Crafting is Skyrim's power ceiling. Smithing forges and tempers gear; Enchanting adds magical effects; Alchemy amplifies both. Together they trivialize even Legendary difficulty.
⚒️ Smithing
- Level by crafting cheap items (Iron Daggers, Gold Rings) or, better, Dwarven Bows from smelted Dwemer scrap.
- Pick a perk path: Daedric (heavy) or Dragon (light) for the best base gear. Glass and Ebony are strong stepping stones.
- Tempering at a grindstone/workbench improves any weapon or armor; the Arcane Blacksmith perk lets you temper enchanted gear.
🔮 Enchanting
- Disenchant found magic items to learn their effects, then apply them to your own gear using filled Soul Gems.
- Best weapon enchants: Absorb Health, Chaos Damage (Anniversary), Fiery Soul Trap. Best armor: Fortify Destruction/One-Handed, Fortify Health, Muffle.
- The Extra Effect perk lets you put two enchantments on one item — build-defining.
The Fortify Loop
Alchemy → Enchanting → Smithing
- Brew Fortify Enchanting potions (Snowberries + Spriggan Sap + Blue Butterfly Wing).
- Drink one, then enchant a full set of Fortify Alchemy gear (head, hands, chest, ring/necklace).
- Wear the gear, brew even stronger Fortify Enchanting potions, and re-enchant. Repeat 2–3 times.
- Finally enchant Fortify Smithing gear and brew Fortify Smithing potions to temper weapons to legendary damage.
See the Alchemy guide for the exact ingredient combos, and the Skills & Perks guide for which perks to prioritize.
Perk Order
- Heavy path: Steel → Dwarven → Orcish → Ebony → Daedric. Ebony Smithing needs Smithing 80; Daedric Smithing needs Ebony Smithing first and Smithing 90.
- Light path: Steel → Elven → Advanced Armors → Glass, with Dragon armor sitting at the far end of either branch.
- The Dragon Armor perk itself needs Smithing 100 and every other perk in whichever branch (light or heavy) you've committed to.
- An alternate route to Daedric gear skips the perk tree: the Atronach Forge can craft Daedric items directly from the matching Ebony piece, a Daedra Heart, a centurion dynamo core and a filled black soul gem.
Cross-checked
Cross-checked on 5 September 2026 against UESP-derived Smithing perk data and the Elder Scrolls Fandom wiki — which agree Ebony Smithing needs Smithing 80, Daedric Smithing needs the Ebony Smithing perk plus Smithing 90, Dragon Armor needs Smithing 100 and every perk in whichever branch you've committed to, and that the Atronach Forge can craft Daedric gear directly from a matching Ebony piece, a Daedra Heart, a centurion dynamo core and a filled black soul gem. What is still unverified is the only thing reading cannot settle — nobody here has played it.