Armorer (Oblivion)

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The Armorer skill determines the effectiveness while trying to repair damaged weapons and armor. The Hero can increase the skill level by attempting to fix their own damaged equipment rather than taking it to a smith for repairs. Repairs attempted with the armorer skill are augmented by repair hammers.

It returns in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim as a skill called Smithing.

Governing attribute: Endurance

Skill levels

• Novice (0-24): Can repair non magic equipment using repair hammers
• Apprentice (25-49): Repair hammers last twice as long
• Journeyman (50-74): Can now repair magic items
• Expert (75-99): Can repair items beyond their highest condition (up to 125%). These weapons and armor do extra damage or give extra defense
• Master (100): Repair hammers never break; one hammer lasts a lifetime

Skill selection advice

The Repair interface allows armorers to select which pieces of gear they want to repair.

While it may seem like a simple 'trade' skill, Armorer is crucial for any combat intensive character. Especially for long combat runs, like when closing Oblivion gates, your armor and weapons will fall apart quickly. Having a high armorer skill will let you repair enchanted items, and repair them past their original usefulness. Also, repair hammers are heavy (they weigh a pound each), and the lower your armorer skill, the more hammers you will need to carry during each raid (because they break more often for low-level armorers). Being a master in armorer will allow you to carry only one repair hammer.

Leveling tips

• Repair weapons and armor every chance you get, including those from defeated characters.
• If you haven't completed the 'Whom Gods Annoy' quest, you can go to Rosentia's House in Leyawiin. Here kill the Everscamps with a single hit (easy difficulty/strong weapon) and immediately repair the weapon after the blow. This way one can repair 4 times in a row, followed by a second or two waiting, followed by doing the same over and over again.
• Create a spell to damage weapons and/or armor on self, then repair the broken gear. This is also a nice way to train Destruction without live targets.
• Create an item with the damage weapon/armor effect on it. Bind the item to a quick slot and equip/unequip it quickly. Every time you equip it, you will see the damaged armor piece glow. Then repair. Although your items may burn red like they are being damaged, they only take damage when you first equip the damaging item.
• Create a spell to drain Armorer to 0 for a very short time so it takes much longer to fully repair items since the skill increases on number of uses, not how well the repair is.
• This can also be trained along with weapon and armor skills using Conjuration.
• Once you reach Expert, you can much more easily train this skill since all weapons and armor goes up to 125%.
• Simply binding weapons and armor using Conjuration and repairing them over and over at Expert level is another quick way to train the skill.
• If you have Gray Cowl of Nocturnal from the Thieves Guild quest, put it on and go to a city. Attack a guard; after he talks to you, resist arrest, let them attack you and damage your armor, then take the Cowl off, yield, repair your armor, and repeat. This is also a good way to train you light or heavy armor up. Also, some characters attack the party; be careful not to kill them if you can because you may need them for a quest or something later.
• When you defeat an enemy who uses weapons and armor, take all of it off them and repair it, then drop it again if you don't need it.
• Fire your bow 1 time, auto equip a hammer and repair then fire and repair. If you try to fire too many at once it will take forever.
• Get the Amulet of Disintegration from the Shivering Isles add-on along with hundreds of repair hammers. Equip and re-equip the amulet then repair all your items. Repeat till 100.
• If you have become an expert and you have the knights of the nine completed place the armor of the crusader on the rack, take it back and repair all items to 125% repeat as desired
• You can also complete the Secrets of the Ayleids quest from Umbacano, a High Elf who lives in the Imperial City Talos District. This quest is given after you complete his first two other quests. When the time comes, give him the fake crown, and once he dies, loot the crown back from him, and you can repair the crown as much as you want without limits since the broken crown can't be fixed ever. The easiest way to level up the Armorer skill.

Armorer trainers

• Refer to the Trainers page.

Books that permanently increase the Armorer skill

• The Armorer's Challenge
• Last Scabbard of Akrash
• Light Armor Repair
• Cherim's Heart of Anequina
• Heavy Armor Repair

Leveling text

Apprentice

Long days and nights at the forge make you strong and tough. You are now an Apprentice Armorer. Your repair hammers now last twice as long. You cannot repair magical items yet.

Journeyman

Long days and nights at the forge make you strong and tough. You are now a Journeyman Armorer. Using repair hammers, you can now fully repair magic weapons and armor.

Expert

Long days and nights at the forge make you strong and tough. You are now an Expert Armorer. Using repair hammers, you can repair items up to 125% of their normal health. Weapons with health above 100% do extra damage. Armor with health above 100% provides extra protection.

Master

Long days and nights at the forge make you strong and tough. You are now a Master Armorer. A Master Armorer does not wear out repair hammers while repairing weapons and armor. One repair hammer lasts you a lifetime. 

NPC dialogue

Once one's Armorer skill level reaches 70 or higher, NPCs will say to you: "You've got the hands of a smith. Must have spent some time repairing your gear."

Usefulness

Armorer helps raise Endurance which in turn raises maximum health. Without this skill your armor will often be completely worn down by the time you leave a dungeon. The expert perk in Armorer raises your overall protection, and damage output. The master skill perk keeps you from having to carry multiple Armorer's hammers.

See also

• Skill Leveling Tips (Oblivion)