only does it reduce the initial sneak attack damage, it also forces you to be a bit more accurate with your arrows, and the type of arrow you use will actually have an effect on your damage output rather than being dwarfed by your bow's crazy damage. Also I personally feel the Longbow and Hunting Bow are more aesthetically pleasing than any of the fancy fantasy later on bows.

EDIT: Just in case the idea of using the 'beginner' bows later on in a character is unappealing, they actually come with their own set of advantages later on. In particular, the Longbow/Hunting Bow make excellent use of the Power Shot perk because of their high fire rates, and also the paralyzing perk if you manage to get it. If they have enchantments on them such as paralyze, they have a higher chance of rolling. If they have Fire damage enchant, you can actually stack up 'on fire' debuffs on the enemy because your second arrow reaches them so quickly. Obviously this comes at the cost of quicker enchantment draining and heavier arrow usage.

I also find getting into a rhythm with the faster bows easier and more natural, and hardly ever tend to do flop shots. With the Ebony or Daedric Bow, however, I find it happens far more often. You feel far more like an archer than a sniper using the early bows - try it out, it's actually quite fun and imo allows for a more balanced, rewarding playstyle.

I play a non-combat sneak thief. I am a master of the shadows basically. IMO sneak is not overpowered...

I based my character's fighting philosophy off of Altair from Assassin's Creed so I don't use Ranged Weaponry AT ALL. I use melee weapons and small amounts of magic such as a firebolt to light oil slicks.

J'rahzir believes the only fair fight is a fight one wins. Is it wrong for such stealth to bring such power? Only if the one who stalks has the cunning of the hairy cow found in the lands of Skyrim.

Legacy Raider feels "J'rahzir"

(1) has a silly, overly convoluted name for someone pretending to be a khajit on an online games forum
(2) should pause and consider the second part of (1) and why he feels the need to do so
(3) should really stop speaking in annoying 3rd person quasi-riddles before someone turns him into a rug

With all sincerity

This Khajiit hears the Redguards concerns. Most unfortunate that J'rahzir does not care. Pity. *sly smile*

Easy, No perks level 1 master difficulty.

You don't be able to OHKO most enemies, I assure you.

One does not pretend to be a khajit, it is a way of life.

Get a noisy follower.

Surely the point of playing a sneaky character is to be able to sneak up on enemies and either kill or steal from them without them, or the "people" around them, knowing you were ever there. Why would you want to use sneak but not take it to its logical conclusion? From the game play perspective, even at 100 sneak with all the perks, there were times that I was detected (so its not like the chameleon in Oblivion) and if you avoid developing your archery too far, there is still a big challenge even with sneak maxed out (try working out how, with just a pair of daggers and your sneak ability, no ranged stuff and no magic, to take down half a dozen senior draugr milling round a big room).

Then when you have cracked that level of challenge, try taking Mjoll the Lioness along as your companion, it's an absolute hoot.

High sneak plus good archery, or other ranged combat, is just too easy.

Only take the perks that increase your effectiveness in not being detected? Not sure if it is enough, but that is the best option I see except not taking perks at all.

Sneak seems strangely very good in my game. I'm not sure why but I see where people say they can sneak up on enemies from the front in broad daylight and I've never been able to do that. I have muffle boots and all the perks in the sneak tree. My stealth is at 100. During the day enemies still detect me from a long way off if I am moving even when sneaking. It is impossible to sneak up on a fort in daylight without being extremely careful. If I get in front of anyone they see me instantly even from many yards away. In the shadows it's a bit better but I can still be spotted if they get too close. At night it's markedly better but I can still be spotted if they are looking right at me but I can get closer before being detected. However anywhere inside I pretty much become invisible unless the room is very bright. If there is a lot of light I still have to be careful but in the shadows enemies can walk right up to me and not see me. It's strange how much it changes from outside to inside. But overall I never felt it became overpowered and at least outside the game is still challenging. Inside it really became too easy. Not just the stealth but being able to one shot even the most difficult foes. And that wasn't even with the most powerful stuff and my 1 hand is only in the 50's.

Don't put any perks into "Stealth" (I mean the first perk on the sneaking perk tree that has five slots). Then you won't be quite so hard to detect.

Note, you may need to buy one perk in it to open up the tree, not sure.

Just don't use the shadow warrior perk.

I had a similar experience, I never found it got too silly in terms of detection except when I start loosing arrows, then it gets laughable. Enemies will run up to me then stop and do nothing as I shoot them again and again. That's painfully bad AI. By contrast, if you try rock shooting, or shooting from the safety of a ledge or something the enemies demonstrate very impressive AI by getting out of your line of sight so you can't shoot them. But when you're sneaking and they can't see you they just stand there begging for it.

Anything ranged + sneak will be overpowered, granted I doubt believe destruction actually crits when sneaking.

What I've done to basically make my character one dimensional is removed the armor and replaced it with normal clothes. This is somewhat modeled after the WoW model where rogues have the second weakest armor after mages. You have to crowd control, and maximize your sneaking ability in order to win fights.

I have 100 sneak, but I am still detected when I get close to an enemy. Animals detect my presence from far away even though I have quiet casting.

Mods.

I don`t sneak very well anyway as I`m a warrior, but I wanted it more real. Now I have to sneak VERY realistically and even after firing a few arrows and hiding I`ll get detected eventually unless I get out of there.

Failing that, don`t take any Perks in it and get rid of the sneaking icon indicater and listen to cues instead.

Isnt sneak SUPPOSED to be overpowered? Its the same way in other stealth games (Metal Gear Solid,Splinter Cell,etc)

If your sneaking behind someone and you slit their throat,they should be dead. An enemy that has no time to react and is caught by surprise should die fast.

If your talking about crouching infront of an enemy while they walk around you 2 inches from your face and still dont notice you,then yeah,that doesnt make sense.

I think he means being detected not how fast you kill someone once you get to them. It can be annoying when everyone around you appears ridiculously deaf.

Just don't perk it up. I get caught all the time with 100 sneak and I have no perks AND I use Muffle