Ah, Skyrim, the neverending game. It’s quite fun to write about, this almost praeternatural everlasting force that seems to act like a tarpaulin strewn over all of gaming for the last ten years. But whatever, I’m not here to pontificate on Skyrim’s strange space in the gaming world, I’m here to tell you all about Skyrim’s enchanting mechanic.
So head below to find all you need in that realm. Alternatively, if you’re curious about romance, check out our Skyrim marriage guide. Or, if it’s cartography you love, check out our favourite Skyrim maps. Or, even better, if you got that wedding sorted and know your way around already, why not take your pick of the many Skyrim houses for you and your partner to settle down in?
Skyrim enchanting guide
Here you have it, the most enchanting guide to Skyrim’s enchanting system (or at least I hope that’s what this is).
How do I enchant items in Skyrim?
To enchant an item in Skyrim you need the following:
- Armour or a weapon with no enchantment
- A filled soul gem
- At least one known enchantment
- An arcane enchanter
Nice and simple, right? Well, sort of. To enchant an item, do the following:
- Have it in your inventory
- Interact with an arcane enchanter
- Choose the weapon or armour you want to enchant
- Choose the enchantment you want to add
- Choose the soul gem you want to fill it with
- Finalise the enchantment
There you have it, one lovely enchanted item. But you may still have more questions…
How do I learn an enchantment in Skyrim?
To learn an enchantment in Skyrim, you need the following:
- An enchanted weapon or piece of armour
- An arcane enchanter
As you adventure through the world, you may find enchanted weapons. These can fetch a high price from time to time, so it’s easy to sell them. But, if you want to learn some enchantments, it’s best to hold on to them, take them to an arcane enchanter, and disenchant them to learn their secrets.
Be warned: learning a weapon’s enchantment destroys that weapon. If you want to get into enchanting items, this is a sensible sacrifice. But if you don’t, why bother? Just go sell ‘em.
How do I fill a soul gem in Skyrim?
Soul gems are a necessity when enchanting an item in Skyrim, but the ones you find are often empty. You can fill them with a soul by doing the following:
- Learn the spell Soul Trap (or have a weapon enchanted with it)
- Have an empty soul gem in your inventory
- Cast the spell on an enemy before killing them (or just kill them with the enchanted weapon)
- Voila! Their soul is now in your gem
Weird, I know, but now that you’ve trapped their immortal soul, it’s all yours to use. Lovely.
Skyrim enchanting skill tree
If you want to get super good at Skyrim enchanting, then you want to level up your enchanting skill. As you level up, you can unlock specific perks and bonuses, as follows:
| Perk | Level | Description |
| Enchanter (1) | 0 | New enchantments are 20% stronger |
| Enchanter (2) | 20 | New enchantments are 40% stronger |
| Soul Squeezer | 20 | Soul gems provide extra magicka for recharging |
| Fire Enchanter | 30 | Fire enchantments on weapons and armour are 25% stronger |
| Enchanter (3) | 40 | New enchantments are 60% stronger |
| Soul Siphon | 40 | Death blows to creatures, but not people, trap 5% of the victim’s soul, recharging the weapon |
| Frost Enchanter | 40 | Frost enchantments on weapons and armour are 25% stronger |
| Insightful Enchanter | 50 | Skill enchantments on armour are 25% stronger |
| Storm Enchanter | 50 | Shock enchantments on weapons and armour are 25% stronger |
| Enchanter (4) | 60 | New enchantments are 80% stronger |
| Corpus Enchanter | 70 | Health, magicka and stamina enchantments on armour are 25% stronger |
| Enchanter (5) | 80 | New enchantments are 100% stronger |
| Extra Effect | 100 | Can put two enchantments on the same item |
How do I level up my enchanting quickly in Skyrim?
Here are the best ways to level up your Skyrim enchanting skill:
- Disenchant – this gives you a bunch of XP
- Use larger soul gems – the bigger the soul, the bigger XP
- Enchant items with Fortify Sneak, Fortify Carry Weight, Paralyze, and Banish – these offer more XP than others
To absolutely maximise your XP gain, activate the Mage stone and gain the Well Rested perk prior to levelling by going to sleep. Better yet, if you are married, sleep in the same house as your partner to gain the Lover’s Comfort perk which pushes this boost further.
List of Skyrim enchantments
Here are all the Skyrim enchantments. Any values like level or time period increase as you move up the enchantment skill tree.
Weapon enchantments
| Enchantment | Description |
| Absorb Health | Absorb health from target enemy |
| Absorb Magicka | Absorbs ten points of magicka |
| Absorb Stamina | Absorb ten points of stamina |
| Banish | Summoned Daedra are sent back to Oblivion |
| Chaos Damage | 50% chance for each element of Fire Damage, Frost Damage and Shock Damage to do 25 points of damage |
| Fear | Creatures and people up to level nine flee from combat for 30 seconds |
| Fiery Soul Trap | If the target dies within five seconds, fills a soul gem, and burns the target for ten points. Targets on fire take extra damage. |
| Fire Damage | Burns the target for ten points. Targets on fire take extra damage. |
| Frost Damage | Target takes ten points of frost damage to health and stamina |
| Huntsman’s Prowess | Three points of extra damage to animals |
| Magicka Damage | Does ten points of magicka damage |
| Notched Pickaxe | Raises the wielder’s Smithing abilities, and does five shock damage to enemies on hit |
| Paralyze | Targets that fail to resist are paralyzed for ten seconds |
| Shock Damage | Target takes ten points of shock damage, and half as much magicka damage |
| Silent Moons Enchant | While the moons are out, burn the target for ten points |
| Soul Trap | If the target dies within five seconds, fills a soul gem |
| Stamina Damage | Does ten points of stamina damage |
| Turn Undead | Undead up to level ten flee |
Armour enchantments
| Enchantment | Description | Equipment |
| Fortify Alchemy | Increases the potency of created potions and poisons | Head, hands, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Alteration | Alteration spells cost less to cast | Head, chest, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Alteration and Magicka Regen | Alteration spells cost less to cast. Magicka regenerates faster. | Chest |
| Fortify Archery | Bows do more damage | Head, hands, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Barter | Prices are better | Amulet |
| Fortify Block | Block more damage with your shield | Hands, shield, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Carry Weight | Carrying capacity increased | Hands, feet, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Conjuration | Conjuration spells cost less to cast | Head, chest, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Conjuration and Magicka Regen | Conjuration spells cost less to cast. Magicka regenerates faster. | Chest |
| Fortify Destruction | Destruction spells cost less to cast | Head, chest, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Destruction and Magicka Regen | Destruction spells cost less to cast. Magica regenerates faster. | Chest |
| Fortify Healing Rate | Health regenerates faster | Chest, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Health | Increases your health | Chest, shield, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Heavy Armor | Increases Heavy Armor skill | Chest, hands, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Illusion | Illusion spells cost less to cast | Head, chest, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Illusion and Magicka Regen | Illusion spells cost less to cast. Magicka regenerates faster. | Chest |
| Fortify Light Armor | Increases Light Armor skill | Chest, hands, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Lockpicking | Increases Lockpicking skill | Head, hands, amulet ring |
| Fortify Magicka | Increases your magicka | Head, hands, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Magicka Regen | Magicka regenerates faster | Head, chest, ring |
| Fortify One-Handed | Increases One-Handed skill | Hands, feet, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Pickpocket | Increases Pickpocket skill | Hands, feet, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Restoration | Restoration spells cost less to cast | Head, chest, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Restoration and Magicka Regen | Restoration spells cost less to cast. Magicka regenerates faster. | Chest |
| Fortify Smithing | Increases your Smithing skill | Chest, hands, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Sneak | Increases Sneak skill | Hands, feet, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Stamina | Increases your stamina | Chest, feet, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Stamina Regen | Stamina regenerates faster | Chest, feet, amulet |
| Fortify Two-Handed | Increases Two-Handed skill | Hands, feet, amulet, ring |
| Fortify Unarmed | Unarmed strikes do additional damage / Hands, ring | |
| Muffle | The wearer is muffled and moves silently | Feet |
| Resist Disease | Increases disease resistance | Chest, shield, amulet, ring |
| Resist Fire | Increases Fire resistance | Feet, shield, amulet, ring |
| Resist Frost | Increases Frost resistance | Feet, shield, amulet, ring |
| Resist Magic | Increases Magic resistance | Shield, amulet, ring |
| Resist Poison | Increases Poison resistance | Chest, shield, amulet, ring |
| Resist Shock | Increases Shock resistance | Feet, shield, amulet, ring |
| Water Breathing | Can swim underwater without drowning | Head, amulet, ring |
There it is, folks, an exhaustive and exhausting guide to Skyrim enchanting. But wait, there’s more! Check out our Skyrim Lydia, Skyrim Serana, Skyrim cure vampirism, Skyrim logo, Skyrim wallpaper, and Skyrim memes. More than enough for an adventurer like you.
