Committing crimes in ESO is a fun way to explore a whole new side of the game. Criminal acts provide a lot of gold and help you level Legerdemain, a skill line you’ll find useful in other aspects of the game. The best way to get started is to simply become a Vampire or complete the first Dark Brotherhood quest and go kill NPCs. Just don’t get caught!

The crime system in The Elder Scrolls Online is an aspect of the game that many players overlook, but it’s quite useful for leveling skill lines you’ll use in other aspects of the game, and it opens up a whole new world of gameplay full of enjoyable activities and great ways to make gold.

So, in this video, I’m going to provide you with a 101 guide to crime in ESO, telling you how to get started with crime, explaining the most fun and profitable criminal acts, and also covering the best ways to optimize your crime sprees and avoid getting caught.

Why is crime worth it in The Elder Scrolls Online?

Fencing stolen items is a great way to get paid in the game, so crime in ESO is worth it for that reason alone. Also, let’s just admit it: pretending to be evil is fun.

This is a fantasy game. It exists to do things that you can’t actually do in the real world. So, letting out that evil side of you, cutting loose, committing some crimes in the game is a lot of fun. It’s rewarding in its own right.

On top of that, there are a variety of rewards you can only get by committing crimes in ESO. There’s a whole section of achievements covering criminal acts that allows you to get dyes, titles, and otherwise scratch any completionist urges you might have.

In short, committing crimes in ESO is fun, it’s rewarding, and it’s one of the many aspects of the game that makes The Elder Scrolls Online unique.

You can completely avoid the crime system in the game and live a completely goody-two-shoes life. But, if you do decide to delve into a world of crime, you will be amply rewarded.

What does Legerdemain do in ESO?

Your ability to commit crimes in ESO is mainly improved by the Legerdemain skill line. This skill line includes passives that reduce the cost of sneaking, increase your chances of pickpocketing by up to 50%, and increase the number of times you can interact with Fences during a day.

Legerdemain also increases your chance of forcing locks and reduces the amount you pay to guards if you get caught or to Fences — who you can choose to pay your bounty to willingly to clear your heat.

How do you level the Legerdemain skill line in ESO?

Both pickpocketing and lockpicking level your Legerdemain skill line. Every time you pickpocket from an NPC, you’ll gain XP for Legerdemain.

And the same goes for when you lockpick a door or a chest. By the way, lockpicking chests is not a criminal act unless it is in a trespassing zone. So, when you come across chests out in the world, in dungeons, etc., you don’t have to worry about being caught — lockpick away to help level your Legerdemain skill line.

Does selling or laundering items level Legerdemain in ESO?

Yes, you can level your Legerdemain skill line in ESO by selling or laundering items to Fences, who are located in Outlaws Refuges. You simply go to the Fence, sell or launder your items, and your Legerdemain XP will go up if it’s not already maxed at 20.

How does Tanlorin help with crime in ESO?

Completing the Companion Tanlorin’s achievements gives you access to the passive Tanlorin’s Finesse across your entire account, which improves your chances of lockpicking.

So, you’ll want to complete all the objectives under both Tanlorin’s Favor and A Bloom on the Horizon to gain access to that passive and improve your lockpicking proficiency.

Tanlorin is available to all ESO Plus members for free. You can also buy access to Tanlorin from the Crown Store.

Now, let’s cover the different kinds of crime you can commit in ESO — the best way to optimize these criminal activities and to get away with the crimes you want to commit.

How do you pickpocket NPCs in The Elder Scrolls Online?

In ESO, you pickpocket NPCs by crouching, making sure you’re hidden, and then coming up behind the NPC and selecting “Pickpocket.” You can pickpocket each NPC up to three times, and the items you get from doing so can be worth anywhere from 100 to 1500 gold.

It is worth mentioning that if you have Ember out as a companion, having her summoned while you pickpocket gives you a chance of getting an extra item. It’s called Ember’s Hidden Wallet, and this increases the amount of gold you can make from pickpocketing.

Ember doesn’t mind when you do crime. It doesn’t take away from her rapport. She actually thinks stealing and killing is funny —which makes me worry about Ember sometimes — but she is the best companion to have if you’re going on a crime spree.

How do you steal from containers in ESO?

There are various containers inside trespassing zones from which you can steal items. There also plenty of containers outside of trespassing zones that belong to NPCs, and you can also steal from those.

As always, when doing crimes, just be careful that no one can see you, or else you’ll get caught and get a bounty.

You get XP for Legerdemain whenever you sell or launder any kind of stolen item. So, wherever you get those from, it’s worth picking them up and taking them to a Fence to get your Legerdemain to max and to unlock passives that will improve your ability to commit crime.

How do you break into NPC homes in ESO?

You can break into NPC homes in ESO by approaching a locked door to a building and picking the lock. Make sure avoid being seen by witnesses by being fully Hidden.

Breaking and entering into homes — trespassing — is another crime you can commit in ESO, and it does directly contribute to leveling Legerdemain because there’s lockpicking involved. You can either kill or avoid the NPCs inside, and then steal all their items.

What are safeboxes in ESO?

Safeboxes are small, silver-colored chests hidden throughout NPC areas in ESO. You get Legerdemain XP for opening Safeboxes, and they contain high value items. Before you have Tanlorin’s Finesse and you’ve maxed out Legerdemain, you’ll want to pick Safebox locks manually.

Can you kill NPCs in ESO?

Yes, it is possible to kill most NPCs in ESO by using the Blade of Woe, feeding on them as a Vampire, or Slaughtering them as a Werewolf.

Each NPC can be pickpocketed up to three times. So, if you pickpocket them twice and then murder them, you’ll get the maximum amount of items.

One way to murder NPCs is the Vampire’s Feed ability. You get this just by getting the Vampire skill line and becoming a Vampire. It’s a slightly longer-distance execute.

There’s also the Blade of Woe from the Dark Brotherhood skill line, which only works at a slightly shorter distance, but they’re both equally valid ways for slaying NPCs.

As of ESO Update 50 and the Werewolf rework, the Werewolf also has its own assassination ability known as Slaughter. As a result, Werewolves as well as vampires are now able to assassinate NPCs out in the world.

So, with pickpocketing, looting containers that belong to NPCs, breaking and entering, and killing NPCs, those are the four main types of crime in ESO.

Which DLC skill lines help with crime in ESO?

Beyond leveling the base-game Legerdemain skill line, you can also optimize your crime sprees in ESO by investing in the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood DLC skill lines. These are both available now for free in the Collections menu.

They’re free to all players, whatever version of the game you have — whether you have ESO Plus or not.

How do you unlock Thieves Guild in ESO?

To unlock Thieves Guild in ESO, go to Menu > Collections > Stories > Zone DLC. Scroll down to the bottom, and select Thieves Guild.

There will be an option here that says “Accept Quest.” Then, you simply follow the tooltip and talk to Quen in an Outlaws Refuge to get started.

The Thieves Guild intro quest is also triggered if you interact with a Thieves Trove, found in the overland of ESO. These look like Safeboxes, but they’re glowing blue. Simply open one, and the invitation to the Thieves Guild will appear in your journal.

How do you unlock Dark Brotherhood in ESO?

To unlock Dark Brotherhood in ESO, go to Zone DLCs under Collections > Stories, and accept the Dark Brotherhood intro quest. This will lead you to an NPC in an Outlaws Refuge who you can talk to to start the Dark Brotherhood main quest.

Then, simply follow the tooltips in the quest to proceed. Both the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood skill lines are unlocked after completing the first quest for each DLC.

How do you level Thieves Guild & Dark Brotherhood in ESO?

To level up the Thieves Guild skill line, you can either do the main story quest or Thieves Guild dailies. The same is the case for Dark Brotherhood. You can either do dailies or the main quest to level your skill line.

But, with both of these skill lines, you do have to do some dailies in-between the main quests to get your reputation to a certain level and qualify to unlock the next quest.

For Thieves Guild, this is changing in Season One. There’s going to be a new Thieves Guild in Glenumbra with new activities — new ways to level this skill line.

How do Thieves Guild & Dark Brotherhood help with crime in ESO?

Compared to Legerdemain, the Dark Brotherhood or Thieves Guild skill lines are not quite as useful for crime. Having access to the Blade of Woe, Slaughter, or the Vampire assassination skill Feed is one of the most essential ingredients in committing crimes in ESO.

But, past that point, leveling further in Dark Brotherhood just reduces the heat you get from murders or assaults. It allows you to sprint away from the sight of murders, provides a chance to make you disappear when you use the Blade of Woe, and —perhaps most usefully — the passive Shadow Rider unlocks at Level 7, which makes it harder for monsters to see you when you’re out in the world.

The Thieves Guild passives increase the rate at which your bounty goes down and increase the amount of gold you get from Fences and Outlaws Refuges — but not by very much.

Perhaps most useful is the passive Clemency, which allows you to get off scott-free from a guard once per day. Leveling Thieves Guild also gives you access to a footpad who will instantly teleport you to an Outlaws Refuge if you have a bounty and you’re in combat with a guard. The passive Veil of Shadows also decrease the distance from which you can be witnessed when doing crimes.

But, I’ve been able to go on the biggest murder sprees ever and do all the crime that I want to do without getting these skill lines fully leveled. In my opinion, you should focus on Legerdemain first and then maybe progress through Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild to unlock their passives as well.

Another reason it is important to complete the entire Thieves Guild questline is that with the last quest, you unlock a smuggler assistant, a portable Fence you can summon anywhere in the world, meaning you can sell stolen items without having to go to an Outlaws Refuge.

What do Fence NPCs do in The Elder Scrolls Online?

Fences allow you to launder or sell stolen items in The Elder Scrolls Online. There’s a Fence located in every Outlaws Refuge, Simply go into the Refuge and find the Fence.

When you get to the fence, you’ll have two options: either selling or laundering. Generally speaking, you should only sell Treasures. Launder any consumables or crafting materials.

Crafting materials should definitely be laundered — especially if you have ESO Plus because they go directly to your craft bag.

Laundering simply makes items not be stolen anymore. Then, you can either use or sell them. There is a fee to launder items, though. But, if you fence or sell everything else, you should easily be able to cover the fee for laundering.

How do you avoid getting caught for crimes in ESO?

The best way to get away with crimes in ESO is simply to not be witnessed. After crouching, make sure that Hidden icon shows a completely or mostly shut eye. Make sure a guard isn’t sneaking up on you.

You enter Hidden mode by crouching and waiting for the eye icon on your screen to shut.

When you’re committing crimes, you definitely want to avoid guards. You also want to avoid witnesses of any kind. Guards will actually chase you down, but witnesses will alert the authorities.

Just make sure you’re hidden, make sure there are no witnesses, and you’re good to go.

How do you pay your bounty in ESO?

You can pay your bounty in ESO to either a guard or a Fence. Either way, if you have the passive skill Kickback under Legerdemain, the amount you’ll pay is less than your actual bounty.

How do you get away from Guards in ESO?

To get away from guards in ESO, you must move to an area where there are no guards patrolling. Guards will kill you if you let them catch you, and you cannot actually damage them or kill them. So, it’s a losing battle.

If you are caught by a guard, you can either pay your bounty, plead Clemency if you have the passive, or just run. One place that guards cannot chase you is in the water. So, just take yourself a nice swim.

What are Counterfeit Pardon Edicts in ESO?

Counterfeit Pardon Edicts are items in ESO that clear your bounty. You can acquire them from Thieves Troves, events, and certain other sources.

If your bounty is under 500 gold, a single Counterfeit Pardon Edict will clear you instantly. There’s also a very rare item called a Grand Amnesty Edict that clears up to 100,000 gold in bounty. With this, you can basically go on the biggest murder spree ever and still get away with it.

Just summarizing, the best way to not get caught is to have no witnesses. Guards are the worst kind of witness, but most NPCs can also witness your crimes.

If you do get caught, you have the option of paying your bounty to a guard or to a fence. Or you can use a counterfeit pardon edict, but if none of that is an option to you, you can always just log out, too.

Does logging out get rid of your bounty in ESO?

Yes, logging out will eventually clear your bounty in The Elder Scrolls Online. Bounty decreases over time, so simply logging out of a character with a bounty, taking a break from the game, or logging into a new character will eventually make your bounty clock count down to zero, and you’ll go back to Outstanding. It takes longer to do this the bigger your bounty is.

Conclusion

That just about covers the basics of committing crimes in ESO. I covered why you should commit crimes, the types of crimes you can commit, and how to get away with them.

This is a fun aspect of ESO that I like to explore. I want to help new players and people who’ve never experienced crime in the game get started with it.