You’re standing in the Imperial Palace, the Elder Scroll is tucked under your arm, and your only way out is a vertical drop that would turn any normal person into a pancake. If you’re playing the Thieves Guild questline in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, this is the moment where the Boots of Springheel Jak are supposed to "save" you. They break, you survive, and you lose one of the most broken items in the game forever.
Honestly, it's a terrible trade.
Most players just follow the script. They get the boots from Jakben, Earl of Imbel, use them for the leap in the "Ultimate Heist," and watch them vanish from their inventory. But if you’ve spent any time in the Oblivion community lately—especially with the 2026 interest in the Remaster—you know that keeping these boots is the real pro move.
The Myth and the Math
The Boots of Springheel Jak grant a massive +50 bonus to your Acrobatics skill. In a game where movement is everything, that’s huge. It’s the difference between hopping over a fence and leaping onto a roof to escape a swarm of guards.
The boots are named after a legendary thief, but as you find out during the quest, the "legendary thief" is still very much alive. Well, undead. Jakben is actually a vampire who has been hiding in the Talos Plaza District for centuries. Basically, he is the original Springheel Jak.
If you’re a lore nerd, you’ve probably noticed the references. "Jakben, Earl of Imbel" is a pun on the nursery rhyme Jack be nimble. Even the name Springheel Jak is a nod to the Victorian urban legend of Spring-heeled Jack, the devil-like figure who terrorized London with his 15-foot leaps. Bethesda wasn't exactly being subtle here.
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Why everyone gets the "Ultimate Heist" wrong
During the final Thieves Guild mission, the Gray Fox tells you that you must wear the boots to survive the fall down the chimney chute. Most people take this as a hard gameplay rule. It’s not.
The game checks for one thing: are you wearing the boots when you hit the ground? If yes, the boots are destroyed, and your health stays intact. If no, you take standard fall damage.
Here’s the kicker: if your Acrobatics is high enough (around 100) or if you have enough Health, you can survive that fall without the boots. You can even use a Fortify Health potion or a "Slowfall" style effect to tank the damage. By simply taking the boots off mid-air, you keep them forever. They stay in your inventory as a permanent +50 Acrobatics tool.
Glitching Your Way to Godhood
If you want to get really weird with it, there are ways to make the Boots of Springheel Jak effect permanent without even wearing them.
There’s an old exploit involving the quest "Through a Nightmare, Darkly" in Bravil. If you enter the dream world while wearing the boots, the game sometimes glitches when it strips your gear. When you wake up, the +50 Acrobatics buff stays on your character sheet, but the boots are back in your inventory, unequipped.
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- Permanent Buffs: You can stack this with other gear to reach Acrobatics levels the developers never intended.
- The Sanguine Trick: Another method involves the Sanguine Daedric quest. If you get arrested while the boots are equipped during the "party" event, the game can get confused, leaving the stat bonus behind.
Is it cheating? Sorta. But in a single-player game from 2006 that we're all still playing in 2026, it’s basically a feature.
Dealing with Jakben (The Easy Way)
When you first go to Jakben’s house, he acts like a coward. He gives you the key to his family crypt and tells you the boots are down there.
They aren't.
You’ll fight through a bunch of vampires only to find an empty coffin and a diary. The diary reveals that Jakben has been wearing the boots the whole time. As soon as you finish reading, he attacks you.
Pro tip: You don't actually have to go into the basement. If you’re feeling impatient, you can just kill Jakben in his study the moment you meet him. You’ll have to pay a "Blood Price" to the Thieves Guild later, but if you’ve got the gold, it saves you a trip into a dusty tomb full of bloodsuckers.
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Is it worth the hassle?
You’ve got to ask yourself if jumping like a superhero is worth potentially breaking your save or feeling like a cheeseball.
For most, the answer is a resounding yes. The Boots of Springheel Jak represent the peak of Oblivion's "broken" charm. They turn the world into a playground. Instead of walking through the streets of Skingrad, you’re jumping from balcony to balcony.
If you’re planning on doing the Shivering Isles DLC, these boots are almost mandatory for just messing around in Bliss and Crucible. Just don't try to use them to survive Sheogorath's "Execution" fall. Trust me, the Mad God has safeguards against your fancy footwear. You’ll still die.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're currently holding the boots, stop. Don't go to the Imperial Palace yet. First, make sure your Acrobatics skill is at least 70+. Go find some Fortify Health scrolls or potions.
When you get to the chimney chute in the Imperial Palace, save your game. Jump. Open your inventory mid-fall and unequip the Boots of Springheel Jak. If you die, reload and pop a health potion right before you hit the ground. Once you land and see the quest update message, check your boots. If they aren't "broken" or gone, you’ve successfully pulled off the greatest heist in the game. You've stolen the boots from the script itself.