30 BEST Skyrim Weapons & How To Get Them

There is a variety of weapons available in Skyrim. The sheer number of weapons and how difficult some of them are to obtain makes it impossible for the players to test out all of them. Often the players use a weapon that might seem strong on paper but is weak in reality. That is why you should know what are the best Weapons in all of Skyrim.

Auriel’s Bow

Auriel’s Bow can be considered one of the most powerful bows in the game. It belongs to the Elven God Auriel which makes it come with some unique and powerful enchantments. Due to that, the bow gets a lot of benefits from enchantments related to the Sun.

Stats

• Base Damage: 13
• Weight: 11
• Base Value: 1,000 Gold
• Enchantment: 20 points of Sun damage. Undead targets take triple damage.
• Location: Acquired during the main questline of Dawngaurd ‘Touching the Sky’.

Overview

Okay, so the first part of its enchantment deals fire damage. As for the second part of the enchantment, it deals the Sun damage that will affect the undead three times. These enchantments alone make it a powerful bow. But that’s not it.

After you acquire it, you can get your hands on some special arrows. They are the Sunhallowed Arrows and Bloodcrused Arrows. The Sunhallowed Arrows will cause the sun to release powerful beams of light that deal damage to the enemies. But if you attack an enemy directly, it will cause sun damage to them and an AoE.

As for the Bloodcursed Arrows, they will cover the sun and the sun will show up as a Blackhole. It will cause a false night in the game in which the Vampires aren’t affected by the Sun. Due to that, the Vampires will attack people in Towns. The effect will last for a whole day.

Pros

• Has unique Arrows that further enhance its utility.
• Perfect for Vampires as it will cover the sun.
• Can be used to fire powerful beams of light at opponents.

Cons

• You will get only 20 arrows at a time from Serana or Gelebor.
• Auriel’s Bow has moderate Base Damage for bows so it falls off quickly.

How To Get

It is acquired in the Touching The Sky quest. You will have to go to the Darkfall Cave. There, at the end of the Cave, you kill the Arch-Curate Vyrthur. Then Gelebor will reward you with the Auriel’s Bow.

Blade Of Woe

One of the unique Daggers in Skyrim, the Blade of Woe belongs to the leader of the Dark Brotherhood Astrid. Now the daggers aren’t new to Stealth players. That is because the Stealth tree has some powerful perks for daggers with up to 15x damage with one strike. Utilizing that, you can deal quite high damage with daggers.

Stats

• Base Damage: 12
• Weight: 7
• Base Value: 880 Gold
• Enchantment: Absorb 10 points of Health.
• Location: Looted from Astrid’s dead body.

Overview

The Blade has high base damage. In addition to that, the enchantment will come in handy more often than you think. With each hit, the Blade of Woe will absorb 10 Health from the opponent. That will allow you to kill the opponent quickly if they have heavy armor equipped.

• Pros
• Highest Base Damage among all Daggers.
• Requires no Ingots to upgrade.
• You can Pickpocket from Astrid without killing her.

Cons

• Mediocre enchantment.

How To Get

The Blade of Woe becomes available through a few different methods. First of all, you can pickpocket it from Astrid. But to get a successful attempt of pickpocket, you need to make sure that you’re at higher levels, or you can move to the next method. You can get your hands on the blade in the quest ‘With Friends Like These’ where you first meet with Astrid. You can kill her and then loot the blade from her body. Lastly, you can get it in the quest ‘Death Incarnate’ near the end.

Bloodscythe & Soulrender

If you are the type of player who likes to have dual-wielding weapons but can’t find anything special, then the next Best Weapon of Skyrim Special Edition is for you. We’re talking about Bloodscythe and Soulrender, the perfect combo. Even though they deal a good amount of damage to the enemies. But they both make each other much more deadly thanks to their enchantments.

Stats: Bloodscythe

• Base Damage: 13
• Weight: 10
• Base Value: 1,859 Gold
• Enchantment: When wielded with Soulrender, absorbs 15 Health and has a chance to weaken the target’s armor.
• Location: Wielded by Haknir Deathbrand at Glydenhul Barrow.

Stats: Soulrender

• Base Damage: 13
• Weight: 10
• Base Value: 1,000 Gold
• Enchantment: When wielded with Bloodscythe, absorb 15 Magicka has a chance to lower the target’s magic defense.
• Location: Looted from Haknir Death-Brand’s skeleton in Gyldenhul Barrow.

Overview

If you are on a hunting spree against the Magicka users, then they would be the best combo for you. You’ll not only absorb their Health and Magicka, over the normal damage. But you will also lower their physical and magical defense too. It will make them quite weak and easy for you to defeat them quickly.

Pros

• The Enchantments can often be deadly for enemies.
• Their Enchantments are perfect against mages or heavy armor enemies.

Cons

• Useless if not dual-wield.

How To Get

Both of these scimitars are found at the same location, near their former owner’s body, in Gyldenhul Barrow. For that, you have to acquire the Deathbrand quest. Bloodscythe is acquired before fighting the ghost of Haknir Death-Brand, whereas Soulrender becomes available after defeating the said ghost.

They are both one-handed swords that you can dual-wield. Each of these has a base damage of 13 and they have 10 weights. That is 2 points more than what a normal scimitar would have.  But only that, by completing the relevant quest, you’ll get your hands on them to complete the armor set of the Pirate King.

Bloodskal Blade

When you’re in a fight and an enemy archer is standing at a distance. You’d want to kill that enemy but for that, you’ll have to either have to get to them or use a bow. At times, you don’t want to carry a bow as it doesn’t suit your playstyle or you just want something different. We have just the weapon for that kind of situation.

Stats

• Base Damage: 21
• Weight: 16
• Base Value: 500 Gold
• Enchantment: Releases energy blast with Power Attacks that deal 30 damage
• Location: Found on Gratian Caerellius’ remains in Bloodskal Barrow during ‘The Final Descent’ quest.

Overview

If you are going with a swordsman build then the Bloodskal Blade is one of the best Two-Handed Greatswords for you. It can deal quite high damage in close combat the enemies. But, there is an additional benefit to its enchantment. It will throw out an arc of red energy in your desired direction. When using it, you’ll realize that the enchantment is quite similar to the Bloody Slash Art of War in Elden Ring.

Pros

• Gives range attacks to melee players.
• You can Stagger opponents.
• It doesn’t run out of charge.

Cons

• Cannot be disenchanted.
• You can’t improve above flawless quality on a grindstone without potions or enchanted items.

How To Get

It becomes available in The Final Descent quest. You’ll find it in the Bloodskal Barrow when you find Gratian Caerellius’ corpse. While you’re acquiring it, you’ll have to use it in one of the puzzles to finish the quest. That will be a great introduction to the weapon’s ability.

Although the Greatsword itself isn’t a powerful weapon, its unique enchantment makes it one of the best in Skyrim. You can take it with you on your adventures and you won’t be disappointed.

Bow Of Shadows

If you are playing as a stealth archer, then the next weapon is one of the best on which you can get your hands on in Skyrim. The Bow of Shadows is built for stealth archers, and surprisingly enough, you acquire it by killing an assassin. Before we get on how to acquire it, you must first check out its stats.

Stats

• Base Damage: 19
• Weight: 18
• Base Value: 2,500 Gold
• Enchantment: Weapon draw is 20% faster and casts invisibility for 30 seconds
• Location: Acquired during the mod quest ‘In the Shadows’.

Overview

The Bow has good base damage. It is an artifact of Prince Nocturnal who is a Daedrick prince. Thanks to its enchantment, whenever you draw the bow, you become invisible for 30 seconds. You can use it to escape detection while you’re crawling your way through enemies’ encampments. And if things turn out badly, you can always utilize that 20% faster draw speed.

Pros

• You can use its invisibility enchantment to evade unnecessary counters.
• It has the third-highest base damage among all bows.

Cons

• The Bow of Shadows only becomes available through a quest mod.
• Sometimes its invisibility might not work due to a bug.

How To Get

As for acquiring it, you come across it in the quest ‘In The Shadows’. In that quest, the Steward of Whiterun tells you of a plot to uncover the potential assassination of Jarl Balgruuf. As you go through the quest, end up in Whiterun, where you must find the Assassin. When the assassin is killed, you can loot the bow from his body. That will get your hands on one of the most powerful bows in the game.

The best build would of course be Stealth Archer. If you plan on utilizing it, then the best method would be to go with the Khajit race. That will give you additional stealth perks of the race itself. You can further utilize it with the bow’s invisibility enchantment.

Champion’s Cudgel

When you’ll first come across the Champion’s Cudgel, it seems like your typical Warhammer. A heavy weapon that packs a punch with its powerful base damage. But you’ll be surprised when you check out its enchantment. If you are having a hard time with your custom builds, then it can be the one thing that you are looking for. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Stats

• Base Damage: 24
• Weight: 27
• Base Value: 1,767 Gold
• Enchantment: 50% chance for each element of Fire, Frost, or Shock to do 25 points of damage.
• Location: Defeat and loot General Falx Carius during the ‘March of the Dead’ quest.

Overview

The Champion’s Cudgel has quite a good base damage for a Warhammer and it shows that it doesn’t lack in that section. That shows that in itself, it is a powerful Warhammer that won’t disappoint you at all. But its enchantment is the selling point. With each strike that you perform with it, there is a 50 percent chance that it will do 25 points of any or all three elemental attacks. Remember, that is all on top of the Cudgel’s base damage. All in all, even one hit will have your opponents running on their heels.

Pros

• Has a powerful enchantment.
• It can be disenchanted to learn the effects.

Cons

• Can’t be improved unless you get the Unofficial Dragonborn Patch.

How To Get

You’ll get the Champion’s Cudgel in the ‘March of the Dead’ quest. When you progress through the quest and get to Fort Frostmoth, you’ll come across General Falx Carius. He’ll be wielding the Champion’s Cudgel so be wary when fighting him. Defeat him to loot the Warhammer. There you have it, you will acquire the Champion’s Cudgel.

Chillrend

One of the most powerful one-handed swords in the game is the Chillrend. The Sword has the highest base damage in the game if you get it at a Player level above 46. That alone should be the selling point for you. But if you like it, then Chillrend comes with a nice enchantment that will surely make you go for it. On Reddit, Skyrim players consider it the best weapon in the game too.

Stats

• Base Damage: 10-15
• Weight: 11-16
• Base Value: 552-1,442 Gold
• Enchantment: Target takes 5-30 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina. Chance to paralyze the target for 2 seconds.
• Location: Stolen from Mercer Frey’s Manor during the quest ‘The Pursuit’.

Overview

Now, the base damage of the weapon depends on the player’s level. If you are above level 46, it would have the highest base damage of all one-handed swords. The base damage will be low if your character level is low. So will be the enchantment. So, if you want the best out of it, then it is better to wait until level 46 or more before you go pick it up.

Pros

• Second highest base damage among all One-handed Swords.
• Deadly against enemies that take extra frost damage.
• Benefits from Glass Smithing. Requires Refined Malachite.
• Perfect to dual-wield with the Dawnbreaker. They will deal ice and frost damage.

Cons

• You will have to wait till level 46 or higher to get the best variant.

How To Get

You can find the Chillrend during The Pursuit quest in Riften. In the quest, you’ll have to enter Mercer Frey’s house and steal his plans. While you’re at it, you’ll come across a secret office where Mercer keeps his personal belongings. There, you’ll find the Chillrend among a lot of other loot, pick it up.

The Sword is quite powerful on its own. But if you were to add the enchantment, one hit would be more than enough for a lot of the opponents. The Frost damage will hold up for a while so you can depend on it in the long run. It won’t leave you disappointed.

Dawnbreaker

If you like to go through the crypts and fight the undead in the dungeons, then there is no better weapon than what we have. That’s right; we’re talking about the Dawnbreaker, which brings pain and suffering to your enemies. It is a rare weapon that becomes available after you help out a Daedric Prince in the game. Not only that it is a beautiful one-handed sword that you should definitely own in the game.

Stats

• Base Damage: 12
• Weight: 10
• Base Value: 740 Gold
• Enchantment: Burns for 10 points, and when killing undead, a chance to cause a fiery explosion that turns or destroyed nearby undead
• Location: Acquired during ‘The Break of Dawn’ quest.

Overview

The base damage isn’t as high as you’d expect from a sword as rare as it is, but its enchantment is the selling point. It deals burning damage to enemies and explodes at hitting undead. If you are on a vampire hunt or are out to kill draugrs, then it is the best sword out there.

Pros

• Can be dual-wield with Chillrend to make the perfect combo.
• A Powerful enchantment that is deadly against Vampires and undead.
• Burns everyone else with 10 damage.

Cons

• Low Base Damage.
• Can’t be improved above flawless without Smithing potions or enchantments.

How To Get

To acquire the sword, you’ll have to complete that one quest in Skyrim. Yes, we’re talking about the one that includes Meridia’s Beacon. It is called The Break of Dawn, a befitting name for a befitting quest. When you finally defeat the necromancer Malkoran, Meridia will ask you to pick up the Dawnbreaker. And there you have it. The sword will be yours.

Now, remember, when you kill an undead with the Sword, there is a chance of a fiery explosion. That makes it quite deadly for Vampires. As not only are they vulnerable to fire damage that you get from enchantment, the explosion will help you with it. All in all, even though the base damage of the sword isn’t one of the highest, its enchantment will surely make undead hunting easy for you.

Dawnguard Rune Axe

If you don’t feel that the Dawnbreaker isn’t the best one-handed weapon in the game to hunt down Vampires or Undead, the next one definitely is. That is the Dawnguard Rune Axe with a unique enchantment. The enchantment becomes powerful as you kill more and more undead within a specific period. We’ll explain that in a while.

Stats

• Base Damage: 11
• Weight: 13
• Base Value: 175 Gold
• Enchantment: Enchantment does additional sun damage based on the number of undead killed. x undead killed.
• Location: Acquired during the “lost Relic’ quest.

Overview

It is not designed to deal damage in the traditional way. Its enchantment is the main damage-dealing part of the Axe. The TL:DR version of the Enchantment is that it is capped at 100, and in our testing, the number counter didn’t reset. Now it might be different for you as there are several different bug fixes available for the game. Do let us know how it went with you.

Pros

• The Enchantment will deal 10 to 100 Sun damage to the undead.
• the kill counter doesn’t resets.
• Improved using Steel Ingot.

Cons

• Useless for everyone other than the undead.

How To Get

The Dawnguard Rune Axe becomes available in a rather rare quest. It is named the Lost Relic, which becomes available after you have completed several different Radiant side quests. Then, Florentuis Baenius will give you the Lost Relic quest, and in the end, you will get the Axe as the reward.

It is a great weapon to hunt down undead and if you are on your way to that, then it is one of the best weapons in Skyrim Special Edition. A deadly combo would be to use the Dawnguard Rune Axe and Dawnbreaker in dual-wielded mode.

Dragonbane

You might find it hard at times to fight dragons when they’re on the ground. Whatever weapon you use on them will have a little less damage than it is shown. In the early game, it will be quite hard for you to deal with them. But what if we told you that there is a weapon that is designed for the dragon? The Dragonbane, as the name suggests is a Dragon killer. It is a Katana that the Blades used in past to assist the Dragonborn.

Stats

• Base Damage: 10-14
• Weight: 10-14
• Base Value: 789-2596 Gold
• Enchantment: 20-40 points of extra damage to dragons and 10 points of shock damage to others
• Location: Located at the Sky Haven Temple during the main quest ‘Alduin’s Wall’.

Overview

The enchantment on the Sword is the real deal. It can deal high damage to the dragons. But it doesn’t become useless when you’ve dealt with all the dragons, and it will deal 10 damage to others too. To get the highest base damage of the sword and the highest extra damage from the enchantment, you have to make sure that you’re at least 46 level.

Pros

• The enchantment is deadly against Dragons.
• Deals 10 points of Shock Damage to everyone other than the dragons.
• Can get double Smithing improvement with Steel Smithing.

Cons

• The Base Damage and enchantment are level dependent.
• To get the best variant, you’d have to be at least level 46.
• It can’t be broken down to learn enchantment.

How To Get

You’ll get it in the main questline “Alduin’s Wall”. You’ll find it in the main chamber in the Sky Haven Temple. At that time, you can pick it up with the Blade Armor because after the quest ends, it will be considered stealing. Pick up both the Sword and the Armor to become the true Dragonborn. The Stolen part removes when you complete the ‘Paarthurnax’ quest by killing Paarthurnax.

It helps the players who are on a speed run, as you won’t have enough time to upgrade all the weapons and kill Alduin quickly. But it makes it possible for you to kill a few dragons related to the main quest. And later on, you can take on Alduin himself.

Dragonbone Dagger

Up until now, we have talked about all of the unique weapons that you can get your hands on as you progress through the game. You’ll have to complete specific quests for them. But our next weapon can be crafted at any point in the game, as long as you have the required materials available for it. We’re talking about the Dragonbone Dagger, one of the most powerful daggers in the game.

Stats

• Base Damage: 12
• Weight: 6.5
• Base Value: 600 Gold
• Enchantment: None
• Location: Acquired through Smithing.

Overview

The Dragonbone Dagger has high base damage among all daggers. And it surely is a powerful one in the game. Only the Blade of Woe has as high damage as it. But it takes the edge on attack speed. As it has no built-in enchantment, you can get any enchantment that you want on the Dagger. That gives you a huge possibility of what you want on it.

Pros

• It has the highest base damage among all daggers.
• It can have any enchantment you want.

Cons

• Requires 100 Smithing to make it.
• Uses hard-to-obtain raw material, Dragon Bones.

How To Get

If you want to make the Dragonbone Dagger, then you’ll have to get into it. For that, you’ll have to level up your smithing to level 100. Then you’ll unlock the Dragon Armor perk, which will allow you to make the said Dagger. Once you have acquired the perk, you will then need the following components.

• 1x Dragon Bone
• 1x Leather Strip

Using these, you can craft the Dragonbone Dagger. It’s a truly powerful dagger that has 12 base damage. If you are on the Thief build, it will surely help you in difficult places.

Dragonbone War Axe

We have another item from the Dragon Armor set that has made it to our list of Best Weapons available in Skyrim, even in 2023. We’re talking about the Dragonbone War Axe. It is another powerful weapon with high base damage in the game. And it is a craftable item so you can make it at any point in the game. Not only that, it can be looted from an NPC later on in the game.

Stats

• Base Damage: 16
• Weight: 21
• Base Value: 1,700 Gold
• Enchantment: None
• Location: Acquired through Smithing

Overview

You’ll find that it is the highest base damage of War Axes in all of the game. But, there is a slight catch; it is also the heaviest of them all. But we’re sure that weight will be a secondary thing by the time you acquire it. With all that, you can get a custom enchantment on it, which will surely make it a deadly War Axe.

Pros

• Highest Base Damage in War Axes.
• You can add any enchantment to it.

Cons

• Heaviest War Axe.
• Requires Smithing level 100.

How To Get

As we’ve already mentioned that the Dragon Armor perk becomes available later on in the game. You’ll need 100 Smithing to unlock the Dragon Armor perk.  With the Perk ready, make sure you have these components ready.

• 1x Dragon Bone
• 1x Ebony Ingot
• 2x Leather Strips

With all that, you can move on to crafting it. As we mentioned a while ago, you can acquire it off of an NPC too. That is if you are completing the Beyond Death quest. In it, you’ll come across 3 Keepers in Soul Cairn. One of which wields the Dragonbone War Axe. Kill it and loot the war axe off of it.

Drainblood Battleaxe

The Drainblood Battleaxe is a part of the Ghost Weapons. It is one of the four. Each of these has a unique enchantment that makes them even more useful. But there is a catch, which we’ll get to in a while. Okay so, the Drainblood Battleaxe and other Ghost weapons seem like a copy of the Ancient Nord weapons. But they all weigh only a part of the original weapons and are quite deadly with their damage.

Stats

• Base Damage: 21
• Weight: 3
• Base Value: 266 Gold
• Enchantment: Absorb 15 points of Health
• Location: acquired during ‘The Staff of Magnus’ quest by defeating the spectral Draugr.

Overview

Drainblood Battleaxe’s base damage is good enough for Battleaxes. But it becomes quite good when you consider its weight, which is only 5 points. It has a superb enchantment, but there is a catch to it. We’ll get to that in a while.

Pros

• You can disenchant to learn its enchantment.
• Is the lightest Battleaxe.

Cons

• Can’t be upgraded.
• Only has one charge, which is fixed in Unofficial Skyrim Patch 1.31.

How To Get 

It is a unique Battleaxe so you won’t find it randomly on the ground. For it, you’ll have to finish a special quest, namely ‘The Staff of Magnus’. It is during the quest that you’ll end up in a Labyrinthian. There you’ll have to keep an eye out because it can be quite easy to miss.

The catch is that the Battleaxe seems to only have one charge. Once you use it, it is gone, and you’ll need a soul gem to refill its charge. But even then, it is a good weapon to own. And wielding it gives you that powerful feel. Although a few players have reported that the enchantment didn’t need Soul Gem to recharge. So your mileage may vary on which version of the game you’re using.

Dwarven Black Bow Of Fate

One of the unique bows in the game is the Dwarven Black Bow of Fate. it is quite hard to get as you’ll have to complete a difficult puzzle, and then after a while, you’ll acquire it. The bow possesses a powerful enchantment that can be deadly enough to kill enemies in one shot. And if you are going for the Archer build, it is a must-have weapon for you.

Stats

• Base Damage: 13
• Weight: 10
• Base Value: 1,446 Gold
• Enchantment: 50% chance for each attribute to absorb 25 points of Health, Stamina, and/or Magicka
• Location: During ‘The Kagrumez Gauntlet’ quest, it is found in the Treasure room. 

Overview

You will come across bows that have a lot higher base damage than it. But, it shines on its enchantment. With each hit, the bow has a chance to absorb 25 points of any or all attributes in its enchantment. Although absorbing all of these is a rare occurrence. 

Pros

• Has a powerful enchantment that absorbs the attributes.
• You can absorb one, two, or all three attributes.
• It can be upgraded at a grindstone using Arcane Blacksmith and Dwarven Smithing perk.

Cons

• Quite hard to acquire.
• Can’t be disenchanted.

How To Get

It is acquired in The Kagrumez Gauntlet quest. In the quest, you’ll have to go to Kagrumez, the Dwarven ruins. There, you’ll have to complete a few puzzles, and then after defeating waves of enemies, you’ll get to a treasure room. There will be the Dwarven Black Bow of Fate, among many other treasures, in the Treasure Room.

If you check out the Harkon’s Sword, which we’ve mentioned later on in our guide, you’ll note that it has almost the same enchantment. But unlike the sword, where it is guaranteed absorption, the bow will have a chance to absorb. In addition to that, you’ll be able to utilize that enchantment while there is a distance between you and the enemy.

Ebony Blade

The Ebony Blade is an interesting weapon in Skyrim. And if you call it one of the unique weapons, then you aren’t wrong. That is because it is an Artifact that belongs to the Daedric Prince Mephala. Because of that, the blade becomes powerful as you perform more dark deeds which we’ll explain in a while. Anyways, here are the stats of the blade.

Stats

• Base Damage: 11
• Weight: 10
• Base Value: 2,000 Gold
• Enchantment: Absorbs the life essence of your foes. Strengthened by the blood of deceit.
• Location: Acquired after completing the quest ‘The Whispering Door’.

Overview

As a Great Sword, it doesn’t have much to offer in terms of base damage. For context, the Iron Greatsword has 16 base damage. But if you are considering the Ebony Blade, we’re sure that it won’t be for that base damage. The Enchantment of the Blade is the main feature. 

The Ebony Blade will absorb 10 Health from your opponents. But to get that, you’ll have to kill a few friendly characters. Make sure that the characters you kill aren’t any important NPC. So preferably, you should kill characters whose quests you have completed or NPCs that aren’t that important, like Farmers, etc. You’ll have to kill a total of 10 NPCs to get 30 points of Health Absorption.

Pros

• Unlimited enchantment charges.
• Will keep you alive for longer in a fight.
• It swings fast for a two-handed sword.

Cons

• You can end up killing important NPCs.
• Low Base Damage for a two-handed sword.
• It can’t be upgraded.

How To Get

The Blade is acquired in the quest The Whispering Door. It becomes available after you have completed the Dragon Rising quest and are of level 20. Once you have completed the quest, you will get the last object to retrieve the Ebony Blade. Retrieve it, and you will have a deadly weapon with you.

Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow

You’ll learn on your journeys in Skyrim that there are a lot of powerful weapons in the game. A few of these belong to the Dwarves. Now you know that the Dwarves are long gone, and only their technology or the ruins remains. But you’ll still find a lot of different items in the game that will surely amaze you. So next, we have the Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow, which will surely amaze you.

Stats

• Base Damage: 22
• Weight: 21
• Base Value: 550 Gold
• Enchantment: Attacks with this crossbow ignore 50% of Armor
• Location: Purchased from Sorine Jurard at Fort Dawnguard once you complete ‘Ancient Technology’ quests.

Overview

Now if you’re an old-time Skyrim player, you must know that Crossbows aren’t a part of the vanilla game. They were added in the Dawngaurd DLC. Anyways, it is a powerful crossbow with one of the highest base damage. And its enchantment alone makes it one of the most powerful weapons in the game.

The high base damage alone will take out a chunk of health off of the opponents. One shot from it will have a lot of the opponents running for their life. But when you add in the Enchantment’s effects, it becomes devastating. It is a powerful enchantment as it will ignore half of the defense of the most powerful opponents.

Pros

• Useful against heavy armor-wearing enemies.
• You can enchant it to make it even more powerful.
• Can be upgraded using the Dwarven Smithing perk.

Cons

• All crossbows take a longer time to reload.

How To Get

You acquire the Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow in the Ancient Technology quest. In the quest, you’ll have to retrieve schematics for Sorine Jurard. She will then craft these items and sell them to you. She will craft the Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow at last. So you will have to retrieve the schematics of 6 different items until you can get it.

Not only that, if you didn’t side with Harkon in the quest ‘Bloodline’ there is an additional benefit. You can ask her to teach you how to craft one for yourself later on in the game. Then, it will only be made in Fort Dawngaurd at the Blacksmith’s forge. You’ll need these components.

• 1x Dwarven Crossbow
• 2x Quicksilver Ingots

Glass Bow Of The Stag Prince

One of the unique weapons in the game is, no doubt, the Glass Bow Of the Stag Prince. It is the perfect bow for you if you like to live a peaceful life in Skyrim as a hunter. Or, if you are collecting ingredients for your alchemy stats, then it is best too. Not only does it have relatively higher base damage, but the enchantment on it makes you even more durable.

Stats

• Base Damage: 16
• Weight: 14
• Base Value: 375 Gold
• Enchantment: Wielder receives an increasingly powerful blessing for every 20 animals killed by the bow
• Location: Pickpocketed from Falas Selvayn at Ramshackle Trading Post.

Overview

You will find that it is good enough to deal a ton of damage with one shot. Whereas as you get into its enchantment, we have the Blessing of the Stag Price. Whenever you kill 20 animals, you get 5 Health and Stamina points. It maxes out at 80 animals killed. Then you will have 25 points for both.

Pros

• Increases Stamina and Health by 25 points at complete enchantment.
• Enchantment is easy to upgrade.

Cons

• One of the hardest weapons to get.

How To Get

The Glass Bow of the Stag Prince is considered to be one of the hardest weapons to acquire in the game. The bow is wielded by one known as Falas Selvayn. You’ll find him at Ramshackle Trading Post only between 12 AM and 5 PM time. Now you can’t buy it from him or loot it from his dead body. But there are a few exploits that you can use to acquire it.

You can pickpocket it from him with the Misdirection Perk, which allows you to pickpocket the equipped items. In addition to that, if you give him a better weapon, he will equip that and unequip the other. There are a lot of other exploits that you can do to him to get it.

Harkon’s Sword

Another Katana or one-handed sword in our list is teh Harkon’s Sword. Now the weapon doesn’t have good base damage. But if you have gone a special path, then it will become a deadly weapon for you. That is, the enchantment will only work if you have become a Vampire. We’ll explain that in a while. Anyways, if you liked the Blades Sword but want to use one that is useful for you if you become a vampire, it is the one for you.

Stats

• Base Damage: 8
• Weight: 9
• Base Value: 1,472 Gold
• Enchantment: Absorbs 15 points of Health, Magicka, and Stamina if wielded by a vampire
• Location: Loot from Harkon’s body during the ‘Kindred Judgment’ quest.

Overview

The 8 Base Damage isn’t anything worth to go get it. There are a lot better weapons that deal much more damage than it and have a few better enchantments too. But where the Blade becomes unique is its enchantment. The sword ‘Absorbs 15 points of Health, Magicka, and Stamina if wielded by a vampier’. That alone will be more than enough for you if you want a solid weapon as a vampire. It absorbs all these different stats with a single hit, basically crippling your opponent.

Pros

• You can pickpocket it from Harkon.
• Lets you absorb all stats as a vampire.

Cons

• Quickly runs out of charges.
• Useless if you’re not a vampire.

How To Get

The Harkon’s Sword becomes available in the main questline of Dawnguard DLC. There, as you’re in the Kindred Judgment quest, you’ll come across Harkon. Now there are two methods that you can use to acquire the Blade. You can either kill Hrakon and take it off of his dead body. Or you can pickpocket it from him. But for that, you’ll need to be of a higher level considering its stats and Value.

Once you have acquired it, you can use it with your Vampire build. You can even dual-wield it with other weapons too. That will further amplify its damage to you.

Mace Of Molag Bal

Our next weapon is a Mace that belongs to a sinister Daedric Prince. The Daedric Prince loves to hurt innocent people and create chaos in the world. And his weapon befits his nature. The Mace of Molag Bal is of black color with a green hue of enchantment. Not only that, it has spikes all over it, which are a lot even though it is a mace. All in all, it is a powerful weapon if you want to use it on your journeys.

Stats

• Base Damage: 16
• Weight: 18
• Base Value: 1,257 Gold
• Enchantment: Deals 25 damage to Stamina and Magicka. If the target dies within 3 seconds, fills a soul gem
• Location: After completing ‘The House of Horrors’ quest.

Overview

The Mace of Molag Bal doesn’t have the highest as there is the Dragonbone Mace with 17 base damage. But you have to consider the fact that the Mace of Molag Bal weighs 6 points less than the Dragonbone Mace. In addition to that, it has a powerful enchantment built into it.

Pros

• Does 25 points of damage to Magicka and Stamina.
• If acquired early in the game, it can be quite powerful.
• Can be used by mages.
• Fills a Soul Gem if target is killed within 3 seconds.

Cons

• NPCs may hate you if it is equipped.
• It can’t be upgraded above flawless.

How To Get

You’ll acquire the Mace of Molag Bal once you have finished The House of Horrors quest. It is the same quest that starts once you enter the Abandoned House in Markarth. In the quest, if you follow Molag Bal’s instructions and kill Logrolf with the Rusted Mace, you will get the Mace of Molag Bal. And with that, the quest will end.

The enchantment alone makes it a powerful weapon. You will reduce their Stamina and Magicka with each strike, making your enemies vulnerable. It is deadly to mages as after a few hits, and they won’t have Magicka to cast more spells. 

Miraak’s Sword

The Miraak’s Sword is a sword that belongs to Miraak, the antagonist of Dragonborn DLC. It has the highest base damage in the game and weighs just 3 points. Overall, it can be called the best Sword in all of Skyrim. Not only that, it grows tentacles with each hit. But that doesn’t affect the overall range of the sword. The Range remains the same as that of a normal sword.

Stats

• Base Damage: 12-16
• Weight: 3
• Base Value: 410-1250 Gold
• Enchantment: Absorb 15 points of Stamina.
• Location: Acquired from Miraak after defeating him during the ‘At the Summit of Apocrypha’ quest.

Overview

The Sword has varying base damage. It can be from 12 to 16, depending on your Character level. If you want the best out of it, you should get to the related quest when you’re above level 60. At that time, it will have 16 base damage, the highest in the game. Its enchantment remains the same, though.

Pros

• Has the highest base damage.
• The Enchantment’s charge can be filled with a ‘petty soul gem’.
• Unique animation with each attack.

Cons

• You will have to be at least level 60 to get the best variant.
• Requires Daedra Heart to upgrade.

How To Get

To acquire the sword, you’ll have to complete the Dragonborn DLC. You’ll get it at the end of the quest ‘At the Summit of Apocrypha’ where you’ll have to kill Miraak. Miraak was a Dragonborn who used his powers for his personal gain. He was taken to the Realm of Apocrypha, from where he returned back and wreaked havoc. In addition to the Sword, you’ll acquire Mirak’s Staff and his outfit from his dead body.

The light weight of the Sword allows you to have more space for loot. If you are going to a location from where you will acquire a lot of loot, you can use it as the primary weapon for encounters. Because once you’re overweight, you can’t fast travel from one spot to another.

Nightingale Bow

The Nightingale Bow is another weapon on our list of Best Weapons in Skyrim Special Edition that scale with Player Level. It is a great early-game weapon for its powerful enchantment and good enough damage. But if you want the most out of it, it’s better to wait till you’ve reached level 46 because then it will have its highest damage. In addition to that, with a higher level, its weight increases.

Stats

• Base Damage: 12-19
• Weight: 9-18
• Base Value: 470 – 3700 Gold
• Enchantment: Freezes the Target for 10-30 points and shocks the target for 5-15 points.
• Location: Acquired by completing the ‘Blindsighted’ quest for Thieves Guild.

Overview

Okay, so the Nightingale Bow at lower levels has a base damage of 12. But as you level up and get to Level 46 or higher, both of these numbers change. Then, the base damage becomes 19. The Same goes for its enchantment. At the 46+ level, its enchantment will be at the best possible points of 30 points frost and 15 shock points. It goes to that from 10 points Frost damage and 5 points Shock damage.

Pros

• Has the third-highest Base Damage if acquired at player level 46 or higher.
• Comes equipped with a powerful enchantment.

Cons

• It is level dependent and you need to be level 46 or higher to get the best variant.
• The Enchantment can’t be disenchanted to learn.
• You can’t upgrade the bow.

How To Get

The Nightingale Bow, as the name suggests, belongs to the Thieves Guild. And you acquire the bow once you have completed the quest Blindsighted. In the quest, you have to retrieve the Skeleton Key from Mercer Frey, who uses it for his personal gains. Once you have retrieved the key, you can talk to Karliah, who will then reward you with the Bow. 

Like the Chillrend, the Nightingale Bow takes benefits from a higher player level. So, to make sure that the bow remains useful to you, you need to make sure that you start the quest later on in the game.

Okin

One of the weapons that belong to the Ancient Nord Legends is the Okin. It is a powerful sword that War Axe that once belonged to Kvenel the Tongue. Kvenel was once the leader of the Tongues, a group of powerful individuals that can use the Dragon Shouts. And to gain it, you will have to fight its previous owner in a quest.

Stats

• Base Damage: 12
• Weight: 11
• Base Value: 150 Gold
• Enchantment: Target takes 10 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina
• Location: Acquired from Kvenel the Tongue in the Volunrudd ruins during the quest ‘Silenced Tongues’.

Overview

You can call Okin’s damage the average Base Damage for a War Axe as it is not special. But remember, it has the lowest weight in War Axes. Its enchantment is a powerful one. That can deal damage to both Health and Stamina.

Pros

• An important piece of Nordic history.
• Has a good enchantment.
• Is found with the Eudj which makes a great combo.

Cons

• The Base Damage is mediocre.

How To Get

You can acquire the Okin War Axe in the quest Silenced Tongues. In that quest, you will have to enter Volunruud. There you’ll have to go through several different objectives and then open the Elder’s Cairn. After that, you’ll have to defeat Kvenel, who will then drop the Okin. It was favored by Kvenel whenever he went out in battle, which shows that it was a special weapon.

Sanguine Rose

One of the unique weapons in Skyrim is, no doubt, the Sanguine Rose. It is a Daedric Artifact with a unique enchantment. The enchantment conjures a Dremora for a small duration. So, if you are fighting with a bunch of enemies, you can use it to summon a helper. But, if you are a Master Conjurer, then it won’t be of any use to you.

Stats

• Base Damage: 0
• Weight: 10
• Base Value: 2,087 Gold
• Enchantment: Summons a level-dependent Dremora to fight for the wielder for 60 seconds
• Location: Given by Lord Sanguine after the completion of ‘A Night to Remember’ quest.

Overview

Now, when you are looking at staves, you don’t have to look at their base damage. But you need to check out their enchantment. And when it comes to the Sanguine Rose, its enchantment is quite powerful. The Dremora it will summon will be level dependent. And if you are of level 46 or above, you will summon the most powerful one, which is Dremora Valkynaz.

Pros

• Summons a powerful level-dependent Dremora.
• Useful for mages and warriors that aren’t focusing on Conjuring spells.

Cons

• If wielded by a follower, the Dremora can hit you if attacked.
• You’ll get weaker Dremora if you’re at a lower level.

How To Get

You can get the Staff in the quest ‘A Night to Remember’. In the quest, Sam Guevenne will ask you for a drinking contest, later on, through a series of objectives, where you will have to find Sam after going through several different locations. You’ll finally find Sam in Morvunskar. There he will reveal that he was the Daedrick Prince Sanguine. He will then give you the Daedric Artifact, the Sanguine Rose.

Now, the weapon is level dependent. But as you level up, you’ll summon powerful Dremora. They are Dremora Caitiff, Kynval, Kynreeve, Markynaz, and Valkynaz, with Valkynaz being the highest level.

Staff Of Magnus

There aren’t a lot of weapons for the Mages in Skyrim. With the limited number of weapons, you will have to deal with what you have. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any good weapons/staves for the Mages. We have The Staff of Magnus, which is the most powerful weapon for mages. And it is worth that, as you will have to go through a series of quests to get it.

Stats

• Base Damage: 0
• Weight: 8
• Base Value: 5 Gold
• Enchantment: Absorb 20 Magicka per second. If the target is out of Magicka, absorb Health instead.
• Location: Acquired during the “Staff of Magnus” quest.

Overview

Like all other staves, the Staff of Magnus has no damage. However, it excels in its enchantment. The Enchantment can be a lot more deadly than it seems, should you use it efficiently. First, the staff will absorb the targetted opponent’s health. As soon as they run out of it, the Staff will switch to absorbing the health of that target.

Pros

• It is quite deadly against Mages.
• You can use it against all enemy types.
• Holds a large amount of charge.

Cons

• Will require powerful soul gems to recharge.

How To Get

You’ll get the Staff of Magnus during the College of WIinterhold’s quests. There, you’ll have to go through a series of quests until you get to the Staff of Magnus quest. In the Quest, your goal is to retrieve the Staff of Magnus in Labyrinthian. During that time, you’ll also acquire the Drainblood Battleaxe, among other Ghost Weapons. The Dragon Priest Morokei carries the Staff. You’ll have to defeat him and then loot it from his body.

The Staff of Magnus is quite deadly to Magicka users. You can use it to completely drain their Magicka, and it will render their magic abilities useless. But if you want to fully maximize the use of the Staff, you’ll first have to drain their Magicka using other weapons or spells. After that, use the Staff to drain their health and Magicka if they recover any.

The Longhammer

Orcish weapons are known to be quite deadly as they are a warrior race. So, we have with us, one of the unique weapons that belong to the Orcish race, which is The Longhammer. It is not a powerful Warhammer, but when you look at its other parts, it is unique on its own. It weighs a lot less than the usual Orcish Warhammer but still has the same damage.

Stats

• Base Damage: 21
• Weight: 18
• Base Value: 90 Gold
• Enchantment: Rahd’s hammer, the reduced weight, allows it to be swung more quickly.
• Location: Retrieved at Liar’s Retreat beside Rahd’s dead body.

Overview

The base damage is not so great for a Warhammer, but you should note that that is the normal base damage of an Orcish Warhammer. Thanks to its low weight, the Longhammer has a unique enchantment to it. It swings at each attack the fastest among all Warhammer.

Pros

• Fastest Warhammer in the game.
• It can be further enchanted.

Cons

• You might not find the Warhammer at its location due to a bug.

How To Get

You’ll find the Longhammer in a quest named Lair’s Retreat. In the quest, you’ll have to investigate what happened at the said Lair. When you’re investigating, you’ll find that the Lair got attacked by Falmers. You’ll then have to defeat all of the Falmers and then locate Rahd. You’ll find that he was attacked by Falmers and used as a sacrifice. Claim his Longhammer.

The Rueful Axe

One of the most powerful Battleaxes in Skyrim is the Rueful Axe. Behind the Battleaxe is a dreadful quest in which you must perform a sinister deed. But in turn, you will get a powerful Battleaxe. It is a deadly enchantment that will have your enemies running for their lives with a few hits.

Stats

• Base Damage: 22
• Weight: 10
• Base Value: 500 Gold
• Enchantment: Does 20 points of Stamina damage.
• Location: Gained for killing Barbas in ‘A Daedra’s Best Friend’.

Overview

The base damage is above average for Battleaxes, and only late-game weapons have that much damage. But its weight is quite low, and only the Drainblood Battleaxe has a weight lower than that. Now, the Enchantment will delete 20 points of the enemy’s stamina with each hit, which will, in turn, stop them from sprinting away from you or blocking or even making power attacks.

Pros

• Deals high damage to Stamina.

Cons

• Can’t be upgraded above flawless.
• It is slower than most Battleaxes.

How To Get

The quest to get The Rueful Axe becomes available once the Dragonborn walks around the Falkreath region. There Lod, an NPC, or one of the guards will inform the player that there is a talking dog in the region. You’ll have to locate it and complete its quest ‘A Daedra’s Best Friend’. In the quest, you’ll have to kill the Dog, Barbas, as commanded by Vlavicus Vile. He will only give you the axe if you kill the Dog.

It is a powerful Battleaxe. The enchantment on it is quite powerful if you utilize it properly. Now you must think that the low weight makes it fast like The Longhammer. But that is not the case, it is quite slower than any other weapons in the game.

Volendrung

The Volendrung, which is also known as the Hammer of Might, is a powerful Daedric Artifact. It was forged by the ancient Dwemer tribes so you know that the weapon packs a lot of firepower in it. The Dwemer belonged to Morrowind and then migrated to Hemmerfell. You’ll find that the Volendrung has appeared throughout the Elder Scroll series. It is a powerful legacy weapon.

Stats

• Base Damage: 25
• Weight: 26
• Base Value: 1843 Gold
• Enchantment: Absorb 50 points of Stamina
• Location: Gained by completing the quest ‘The Cursed Tribe’

Volendrung has the fourth-highest Base Damage among all Warhammer. Not only that, it is the second fastest Warhammer in Skyrim, only behind The Longhammer. But that isn’t the highlight of it. Its enchantment is what makes it unique. It has quite a high value of absorption, and with a few hits, your opponents’ stamina will deplete.

Pros

• The enchantment will stop NPC from running away.
• Each power attack will absorb the lost stamina.
• It is the second fastest Warhammer.

Cons

• It becomes useless as you get to higher levels.
• Can’t be upgraded.

How To Get

You’ll find the Warhammer in the quest ‘The Cursed Tribe’. In the quest, you’ll have to help the orcs’ tribe in Largashbur and help them contact a certain Daedra lord. In the quest, you’ll have to retrieve a certain Hammer and place it into the Daedric Prince’s shrine. There, the Warhammer will turn into Volendrung, the Daedric Prince’s Warhammer. You must pick it up then and there as you won’t be able to retrieve it later on.

Windshear

One of the hardest-to-find weapons in all of Skyrim is the Windshear. It is so randomly placed that you will seldom find it at its hidden location without any instructions. But don’t worry, we have found it and have recorded its location for you. It is a Scimitar that has a unique, powerful enchantment that will make your opponents unable to attack you for as long as you want. Surely, it is one of the Best Weapons too, and we found out that a lot of Skyrim players on Reddit seem to believe so too.

Stats

• Base Damage: 11
• Weight: 10
• Base Value: 40 Gold
• Enchantment: Bash attacks made with this weapon have a high chance of knocking enemies down.
• Location: On The Katariah’s bow, where it is available during and after the quest ‘Hail Sithis!’

Overview

The base damage isn’t high enough to make a huge difference in your fights. But, the enchantment with the Scimitar is what’s so special. Its enchantment has a 39% chance to paralyze your enemies for 0.1 seconds. If you time it right, your enemies will be constantly staggering down and trying to get up and getting staggered again.

Pros

• Can put enemies into a staggering loop if you keep attacking.
• You can upgrade it using Arcane BlackSmith or Steel Smithing.

Cons

• Hardest to acquire if you don’t know where to look for it.
• It won’t be available if you decide to destroy the Dark Brotherhood.

How To Get

You’ll find the Windshear in the quest ‘Hail Sithis!’ you will have to assassinate the Emperor. It is a quest when you’re a part of the Dark Brotherhood. It is also the last contract-based quest that you have to do under the Dark Brotherhood. You’ll find the Windshear on The Katariah, the ship of the emperor. On it, when you’re on the main deck, you’ll have to go to the front of the ship. There, on the bow, you’ll find that the Windshear is plugged into the wood; pick it up.

Wuuthrad

If you support the Stormclock in the fight for control over Skyrim, then the Wuuthrad is the one Battleaxe that you should get. It belonged to the Legendary leader of the Five Hundred Companions, Ysgramor,  who fought in the Nordic-Falmer War. Now, you’ll have to retrieve parts of his axe, and then you can use it for yourself.

Stats

• Base Damage: 25
• Weight: 25
• Base Value: 2,000 Gold
• Enchantment: Especially deadly to Elves
• Location: At Ysgramor’s Tomb

Overview

The Wuuthard has the third highest base damage among War Axes, with only the Tsun’s Battleaxe and the Dragonbone Battleaxe having higher base damage. But they both weigh a lot compared to the Wuuthrad so it has a clear victory among them in terms of efficiency. In addition to that, you get a powerful enchantment with the Battleaxe too.

Pros

• Useful against Falmer in Dwemer ruins.
• It can be enchanted.

Cons

• You can’t upgrade it with Smithing.

How To Get

In the quest Glory to the Dead, you’ll get the Wuuthrad crafted from the Eorlund Gray-Mane. For that, you’ll have to collect the shards of the Battleaxe. Now the last shard was with Kodlak Whitemane, which you’ll have to retrieve from his room. Then you will get the Wuuthrad crafted by Eorlund.

Wuuthrad is a powerful Battleaxe. Its enchantment allows it to deal extra damage to elves. That damage is 1.2x more than normal damage. It is deadly to all elves classes, the Altmer, Bosmer, Dunmer, and Falmer. So if you have plans to head down to the Falmer ruins and fight them, then you should definitely acquire it first.

Zephyr

One of the fastest bows in Skyrim is the Zephyr Bow. It has a very short draw time which is faster than almost all bows in the game except for the Long Bow. It is a unique dwarven bow that belonged to Katria.

Stats

• Base Damage: 12
• Weight: 10
• Base Value: 670 Gold
• Enchantment: Fires 30% faster than a standard bow.
• Location: Dwemer Ruins of Arkngthamz

Overview

The base damage among bows. But that doesn’t mean that it is useless. The enchantment that you get with the bow ensures that it is quite useful for you. Its faster draw speed makes it quite useful if there is a gap between you and the enemy.

Pros

• Zephyr has the fastest arrow drawing speed.
• It is a permanent enchantment meaning it won’t run out of charge.

Cons

• The Base Damage is low for a bow.
• It can’t be disenchanted.

How To Get

Zephyr is acquired in a quest in the Dawnguard DLC. The Quest’s name is Lost to the Ages. In the quest, you’ll have to travel to the Dwarven ruins of Arkngthamz. There, you’ll encounter the ghost of Katria, which will tell you that she once explored these ruins. As you progress through the ruins, you’ll find her bow on a Log by a huge drop. You’ll have to pick up the bow carefully.

The low base damage of the bow is somewhat covered by the fact that it fires quickly. You can use it during combat if there is a bit of a gap between you and the opponent. You can then use it while the enemy is trying to get near you. It is not so great if you are going for a Sneak Archer build.

Final Words

With that, we conclude our list of Best Weapons of Skyrim Special Edition in 2023 that we found while scouring through different forums such as Reddit, etc. But that is not all about Skyrim. Tons of different Mods completely change the game. A few of these allow you to make anyone your Wife, such as Serana. These mods can also alter the Armor Cap too. Not only that, there are a lot of different methods to earn money. Using the Transmute Spell is one of the best methods for that.

A lot of these weapons have unique enchantments. One will turn you invisible, whereas the other will make literal sun strike the enemy and many more. Now whichever suits you will depend on your needs if you find any great weapon that we have missed let us know.