Enchanting (Oblivion)

Enchanting is the process of adding magical properties to an item. An item can only be enchanted once. However, simultaneous enchantments can be placed during the single enchantment process, if the item enchanted is a charge based item (see below).

Enchanting an item requires magical knowledge of the type of enhancement to be added (i.e. you must know the particular spell and be able to cast it in order to place that effect on an item), as well as a Soul Gem containing a trapped soul. The greater the soul trapped, the more powerful an enchantment can be made.

You may also purchase or steal soul gems from Mages Guild halls and the Arcane University itself. The Grand Soul Gems and Greater Soul Gems are primarily found in locked cases. Mages Guild members may simply pick up these loose soul gems for free.

Enchantments can be performed at an Altar of Enchanting in the Arcane University or the Archmage's Quarters. Alternately, if you have purchased the Frostcrag Spire add-on, you may use your own personal Altar of Enchanting there.

One of the benefit of Enchanting is getting your gear to have Stacked % of a beneficial effect. Such as getting 100% Reduced Mana Cost on your spells. You can see how that works here.

The most obvious disadvantage the enchanting skill suffers from, is that it is very hard and expensive to increase, due to the fact that it requires magical items, and soul gems, both of which are rare and expensive for a good part in the beginning of the game.

Enchantment Books (Skyrim)

 * A Tragedy in Black - Found in Ilinalta's Deep which is west of Riverwood, on the northern shore of the lake.
 * A Primer on Enchanting - Found in Carlotta Valentia's house between the bed and the end table upstairs.

Soul Gems
Soul Gems are a very important part of the enchantment process. They are magic stones that are able to hold the captured souls of your enemies. They come in different sizes and power and are used to transfer magicka to items being enchanted (or recharged, in most cases). There are five different types of gem, each more powerful than the last, found throughout the game. They are as follows:

Soul Gem – Charge
 * Petty – 150
 * Lesser – 300
 * Common – 800
 * Greater – 1200
 * Grand – 1600

Soul Gems are single-use items. Once used to recharge or enchant an item, they disappear. Azura's Star is a special Grand Soul Gem that is reusable.

Black Soul Gem

 * See main entry Black Soul Gem for more information on Soul Gems, their use, and their acquisition.

It is possible through quests centered around the Mage Guild to acquire "Black Soul Gems". These grand-quality soul gems can be used to trap human souls; all other Grand Soul Gems can only capture souls from creatures, not from humans. Azura's Star, however, can be made to hold either human souls (Black souls) or creature souls (White souls).

Charge-based enchantments
Weapons that are enchanted have a number of charges determined by the Soul Gem used during the enchanting. Each time the weapon hits a target, it uses a certain number of charges (as determined by the magnitude of the effect produced). Typically, weapons are enchanted with destruction magic to increase its effectiveness. It is also possible to combine different effect types, such as Soul Trap and fire damage on strike. Some greater magical artifacts have 3000 charges, which exceeds even the strength of a Grand Soul Gem.

Staffs are also charge-based enchantments, but there is no known way for the player to enchant one (other than in the quest A Mage's Staff).

Recharging a weapon costs 1 per charge (this can get very costly), or through the use of a Soul Gem. It is much cheaper to simply purchase soul gems from a Mage Guild Vendor and recharge your items yourself.

Weapons may also be recharged with a Varla Stone. Varla Stones are one-use items that recharge ALL magical items in your inventory.

It should be noted that if you have Azura's Star in your possession you can use the star to recharge your own weapons easily, as it is a reusable Soul Gem.

Using Azura's Star in conjunction with a Soul Trap spell and a summon spell can save a player thousands in recharge costs.

Constant Effect enchantments
Armor, Shields, Clothing, Rings and Amulets can be enchanted with constant effects. These enchantments are applied to the player whenever the item is equipped. The magnitude of the constant effect vary depending on the Soul Gem used to enchant it, and is typically much lower than that of a charge-based enchantment. For example, with a grand soul gem, the most powerful light enchantment you can place upon it is up to 40 feet, where as you can get spells that illuminate up to 100 feet and beyond. Certain constant effects that do not have a capacity for variation (such as Night-Eye, Water Breathing, and Water Walking) may be placed on an item to full effect using only a petty soul. Player-enchanted items can contain only one constant effect enchantment.

A good way to enchant your gear, if you are a caster, is applying the Mana % Reduction on Spellcasts, which can stack up to 100% and make all your abilities cast for free! Check out more about it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cwNFvROcqA

Enchanter

 * 1) requires none 20% bonus
 * 2) requires 20 40% bonus
 * 3) requires 40 60% bonus
 * 4) requires 60 80% bonus
 * 5) requires 80 100% bonus