The Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim - Smithing Guide
THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM
SMITHING GUIDE
(PC)
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By Matty_G33 of GameFAQs
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If all of these numbers are on one line, then this guide should be formatted
correctly. Otherwise, let me know right away.
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Version History
---------------
1.0 - 28th November, 2011
-Full guide up.
1.2 - 8th December, 2011
-Added tables regarding weapon/armor qualities and materials.
-Added a section regarding what weapons can't be crafted or upgraded.
-Made a small list of some places with rare ore.
-Other misc. information altered or added.
1.3 - 31st December, 2011
-Added a small section on how to overkill Smithing itself.
-Added an ASCII image at the top. Thanks GlassGiant.com for making things
simple with a generator.
-Added Gloombound Mine to the list of ore locations. This one favors Ebony, as
10+ emails and GameFAQ's PM's combined have said.
1.4 - 14th April, 2012
-Minor changes made all around, namely the FAQ's section.
-Major changes in the mods section.
-Grinding Iron Daggers is no longer recommended as of Patch 1.5. Check Section
3.2 for more info.
1.5DG - 15th August, 2012
-Removed modding section; didn't think it was necessary. A comprehensive mod
list that links elsewhere takes it place.
-Added in content for Dawnguard, the first major DLC. Sorry it took so long,
PC users had to wait after all.
-----
To do
-----
-Tidy up and correct Dawnguard information if wrong
-Add recipes in for the sake of completion
-----------------
Table of Contents
-----------------
PROTIP - Type in the prefix number on the left with the Find feature on your
browser (Ctrl + F) to reach that section faster.
1.0 - Introduction
1.1 - What is Smithing?
2.0 - Smithing Basics
2.1 - Weapon & Armor Quality List
2.2 - Facilities/Equipment
2.3 - Skill Perks
2.3.1 - 'Light' Branch
2.3.2 - 'Heavy' Branch
2.3.3 - Other Perks
2.4 - What you can't upgrade
2.5 - What Dawnguard Adds
3.0 - Smithing Tips & Tricks
3.1 - Ore, Ingots, Whatnot
3.2 - Raising Smithing Faster
3.3 - Light vs Heavy: The Two Perk Branches
3.4 - Maximizing Smithing
4.0 - FAQ
4.1 - Closing
4.2 - Credits, Legal, Useful Links, Etc
----------------
1.0 INTRODUCTION
----------------
Welcome to my Smithing Guide. It has been quite some time since I last wrote
a guide for GameFAQs, and felt like doing another one again.
In Skyrim, Smithing itself is rather easy to pick up, but it's also a skill
that screams "grind, grind, grind!". After all, you can get the best, top-tier
equipment and can improvise gear to make combat less tougher. The perks for
Smithing are divided into two sides, with one having a focus on materials that
make Light Armor while the other focuses on Heavy Armors, with a perk that
allows enchanted gear to be improvised in between the two.
The guide, assuming I've got enough motivation, is not always complete and will
be updated with more information overtime. Of course, I don't always want to
rip out content from other websites without permission, and check below to see
how you can contribute, if you want to.
It is also worth noting that this guide was written with the PC version in
mind, but other than different button layouts and the lack of mod installation,
this shouldn't be much different to the 360 or PS3 versions of Skyrim.
---------------------
1.1 WHAT IS SMITHING?
---------------------
In Skyrim, Smithing is obviously the crafting skill of the Combat category,
and lets you create weaponry and armor, as well as improve them. This skill
replaces Armorer from the previous games, which was responsible for how
effective you were at repairing equipment - Skyrim does not have a repairing
system and has the more-or-less tedious Smithing to take it's place.
This skill should be highly considered to any player using ANY kind of weapon
or armor. The benefits of Smithing include:
-Upgrading your gear; you cannot find higher qualiity armor of the same kind
as loot (IE - you will never find Superior quality Leather Armor on a dead
bandit).
-The possibility of obtaining some of the best gear many levels earlier
before finding them as random loot.
-In the end, making whatever stuff YOU want to have on demand, if you have
the minerals and leather to make it.
The only real backdraw is that this might make some players unsatisfied. After
all, you just put things together to eventually create draconic and demonic
equipment.
---------------------
2.0 - SMITHING BASICS
---------------------
Smithing is simple. Go to any piece of blacksmith equipment in the game, and
then create or upgrade your items from there, provided you have the right
items. There is no minigame at all, if you have the equipment for an Iron
Dagger, then you'll instantly create one and use up what it took to make it.
When upgrading equipment, your Smithing skill depends on how powerful the
upgrade will be. Magic stuff can't be upgraded unless you have the right perk.
Any upgraded equipment will have a suffix added on to the end of the weapon.
The following quality types, their bonuses, and the skill required are:
------------------------------------------------------------------
| -Quality | Armor | Weapon | W/O Perk Req | With Perk Req* |
------------------------------------------------------------------
| -Normal | None | None | None | None |
| -Fine | +2 | +1 | None | None |
| -Superior | +6 | +3 | ~30 | 22 |
| -Exquisite | +10 | +5 | ~60 | ~40 |
| -Flawless | +13 | +7 | ~100 | ~55 |
| -Epic | +17 | +8 | 150 | 74 |
| -Legendary | +20** | +10**| 196 | ~90 |
------------------------------------------------------------------
Credit to plenty of the information on the table is given towards the site
'The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages', linked below in Section 4.2.
*Having a perk for a particular weapon/armor material requires a lower number
than normal to hit a better quality.
**Legendary gear can be upgraded even further for more ridiculous bonuses.
Initially, all players will have access to Hide, Studded, Leather, Iron, and
Jewelery categories. Because these do not have any perks for upgrading them
better, these are only really useful for the start of the game until a better
item from a different material can be crafted.
It is worth noting that there is an in-game Smithing tutorial in the first
village in the game - talk to Alvor, the local blacksmith. The smiths in
Whiterun and Falkreath can also teach you.
---------------------------------
2.1 - WEAPON & ARMOR QUALITY LIST
----------------------------------
It's worth noting what materials are better than which. If you have played
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, then you should know what to expect, with
relatively minor changes.
There are other kinds of armor and weapons, such as Forsworn Armor, Ancient
Nord Swords and Skyforge Steel, but I'll mentioning only relevant materials
that aren't that unique.
Level found references to the random loot lists, such as chests and higher
leveled enemies. These are rough estimations. Keep in mind that you can always
find particular materials lower than your own level; being Lv27+ for example
doesn't mean all non-special weapons wielded by NPC's are Glass. Also, some
NPC's can have set weapon/armor types before you can even find them naturally.
-------
Weapons
-------
Every succeeding quality essentially adds one more point of base damage and
weight. However, upgrading them will show a bigger gap in damage between types
if your Smithing is good enough.
Keep in mind that a 'Longbow' and a 'Hunting Bow' are essentially Iron and
Steel Bows, respectively.
-----------------------------
| -Material | Level Found |
-----------------------------
| -Iron | Lv1 |
| -Steel | Lv2 |
| -Orcish | Lv5~ |
| -Dwarven | Lv12* |
| -Elven | Lv20~ |
| -Glass | Lv27 |
| -Ebony | Lv35~ |
| -Daedric | Lv45~ |
| -Dragonbone| N/A** |
-----------------------------
Furthermore, it is worth noting that while each progressing material have their
bows stronger, they take longer to draw all the way back, with Daedric taking
twice as longer to do so in comparison to a Longbow.
*You can still find random Dwarven weapons in Dwemer ruins I believe.
**Dragonbone weapons are part of the Dawnguard DLC, and can only be crafted.
They remain an exception to the rule of thumb regarding bows above; Dragonbone
Bows draw as fast as Dwarven ones.
-----------
Light Armor
-----------
--------------------------------------------
| -Material | Level Found | Perk? |
--------------------------------------------
| -Hide | Lv1 | No |
| -Fur | LV1 | No |
| -Studded | Lv1 | No |
| -Leather | Lv1* | No |
| -Elven | Lv12~ | Yes |
| -Scaled | Lv20~ | Yes |
| -Elven Gilded | Lv27~ | Yes |
| -Glass | Lv35~ | Yes |
| -Dragonscale | Lv45~ | Yes |
---------------------------------------------
*Leather Armor can be crafted any time during the game, but you can find it
as leveled loot later on.
-----------
Heavy Armor
-----------
--------------------------------------------
| -Material | Level Found | Perk? |
--------------------------------------------
| -Iron | Lv1 | No |
| -Banded Iron | Lv1 | No |
| -Steel | Lv5 | Yes |
| -Dwarven | Lv12* | Yes |
| -Steel Plate | Lv18 | Yes |
| -Orcish | Lv25~** | Yes |
| -Ebony | Lv30~ | Yes |
| -Dragonplate | Lv40~ | Yes |
| -Daedric | Lv50~ | Yes |
--------------------------------------------
*You can still find random Dwarven armor pieces hanging about in Dwemer ruins.
**Random pieces of Orcish Armor can be found laying around Orc Strongholds,
though it may count as stealing; there is no real way to launder it either
unless your pickpocket skill is good; place it on a Guard, then kill them
and it will remove the stolen tag.
Looking at these charts, you will realize you can get better weapons and armor
a LOT more earlier if you raise Smithing very quickly.
----------------------------
2.2 - FACILITIES/EQUIPMENT
----------------------------
Unlike Enchanting and Alchemy, Smithing uses more than one piece of equipment
to work at. NPC's will not complain if you use their facilities - provided
no hostiles are around, you are free to use any and all of them at any time
you like.
If an NPC is on any one of these, you merely need to activate the piece of
equipment and they will stop using it.
Here is a rundown of what you'll be using.
------------
Tanning Rack
------------
Uses: Creating Leather and Leather Strips
Involved Items: Animal Pelts
Rarity: Common
Without buying your crafting items from a merchant, the tanning rack by far is
by far one of the most important assets you'll use - practically everything
needs Leather Strips, and Light Armors need Leather itself.
Unlike Oblivion, Skyrim gives you a reason to carry animal pelts with you, and
this is obviously why. Anything that's at least a Fox's size* will do, bigger
animals give off more leather. Keep in mind that when making leather, the
result may be heavier than what you had before.
*Goat pelts can be used to make leather, but you'll need multiple pelts, which
leaves them less reliable for making leather. Plus attacking ones in towns
puts on a rather small bounty.
-------
Smelter
-------
Uses: Creating Ingots
Involved Items: Ore and scrap Dwemer metal
Rarity: Rare
If you've got any ore, you can use it to smelt them into ingots. It usually
takes two pieces of ore to make one piece, although only one to make Iron
Ingots.
Dwarven Metal Ingots on the other hand, are made from spare parts found in
Dwemer ruins.
These aren't plentiful around Skyrim, although they're usually found outside
mining areas more often than actually being inside holds.
-----
Forge
-----
Uses: Creating Weapons and Armor
Rarity: Common
This is where you'll be making all of your items. There isn't much to say about
this workstation, it's hard to miss.
Using a forge is the best way to get skill increases for Smithing.
Additionally, there is the rare Anvil, which functions the same as a forge,
only a lot less bigger, rather uncommon and easily overlooked.
----------
Grindstone
----------
Uses: Tempering weapons
Rarity: Common
Upgrade your weapons here. Upgrading only costs about one ingot of whatever
your weapon is made of.
Using this makes some progress towards the skill, but not a lot.
---------
Workbench
---------
Uses: Tempering armor
Rarity: Common
Upgrade your armors here. Like grindstones, you only need one material of what
your armor is made out of to upgrade.
Using this makes some little progress towards the skill as well.
--------------
Chopping Block
--------------
Uses: Obtaining firewood
Rarity: Semi-common
With a Woodcutter's Axe, you can obtain firewood. It's uses are not only to
sell to NPC's for gold, tempering a Longbow requires one piece and in the
Dawnguard DLC, is used to make arrows and crossbow bolts.
--------
Skyforge
--------
Uses: Same as a forge; allows special items to be crafted later
Rarity: One-of-a-kind
Initially, there is nothing special about the Skyforge, up in Whiterun. But,
if you complete the Companions' questline, you can create Nord Hero weapons
and Ancient Nord Armor. The former are lightweight Skyforge Steel essentially,
while the latter is merely lighter Iron Armor.
------------------
2.3 - SKILL PERKS
------------------
Smithing's tree of perks is relatively simple. All of the perks besides
Arcane Blacksmith are essentially 'able to create X series of armors and items,
and can improve them twice as much'.
The tree is fairly straight forward. On the left are your Light Armor related
perks (including one Heavy Armor recipie too), and on the right are your
Heavy Armor perks, both of them meeting up together at the final perk. Down
the center lies the perk to upgrade magic equipment.
Here's the rundown of perks, with their prerequisites and what major materials
take part in making them, as well as some advice about them. Note that all
items pretty much need Leather Strips, like I said before in the guide.
By 'improving them twice as much', this lowers the amount of skill you need to
get the next best quality for the material the perk covers.
For example, if I had 40 Skill and Elven Smithing, and tried to upgrade an
Elven Sword, it would go up to Exquisite, and trying to improve a Dwarven Sword
at the same time would only go up to Superior.
And now we start off with the initial perk you can obtain at any time:
--------------
Steel Smithing
--------------
Armor Type: Heavy
Prerequisite: None
Primary Materials: Steel Ingots, Iron Ingots
Note: Iron Ore and Corundum Ore are both needed to make your own Steel Ingots.
Compulsory to get other perks. Steel weapons aren't found too far away early
on either, with around 22 Smithing you can quickly get Superior quality, which
does add a small, although significant difference near the start of the game.
Skyforge Steel weapons, needless to say, are also augmented by the perk.
There are two styles of Steel Armor, one has pauldrons and one doesn't. There
are also boots and gauntlets with Imperial and Nordic designs, as well as a
helmet with horns and another without them. All of these still count towards
the 'Matching Set' perk if you mix and match.
Additionally, Steel Ingots cost as much as one piece of Corundum Ore.
Dawnguard always allows double-improvement of the new crossbows with this perk.
However, you'll still need to side with the Dawnguard themselves if you want
to actually craft one and the bolts to go with them.
Because this perk allows double-improvement of some gear, even if it is mostly
all low-tier, taking only this perk is more than a viable option; use Steel
or Wolf Armor (latter is a little lighter), Skyforge Steel or Dawnguard
weaponry, and Crossbows will be the strongest ranged means of attack.
----------------------
2.3.1 - 'LIGHT' BRANCH
----------------------
A branch with one less perk, this side is probably a lot more well-balanced
than the other, only it is in favor of Light Armor, aside from that one perk.
--------------
Elven Smithing
--------------
Armor Type: Light
Prerequisite: 30 Skill, Steel Smithing
Primary Materials: Refined Moonstone, Quicksilver Ingots
Secondary: Iron Ingots
Elven weapons are slightly more powerful than their Dwarven counterparts, but
are encountered a little later in the game and are more expensive to create.
Still, if you can track down Moonstone and Quicksilver ore early on, you can
get that advantage over them.
Elven Armor is the lightest set of any armor in the game, and offers alright
protection. Thalmor soldiers typically wear Elven Armor as well, but do note
that they have 'Elven Light Armor' instead; this variant is as strong as
Leather Armor, so don't be mistaken.
Quicksilver, by the way, is used to make Elven weapons, as well as the 'Gilded'
variant of the main piece of armor. This is slightly more protective than
Scaled, but it isn't affected by the Matching Set perk for Elven gear.
In Dawnguard, this perk is very handy for utilizing Auriel's Bow. Aside from
double-improvement, you also have to give 20 Elven Arrows to the appropriate
NPC's to make Sunhallowed and Bloodcursed Arrows. By the time you get there,
you can also get Ancient Falmer Armor, as strong as Glass but double-improved
with this perk.
---------------
Advanced Armors
---------------
Armor Type: Light & Heavy
Prerequisite: 50 Skill, Elven Smithing
Primary Materials: Corundum Ingots, Steel Ingots
Secondary: Iron Ingots
This one is funny, since it doesn't offer any new weapons to make and that it
offers you a set of Heavy Armor in the skill branch that provides Light. All of
these armors are made with Corundum, which is a lot more cheaper than the likes
of Moonstone, Quicksilver, and Malachite. Neither set contains a new shield.
Scaled Armor fits in between Elven and Glass armors for protection, but not by
a whole lot. That being said, it is certainly a lot more cheaper to craft in
comparison to both armors. It is essentially just less-revealing Hide/Studded
Armor, cosmetically.
Steel Plate on the other hand is nearly as good as Orcish Armor, but is more
heavier. Still, for a Light Armor user this may be useful if you have any
followers with you who prefer this type of armor, and players who use Heavy
and take this side might want to take up this new set.
Despite Scaled Armor having an alternative look, Scaled Horn Armor, you can't
craft it (and it has the same amount of protection) or temper it if you're
lucky enough to find it.
In Dawnguard, almost all the new armors are augmented by this perk.
--------------
Glass Smithing
--------------
Armor Type: Light
Prereqisite: 70 Skill, Advanced Armors
Primary Materials: Refined Malachite
Secondary: Refined Moonstone
The best weapon type you'll ever get in the Light Armor Smithing branch. And so
it happens that a Malachite mine happens to be en route of the main quest.
Glass Armor is significantly sturdier than Scaled.
When you can get this perk, your Smithing ability will be good enough to get
Epic quality weaponry - causing a big jump in weapon power and a significant
armor increase. It may not be Ebony or Daedric, but Glass is certainly not a
bad quality of weaponry to kill/murder with.
----------------------
2.3.2 - 'HEAVY' BRANCH
----------------------
This bit guarantees the best armor and weapons, but it starts off very slowly.
----------------
Dwarven Smithing
----------------
Armor Type: Heavy
Prerequisite: 30 Skill, Steel Smithing
Primary Materials: Dwarven Metal Ingots, Steel Ingots
Secondary: Iron Ingots
This one is pretty safe if you're a Heavy armor user. By the time you get this
perk (naturally, not intentionally boosting the skill that is), you'll already
encounter Dwemer-made weaponry and gear. Not that's a bad thing, because the
stuff will last you well until Ebony equipment if you're sticking to this side
of the tree.
Do keep in mind however, that Dwarven Armor is nearly as heavy as Daedric
Armor. The body piece of the armor weights about 45 units whilst Orcish merely
weights 35 and offers more protection! Weapons however, are fine in that
regard.
Dwemer metal isn't hard to come by either, just collect plenty of scraps and
ingots inside Dwemer ruins themselves. There's even a storage room without
any enemies near the eastern border of Skyrim.
In the Dawnguard DLC, players who side with the Dawnguard are able to find
schematics to craft a Dwarven Crossbow and matching bolts. By the time you can
craft one, you will also have access to all the elemental bolts, having a very
powerful ranged weapon in your hands.
---------------
Orcish Smithing
---------------
Armor Type: Heavy
Prequisite: 50 Skill, Dwarven Smithing
Primary Material: Orichalcum Ingots
Secondary: Iron Ingots
This is the perk I'm a bit funny about. Orcish weapons are actually weaker than
Dwarven ones, only the armor is stronger. Of course these differences are
slight, but still, that's kind of iffy especially considering Orichalcum Ingots
aren't as easy to obtain whilst Dwarven Metal is easier to obtain.
Still, Orcish weapons will be cheaper and more commonplace as random loot and
items in shops, and Orcish Armor is significantly lighter too; pretty much
outright superior when compared to Dwarven.
--------------
Ebony Smithing
--------------
Armor Type: Heavy
Prequisite: 80 Skill, Orcish Smithing
Primary Materials: Ebony Ingots
80 Smithing is quite far away from 50, isn't it? Still, when you get this perk
you'll be able to make Ebony Armor become Epic, and money shouldn't be so much
of a problem at this point.
Though if you don't think you're ready for an upgrade, or don't like the looks,
you may as well raise Smithing up until 90, it shouldn't be hard if you're up
here already.
----------------
Daedric Smithing
----------------
Armor Type: Heavy
Prequisite: 90 Skill, Ebony Smithing
Primary Materials: Ebony Ingots, Daedra Hearts
Yes, even you can forge demonic equipment that is top notch. Though Daedra
Hearts aren't easy to obtain, it's worth it. At least you don't need them to
temper. Now that would be painful.
This is the best Heavy Armor you can get your hands on, but also the heaviest.
The main piece weights 50 units alone!
Daedric is a bit funny on weapon quality, as the Maces and War Axes actually do
the same amount of damage as an Ebony one would, and those are lighter and
don't require a Daedra Heart to make.
Daedric Bows also have the slowest draw speed of any bow in the game.
Dragonbone weapons from the Dawnguard DLC have ousted Daedric in damage, but
Daedric still remains a few units lighter than those, so don't panic if you
have some already made, they aren't entirely outclassed by these new weapons.
-------------------
2.3.3 - OTHER PERKS
-------------------
Perks not aligned to either side.
-----------------
Arcane Blacksmith
-----------------
Prequisite: 60 Skill, Steel Smithing
This perk allows you to enchant magical armor. Why is this good? Because when
you find a good piece of armor with an enchantment you like, it's just really
convenient.
It's also ideal for improving any enchanted weapons you already own. Get this
perk ASAP.
------------
Dragon Armor
------------
Armor Type: Light and Heavy
Prequisite: 100 Skill, either Glass Smithing OR Daedric Smithing
Primary Materials: Dragon Scales (Armors), Dragon Bones (Heavy and Weapons)
Secondary: Iron Ingot (Dragonscale Armor), Ebony Ingot (Dragonbone Weapons)
Note: You cannot go to the skill on the opposite side after this one, despite
the circle-like appearance of the tree.
Dragon scales and bones may be heavy, but they are certainly more plentiful
than Ebony Ingots, Daedra Hearts, and Malachite, making gear made underneath
this perk outstanding stat-wise. By the time you get here, you also have 100
Smithing!
Dragonplate (Heavy) is slightly less protective than Daedric, but the exact
difference in armor rating is very tiny, and it weighs less, so it is pretty
much on par.
Dragonscale (Light) on the other hand is only slightly better than Glass, but
again the materials are easier to obtain. This is the armor you will be going
for if you picked the right-hand side whilst using Light Armor.
Dawnguard adds in a complete set of Dragonbone weapons. These are stronger
and easier to craft than Daedric weapons, the only backdraw being significantly
heavier. But that's it.
----------------------------
2.4 - WHAT YOU CAN'T UPGRADE
----------------------------
There are a few odd items which lack tempering recipies. Only mods on the PC
version can assign these to some; the only way it's possible for console users
would be through official patches, but that sounds unlikely, knowing Bethesda.
-----------------
Can't be Tempered
-----------------
-Silver Sword
-Silver Greatsword
This is an odd situation; especially since Silver Ingots are present in the
game.
-Skyforge Steel Dagger
-Nord Hero Bow
-Supple Ancient Nord Bow
-Ancient Nord Helmet
-Falmer Supple Bow
-Honed Falmer Sword
-Honed Falmer War Axe
-Studded Imperial Armor
-Shield of Solitude
-Wuuthrad
-Shield of Ysgramor
-Keening
-Ebony Blade
-Masque of Clavicus Vile
-Dragon Priest Dagger
-Drainblood Battleaxe
-Drainheart Sword
-Drainspell Bow
-Shiv
-The Woodsman's Friend
All of these do not have tempering recipies in the regular game.
------------------------
Can't be double-improved
------------------------
Noteworthy items that aren't augmented by any Smithing perk.
-Thieves Guild Armor
-Nightingale Armor and Weapons
-Guild Master Armor
-Shrouded Armor
These free armors gotten from joining the more notorious factions can only
get basic improvements; the main reason why to wear these armors are the
enchantments. After all, if you're joining either one, it is likely you haven't
built your character to withstand head-to-head combat.
-Mace of Molag Bal
-Mehrunes Razor
-Volendrung
-Dawnbreaker
-Spellbreaker
Funny enough, these Daedric artifacts don't have a perk assigned to them,
yet Savior's Hide and Ebony Mail do (both are tied to Ebony Smithing).
---Dawnguard Items---
-Dawnguard Rune Shield
-Aetherial Crown
-Aetherial Shield
Even though suitable perks for improvement would be obvious when you see the
item yourself, they don't get that much better.
-----------------------
2.5 WHAT DAWNGUARD ADDS
-----------------------
Bethesda's first major DLC for the game, Dawnguard, which costs $20 USD ($25
USD for Australia/New Zealand), introduces a few new things to Smithing.
--------------
Arrow Smithing
--------------
At any time after installing the DLC, you can craft arrows in bundles of 24.
The types you can craft depend on your current Smithing perks; for example,
Ebony Smithing allows you to craft Ebony Arrows. Simple as that.
All recipes require both the main ingot for the arrow type and one piece of
Firewood. However, Daedric Arrows require a Daedra Heat to go alongside an
Ebony Ingot and Firewood.
-----------------
Crossbows & Bolts
-----------------
The DLC's major feature, alongside the Vampire Lord transformation, is the
Dawnguard's specialty; the Crossbow, a weapon formerly only found in-game in
Morrowind. They run on bolts rather than arrows.
Considering this is a Smithing guide, I'm not going to go into detail about
how it performs; they are a different style when compared to bows, ore for
Fighters than Thieves to say the least.
There are some catches for crafting these. After all, it is regarded as a
'Dawnguard specialty' for a reason; initially you won't be able to craft a
crossbow and the bolts for it. For either side you pick, you still get a
complementary one and 45 bolts, though.
If you refuse the Vampire Lord power from Lord Harkon, you will get a quest
from Isran that involves recruiting his former friends. One of them in
particuar is Sorine Jurard, a Breton fascinated by Dwemer weaponry.
Once that quest is complete, she'll teach you how to make crossbow bolts if
you talk to her again. Sorine also has her own line of sidequests, all named
'Ancient Technology'. All of these lead to improvising crossbows, and are
radiant quests, so the location of the schematics for each one are all random.
If you can't make them because you lack the perks, Sorine will also sell any
of the bolts and crossbows you have 'unlocked' in her quests.
During Ancient Technology, you will first find the Enhanced Crossbow schematics
on the first quest, while the next three have you collecting some for the three
different elemental bolts. After that, the next schematics will be those of
the Dwarven Crossbow, while the final one will be its enhanced variant.
This gives a total of six quests.
The tables below show what crossbows and bolts you can craft:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| -Crossbow Type | Perk | Damage Equivalent To | Notes |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| -Crossbow | Steel | Elven Bow + Arrows* | None |
| -Enhanced Crossbow | Steel | Same as above | Ignores 50% of Armor |
| -Dwarven Crossbow | Dwarven | Ebony Bow + Arrows* | None |
| -Enhanced Dwarven | Dwarven | Same as above | Ignores 50% of Armor |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Both regular and enhanced crossbows can be crafted after the first Ancient
Technology quest. Dwarven regular and enhanced however have their own
separate quests.
*With matching bolt type
-------------------------------------------------------------------
| -Bolt Type | Crafting Requirements
-------------------------------------------------------------------
| -Steel Bolt | Sided with Dawnguard |
| -Dwarven Bolt | 5th Ancient Technology Quest*|
| -Exploding Steel Bolt, Fire | Ancient Technology Quest** |
| -Exploding Steel Bolt, Ice | See Above |
| -Exploding Steel Bolt, Shock | See Above |
| -Exploding Dwarven Bolt, Fire | 5th Ancient Technlogy Quest |
| -Exploding Dwarven Bolt, Ice | See Above |
| -Exploding Dwarven Bolt, Shock | See Above |
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bolts are made in lots of 10, with the main ingot + firewood and the matching
perk. Elemental bolts require Fire, Frost, or Void Salts alongside 10 bolts
of the same kind already made.
*Dwarven bolt crafting access is gotten when you can craft Dwarven Crossbows.
There is no need for more quests for exploding bolts. Regular Dwarven bolts
can be salvaged from defeated Dwarven Spheres.
**Each Steel exploding bolt has its own radiant quest.
------------------
Dragonbone Weapons
------------------
Those with the Dragon Armor perk can now make official Dragonbone weapons.
Slightly better than Daedric in damage and easier to make, at the cost of
being heavier; which also drains more Stamina with every power attack.
There is a full set; no weapon type is missed out on and there are appropriate
arrows for bow users. Speaking of which, the Dragonbone Bow draws faster than
a Daedric one.
Needless to say, there isn't a whole lot to say about these. After all, they
are merely more weapons crafted with Ebony Ingots and Dragon Bones.
-----
Misc.
-----
You can craft a Shellbug helmet, which is as tough as a Dragonplate helmet,
but lighter. Hack out the Shellbug chitin by using a pickaxe on them.
Dawnguard, Vampire, and both old and new Falmer armors are all augmented by
the Advanced Armors perk. 'Ancient Falmer Armor' is an exception, being
double-tempered by Elven Smithing instead.
Bone Hawk Amulets can also be crafted. It's mere jewelery, though.
----------------------------
3.0 - SMITHING TIPS & TRICKS
----------------------------
This part here focuses on advice for Smithing in general.
-Enchantments and potions that boost Smithing temporarily raise the skill, if
you were wondering. So this means that you can achieve a better quality than
what you currently can at whatever your skill is at. You can sometimes find
Blacksmith Potions/Draught/Elixir's in dungeons, or make them yourself. Like-
wise with enchanted gear that boosts the skill.
--Alvor, the smith in Riverwood, has two Blacksmith potions in his house's
basement, to your right when you go down the stairs. Taking them counts as
stealing.
-Fortifying smithing with said items past 'Legendary' quality DOES have an
affect. Additionally, you may already upgrade Legendary gear itself.
-The best way to fortify Smithing is to make an 'enchanted suit'. The items
that can be enchanted with the skill are:
--The main armor piece or clothing on the body
--Gloves and Gauntlets
--Rings
--Necklaces
I suggest having 5/5 Enchanter and the 'Insightful Enchanter' perks while using
Grand and Black Souls for maximum efficiency, as well as a high Enchanting
skill, obviously. At 4/5 Enchanter, Insightful and 70 Enchanting though, you
can make equipment that fortifies Smithing by 20% per piece.
Thanks to Roeguard for pointing this out.
-You can combo this up with Alchemy if you really wanted to - this will make
things even more insane. I personally don't do this, but for those interested,
check out section 3.5.
-There is a unique item called the 'Notched Pickaxe'. When held, this fortifies
your Smithing by 5, as well as causing little Shock Damage to your enemies.
This pickaxe is found at the VERY top of the Throat of the World, which also
happens to be next to some veins of Ebony and Malachite.
--This is a reference to Minecraft, and it's creator's internet alias, Notch.
--You can disenchant this and put it on more weapons, but remember that the
Smithing bonus is fixed - dual-wielding won't do anything as with using strong
souls, though the electrical enchant can be boosted.
*SPOILERS*
-A GameFAQs user, AirborneGaming, mentioned that with 90 Conjuration, you can
get a quest at the College of Winterhold, with a Sigil Stone as a reward. This
is used to upgrade the Atronach Forge underneath the college (you may have
seen it during the main questline).
What this has to do with Smithing is that you can upgrade Ebony equipment up
to Daedric - though the example recipie I was given sounds a bit more demanding
than the actual crafting recipie for Daedric Armor:
--Smithing - 1x Daedra Heart, 5x Ebony Ingots, 3x Leather Strips
--Atronach Forge - 1x Ebony Armor, 1x Daedra Heart, 1x Black Soul Gem, 1x
Centurion Core
It's probably easier to get Daedric Smithing whilst sticking with Dwavern,
Steel Plate, or Orcish Armors to save up Ebony Ingots. However, this still may
be handy for the odd Necromancer/Battlemage who already have Ebony and do not
want to use up more of it. Still, 90 Conjuration is a bit late and you can
probably find Daedric as random loot by then, provided you aren't intentionally
raising it over and over.
--The armor probably won't keep it's upgrades this way, as it is a new piece
of armor with the old one destroyed.
--------------------------
3.1 - ORE, INGOTS, WHATNOT
--------------------------
While Ore isn't important, Ingots are, and Ore helps you make Ingots. You will
want as much of it as possible, especially for free, to save you from buying
it.
-------------
Obtaining Ore
-------------
To obtain Ore, you must find a pickaxe, and then a vein in a cave, mine, maybe
even a dungeon. You can either press E to mine automatically and you'll
pretty much get two pieces of ore from it, but you can do it manually by
attacking the vein with the pickaxe in your hand - this may make dual-wielding
with the Elemental Fury shout a lot more faster than automatic.
It also appears that you can get up to three pieces of ore by mining manually.
Do not worry if the message saying you got ore only appears once after
exhausting a vein, you'll definitely have three in your inventory.
------------------
Rare Ore Locations
------------------
Because Skyrim is huge, I can't just list all of the major places you'll find
certain ore. My advice is to look up this on the internet further, or for more
fun, explore to find what you desire. I will though, list some areas:
-Iron: This is actually everywhere. You may not notice it, though.
-Steel: Just a reminder, you need both Iron and Corundum ore to make Steel
ingots.
-Dwarven Metal: Simply raid any Dwemer ruin and go salvage some parts. To
identify which pieces can be smelted down to Dwarven Metal Ingots, the rule of
thumb is that if it doesn't start with 'Dwarven', it can be melted down.
Dwarven Scrap Metal for example can't be smelted, yet BENT Dwarven Scrap Metal
can.
-Malachite: Check the mine at Kynesgrove, south of Windhelm. Additionally, the
ingots on the cart near the entrance do respawn as well as the chunk of ore,
but do note guards patrol near here - just wait for them to move and steal them
before they turn around.
-Moonstone: Not easy to come by. Mzulft, a Dwemer ruin, has plenty of veins,
but can only be accessed during and after a quest from the College of
Winterhold. The nearby Stony Creek Cave however, has two easy veins near it's
end - that's about 2-3 ingots worth, though.
-Quicksilver: Dawnstar has a good sized Quicksilver mine.
-Ebony: South of the Orc Stronghold Narzulbur, lies Gloombound Mine. The Orc
NPC's will complain when you get in there, but you can mine in peace, with
plenty of Ebony veins in there. Additionally, Redbelly Mine at Shor's Stone and
the very top of the Throat of the World have a few veins, but not much.
-Orichalcum: You'll be looking for Bilegulch Mine - at least nine veins in
there. It's north of Glenmoril Cave, which is west of Falkreath. Keep in
mind that this mine is occupied by Orc Bandits, and the leader is inside the
mine itself.
-Corundum: Darkwater Crossing has a few veins you can mine out, but the best
place is Knifepoint Ridge, which has a mine with a LOT of Corundum. You will
have to do Boethiah's Daedric quest to get entry, however, and that is a Lv30
quest. On the other hand, Corundum ore is easy to get by from shopkeepers.
-Soul Gems: Yes, even Soul Gems can be mined; there are plenty of Geode veins
in Blackreach. Supposedly some of these are level-dependent, so you can only
grab Grand and Black Soul Gems when in the mid-30's or so.
You can mine the veins again after 30 in-game days if the mine is labelled as
'cleared'. Otherwise it'll only take ten days.
Additionally, Dwemer Spiders can carry all sorts of ore, so check all of their
broken bodies and loot what you can.
-------------
Transmutation
-------------
It's also worth mentioning that there is a spell that affects ore - Transmute.
This rare Alteration spell is only found within two dungeons (one of them
being Halted Stream Camp), and will turn any Iron Ore into Silver Ore, and
Silver into Gold. This is an Adept spell, so it's pretty costly, but anyone
should be able to cast it (if you're worried, then just keep using Detect Life
in town to quickly raise Alteration).
The latter transmutation is prioritized over the former, so if you want only
silver, drop all the silver ore you currently have before making another one.
Useful for mass producing jewelery or completing sidequests (like Madesi's),
though you might want to skip if you plan to use Iron Ingots as they only
require one piece of Ore each to make, whereas everything else needs two.
-----------------------------
3.2 - RAISING SMITHING FASTER
-----------------------------
Smithing is easy to raise, but it can seem tedious. Here's some tips on how
to make things go faster if you're impatient.
-The first no-brainer is the Warrior Stone, as it gives a 20% bonus to raising
all Combat skills, including Smithing (but not Archery).
--The Lover Stone, found in the Reach, gives a permanent Lover's Comfort bonus.
This in turn however, doesn't allow for any rested bonuses to be obtained.
--Players with the Dawnguard DLC can obtain the Aetherial Crown. This item can
allow you to retain your previous Standing Stone power, whilst allowing you
to have a second Standing Stone power. With the Warrior and Lover Stones, the
effects should stack.
-Resting in a bed gives you a bonus to raising skills, though the bonus depends
on your situation.
--Resting in a bed you don't own gives a 5% boost (Rested).
--Resting in a bed you own gives a 10% boost (Well Rested).
--Resting in the same area with your spouse gives 15% (Lover's Comfort).
--Werewolves cannot get any Rested bonuses.
Sleeping in a bed at an inn (for a few gold) counts as a bed you own. Examples
of beds you don't own namely include random sleeping bags at various camps.
-You can get a permanent 15% faster increase to Smithing (as well as a 25%
armor bonus wearing Dwarven Armor) at the end of a specific quest, which is
given by a female Argonian near the docks at Riften. She wears a helmet, and
may be inside some of the nearby buildings.
--As of 1.3, Ancient Knowledge actually buffs tempering instead and applies a
general 25% armor bonus instead. PC users can download the Unofficial Skyrim
Patch to fix this.
-As of Update 1.5, Bethesda has made it so that the speed of raising Smithing
depends on the value of the items you make. What this means now is that Leather
Bracer and Iron Dagger grinding is now OBSCURE. You'll want to make expensive
things to quickly raise Smithing now.
--It might be a good idea to find the Transmute spell and turn your Iron Ore
into Gold, so you can make expensive jewelry more easily. Run into a place with
loads of Iron Ore veins, and have the Adept Alteration perk if you want it, to
cast the spell more often.
-The best place to smith in my opinion, would be in Whiterun. Breezehome, a
house you can buy for 5k gold, is right next to Warmaiden's, which has the
full set of facilities (including Smelting!) and materials you can buy. Very,
very convenient location, not to mention it's smack right in the middle of
the game map.
--Not to mention that you can sell what you make to the two NPC's that work
at Warmaiden's, with their own bartering gold each.
-Some quest givers in the form of blacksmiths may give you a skill increase.
-Four books can increase your Smithing ability by one. The Smithing ones can
usually be found near facilities in dungeons. The names of these books are:
--Cherim's Heart
--Heavy Armor Forging
--Light Armor Forging
--The Armorer's Challenge
-The Oghma Infinium gives +5 to Smithing if you choose 'The Path of Might',
alongside other Combat Skills. This is obtained from the quest 'Discernining
the Transmundane', you should be part of the way in this quest if you are
progressing through the main quest.
--It might be a wise idea to save this book until later because it will be
destroyed when you use it. Its effect is best when a group of skills (Combat,
Magic, or Stealth) are all at very high levels but not at 100, because it gives
+5 to all related skills regardless; you can save a bit of grinding and even
level up twice after reading it.
-------------------------------------------
3.3 - LIGHT VS HEAVY: THE TWO PERK BRANCHES
-------------------------------------------
There is some debate on what branch would be ideal to take, if you're only
going in one direction. Most people do.
Taking the left:
----------------
+Many Light Armor choices
+Has an advantage over the right initially; Elven Smithing only requires 30 in
Smithing, and is superior to Dwarven and Orcish Smithing.
+Gets access to two types of Heavy Armor on the way, ideal for followers.
+One perk less away from the Dragon Armor perk.
+With Dawnguard, it gets access to the best weapon quality.
+-Speaking of which, many armors in the DLC benefit off Advanced Armors.
+Those who plan to use Auriel's Bow can make Elven Arrows in bulk for
Sunhallowed and Bloodcursed Arrows.
-Without Dawnguard, Glass is the next best weapon quality.
-Advanced Armors causes a big gap between Elven and Glass Smithing when it
comes to newer weapon qualities, and offers no new shields.
Taking the right:
-----------------
+Many Heavy Armor choices
+Access to Ebony and Daedric weapons, very strong makes of armor and weapons.
+At the end, Dragonscale Armor covers Light Armor, ideal for followers who
expertise in it.
+Some Daedric Artifacts benefit off Ebony Smithing.
+Dawnguard owners can double-improve Dwarven Crossbows.
-Incredibly dull start;
--Dwarven is rather low quality and quite heavy to carry.
--Orcish weapons are actually worse, and it requires 50 Smithing.
-With Dawnguard, it isn't exclusive to the strongest weapon material.
-------------------------
3.4 - MAXIMIZING SMITHING
-------------------------
Some will call this exploiting, others will call this overkill. If you want to
get the most out of Smithing, then just follow along with this section. If not,
then don't bother and just enjoy the game as it is.
This essentially involves using Alchemy and Enchanting to get the best out of
Smithing itself, to say the least.
-------------------
What you might want
-------------------
Use this as a checklist before attempting to do anything here. You don't have
to max out everything here, but it helps!
-100 Smithing
--Smithing Perks: Arcane Blacksmith may be handy, the others are up to you, it
depends what type of material you want to temper.
--All the materials you need for the equipment you want to upgrade
-100 Alchemy
--Alchemy Perks: 5/5 Alchemist, Benefactor
--Ingredients fortifying Enchanting and Smithing:
---Enchanting: Blue Buttergly Wing, Hagraven Claw, Snowberries, Spriggan Sap
---Smithing: Blisterwort, Glowing Mushroom, Sabre Cat Tooth, Spriggan Sap
--Optional: Fortify Restoration potions. Supposedly this buffs enchantments
on your apparel; take them off, drink the potion, and put them on again.
-100 Enchanting
--Enchanting Perks: 5/5 Enchanter, Insightful Enchanter, maybe Extra Effect
--Fortify Alchemy and Fortify Smithing effects learned
--Filled up Grand Soul and Black Soul Gems, Azura's Star/The Black Star
can also be used as they are essentially refillable Grand Soul Gems.
-Various clothing, necklaces, and rings to enchant with.
-A good place to do all of this is at Windhelm, with the house and the Alchemy
Lab and Enchanting Table bought, a Smithy isn't very far away either. The next
best place MAY be Whiterun, but you'll have to run from the gates to
Dragonsreach between Enchantments, Potions, and Smithing.
------------------------
OPTIONAL STEP: VAMPIRISM
------------------------
While it may be unintentional or not, the Restoration perk Necromage (requires
the Regeneration perk and 70 Restoration) also happens to buff Restoration
spells on the player if they have vampirism. This is because they are flagged
as 'undead'.
Like the above with Fortify Restoration potions, this will also buff the
enchantments on your clothing.
---------------------
Step 1 - Alchemy Suit
---------------------
An 'Alchemy Suit' should be made to further boost the strength of potions.
The Fortify Alchemy Effect can be put on to these slots:
-Head
-Neck
-Arms
-Ring
Proceed to make and wear the suit, and then make a Fortify Enchanting potion.
Then make an even more effective enchanting suit for Alchemy, thus making a
more effective Fortify Enchanting potion - although this will use up a LOT
of souls if you keep making even stronger suits. Go as far as you want to,
nobody's stopping you.
If you have the Extra Effect perk, then you can save up more Soul Gems - simply
add Fortify Smithing to the same ring, necklace, and gauntlets/bracers/gloves.
--------------------------------------
Step 2 - Blacksmithing Suit and Potion
--------------------------------------
After you're pleased with how strong your Alchemy Suit is, make another Fortify
Enchanting potion. But this time, we will use this potion to make a powerful
Fortify Smithing suit. You can put the effect on:
-Neck
-Chest
-Arms
-Ring
Importantly, also make a Fortify Smithing potion or two while still having your
Alchemy Suit on, this should be obvious.
-----------------------
Step 3 - Upgrading Time
-----------------------
Make sure that you have all the stuff you need to upgrade your gear through
the grindstone and/or workbench. Wear your Blacksmithing Suit, drink the
potion, and watch as you upgrade your gear to ridiculous heights.
You could equip the Notched Pickaxe or any item with it's enchantment, but I
don't think it'll do a big difference.
Doing this, you can pretty much make almost any type of armor, even Hide, hit
the armor cap, 567, with some perks, and pretty much any weapon becomes
ridiculously strong - apparently there's no damage cap for weapons.
---------
4.0 - FAQ
---------
Feel free to send a private message over GameFAQs regarding any questions not
listed here.
Q. Does the Lunar Forge do anything special?
A. Nope. Just disenchant the nearby weapons with the 'Silent Moons Enchant' if
you want to put it on a weapon.
Q. How can I get things like Leather and Iron armors/weapons to Legendary?
A. Use plenty of equipment and potions that fortify smithing. Same with pretty
much anything that isn't boosted by a perk, or ones you haven't got yet. So
yes, you can create even Fur and Hide armors that hit the armor cap (567) with
some dedication and perks.
Q. Are the new recipies for the Skyforge worth going for alone?
A. Practically no, unless you manage to complete the questline at a low level.
Nord Hero equipment is only as good as Elven gear but light as iron.
Q. What is the name of the quest with the Smith and Dwarven Armor upgrades
you keep talking about?
A. The quest's name is 'Unfathomable Depths', vaguely named after the quest
giver.
Q. What's an easy way to acquire Daedra Hearts?
A. Go to Alchemists around the game, and complete 'Pieces of the Past' for a
possible (slow) respawning supply. Just as well Daedric gear doesn't need
hearts upgrade. Keep in mind that these hearts are expensive, although coin in
Skyrim isn't that hard to obtain.
Q. Can I help contribute?
A. Go ahead, though do make sure it's relevant.
Q. Is Smithing even necessary?
A. Not all, but further in the game, it can make your life a whole lot easier
by increasing the raw damage output significantly, especially in synergy with
damage-increasing perks from the combat skills.
Q. Is there a max damage cap?
A. There isn't one, but the maximum amount of unarmed damage you can do is 68,
not including using Necromage + Vampirism to boost worn enchantments.
Q. What level do you think would be good enough for 'end-game' status?
A. Probably around Lv35 or so, at least for me when I got Smithing up to 100
around there. The only 'challenge' for me on Adept would be Mages spamming
spells to quickly remove a lot of my health, which is funny since Destruction
is actually fairly weak for the player during the late-game.
Q. After getting the Dragon Armor perk, can I get Daedric/Glass Smithing
without going up the other branch for it?
A. As I said earlier when talking about Dragon Armor itself, no. You will have
to work your way up the other side, contray to what the shape of the Smithing
constellation looking like a circle.
Q. Which is better, Dragonplate or Daedric?
A. Pick them based on looks. However, while Dragonplate is slightly weaker,
the difference in armor rating is quite trivial, and it is lighter.
Q. Do some non-generic weapons benefit from perks as well?
A. Not all of them, but many do.
Q. What version of the game is better?
A. Arguably PC. While there are some obvious signs of console porting here
and there, The Elder Scrolls series is famous for it's modding scene, which
for even Morrowind and Oblivion are STILL going active today. Mods can fix a
ton of things, and offer new challenges and surprises.
Q. What perks are commonly used in mods?
A. Really depends on the mod, but Steel Smithing and Advanced Armors are the
usual picks for low to mid-range armors.
-------------
4.1 - CLOSING
-------------
And this concludes the guide. I hope that this guide was helpful to you, and
will encourage you to do more Smithing. Now go play Skyrim and make the best
equipment you can!
---------------------------------------
4.2 - CREDITS, LEGAL, USEFUL LINKS, ETC
---------------------------------------
Yep, we're on to that section now.
Feel free to link to this guide anywhere, as well as print it off for reference
should you need it. Just don't go around selling it in real life or hosting it
off another webiste without asking.
If you want to contribute, fling me a message here at GameFAQs. I personally
prefer this over email.
------
Thanks
------
GameFAQs's PC Skyrim Board - for some information, mainly regarding limits.
Bethesda Softworks - Making an enjoyable game.
UESP - Providing a wealth of information on the series, as well as some
reference for this guide - especially with the quality/skill table.
Microsoft - Making Windows 7 and more importantly, Notepad!
GlassGiant.com - Picture to ASCII Converter.
------------
Useful Links
------------
-The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages
This is probably the largest wiki dedicated to the Elder Scrolls series. There
is a lot of useful information gameplay wise, as well as a lot of lore if you
are interested in that.
http://uesp.net/
-Skyrim Nexus
Probably the best place to check for Skyrim mods.
http://www.skyrimnexus.com/
-This Mod List
The link below is a mod list I wrote out for some people on another forum.
Like every other forum link on a guide on the internet, in the future it may
go missing; better check it as soon as possible, maybe even archive it.
http://bfhn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=4791&p=1
-------
The End
-------
You read through all of this? Have a fishy stick!
Amazing Games. Many Cheats. Such Wow.
