The improvement of armor and weapons requires one smithing material per item improved. Combining both alchemy and enchanting to improve one another and then combining both to improve Smithing as much as possible can be very powerful. So the bonus is significantly larger on the armor on someone with the corresponding skill.Īlchemy and Enchanting can improve results significantly via the Fortify Smithing effect allowing for greater improvements at a given level than the table shows. The skill related to the item will also affect how much it does. Items can still be improved once they reach Legendary, but the description will not change.Įach additional quality level beyond Legendary improves Armor by 3.6 and other items (weapons, helms, boots, etc.) by 1.8. The table shows what quality improvement an item will achieve based on Smithing level and if the Smithing perk for the item is taken or not. ** Bonemold armor can be created with Steel Smithing, Chitin armor can be created with Elven Smithing, Nordic armor and weapons can be created with Advanced Armors, and Stalhrim armor and weapons can be created with Ebony Smithing if The Elder Scrolls V: Dragonborn is installed.

* Dragonbone weapons can only be created if The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard is installed. Magical weapons and armor can now be improved.Ĭan create Elven armor and weapons at forges, and improve them twice as much.Ĭan create scaled and steel plate armor at forges, and improve them twice as much.Ĭan create glass armor and weapons at forges, and improve them twice as much.Ĭan create Dwarven armor and weapons at forges, and improve them twice as much.Ĭan create Orcish armor and weapons at forges, and improve them twice as much.Ĭan create ebony armor and weapons at forges, and improve them twice as much.Ĭan create daedric armor and weapons at forges, and improve them twice as much.Ĭan create dragon armor and weapons* at forges, and improve them twice as much. In spite of the shape of the perk constellation implying otherwise, perks explicitly list their prerequisites (Daedric Smithing requires Ebony Smithing be taken first, and so forth).Ĭan create steel armor and weapons at forges, and improve them twice as much. The following chart lists the perks that become available to the Dragonborn as the skill is leveled up. There is also armor Enchanting which, depending on one's enchanting ability, can grant a much higher smithing ability as long as the user is wearing it. First are potions, which temporarily increases the smithing ability. There are multiple objects and potions which benefit smithing within Skyrim. This means each level costs proportionately more than the previous one. The Smithing skill levels according to an exponential curve. Trainers Main article: Trainers (Skyrim) LevelĬomplete the ' Take Up Arms' quest for The Companions.įort Dawnguard after completing ' A New Order'

' Unfathomable Depths' grants the Ancient Knowledge Active Effect, which increases the rate of skill gain for Smithing by 15%.

Retrieve The Last Scabbard of Akrash for Ghorza gra-Bagol in Markarth.

Retrieve Night Falls on Sentinel for Rustleif in Dawnstar.

Retrieve Queen Freydis's Sword for Oengul War-Anvil in Windhelm.

Retrieve Rjorn's Drum for Giraud Gemane at the Bards College in Solitude.

The following quests increase or help to increase the Smithing skill: Next time one of my shields deflects a killing blow, they'll change their tune.' ― Balimund 'People say I'm making gold off of other people's misery, but what else would I do? Smithing is all I know.

Grindstone – Used to improve weapons with ingots or leather strips.

Workbench – Used to improve armor and shields with ingots or leather.

Forge and anvil – Used to craft armor, weapons, and jewelry from ingots and other materials.

Tanning Rack – Used to create leather from animal hides and leather strips from leather.

Smelter – Used to craft ores or Dwemer scrap metal into ingots.

See the individual station pages for more specific locations. They are also frequently found in forts and dungeons or outside mines. These stations, required for various stages in the smithing process, can be found in any main city and most villages. The tools listed below roughly outlines the end-to-end process.

Knowledge of new recipes can be acquired only through perks but some are available automatically. Input materials can be found in the world or purchased from vendors. The process can be started at any intermediate stage if the right items are obtained, but every stage requires input materials, knowledge of the build, and its own tool. Smithing is a multistage process with the number of stages depending on what items are being crafted and how raw the materials are.

Anvil weight for blacksmithing