Exploring Skyrim Part III: The Self-Made Dragonborn, an Introduction to Crafting

You’ve fought through bloody bandit outposts, slain mammoths and giants, and had to sift through and throw out every pot and plate you picked up by mistake because you can barely walk. Making your way back to town, you check in at your favorite blacksmith to see what’s new in store to realize that it’s six iron daggers and one enchanted leather shield that costs a good five times the gold you have on hand… What’s a dragonborn to do? Well, let me tell you!

There’s a plethora of non-combat skills in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, from crafting to thievery, that help you create a well-rounded character and let you make use of every little item you find out in the world. Here I’d like to offer some skill-related tips related to some of the more…interesting…situations I’ve gotten myself into in this game to help you get an idea of what kinds of characters can revolve around these skills.

Fighting the more magical denizens of Skyrim may take more than just a normal sword and shield.

In this post, we’ll check out the three “main” skill trees for crafting in Skyrim:

Smithing



Alchemy



Enchanting



Each of these skill trees plays off the others. Say you use Smithing to craft a righteous new mace for your paladin-themed character. You could then enchant that mace with Turn Undead to send the reanimated horde fleeing in fear. Cool, right? But enough hypothetical fluff. Let’s get to some details!

Smithing: Forging your destiny, one ingot at a time

First up, Smithing. A good smith can take various ores and animal parts found in the world and craft them into what can become some of the most powerful gear in the game. Typically, you’ll stock up on materials from merchants or dungeon escapades and head over to a forge to create whatever piece of equipment you have your eyes on, be it simple steel or more exotic materials such as glass, Dwemer metal, or even Dragonbone.

I made one of my character’s goals in life to take over the local legendary blacksmith’s job.

Most perks in the Smithing tree unlock the ability to work with better materials you find out in the world. Make use of the grindstone and workbench as well to boost the base damage or armor rating of items you currently own to greater heights, dependent on your Smithing skill.

With the Hearthfire expansion, which is included in the game for Nintendo Switch, housing components were added to the Smithing line, so if you want to make yourself a custom abode to store all your knickknacks, you’ll want to get cozy with that forge and anvil.

Enchanting: Making the arcane work for you

Next in line is Enchanting, the art of infusing gear with magical properties. Skilled enchanters can do anything from adding elemental damage to weapons, boosting health and carrying capacity, enhancing skills, and even increasing how much power you pack when bareknuckle boxing.

To enchant something, you need a soul crystal with a trapped soul inside. How this isn’t terrifying is still a mystery to me, but the denizens of Skyrim seem to not be bothered much by the idea of writhing life-forces stuck in shiny rocks. You can find and purchase full crystals, but filling empty ones is generally the cheaper way to get started. All you need is to cast the Soul Trap spell from Conjuration on something and kill it to fill a crystal in your inventory. (There’s an enchantment for Soul Trap as well which, when slapped onto a weapon of choice, is pretty convenient.)

Even bound weapons like these babies can trap the souls of your enemies with the right perk.

Once you’ve filled some crystals, make your way over to an enchanting table. (There are a few in dungeons with necromancers for…obvious reasons, but most major cities have them too, including over at Dragonsreach in Whiterun.) Pick your crystal, item, and enchantment, and you’re good to go. The strength of the enchantment depends on your perks, skill, and the quality of the trapped soul.

Rumors in arcane circles mention some kind of soul gem that isn’t consumed upon use…but I’ll leave that up to you all to find out for yourselves.

Alchemy: Drinking your way to success

Last of the three big ones is Alchemy. This art takes natural and supernatural ingredients from fish eggs to ghost ectoplasm and cooks them up into potions with almost any effect you can think of.

In that sense, alchemy really feels akin to cooking in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You can venture out in the open, gathering all kinds of mushrooms, bugs, flowers, and monster bits, and discover which combinations work the best through trial and error. You’d be surprised with what kind of potions you can brew up.

That being said, the effects of a potion or poison depend on what ingredients you put in. For example, wheat has healing properties, so when mixed with some Blisterwort you found in a cave it’ll make a potion of Restore Health. The fun is when you start to add and mix different ingredients to layer effects.

Take, say…some Deathbell picked from the local cemetery, mix in a River Betty you snagged out of the lake next to town, and then toss in a bee that was bothering you over by the honey farm and you’ll get a poison that when applied to a weapon not only slows stricken enemies down but saps their stamina by a bunch as well. Not too shabby to take care of that tough-looking bandit chieftain.

A special mention should go to giant’s toes. If you can get a hold of one or two, they have immense healing properties.

Alchemy is also a great way to make some gold in the world of Skyrim. The better the potion, the more profitable, and certain effects sell for quite a bit more than others.

Fields of gold, ripe for the picking. Plants and animals to harvest can be found all over Skyrim.

One last thing to mention here is that you can also nom on ingredients to discover a few traits they have without having to guess. It’s always a good idea to taste test an ingredient first to flesh out what you can create.



Cooking: An honorable mention

On top of the “big three” of Skyrim crafting skill trees, Cooking deserves an honorable mention, as you can use a cooking pot to roast up a wide selection of dishes and treats that will restore health, magika, and stamina depending on the recipe. It’s a nice little way to keep topped off during your adventuring.

One last word to the wise, however, don’t neglect your combat skills for only crafting, or you won’t be able to wield that cool new sword you made effectively against powerful enemies.

Now get to thinking about what YOU can whip-up for your next character!

That wraps up the crafting side of this game’s non-combat skills, but there’s still a good deal you can do beyond waving your swords and spells about. Join me next time for a dive into the underbelly of Skyrim and go over some skills from the Thief style of play.

—James M.