Stealing in ESO just became a lot less profitable with yesterday’s v2.06 patch.

Yesterday, ZeniMax Online Studios (ZOS) launched v2.06, an incremental game patch that fixed a number of issues (you can read the full game patch notes here). Among the fixes was a Justice System tweak that nerfed the amount of money a thief could make stealing armor and weapons.

Stealing In ESO

While most ESO thieves (myself included) were concentrating on picking pockets and looting barrels, a Skyrim Fansite reader named Ryan first suggested to me that large amounts of money could be made by pilfering weapons and armor from Tamriel vendors. Turns out he was absolutely correct, and stealing in ESO truly became a means to make a lot of money in a relatively short period of time. A thief could maintain a steady revenue stream by simply stealing swords, axes, helmets, shields, and the like from unwary vendors. A thieves pockets could be filled quickly, and fences would pay top gold. In The Elder Scrolls Online, crime really did pay.

v2.06 Patch Nerf

Other players besides Ryan had adopted a similar play style, as evidenced in this ESO forum thread. Ransacking armor and weapon vendors may have perhaps been one of the better kept secrets in Tamriel, but ZOS put a damper on the practice with the v2.06 patch. As of yesterday morning, the devs:

Reduced the monetary value of stolen armor and weapons to approximately one third of the original value.

Players can still make money stealing in ESO, just not as much. By slashing the value of stolen armor and weapons, thieves wishing to pursue this play style will basically have to steal 3 times as much to make a similar amount of money.

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Final Thoughts

So what do the readers of the Skyrim Fansite have to say about this latest fix? When stealing in ESO, did you plan your heists around armor and weapon vendors? Now that the practice has been nerfed, how will you make up the lost revenue from stealing? Share your thoughts and opinions in the Speak Your Mind section below. Until next time fellow travelers!