How To Get a Powerful Sword in Skyrim: A Comprehensive Guide
The quest for a truly powerful sword in Skyrim is a journey in itself, a pursuit that takes you through treacherous dungeons, across snowy peaks, and into the very heart of ancient mysteries. There’s no single “best” sword that will magically appear, instead, obtaining a weapon of legendary strength involves a combination of leveling, exploration, crafting, and a little bit of luck. To get a powerful sword in Skyrim, you need to focus on a multi-faceted approach: leveling up your character, improving your smithing skills, exploring the world for unique weapons, and enchanting your gear. Here’s a detailed breakdown:
Character Level and Weapon Tier
Level Matters
The type of weapons you find in Skyrim is directly tied to your character level. As you level up, more powerful weapon materials become available, both in loot drops and from vendors. For example, you won’t start finding Ebony or Daedric weapons right away. Instead, you’ll begin with basic Iron and Steel, gradually transitioning through Elven, Dwarven, Orcish, Glass, and then onto the more powerful materials. Reaching higher levels unlocks better base damage potential.
Weapon Types and Material Progression
- Early Game: Focus on Iron, Steel, and possibly Silver.
- Mid Game: Start looking for Elven, Dwarven, and Orcish.
- Late Game: Aim for Glass, Ebony, Dragonbone, and Daedric.
This progression means that simply playing the game and leveling your character is crucial. You’ll naturally find better weapons just by progressing through the storyline and side quests.
Smithing and Upgrades
The Power of the Forge
Your Smithing skill is a critical factor in obtaining a truly powerful sword. By improving your smithing skill, you not only unlock the ability to craft higher-tier weapons but also dramatically improve existing ones. At a basic level you can sharpen iron blades but as you increase your Smithing perk tree you can learn to create Daedric and Dragonbone weapons and armor.
Upgrading Your Weapons
Even if you find a great sword through looting, it won’t reach its full potential until you upgrade it at a forge. Using smithing supplies, such as ingots of the same material as your weapon, you can increase its damage output significantly. This is essential for keeping pace with enemy difficulty scaling and making use of any unique weapon you find.
Unique and Enchanted Weapons
Unique Swords: A Treasure Hunt
Skyrim is filled with unique swords with special names and enchantments. These swords can be incredibly powerful, often far exceeding the base stats of generic weapons. Some are awarded as quest rewards while others are hidden within the world waiting to be discovered. A notable sword from the article is the Dragonbane katana, an ideal weapon for taking down dragons, acquired during the “Alduin’s Wall” quest, which causes extra damage and includes a shock enchantment, making it powerful against dragons as well as regular enemies.
Enchantments: Adding Another Layer of Power
Enchanting your sword can dramatically increase its effectiveness. While you may find enchanted weapons as you play, you can also learn to enchant your weapons by disenchanting other enchanted items to learn the effect. Once you know the effect you can enchant any weapon you want with the effect. The article suggests the Absorb Health enchantment as the best, giving you a way to keep your health up in long battles.
Location Matters
Some locations are better for finding powerful gear, whether through looting or as quest rewards. Exploring ancient ruins and Dwemer structures, for example, can lead to unique finds. You may need to complete questlines or fight strong enemies to gain access to these powerful weapons. The article mentions Bolar’s Oathblade being found in Markarth and Chillrend being found in Riften during a Thief’s guild quest, for example.
Related FAQs
1. What’s the strongest sword in Skyrim?
While there’s no single “strongest” sword that applies universally, the Dragonbane katana stands out for its effectiveness against dragons, dealing extra damage and adding shock damage. However, Miraak’s Sword, obtained after defeating Miraak, is another contender due to its unique ability to release a tentacle that can damage and knock down foes. The Daedric weapons can have the highest base damage but will require a lot of smithing to make the most of them.
2. Where can I find a good sword early in the game?
Bolar’s Oathblade is an excellent early-game option, found in Markarth. Additionally, the enchanted dwarven sword within the Dwemer Museum in Markarth can prove useful if you complete the short quest from Calcelmo to get into the museum.
3. Can I craft a katana in Skyrim?
Unfortunately, you cannot craft a katana in the base game. However, you can obtain the Dragonbane and another unique katana by defeating Harkon in the Dawnguard DLC. Both of these katanas can be improved through smithing.
4. How do I get a Daedric sword?
You can obtain Daedric weapons by looting Dremora at the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon, by crafting them using the Atronach Forge or by increasing your Smithing to 100 to be able to craft them directly.
5. What’s the best enchantment for a sword in Skyrim?
The Absorb Health enchantment is arguably the best, allowing you to recover health with each strike. This can greatly enhance your survivability in combat and save on potions.
6. How do I improve my Smithing skill quickly?
The fastest ways to level up your smithing include crafting items like Dwarven Bows and jewelry, using the Warrior Stone and sleeping in an owned bed, and utilizing skills that provide smithing buffs (such as using potions or items enchanted with smithing).
7. What is the most expensive weapon in Skyrim?
The Daedric Warhammer of Annihilating is one of the most expensive weapons, due to its high base damage and potent enchantment, however you will usually find better weapons yourself rather than trying to buy them from vendors.
8. Why did my weapon’s damage decrease?
A decrease in your weapon damage usually indicates you were previously using gear that provided fortified weapon skills (such as a piece of gear that gave you +20% to one-handed weapons), which you are no longer wearing. If you remove this gear, the damage output will naturally drop.
9. What is the strongest one-handed weapon in Skyrim?
The Dragonbone Mace boasts the highest base damage for a one-handed weapon, however as it is a mace it’s more likely to be effective in combat versus a sword. For a sword you will most likely want the Daedric Sword which has a high base damage.
10. Can you dual wield swords effectively in Skyrim?
Yes, you can dual-wield swords for increased attack speed, although you won’t be able to block with a shield. While the attack animations are fast, most find that a weapon and a shield or the use of spells works best.
11. Is Dragon armor better than Daedric armor?
Daedric armor has the highest base armor rating (108) but also the highest weight (96), while Dragonplate armor has a slightly lower rating (102) but lower weight (79) making it a little more maneuverable. The choice often comes down to player preference, with some prefering the slightly higher armor rating while others prefer the added mobility.
12. What is the best weapon to dual wield in Skyrim?
While personal preference plays a role, hatchets are often considered the best for dual-wielding because of their speed-to-damage ratio and the fact they are found frequently amongst the Forsworn enemies.
13. How do you turn Ebony gear into Daedric gear?
You can transform Ebony gear into Daedric gear at the Atronach Forge, found in the College of Winterhold, by using the correct materials such as a Daedra heart, a greater soul gem and a centurion dynamo core.
14. What makes a sword good against undead in Skyrim?
A Silver Sword is an excellent option against undead, as it deals extra damage to them. Many other unique weapons have enchantments such as fire damage which are also effective against undead.
15. Where can I find the Chillrend sword?
You can find Chillrend in a secret room under Riftweald Manor in Riften, accessible during the Thieves’ Guild quest “The Pursuit.” It is located within an expert level locked display case.
In conclusion, obtaining a powerful sword in Skyrim requires a mixture of perseverance, exploration, and a deep understanding of the game’s mechanics. By leveling your character, mastering smithing, seeking out unique weapons, and understanding how enchantments work, you’ll be well on your way to wielding a truly formidable blade. Good luck, Dragonborn!