Character Level

{{Attention|Needs rewritten for tone. Words such as "you", "your", "my", and "I", are absolutely inappropriate for articles. This article may not reflect all games in the Elder Scrolls series. {{Youmayredirect|Level|leveled items|Leveled Item}}

How character level affects the game
Many things in the game world depend on your character's level.
 * The level and type of enemies that you will face (in most areas). This even includes friendly characters and guards. Luckily, the level (quality) of the equipment you receive (from drops or quest rewards) will increase with them. This is to ensure that the game remains challenging and fun. One disadvantage is that if you are leveling quickly (or non-combat skills), without planning ahead, the game may become more difficult than your character can handle.

One solution after this point is to manually adjust the Difficulty slider to bring the game back in line with your character. (This is why the slider exists, so don't be afraid to use it. It's not about making the game easier for you, it's about making it more appropriate for your character.)

Another solution in Skyrim is to use the  command. For example, if you reach level 12 by learning non-combat skills but you only have level 10 combat skills, you can enter console command mode by pressing the ~ key, entering the command, pressing the Enter key, then pressing the ~ key to leave console command mode.


 * Items, including quest rewards, items sold in a shop, random loot, and more.


 * The lock level of doors and containers
 * The amount of gold needed to bribe someone
 * The quality of random loot and certain quest rewards.

Some things in the game world do not depend on character level.
 * Houses cost the same regardless of your level. They cost at least 5,000 gold. So a higher level makes it easier to buy houses.

How to gain a character level
In Oblivion your character gains a level after a total of 10 major skill increases since he or she last gained a level. These increases can be spread across any number of your major skills. For example, increasing the Blade skill five times, the Block skill two times, and the Heavy Armor skill three times results in a total of ten skill increases. The player will receive a notice to meditate and rest (sleep), so that he or she may gain a level and distribute attribute points. If you happen to miss this meditation notice, next to the compass will appear a Moon with an arrow pointing up to the left.

In Skyrim you are not required to sleep in order to level up. Just open the character menu and then to the 'skills' section. You will then be prompted to choose between adding to your Magicka, health or stamina before choosing a perk from the perk trees.

Effects of gaining a character level

 * Each time your character gains a level, you can increase any 3 general attributes. The magnitude of the attribute increase is determined by the number of skill increases (major or minor) associated with the given attribute. For every 2 increases associated with the attribute (rounded down), the bonus increases by 1 (to a maximum of +5). For example, if you increase your Blade skill (Strength) by 3 and your Blunt skill (Strength) by 5, the potential bonus for your Strength will +4 (regardless of whether they are major or minor skills). The magnitude of the attribute bonus is locked in the moment the level up message is displayed (after the tenth major skill increase, rather than when you enter the leveling screen). Any subsequent skill increases are tallied towards your next level up. Any multipliers not used on the level up screen will not carry over to the next one. It is quite possible to level up multiple times with only a few hours of rest.
 * Your Health increases by 10% of your Endurance (rounded down). From empirical data, it seems that this gain (the bonus 10%) is not retroactively calculated with future Endurance increases. However, increases in Endurance will retroactively add to your base health (2x Endurance).

Other character level notes

 * Certain wuests require a character Level of either 2, 5, 10, 15, 17, 20, 25 or 30 to start them.
 * Many quest rewards usually cap level 20, while some will cap at level 30, with a few exceptions.
 * Some of the best items in the game are quest rewards and if you finish a quest at a low level, you will forever have a weaker version of the item, unless an item levelling mod is used.
 * Certain enemy types will scale with your level forever, unlike some that get capped out.
 * Some enemies may almost disappear from the world altogether upon reaching high levels, like Scamps.
 * Certain friendly NPCs, usually those that aid you or that you need to protect on a quest, have equipment that never scales, which leaves them a lot weaker off against creatures and humanoid enemies with scaled equipment.
 * It's actually possible to complete much of what the game has to offer at level 1, including reaching the top rank of factions, like the Arena.
 * Once you max out your attributes, you can't level up anymore even if there are major skills left to level.
 * Level advancements will stack if you do not sleep to actually level up and claim their benefits. If you get another 10 increases in your major skills but have not slept since your last level up, you can level up twice, though you will have to sleep twice, or however many time you go up, such as picking stealth as a major skill, then leveling it up 40 or so points and then sleeping as many times as needed to complete the leveling process.