How to Join the Thieves Guild in ESO: Your Guide to Stealing

One of the most difficult things about Elder Scrolls Online is making an honest living. You’ve got stuff you want to do in the game: buy your own house, acquire some upgrades to your gear, and get that awesome mount. To deal in stolen goods and to essentially join the Thieves Guild, you’ll want to find an Outlaw Refuge.

What is an Outlaws Refuge in ESO and Where Do I Find One?

Outlaws Refuges are basically thieves’ dens. You can go there to sell stolen merchandise, and it’s one of the easiest ways to make money in ESO. On your map, look for a trident-esque symbol — a three-headed spear.

At these Outlaws Refuges, you can find a Fence. Fences are merchants who deal only in stolen goods.

Outlaws Refuges are common and located in Wrothgar, Vvardenfell, The Rift, Summerset, Stormhaven, Ailk’r Desert, Auridon, Bangkorai, Stonefalls, Shadowfen, Rivenspire, Clockwork City, Craglorn, Deshaan, Eastmarch, Glenumbra (a popular starting location), Reaper’s March, Northern Elsweyr, Malabal Tor, Hew’s Bane Gold Coast, Grahtwood, Greenshade, and Hew’s Bane.

How Do Fenced or Stolen Items Work?

When you steal items from people, or when you find certain items which are already marked as stolen, they will have the stolen symbol on them. You can only sell these items to a Fence (usually found only in the Outlaws Refuges), but due to the risk of carrying them, they are worth a lot of money. Hot goods can get you in trouble.

Occasionally you will get quests unrelated to the Thieves Guild which ask you to steal, find, or recover things. In those instances, the items don’t count as “stolen,” but as quest items.

Some Fences can legitimize or launder your items, making them appear suddenly not stolen!

How to Steal Items From Places or Chests in ESO

When in a home, looking in a random chest, etc. it is possible you will come across a stolen item. Stealing in this case is easy: you pick up the item. However, if you are caught with the item, your choice can have consequences.

You must avoid being seen while you do this, or a guard could catch you.

How to Pickpocket in ESO

To steal by pickpocketing, you’ll want to find a yellow outline NPC. Go into sneak mode (using CTRL on PC, or by clicking the correct keybind) and sneak up on them from behind. Your hidden indicator will let you know if you are truly hidden. Once you get ready to pickpocket, you’ll see a percentage chance, which represents the chance you have of successfully completing the pickpocket.

If you successfully complete the pickpocketing, you have to take the item to a Fence to sell it.

If you do not complete the pickpocketing successfully:

• The NPC may attack you (you may or may not win)
• A guard may attempt to arrest you.

What Are the Consequences of Stealing in ESO?

If you’re caught stealing, you will face consequences, especially from the practically invincible guards you see everywhere.

If you fight and kill an NPC you steal from and someone witnesses it, they might throw in and start to attack you. You can generate a mob that will easily kill you this way, even if the individual NPCs aren’t too tough.

These updates came to Elder Scrolls Online in 2016. You do not need to purchase additional DLC to work with the Justice System / Thieves Guild — instead, you need to have an active game membership to access the content.

If a guard catches you, they’ll tell you to pay a bounty and they will confiscate the stolen good(s). You can pay it and accept a bounty level. You can also flee the guard, but doing this successfully is challenging.

Bounty Levels in ESO

If you become a notorious criminal, especially among the guards, you get bounty levels. The lower right of your screen displays your bounty level. If you have an upstanding bounty level or disreputable bounty level, you are free to go about your business for the most part. I recommend completing other quests when you are “disreputable.” If you have a notorious or fugitive level, you should actively hide out. The Outlaws Refuge is the perfect place to do this — but of course, if you’re like me, you might want to thieve at the end of your gaming session so you can head to the Refuge and just log off when you’re done or when you have reached a high bounty level.

Bounty levels are as follows:

• Fugitive: Guards will kill you on sight. The end.
• Notorious: Guards will accost you and make you pay your bounty. They will rush over to you as soon as they spot you.
• Disreputable: If you approach a guard, you’ll have to pay the bounty.
• Upstanding: This is the default setting. In the eyes of Tamriel and the law, you’ve done nothing wrong! Everyone starts with this bounty level.

Another way to avoid paying a large bounty is to sell frequently at the Outlaws Refuge and immediately bank your money. Then you’re not out much if forced to pay a bounty. Note that Fence merchants can also remove your bounty for money.

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Happy thieving!