Weapons in Skyrim fall into three classes, organized around the three weapon skills:
- One-handed: daggers, maces, swords, and war axes
- Two-handed: battleaxes, greatswords, and war hammers
- Archery: bows and arrows, crossbows and boltsDG
Weapon Categories
This page only lists the base (unenchanted) weaponry available in Skyrim. Base weapons are considered to be those which appear in standard leveled lists and those which can be made by the player at Forges. There are several other pages that also provide information on weapons. If the weapon you are looking for is not listed on this page, you may want to check one of these other resources:
- Weapons (All): All weapons on one page for easy comparison.
- Generic Magic Weapons: Magic weapons that are found in random loot.
- Leveled Items: Magic weapons that vary depending upon your character's level (generally quest rewards).
- Artifacts: Weapons with one-of-a-kind enchantments and unique appearances.
- Ammunition: Arrows and bolts(DG), both normal and enchanted.
- Staves: Staves are used for casting magical spells instead of physical attacks.
- Specialty Gear: Weapons and armor only obtainable from specific factions.
- Skyrim-Weapons: Category listing of all the weapons available in the game.
- Search: Type the name of the weapon into the search box on the left and click the magnifying glass icon to find the weapon.
Overview
For all of the weapons listed on this site, the provided damage values are the weapons' base damage. The actual damage your character will do with a weapon is derived from the base damage according to your character's weapon skill and any relevant skill perks. The damage can also be increased by using smithing to sharpen a weapon.
Weapon damage formula:
displayed damage = Round[ (base damage + smithing increase) * (1 + skill/200) * (1 + perk effects) * (1 + item effects) * (1 + potion effect) * (1 + Seeker of Might bonus) ]
* Smithing Increase should use the unrounded value based on this formula.
* Perk Effects = .2 * Barbarian/Armsman/Overdraw rank level
* Blessing of Auriel is additive with item effects while Blessing of Boethiah is additive with potion effect
Damage = ((Right Hand displayed Damage * (1 + Power Attack Bonus) * (1 + Power Attack Perk) * (1 + Dual Power Attack perk)) * Dual Power Attack Mod) + ((Left Hand displayed Damage * (1 + Power Attack Bonus) * (1 + Power Attack Perk) * (1 + Dual Power Attack perk)) * Dual Power Attack Mod)
* Power Attack Bonus = 1 if power attacking
* Power Attack Perk = 0.25 if power attacking and you have Savage Strike or Devastating Blow
* Dual Power Attack Perk = 0.5 if power attacking with two weapons and you have Dual Savagery
* Dual Power Attack Mod is 1.5 for the right (1xattack) and 3 (2xattack) for the left hand if dual power attacking (else 1)
Note on Dual Savagery, you don't have to be power attacking with both weapons. Single power attacks get this bonus as long as there is a weapon in both hands.
Weapon Materials
Weapons appear in several different materials and styles, which determine the quality of the weapon. Higher quality weapons do more damage (but are generally heavier). Which quality weapons you will find are generally determined based on your character's level.
The following table describes the standard level at which a weapon type begins to show up in randomly generated loot; lower level weapons will also randomly appear. Enchanted versions of weapons will begin to appear one level later; see Generic Magic Weapons for details. See Leveled Lists for details on how these lists are used to determine the probabilities of individual items appearing. Level of "N/A" means that the item is not available from standard leveled lists. Although daedric weapons can be found in random loot once your level is high enough, the chances of finding daedric weapons is 20 times smaller than other weapon types.
Most weapons from the list below can be created at Forges, by using the Smithing skill. The ability to make a weapon is not dependent upon your character's level, but is instead dependent upon which Smithing perks you have unlocked. All standard weapons can also be tempered at Grindstones, if you have the necessary item. Tempering is twice as effective if you have unlocked the perk necessary to forge that item. Tempering an enchanted version of the weapon (whether custom-enchanted, or generic) is similar to tempering the base version – it requires the same item, and is twice as effective if you have unlocked the forging perk – but also requires the Arcane Blacksmith perk to be unlocked.
| Level | Material | Perk to Forge | Item for Tempering |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iron | No perk needed | Iron Ingot |
| 2 | Steel | Steel Smithing | Steel Ingot |
| N/A | Silver† | N/A | N/A |
| 6 | Orcish | Orcish Smithing | Orichalcum Ingot |
| 12 | Dwarven | Dwarven Smithing | Dwarven Metal Ingot |
| N/A | Nord Hero | N/A†† | Steel Ingot |
| N/A | Skyforge Steel | N/A‡‡ | Steel Ingot |
| 18 | NordicDB | Advanced Armors | Quicksilver Ingot |
| 19 | Elven | Elven Smithing | Refined Moonstone |
| 27 | Glass | Glass Smithing | Refined Malachite |
| 35 | StalhrimDB | Ebony Smithing††† | Stalhrim |
| 36 | Ebony | Ebony Smithing | Ebony Ingot |
| 46 | Daedric | Daedric Smithing‡ | Ebony Ingot |
| N/A | DragonboneDG | Dragon Armor | Dragon Bone |
† Silver weapons (regardless of type) gain 20 base damage when used against undead or werewolves. This amount is not improved by your weapon skill, but is increased by relevant enchantments and perks. This effect is not considered an enchantment, so silver weapons can be enchanted like any normal unenchanted weapon, though they will always display the text for this effect and not for any enchantment that you may place on it.
‡ All Daedric weapons can also be made at the Atronach Forge, in which case the Daedric Smithing perk is not needed, but instead the Sigil Stone must be obtained. Tempering weapons created at the Atronach Forge is still augmented by the Daedric Smithing perk.
†† Nord Hero weapons can only be created at the Skyforge, and only after the quest Glory of the Dead has been completed.
‡‡ Although Skyforge Steel weapons cannot be forged, tempering them is still augmented by the Steel Smithing perk.
††† Forging Stalhrim weapons also requires completion of the quest A New Source of Stalhrim.
One-handed Weapons
Swords
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War Axes
‡The Ebony War Axe originally had an incorrect damage value of 15, the same as the Daedric War Axe, rather than 14.
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Maces
‡The Ebony Mace originally had an incorrect damage of 16 rather than 15, and a critical damage of 8 rather than 7.
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Daggers
‡The Skyforge Steel Dagger cannot be tempered, because it was completely left out of the appropriate list.
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Two-handed Weapons
Greatswords
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Battleaxes
‡The Orcish Battleaxe has been left out of the standard
LItemWeaponBattleAxe leveled list, although it is included in several less common battleaxe leveled lists. As a result, this axe is less likely to be found in random loot than other base weapons.
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Warhammers
- Reach: 1.3
- Speed: 0.6
- Stagger: 1.25
| Name (ID) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Warhammer (00013981) |
24 | 60 | 18 | |
| Ancient Nord WarhammerCC (0001398A) |
26 | 42 | 20 | |
| Steel Warhammer (0001398A) |
25 | 110 | 20 | |
| Orcish Warhammer (00013992) |
26 | 180 | 21 | |
| Dawnguard WarhammerDG (xx00DD55) |
26 | 110 | 22 | |
| Dwarven Warhammer (0001399A) |
27 | 325 | 22 | |
| Nord Hero WarhammerCC (xx08A1E6) |
24 | 350 | 23 | |
| Honed Ancient Nord WarhammerCC (xx08A1EF) |
29 | 76 | 23 | |
| Elven Warhammer (000139A2) |
28 | 565 | 23 | |
| Dark WarhammerCC (xx000828) |
26 | 620 | 23 | |
| Nordic WarhammerDB (xx01CDB3) |
27 | 700 | 23 | |
| Golden WarhammerCC (xx000809) |
26 | 620 | 24 | |
| Glass Warhammer (000139AA) |
29 | 985 | 24 | |
| Ebony Warhammer (000139B2) |
30 | 1725 | 25 | |
| Stalhrim WarhammerDB† (xx01CDBA) |
29 | 2850 | 26 | |
| Daedric Warhammer (000139BA) |
31 | 4000 | 27 | |
| Dragonbone WarhammerDG (xx014FD0) |
33 | 4275 | 28 | |
| Amber WarhammerCC (xx000BE2) |
29 | 4475 | 28 | |
| Madness WarhammerCC (xx000BEB) |
34 | 4600 | 29 |
Archery
Bows
All traditional bows require arrows as ammunition.
- Stagger: 0 (50% chance for 0.25 with Power Shot)
| Name (ID) | Speed | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Bow† (0003b562) |
5 | 30 | 6 | 1 | |
| Hunting Bow‡ (00013985) |
7 | 50 | 7 | 0.9375 | |
| Orcish Bow (0001398d) |
9 | 150 | 10 | 0.8125 | |
| Nord Hero Bow†† (00068c57) |
7 | 200 | 11 | 0.875 | |
| Golden BowCC (xx00080F) |
10 | 495 | 11 | 0.5 | |
| Dwarven Bow (00013995) |
10 | 270 | 12 | 0.75 | |
| Elven Bow (0001399d) |
12 | 470 | 13 | 0.6875 | |
| Nordic BowDB (xx026232) |
11 | 580 | 13 | 0.6875
|
|
| Dark BowCC (xx000802) |
10 | 495 | 13 | 0.5 | |
| Glass Bow (000139a5) |
14 | 820 | 15 | 0.625 | |
| Ebony Bow (000139ad) |
16 | 1440 | 17 | 0.5625 | |
| Stalhrim BowDB (xx026231) |
15 | 1800 | 17 | 0.5625 | |
| Daedric Bow (000139b5) |
18 | 2500 | 19 | 0.5 | |
| Dragonbone BowDG (xx0176f1) |
20 | 2725 | 20 | 0.75 | |
| Amber BowCC (xx000BDC) |
14 | 2925 | 20 | 0.5 | |
| Madness BowCC (xx000BE5) |
21 | 3050 | 21 | 0.5 |
† The long bow cannot be created at forges. It can be tempered using firewood. Tempering is not augmented by any Smithing perks.
‡ The hunting bow cannot be created at forges. It can be tempered using leather strips, and tempering is augmented if you have selected the Steel Smithing perk.
†† The Nord hero bow cannot be tempered. Its tempering entry (TemperWeaponSkyforgeBow) incorrectly links to the Nord hero battle axe instead of the bow.
- The Official Skyrim Patch, version 1.9.26.0.8, fixes this bug.
CrossbowsDG
Crossbows are only available with the Dawnguard add-on. The Dwarven Crossbow can only be acquired by siding with the Dawnguard (see Ancient Technology for details). The Elven and Ebony Crossbows require the completion of the quest Night Hunter, while other types of Crossbows can be purchased from the Fletcher in Solitude. Crossbows all require bolts as ammunition instead of arrows. While all other types of crossbows and all bolts can be manufactured at any forge, regular and Dwarven Crossbows can only be crafted at Gunmar's forge in Fort Dawnguard or at the All Forge in the Myrwatch Creation. Forging Elven and Ebony Crossbows requires the completion of the quest Night Hunter, and other crossbows will need to be acquired from loot or merchants first before they can be crafted. Crafting Stahlrim Crossbows also requires the completion of A New Source of Stalhrim.
- Stagger: 0.75