The Best Weapons in 'Skyrim'

Weaponry has always been a huge part of the Elder Scrolls franchise. Many particularly good ones, like Auriel’s Bow, first made their appearance in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim when it released back in 2011. And now with Skyrim: Special Edition, we’ve got a chance to collect them all once again.

Here’s some of the most legendary weapons available in all of Skyrim:

Blade of Woe

The Blade of Woe has always been one of the most respected weapons due to its association with the Dark Brotherhood. Given to the player character in Oblivion and passed down to Astrid from the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim, this dagger remains one of the most powerful with an enchantment allowing the user to absorb 10 points of health with each strike, and higher base attributes than the Daedric dagger.

Mehrunes’ Razor

Mehrunes’ Razor is one of the few key artifacts closely associated with the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon, the main antagonist of Oblivion. This small black and silver dagger packs one hell of a punch courtesy of the unique enchantment which gives the wielder a 1.98% chance to instantly kill any opponent in Skyrim. The Razor also doesn’t run out of charges, meaning you never have to worry about soul gems to keep its unique benefit working.

Dawnbreaker

Similar to Mehrunes’ Razor, Dawnbreaker is a Daedric Artifact given by the Daedric Prince Meridia in Skyrim once you’ve completed her quest. This golden longsword burns enemies for 10-15 points of health damage, and, if used against the undead, has a chance to cause an explosion of fire that deals additional damage and causes any living undead to flee. While this enchantment does have a high amount of uses, it does require a few grand soul gems to recharge — which makes Dawnbreaker more of a utility weapon than most. That said, it remains one of the best-looking swords present in the game, enchantment or not.

Harkon’s Sword

Harkon’s Sword is easily the best go-to weapon for anyone playing a vampire within Skyrim. First appearing with the release of Dawnguard, this blade closely resembles one of the Blades swords from the base game while boasting a unique enchantment that only works if the wielder is a vampire themselves. Each strike absorbs 15 points of health, magic, and stamina at the cost of a lower base damage — a tool perfect for the rising vampire.

Bloodskal Blade

This unique two-handed sword was introduced to the world of Skyrim with Dragonborn, where it can be found during the quest “The Final Descent” resting next to the remains of Gratian Caerellius. The Bloodskal Blade allows the wielder to throw horizontal or vertical energy blasts that can travel through walls and hit multiple targets, dealing 30 or so points of damage to those it hits. While this unique trait isn’t very powerful from a damage standpoint, it is excellent at staggering enemies and keeping them locked down in combat.

Wuuthrad

This gigantic axe was originally wielded by Ysgramor, the leader of the Five Hundred Companions during the Nordic-Falmer War that consumed Skyrim and Solstheim hundreds of years before the events of Skyrim itself. Wuuthrad is a key artifact in the Companions main questline and can be wielded by the player character following its completion — providing a 1.2x damage bonus against any elven enemy it goes up against. This bonus can also be stacked with a player-crafted enchantment too, furthering the usefulness of the weapon compared to its other two-handed counterparts in the game.

Zephyr

While this bow doesn’t necessarily look like anything special, the unique Dwarven Bow provides the wielder with an ability that allows them to shoot arrows 30 percent faster than that of a standard bow. Thanks to that, it has the highest base damage per second of any archery weapon in the game. This effect is also innate, meaning that it won’t run out of charges, making Zephyr a very, very powerful tool for any character who specializes in Archery.

Nightingale Bow

The Nightingale Bow is one of the best-looking weapons available in Skyrim, featuring a black leather handle and silver embroidered texture. Available once you’ve progressed far enough in the Thieves Guild questline, this beauty sports the “Nightingale Storm” enchantment which does frost and shock damage to the target along with the usual physical damage from an arrow. Since this bow is leveled, the enchantment quality varies depending on when you receive it; meaning that you’ll probably want to grab it from Karliah once your character is at least level 46.

Auriel’s Bow

Auriel’s Bow is one of the most respected and legendary weapons in the game. This weapon is said to have been wielded by Auri-El himself against the forces of Lorkhan during the Ehlnofey wars of the Dawn Era. Auri-El is the Elven variant of the Dragon God of Time himself, Akatosh, who was the chief god of the Nine Divines worshiped all throughout Tamriel.

This bow is said to channel the power of the Aetherius itself, channeling the power of the gods through the sun of the world. The enchantment present on the weapon gives it a faster draw speed than a regular bow and deals 20 points of sun damage against enemies, which is tripled if they are classified as an undead.