Enchanting is one of the most powerful skills in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, allowing you to imbue weapons, armor, and jewelry with magical effects. Whether you want to increase your damage output, boost your defenses, or enhance your utility, this guide covers the enchanting basics and offers tips to help you level the skill efficiently.

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Why Enchanting Matters

Enchanting lets you:

• Infuse weapons with elemental damage or effects like Soul Trap
• Enhance armor and jewelry with bonuses such as increased Health, Magicka, Stamina, carry weight, or regeneration
• At level 100, apply two enchantments to a single item for maximum customization and power

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Getting Started with Enchanting

Accessing an Arcane Enchanter

You’ll need an Arcane Enchanter to enchant or disenchant items.

Easiest early-game location:

• Dragonsreach in Whiterun
  1. Enter Dragonsreach.
  2. Head to the right of the Jarl’s throne into the court wizard’s room.
  3. The Arcane Enchanter is next to Farengar’s alchemy lab.

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What You Need to Enchant

To enchant an item, you need:

1. An item – Any weapon, armor, or piece of jewelry
2. A filled Soul Gem – The quality of the gem determines the enchantment’s power
3. A magical effect – Learned by disenchanting enchanted gear

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Understanding Soul Gems

Types of Soul Gems

• Petty – Weak souls (e.g., mudcrabs)
• Lesser – Slightly stronger creatures
• Common – Mid-tier souls
• Greater – Stronger enemies
• Grand – Highest standard tier
• Black Soul Gem – Captures human souls (equal to Grand)
• Azura’s Star / The Black Star – Reusable Soul Gems:
  • Azura’s Star: Non-human souls
  • The Black Star: Human souls (Grand-tier and reusable)

How to Fill Soul Gems

1. Learn the Soul Trap spell (available from Farengar in Whiterun).
2. Cast Soul Trap on an enemy before killing it.
3. Ensure you have an empty Soul Gem of the appropriate size in your inventory.

Tip: If a smaller gem isn’t available, the game will use a larger one, potentially wasting it.

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Learning Magical Effects

To learn enchantments:

• Use the Disenchant option at any Arcane Enchanter
• Select an enchanted item to destroy and absorb its magical effect

⚠️ Note: Disenchanting destroys the item, and some unique items can’t be disenchanted

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Enchanting Process (Step-by-Step)

1. Select an item – Choose a weapon, armor piece, or jewelry
2. Choose an effect – Pick a magical effect you’ve learned
3. Set strength/magnitude – For weapons, more power = fewer charges
4. Select a Soul Gem – The better the gem, the stronger the result
5. Finalize and craft – Your enchanted item is now complete

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Weapons vs. Armor Enchantments

Weapons

• Limited by charges – Each attack uses a portion of the stored soul energy
• Requires recharging with filled Soul Gems after depletion
• Best Soul Gems = more charges and higher damage

Armor & Jewelry

• Enchantments are permanent
• Great for improving utility (e.g., carry weight, regeneration, resistance)
• No recharging required

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How to Recharge Weapons

1. Select the weapon in your inventory
2. Choose Recharge
3. Use a filled Soul Gem

Tip: Use smaller gems to recharge; save larger ones for enchanting

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Leveling Enchanting

You gain experience by:

1. Enchanting new items
2. Disenchanting gear
3. Recharging enchanted weapons

To level faster:

• Create multiple inexpensive items (e.g., Iron Daggers or Gold Rings) and enchant them
• Enchant with cheap effects like Turn Undead or Frost Damage
• Always keep a stockpile of Soul Gems on hand

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Is Level 100 Enchanting Worth It?

Absolutely. At level 100, you unlock:

• Stronger enchantments
• 25% more effective enchantments with the Enchanter perks
• Access to the Extra Effect perk, allowing two enchantments on a single item
• Perks to improve specific enchantment types (e.g., Fire, Frost, Fortify Sneak)

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Additional Tips

• Save your best Soul Gems for high-value items
• Use Fortify Enchanting Potions (from Alchemy) to boost enchantment strength
• Enchant gear with Fortify Smithing/Alchemy to boost other crafting skills
• Create and wear Fortify Enchanting gear to stack your crafting efficiency

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Conclusion

Enchanting is a core skill that adds tremendous power and flexibility to your character build. Whether you’re playing a warrior, mage, or thief, enchanted gear can drastically enhance your combat, survival, and utility. Start small, experiment with effects, and work your way toward powerful dual-enchanted equipment.

Master the arcane arts—and let your enemies fall to the power of your gear.