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Arx Fatalis Hints
Thief/Assassin
1 of 7: Anyone who has played the "Thief" series of action/adventure games knows how enjoyable it can be to play a game in which success is determined not by how much damage you can deal to the enemy, but rather by your stealth and your ability to outsmart your opponent. While Arx does not offer quite the same level of sneaky gameplay as did that classic series, playing as a stealth-type character in Arx does present a unique and rewarding challenge.
2 of 7: The most important skill for a thief/assassin is, not surprisingly, Stealth. This skill allows you to hide in shadows, soften your footsteps, and avoid detection by other creatures. With a sufficiently advanced Stealth skill, you may be able to sneak up on an enemy from behind, allowing you to backstab them for double damage. At a score of 50 or above, the Stealth skill allows you to pick the pockets of NPCs.
3 of 7: While a high Stealth skill will enable you to sneak past some enemies, at other times there is no way to avoid a fight, and so you will need a way to defend yourself. The bow is an ideal weapon for a thief. Hidden in shadow, you have plenty of time to survey your surroundings safely, and can often pick off your victims one by one without revealing your presence. The drawback to using bows is that there are precisely two types of bow available in the game, and the more powerful of the two can only be found halfway through, after solving a ridiculously complex puzzle. However, you do have the ability to enchant your arrows with various effects such as poison.
4 of 7: Close combat weapons are another option, but they have the disadvantage of requiring you to approach your victim. Once you are in range of an enemy, it is very difficult to avoid detection by them, and so you will be forced to abandon the stealthy approach and revert to hack-and-slash. Provided you've allotted sufficient points to your Close Combat skill, Strength, and Constitution, you should have no problem, but it does detract quite a bit from the "stealthy assassin" idea.
5 of 7: A better alternative may be to use magic against your foes. It is much easier to invoke a spell's runes and aim the spell accurately while you are safely concealed in the shadows than to do it while being attacked from all sides by moving targets. Also, be aware that there are a handful of enemies which are very difficult to overcome without the use of magic. Knowledge of the arcane arts has several other benefits for a stealth-type character, including the Invisibility spell, which allows you to remain unseen even in well-lit areas where the Stealth skill is not enough; and the Negate Fire spell, which douses any nearby torches, reducing your visibility.
6 of 7: Other skills worth studying include Technical Skill, Object Knowledge, and Defense. Technical Skill helps you to do what thieves are designed to do: picking locks and robbing chests. This skill isn't strictly necessary, as most chests and locked doors don't conceal anything critical to the game, but it will allow you to explore areas otherwise inaccessible and increase your profit margin considerably. Object Knowledge is particularly important for a character with little magical skill, as it gives you the ability to brew potions of healing, invisibility, and poison. Additionally, this skill helps you to identify any loot you acquire, and is required for poisoning weapons. Defense will be important in providing your character with a decent armor class; as a thief, you'll want to avoid most heavy armor, as it reduces your Stealth skill.
7 of 7: The most important attribute for a stealth-type character is Dexterity. A high Dexterity grants you bonuses in nearly all thiefly pursuits, including Stealth, Technical Skill, Object Knowledge, accuracy with weapons, and the chance to score a critical hit. If you use magic during combat, a high Mental attribute is helpful; otherwise, put some points into Strength to allow you to wield better weapons and inflict more damage. Constitution is useful for adding to your pool of hit points, but as you will be relying on stealth to conceal yourself from opponents, this will probably be the least important attribute.
