The Complete Guide to Skyrim - Items, Quests, Mods, Builds, and Tips (2024)

The release of Skyrim Anniversary Edition marks the ten-year birthday of one of the most celebrated RPGs of all time. A decade is a long time for any game to last, yet somehow Skyrim still feels as fresh as it did on its initial release all the way back on November 11, 2011. It's no wonder that Skyrim is also one of the most re-released RPGs of all time, too.

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Over the last ten years, Skyrim has seen a lot of updates and additions which make it a very replayable game. This collection of Skyrim tips and guides covers almost everything in the game including crafting, quests, and builds ranging from beginner tutorials to tips that even the most knowledgable Skyrim experts might not know.

Updated January 7, 2022 by Erik Petrovich: This Complete Skyrim Guide has been updated to include several new entries throughout each overarching section, including new build and gameplay tips, more specific Alchemy guides, and things all players should know about, like Legendary Skills or what a Steward does. This guide has also been updated to include a new section dedicated to all things Daedric, including Daedric Princes and their Artifacts as well as some lore information about the Elder Scrolls' most meddling gods.

Getting Started – Beginner Tips

Compared to many fantasy RPGs on the market (and certainly compared to previous Elder Scrolls titles), Skyrim is a relatively easy game to get into. Players stepping into the world of Tamriel for the first time get a basic introduction to the game and its mechanics after the cart ride to Helgen, but there's plenty of things the game doesn't fully explain when starting out.

• Things You Didn't Know You Could Do In Skyrim
• Skyrim: Tips To Get Off To A Good Start As A Beginner
• Mistakes Everyone Makes On Their First Playthrough Of Skyrim
• Things We Wish We Knew Before Playing Skyrim For The First Time
• The Best Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Quests To Do Early
• Skyrim Anniversary Edition: Beginner Tips For Survival Mode You Need To Know
• Skyrim: How To Hire A Steward
• Skyrim: Guide To Legendary Skills

New Skyrim Anniversary Edition Content

Skyrim Anniversary Edition, released on the 10th birthday of Skyrim, includes every single Creation Club element alongside 26 of its own unique addons, ranging from new questlines to new homes and much, much more. The following is a collection of guides for new content introduced with SkyrimAnniversary Edition, including new unique items, new mechanics like Fishing and Horse Taming, and a few guides for new questlines and expansion-like addons included with the upgrade such as The Cause and Ghosts of the Tribunal.

• Skyrim: Every New Rare Curios Item (And What They Do)
• Skyrim: Every New Player Home in Anniversary Edition (And How To Get Them)
• Skyrim: How To Tame Wild Horses (And Where To Find Them)
• Skyrim: Complete Guide To Survival Mode and Camping
• Skyrim: Complete Guide To Fishing
• Skyrim: Everything You Should Know About The Cause
• Skyrim: Everything You Should Know About Forgotten Seasons
• Skyrim: Everything You Should Know About Saints And Seducers
• Skyrim: Everything You Should Know About Ghosts Of The Tribunal
• Skyrim: Every New Unique Armor In Anniversary Edition (And Where To Find Them)
• Skyrim: Every New Unique Weapon In Anniversary Edition (And Where To Find Them)
• Skyrim: Every Alternate Armor in Anniversary Edition (And How To Get Them)

Followers & Factions

Skyrim offers players a wide range of followers to accompany them on their travels, as well as factions to join that affect the story's progression. Followers can be combat-oriented, made to carry gear and fight for the player, or married, where they typically maintain the homestead and allow the player to have a family. While there is no Fighter's Guild or Mage's Guild in Skyrim, other similar factions take their place in addition to a variety of new causes the player can join.

• Skyrim: All Joinable Factions, Ranked From Worst To Best
• Skyrim: How To Join The Thieves Guild
• Skyrim: Best Followers In The Game, Ranked
• Skyrim's Most Memorable Companions

Weapons, Armor, and Spells Guides

Weapons and armor in Skyrim are as varied as the races that inhabit it, with hundreds of pieces of gear available for players to find in their journeys across the Nord homeland. Some are found easily through the main questlines, while others require players to complete specific tasks to be acquired. The most unique weapons in the game are even more enigmatic.

Weapons

• Skyrim: Most Powerful Weapons, Ranked
• Skyrim: Best Common Weapons For Players Who Don't Like Rare Items
• Skyrim: Ways To Never Run Out Of Stamina

Armor

• Skyrim: Best Common Armors That Aren't Legendary Items
• Skyrim: Must-Have Armors For Any Type Of Character

Spells and Shouts

• Skyrim: The Best Shouts In The Game, Ranked
• Skyrim: Best Destruction Spells, Ranked
• Skyrim: Ways To Never Run Out Of Magicka

Alchemy, Enchanting, Smithing, and Beyond

There are three main crafting skills in Skyrim: Alchemy, Enchanting, and Smithing. Each of these skills has an associated skill line to progress through, though there are other types of crafting skills in the game like Cooking, Tanning, Woodcutting, Mining, and Smelting. The Skyrim crafting system is robust, though very different from previous entries in the franchise.

Alchemy

• Skyrim: A Complete Guide To Alchemy
• Skyrim: Tips To Become A Master Of Alchemy
• Skyrim: How To Make An Invisibility Potion
• Skyrim: How To Make A Paralysis Poison
• Skyrim: How To Make A Restore Magicka Potion
• Skyrim: How To Make A Restore Stamina Potion
• Skyrim: How To Get A Daedra Heart (And What It Does)

Enchanting

• Skyrim: How To Level Up Enchanting Fast
• Skyrim: Everything You Need To Know About Enchanting
• Skyrim: All Weapon Enchantments, Ranked
• Skyrim: The Best Armor Enchantments, Ranked
• Skyrim: How to Fill Soul Gems

Smithing

• Skyrim: A Complete Guide To Smithing
• Skyrim - Armor Material Hierarchy Guide
• Skyrim - Weapon Material Hierarchy Guide
• Skyrim: Where To Farm Every Type Of Ore
• Skyrim: How to Get Netch Leather
• Skyrim: How to Get Stalhrim
• Skyrim: How To Get An Ebony Ingot

Other Crafting Skills

• Skyrim: A Complete Guide To All Food
• Skyrim: How to Get Sawn Logs

Skyrim Build Tips And Curses

Skyrim prides itself on letting players do just about everything in the game on a single character, though it can be fun to go for a specific build and roleplay in the universe of The Elder Scrolls. Builds in Skyrim vary from cosmetic-only to being utterly game-breaking, but sometimes the only way to get the skills and gear you want is by learning how to level effectively.

Builds and Tips

• Skyrim: Best Items For A Mage (And How To Get Them)
• Skyrim: Best Items For An Archer (And How To Get Them)
• Skyrim: Best Items For A Thief (And How To Get Them)
• Skyrim: Best Items For An Assassin (And How To Get Them)
• Skyrim: Best Items For A Fighter (And How To Get Them)
• Skyrim: Stealth Archer Tips And Tricks
• Skyrim: One Handed Tips And Tricks
• Skyrim: Battlemage Tips And Tricks

Curses

• Skyrim: How to Become A Vampire
• Skyrim: How To Cure Vampirism
• Skyrim: How To Become A Werewolf

Unique Items Guides

There are dozens and dozens of unique items in Skyrim, most of which are given a name to differentiate them from more common equipment. Some unique items can only be acquired by serving a Daedric Prince, but others are only found in the game's DLC packs, hidden in side quests, or included in out-of-the-way content out in the world.

Unique Weapons

• Skyrim Guide: How To Get Unique Weapons
• Skyrim: Every Unique Sword In The Game, Ranked Worst To Best
• Skyrim: Every Unique Two-Handed Hammer In The Game, Ranked Worst To Best
• Skyrim: Every Unique Bow In The Game, Ranked Worst To Best

Unique Armor

Other Unique Items

• Skyrim: Every Black Book (& Where To Find Them)
• Skyrim: Best Non-Daedric Items With Unique Enchantments
• Skyrim: The Most Exceedingly Rare Items In The Game

Daedric Princes And Artifacts

The Daedric Princes of The Elder Scrolls series are some of the most iconic "villains" in fantasy RPG gaming, if one would go as far as to call them evil. With the exception of Molag Bal and a few others, the Daedric Princes are generally protective or at least friendly to their followers, and the Dragonborn can become the champion of just about all of them. They often bequeath special artifacts that are some of the most coveted items in the entire game, too, each of which is well worth hunting down for their unique effects, stats, or aesthetic.

• The Daedric Princes in The Elder Scrolls 5 Skyrim Explained
• Skyrim: Most Useful Daedric Artifacts in the Game
• Skyrim: Every Daedric Quest, Ranked
• Skyrim: Who To Sacrifice For Boethiah's Calling
• Skyrim Special Edition: How To Get Daedric Gear At Level One
• Skyrim: How To Get Spellbreaker (And What It Does)

Skyrim Mods and Addons

Skyrim would not have maintained its place in the cultural zeitgeist if not for its dedicated and talented modding community. In fact, almost everything in the Special Edition Creation Club being added officially to the Anniversary Edition was created by fans, not Bethesda. With tens of thousands of mods for Skyrim out there it can be hard to figure out which ones are worth downloading and which ones aren't. Keep in mind, too, that mods not downloaded through the Creation Club or the Steam Workshop must be installed manually.

• Skyrim: Best Mods (December 2021)
• Skyrim: A Complete Beginner's Guide To Modding
• Skyrim: Best VR Mods
• The Most Downloaded Skyrim Mods (According To Nexusmods)
• The Best Skyrim Mods, Ranked
• The Weirdest Skyrim Mods Ever
• Skyrim: Amazing Mods That Add Exciting New Areas To Explore
• Skyrim: Quality Of Life Mods We Can't Live Without
• Skyrim: Combat Mods That Make It More Challenging
• Skyrim: The Most Brutal Difficulty Mods, Ranked

Quests, Puzzles, And Locations

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of quests available for players to take on in Skyrim. Though the main questline feels short, the sheer volume of side content and explorable locations makes it one of the most fully realized open-world RPGs ever made. This section is dedicated to helping players figure out puzzles, find unmarked map locations, and decide the best way to take on complex quests.

Quest and Puzzle Guides

• Skyrim: A Complete Guide To The Lost To The Ages Quest
• Skyrim: How To Complete "Forbidden Legend"
• Skyrim: Blood On The Ice - A Step By Step Quest Guide
• Skyrim: How To Complete "Arniel's Endeavor"
• Skyrim: Volskygge Puzzle Solution
• Skyrim: Saarthal Puzzle Solution

Skyrim Locations

Advanced Skyrim Tips And Exploits

Skyrim is by no means a new game – while the Anniversary Edition seeks to modernize it significantly, it doesn't change the fact that many have already played hundreds of hours exploring the game. For veteran players returning to Skyrim, it can be more fun to try playing the game in a completely new way – and there are lots of ways to totally break the game (and one's immersion), too.

• Skyrim Special Edition: How To Duplicate Any Item
• Skyrim Special Edition: How To Make One Million Gold At Level One
• Skyrim Special Edition: How To Get One Million Damage
• Skyrim Special Edition: How To Get One Million Armor Rating
• Skyrim: How To Add Perk Points With Console Commands

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 3, 4, and 5, and Xbox 360, One, and Series X|S

MORE: Morrowind: Everything You Should Know About The Morrowind Rebirth Mod