Smithing (Skyrim)



Smithing is one of the 18 new skills introduced in Skyrim. It falls under the Warrior play-style and as such, acts as its crafting skill like the Mage's Enchanting and the Thief's Alchemy.

It moves away from the Armorer Skills of previous games, in that it revolves around improving weapons functionality.

Players may find it unbalanced that mage armor is fairly more powerful than regular armor, especialy in lower levels, reaching values as high as 320 armor solely with Adept-level spells (Stoneflesh and Greater Ward); however, these players should remember that mage armor is temporary, and somewhat magicka-consuming. It is also important to note that smithing has much more potential as it can be boosted using the other crafting skills (alchemy/enchanting) for fantastic results which are far greater than anything achieved solely using spells. They should also remember that a character in heavy armor can use these spells as well, and will achieve an even greater level of protection.

Governing Guardian Stone: The Warrior

Tools

 * Forge and Anvil - Used to craft armor, weapons and jewelry
 * Workbench - Used to upgrade armor and shields
 * Grindstone - Used to upgrade weapons
 * Smelter - Used to smelt ingots
 * Tannery Rack - Used to create leather/leather strips from hide

Locations
The requisite in-game objects to perform smithing (i.e. forges, Grindstones, workbenches) can be found in any main city or village (can also be found in forts and Dungeons).
 * Smelters appear in all major cities in addition to Kynesgrove
 * Forges appear in all major cities and most mines, in addition to Riverwood
 * Grindstones appear in all major cities in addition to Fellglow Keep, and Riverwood
 * Tannery Racks appear in all major cities in addition to Riverwood
 * Workbench appear in all major cities in addition to Riverwood
 * Anvils, used like forges, appear in Fellglow Keep
 * All of these tools can be found in Whiterun, near the main gate to the city just off to the right. This is the most useful spot to perform, considering the Skyforge is in the same town, and the house next to it can be purchased, storing extra materials.
 * There are also many spots in the wilderness and various caves that also have crafting stations. You do not need an entire forge to craft; even just an anvil will suffice. (the character will start hammering away on a heated rod regardless, even in an ice cave with no furnace)

Books
The following books level up your Smithing Skill:


 * Cherim's Heart
 * Heavy Armor Forging
 * Light Armor Forging
 * The Armorer's Challenge
 * The Last Scabbard of Akrash

If you are a member of the Companions, Eorlund Greymane in Whiterun trains the Smithing skill at Master level. (up to 90)

Smeltable Items
The following items are smeltable:
 * Large Decorative Dwemer Strut (2x Dwarven Metal Ingot)
 * Large Dwemer Strut (3x Dwarven Metal Ingot)
 * Bent Dwemer Scrap Metal (3x Dwarven Metal Ingot)
 * Large Dwemer Plate Metal (3x Dwarven Metal Ingot)
 * Small Dwemer Plate Metal (3x Dwarven Metal Ingot)
 * Solid Dwemer Metal (5x Dwarven Metal Ingot)
 * 2 Moonstone Ore (1x Refined Moonstone)
 * 2 Malachite Ore (1x Refined Malachite)
 * 1 Iron Ore (1x Iron Ingot)
 * 2 Silver Ore (1x Silver Ingot)
 * 2 Gold Ore (1x Gold Ingot)
 * 2 Quicksilver Ore (1x Quicksilver Ingot)
 * 2 Ebony Ore (1x Ebony Ingot)
 * 1 Corundum Ore + 1 Iron Ore (1x Steel Ingot)

Smithing Perks
The following are the perks that become available to select as the skill is leveled up

Weapon and Armor Enhancement
Weapons and armor can be improved using either a Grindstone (Weapons) or a Workbench (Armor). The level of improvement is based off whether you have the skill relating to the item (i.e. Steel Smith for improving a Steel Sword). Legendary is the final named upgrade, but you can continue to upgrade the armor/damage of your equipment with smithing levels over 100. You can use smithing armor enchantments and smithing potions to raise your smithing level over 100. Smithing skill can potentially reach 600+ with a perfect setup.

The chart below shows bonus damage for improvements between 14 and 600+ smithing levels with and without perks for upgrading weapons.

The numbers below for One-Hand weapon bonus damage might be incorrect. A steel one-handed sword has a base damage of 9. Upgrading the sword with 45 smithing skill (exquisite level) results in a total damage of 14. this is an increase of 5 and not the 9 the chart shows. Additional testing needs to be conducted as the values listed might have been based with damage perks for the weapon type.

Numbers for One-Hand weapons confirmed incorrect. With zero perks in both One-Handed and Two-Handed, both at level 100 and a Smithing level of 623 achieved through console commands (the maximum amount via the enchanting-alchemy loop), both types of weapons improved by 112 damage. Chart below needs to be reworked for accuracy.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Skills

 * See: Skill (Skyrim)