Seriously.. I play @ novice difficulty...

[Daemos Avetorii]

please take this next part with a big big BIG grain of salt...


guards and hired thugs kill me with 3 strokes.
This game.. if it can be called as such, is profoundly unbalanced.
I'm so wrathful. If this keeps up, I'll personally shatter my disk and burn the book..

pfft.

[BlackDrake]

1) What Race are you playing as?

2) What level are you at?

3) What do you specialise in (one handed, destruction, light armor etc etc)?

[Daemos Avetorii]

Khajiit or Nord
1-6 level
one handed dual wielded and bow with arrows.
I've also used warhammers.

I hate this bounty system. How the heck can one know if I pick up a lump of steel... If I'm hidden completely.
I prefer oblivion's bounty system over this and that's saying something..

[Modryn]

Take a break and cool your head for a bit, I realize it's frustrating cause I've been in some tough situations myself before, but it won't help if you can't think clearly about it.

Now I'm not sure if I can help much but I'll try.

I've only ever experienced an attack by hired thugs once... and it was quite a buggy experience. They didn't attack me at all, in fact they followed me around for several quests, eventually I just turned around and killed all 3 without any trouble. If you're using a bow just try and kite them, or find a spot you can jump up where they can't reach you (a bit lazy I know).

As for guards... I never fight them. Either pay your fine or run away. Otherwise you'll end up fighting the entire city and that doesn't benefit you in any way.

As for your bounty issue, I can't say I've had trouble stealing anything if I was hidden. Make sure you're in sneak mode and that the eye is completely closed at the center of your screen. Otherwise I suppose it could be a bug.

[Akiraka]

guards and hired thugs kill me with 3 strokes.

NPCs use a lot of power attacks, which profoundly increase damage output. They can also, and often do, score critical hits just as the PC can.

Khajiit or Nord
1-6 level
one handed dual wielded and bow with arrows.
I've also used warhammers.

Could you be more specific? Which race is which level/ uses which equip., etc.? Generally though, bows do very poor damage at first, especially after being discovered/ after the first Sneak Attack. When in combat with dual-wielding, make use primarily of your dual power attack. It hits three or four times in the time other weapons hit once or twice, and each hit count as a power attack. For two-handed weapons, make use of bash; it staggers enemies and causes them (from what I can tell) to take a lot more damage from attacks. In both cases, gain the Standing Power Attack Perk, and use it and nothing else (the only exception would be your Left Hand Power Attack when dual-wielding).
Focus primarily on your Stamina when you level up. Having high Health doesn't help nearly as much as having high Stamina and a high Armor Rating. If you're using Light Armor, invest ASAP into your AR-boosting Perks.

I hate this bounty system. How in hell's ass can one know if I pick up a lump of steel... If I'm hidden completely.

I think, like in previous games, there's a minute chance of discovery at the moment of taking an item, that's based on the item's weight. While Steel Ingots are definitely not heavy, if the nearby NPCs are keen enough, it might be enough.

[SuperNull]

The opponents that hit hard, usually also hit slow. This means you can get out of the way before the blow.
I don't know if you can do this easy with a game-controller (I hate them, never use them), but with a mouse you can strafe-turn out of the way.
(strafe-turning is moving a circle around the target while you keep facing it).

You also may want to stay close to the coast or river in the beginning (wolfs and lions don't swim)

You may consider going for a paladin kind of build (heavy armor+one-handed+shield+restoration).
Or maybe a crafter build (smith+enchanting +alchemy+speech) There is REALLY powerful gear to be had if you get the hang of that.

[Daemos Avetorii]

Thank you all for the replies. Yes I totally need to cool down.
More importantly I need to explain something.
I am a control freak. I need control like a vampire needs blood.
Since I cannot control the real world, I play games to "get my fix"
I probably need to learn about the workings of this game for a few weeks.
Maybe then I can do what I want..

Incidentally. If my character sneak kills a guard in 1 hit and remains undetected, will this avoid a bounty?

[Akiraka]

I am a control freak. I need control like a vampire needs blood.
Since I cannot control the real world, I play games to "get my fix"

I get the feeling that by this you mean you lean towards activities that are less than socially acceptable

I probably need to learn about the workings of this game for a few weeks.

Definitely. Just like any other game, getting things to go your way is a science. Just requires practice and patience.

Maybe then I can do what I want..

I get the feeling that Bethy purposely made doing things that are less-than-socially-acceptable more difficult than it has been. Justifiably so IMO; having your cake and eating too is a privilege by any standard. At any rate, if it were easy, it wouldn't be as much fun. Just keep working at it.

Incidentally. If my character sneak kills a guard in 1 hit and remains undetected, will this avoid a bounty?

I can't confirm one hit, but almost as well; I can confirm two. I put an arrow in one of the guards outside of Riften. He didn't die, and they both approached, I backed off and remained undetected. I sent a second arrow, that did the job, and didn't get a bounty. However, when I approached to loot the body (after waiting for the 'Undetected' all-clear), the second guard was hostile. Upon killing her, I still received no bounty, so I can only guess doing the job in one blow and causing no aggro couldn't result in anything more.

[SuperNull]

Incidentally. If my character sneak kills a guard in 1 hit and remains undetected, will this avoid a bounty?

I don't know, but if you are level 6 I think you are getting ahead of yourself.
Start small, sneak up on mudcrabs and wolfs. Later, when you have the gear and the perks you can start messing with the city folk.
If you are are going to be a stealth assassin get your sneak skill up first at least.

[Daemos Avetorii]

Ha yes. I'm a malevolent murderer in games (let's be fair. over 75% of the games on the market are killing games)
At this point I sense a disturbance in logic.
The player "can" kill or steal, but not avoid the dangers thereof..
Maybe in a few months mods or patches can filter out any unwanted things in the game.

Incidentally. If my character sneak kills a guard in 1 hit and remains undetected, will this avoid a bounty?

I don't know, but if you are level 6 I think you are getting ahead of yourself.
Start small, sneak up on mudcrabs and wolfs. Later, when you have the gear and the perks you can start messing with the city folk.
If you are are going to be a stealth assassin get your sneak skill up first at least.

wont guards and cityfolk level with me? ie making it harder to kill them?
Or are they already at max power at the start?

[Akiraka]

The player "can" kill or steal, but not avoid the dangers thereof..
Maybe in a few months mods or patches can filter out any unwanted things in the game.

I haven't actually noticed any inconsistencies between crime and detection myself. As was said, you may be experiencing an isolated bug. I wouldn't doubt it, as I've experienced stuff that I can't even find references for on google or anywhere else.

wont guards and cityfolk level with me? ie making it harder to kill them?
Or are they already at max power at the start?

I think they(unnamed guards) level up with you, but, they're probably, like Oblivion, scaled several levels ahead of you. The point would be that at low levels, you probably won't have the equipment to overcome the level gap.

[SuperNull]

wont guards and cityfolk level with me? ie making it harder to kill them?
Or are they already at max power at the start?

Level scaling is not how it was in Oblivion.
Any zone has a minimum and a maximum level in Skyrim. You can never encounter opponents more powerful then x in zone y, unless there is a special condition like a quest. I have no idea how it works with guards though.

[tikki50]

Hey I had the same problem 15 try's and I did it and there were 6 of them sometimes sticky fingers costs ya. You need to play them a bit smarter and try to lure them one by one have lots of potions and don't be afraid to run don't just back peddle it's too slow. I ended up leveling and took the duel spell and fried them with back up magic potions and used the first shout to stall them. Honestly they have gold and equipment it's almost a bonus to steal in my eyes. And now, I have some ice cold revenge to serve up and I'm hunting the contact person down. I won't lie it wasn't easy.

[Frogmander]

your not going to be one hitting guards for a LONG time, people who hit hard hit slow, learn to dodge. I play on master difficulty and I honestly find it to be really easy the first 10 levels, not sure why so many people are having troubles with novice O.o, just make sure to dodge attacks especially if you are a dual wield user, sitting there taking hits is a bad idea

[Daemos Avetorii]

Just got shredded by a snow troll.
This game is profoundly unbalanced and needs a patch asap...

[Wolfie]

The trolls are sopouse to be that tough, its not like oblivion some guys are to tough to fight form the get go, no patch is needed

[Akiraka]

Just got shredded by a snow troll.

They hit hard, but, like the most the enemies in the game, also have a glass jaw. Stay in the pocket at keep attacking. Use that stun. Also, Fire.

EDIT: They're also pretty daft, and I assume you play for stealth, yeah? If you can pick 'em at range they go down quite easy.

[Modryn]

Are you still level 1-6? If you are I think you're getting ahead of yourself. Some stuff isn't meant to be fought at such low levels. Snow Trolls are pretty strong creatures, I'm level 29 right now and they can still be troublesome if I underestimate them, I can barely even take on a Centurion, those require tactical play on my behalf if I want too stand a chance.

[Akiraka]

Are you still level 1-6? If you are I think you're getting ahead of yourself. Some stuff isn't meant to be fought at such low levels.

QFT. Todd expressly said that this game will not be like Oblivion: Some areas are meant to be prohibitively difficult based on your level.

[Daemos Avetorii]

I had a level 3 nord. with a big axe and steel armor

[born2beagator]

I had a level 3 nord. with a big axe and steel armor

and there is your problem.

[strobacaxi]

Just got shredded by a snow troll.
This game is profoundly unbalanced and needs a patch asap...

They are supposed to. Trolls are far more powerful than dragons during the first levels. So are Giants or bears.

If you see a troll, just try to run away.

At level 3 you just can't fight a troll. No way in the world. In level 12 with a pure mage I can only do it by summoning an atronach.

Oh, and if you feel insecure in the beggining, get a companion.

[Akiraka]

I had a level 3 nord. with a big axe and steel armor

There's your problem. I've been making light of the game's difficulty, but I also have Lydia and make ample use of Sneak Attacks with my bow.
A level 3 anything, alone, against a Frost Troll is a no.

[Daemos Avetorii]

Why? in oblivion I could fling trolls around like nothing. Why not here?

[Akiraka]

Why? in oblivion I could fling trolls around like nothing. Why not here?

Because the game was designed not to work like that.