If Sneak experience earned by sneak attacks is based on number of hits, then it may be more efficient to use a weaker weapon.
Is experience gained based on the damage dealt, or number of hits?
Sneak attack experience based on damage or number of hits
the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim
Related Solutions
This was easy enough to test.
I equipped a weak hunting bow (I'm an archer so I'd probably 1 shot any normal npc with my usual bow), and found the nearest NPC that had no helmet on (just on the off chance that helmets can prevent head shots for some reason.)
I used getav health to read the NPC's health for every shot.
Bullseye!
She took 79 damage regardless where I hit her, so no, there's no extra damage for headshots.
My tested locations:
- Nose
- Hand
- Feet
- Stomach
A Sneak Attack is not the same thing as a Power Attack. However, you can perform a power attack while sneaking. These power attacks are affected by all of the normal modifiers.
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Best Answer
Successful sneak attacks give the biggest skill increases. Melee sneak attacks give 12x as much as ranged sneak attacks. The amount is flat per sneak attack and does not depend on the damage done.
Source: UESP.