The 20 Most Powerful Weapons In Skyrim (& How To Find Them)

Almost everywhere that players turn, they’ll be met with a draugr or bandit that needs slaying, and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim‘s best weapons can help them achieve that task with ease. Because of their excellent stats and perks, some of these items can be quite difficult to obtain, but the detour will ultimately be well worth the trouble. From two-handed swords to slick, silent bows, any Dragonborn can find a powerful Skyrim weapon that will fit not only fit their personal playstyle, but also make combat a breeze.

For those looking to become incredibly overpowered, though, the massive Elder Scrolls modding community can certainly fulfill their needs. Many of Skyrim‘s mods are infamously weird, but there are some that can give players the weapons of their dreams, whether they improve on existing items or add new ones into the game. Experimenting with mods can be a great way to spice up the experience of the decade-old RPG, but for those looking to stay relatively grounded and enjoy the base game, Skyrim‘s best weapons can still make them near unstoppable on the battlefield.

1 Wuuthrad Is Great Against Elves In Skyrim

Many of the game’s battleaxes are powerful, sporting high damage stats and enchantments to take on powerful foes, and Wuuthrad is no exception. It has a base damage output of 25, which is enough to kill most low-health enemies on its own. However, it deserves extra praise because of its passive ability to do 1.2x damage to each of the various elf races in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.

To obtain Wuuthrad, players need to complete the “Glory of the Dead” quest. By simply traveling back to the tomb after the mission is completed, they’ll be able to pick up and use one of Skyrim‘s best weapons.

2 The Rueful Axe Requires Sacrifice In Skyrim

The Rueful Axe is an artifact of the Daedric Prince Clavicus Vile, originally given to a mage to cure his daughter of lycanthropy, but the battleaxe is also available to the Dragonborn. Its base damage output of 22 rivals some of the best two-handed weapons, but it can also be enchanted or upgraded like usual weapons.

To find the Rueful Axe, players will need to complete the quest called “A Daedra’s Best Friend.” The hardest part about this quest is that they’ll need to fulfill Vile’s mysterious Skyrim request and kill Barbas – but those willing to put their morality aside will receive one of Skyrim‘s most powerful weapons as a reward.

3 Mehrunes’ Razor Can Kill Skyrim Enemies In One Hit

Mehrune’s Razor has a 2% chance of instantly taking down any foe, which may sound a bit low, but it’s important to note that this includes even the most powerful enemies in the game (such as dragons). This makes it a fantastic secondary weapon for any dual-wield character build.

By completing “Pieces of the Past,” players can obtain one of the best daggers in Skyrim and try their luck. It’ll require sacrificing Silus Vesuius in cold blood, though, as sparing him will allow him to return home and Mehrune’s Razor will become unobtainable for the rest of the game.

4 Skyrim’s Nightingale Blade Drains Health And Stamina

The Nightingale Blade is a leveled sword that has a 10-14 point damage output, and it simultaneously absorbs 5-25 points of health and stamina, making it a less invasive alternative to becoming a vampire in Skyrim and one of the game’s most powerful weapons.

Finding the Nightingale Blade involves completing the Thieves’ Guild quest “Hard Answers” and obtaining the sword from Karliah, one of the three Nightingales. Those who wear the Nightingale Armor may be especially interested in completing their look with this weapon.

5 Zephyr Is A Speedy Bow In Skyrim

Zephyr, a unique Dwarven bow, comes with base damage output of 14, but its 30% faster drawing stat gives it one of the highest damage-per-second values of all the bows in the Skyrim. Especially when combined with the Quick Shot Archery perk, which is a further 30% drawing speed, the Dragonborn will never need to look for another ranged weapon again.

The quest required to obtain Zephyr is a bit hard to find, as it’s triggered by reading an in-game book called The Aetherium Wars, and then finding a ghost named Katria in The Reach. However, it’s ultimately one of the Skyrim side quests with the best rewards, as few bows in the game can match it in terms of power.

6 Skyrim Players Can Obtain Astrid’s Blade Of Woe

The Blade of Woe is owned by Astrid, the leader of the infamous assassin organization known as the Dark Brotherhood. With a base damage output of 12 and an ability to absorb 10 points of health, it’s one of the most powerful weapons in Skyrim‘s dagger category.

Conveniently, there are multiple ways to obtain the Blade of Woe. Since Astrid isn’t an essential NPC, there’s always the option of simply killing her and looting her corpse. Less murderous players can get their hands on it at the end of the Dark Brotherhood’s “Death Incarnate” quest. Finally, it can also be pickpocketed off Astrid, although players will need the Misdirection perk in the Stealth skill tree to succeed.

7 Dawnbreaker Deals Death To Skyrim’s Undead Enemies

Dawnbreaker is a one-handed sword that deals base damage of 12, but it shines against Skyrim‘s draugr, which have unexpectedly complex lore, and other undead enemies (both physically and metaphorically). On top of the substantial burning damage it deals to all targets, it also triggers an area-of-effect explosion when fighting foes that are from beyond the grave.

This sword is a reward from Meridia for completing “The Break of Dawn” quest, which can be a pain but will grant players with one of Skyrim‘s best weapons in the end. However, vampire Dragonborn should avoid using Dawnbreaker, since its special perks against the undead don’t discriminate and will deal damage to the player.

8 Chillrend Can Freeze Enemies In Skyrim

Chillrend is a leveled weapon – meaning the intensity of its power only increases with each level – which makes it one of the best Skyrim weapons for both new and veteran players. At its most powerful, this one-handed sword does 30 points of frost damage to health and stamina against every enemy (except for the frost-resistant Nords that originated in Skyrim), and it also has a chance to paralyze them.

Players can find the sword at the end of the Riftweald Manor tunnels during “The Pursuit.” Once players enter this area, it will permanently determine the level of the sword, so it’s best to wait until level 46 to unlock the best possible version of Chillrend.

9 The Mace of Molag Bal Forces Skyrim Enemies To Submit

Being the God of Destruction and a Daedric Prince from Oblivion, Molag Bal loathes mortals and wishes to subjugate them. The Mace of Molag Bal is his artifact and, true to its name, it’s a powerful Skyrim weapon to acquire.

Aside from a base 25 damage to stamina and magicka, the mace also fills any empty Soul Gems in a player’s inventory if the target is defeated within three seconds. To get the Mace of Molag Bal, the Dragonborn must complete the Daedric quest called “The House of Horrors,” which hides an obscure Skyrim Easter egg that most players missed.

10 Nightingale Bow Is An Archer’s Dream In Skyrim

Another relic from the Nightingale faction, the Nightingale Bow is one of the most powerful bows in Skyrim. Not only is its base damage extremely high for its weapon class, but it’s also loaded with a bevy of perks and effects.

Since it’s a leveled weapon, it’s best to pick it up after reaching level 46, when it’ll deal 30 points of frost damage and 15 points of shock damage. To find it, players must look for the Thieves’ Guild quest called “Blindsighted,” which will deliver the weapon upon completion.

11 Windshear Is A Unique Scimitar In Skyrim

Scimitars are hard to come by in general, and since they tend to lack in power, most Dragonborn will find little qualm with this. The sole exception to this rule, however, is Windshear, which has a unique enchantment that makes finding it worthwhile (unlike using alchemy in Skyrim). Bashing with this one-handed sword has a chance of paralyzing the enemy, but hacking and slashing with it as regular also will deal a significant amount of damage.

To obtain this powerful Skyrim weapon, players must look around on The Katariah, a ship which can only be accessed during the “Hail Sithis!” quest for the Dark Brotherhood. There, Windshear can be found on the frontend bow, embedded deep into the wooden beam.

12 The Staff of Magnus Slays Sorcerers In Skyrim

“The Staff of Magnus” is one of the most challenging quests in Skyrim, but it allows players to obtain an immensely strong staff of the same name. It absorbs 20 magicka per second, but if the target is out of magicka, it’ll begin to drain 20 health per second, instead. This makes it especially advantageous against mages.

During the quest, players will need to defeat a highly capable Dragon Priest whose mask is among Skyrim‘s best. In order to even the odds, it’s wise to take along a follower or two. After all, those who come out on top will find that they’re an absolute menace against sorcerers with the Staff of Magnus.

13 Auriel’s Bow Is A Godly Skyrim Weapon

Auriel’s Bow is an artifact belonging to the elven god Auriel, and comes with some pretty nifty features. For one, its base damage output of 13 is quite high for a bow, making it an excellent choice for ranged fights. It also applies 20 points of sun damage to the target, which is equivalent to the base game’s fire damage.

Thanks to its tripled effectiveness against undead enemies and its low draw time, Auriel’s Bow is one of Skyrim‘s best weapons. Players can receive it at the end of the “Touching the Sky” quest, which requires the Dawnguard DLC.

14 Soulrender And Bloodscythe Are An Effective Duo In Skyrim

Soulrender and Bloodscythe make for a harmonious, yet underrated pairing, just like Skyrim‘s perfect armor combos. When used together, the scimitars will deal 15 points of damage to both health and magicka, and they also have a chance to reduce the effectiveness of an enemy’s armor, making them a well-rounded choice for just about any battle.

Both Soulrender and Bloodscythe can be found in the Dragonborn DLC, through means of the “Deathbrand” quest. Therein, these powerful Skyrim weapons will be found near the skeletal remains of their previous owner, a pirate named Haknir Death-Brand.

15 The Dragonbone Mace Is A Craftable Menace In Skyrim

The Dragonbone line of weapons, which is available in the Dawnguard expansion, features some of the game’s most versatile armaments. The Dragonbone Mace is an excellent example, as it has the highest base damage out of any craftable one-handed weapon.

It can be created at a forge, but players can also obtain it by defeating one of the three Keepers in the Soul Cairn, which is where souls go after being captured in Skyrim. Whereas they’ll need a Smithing level of 100 and the Dragon Armor perk to craft this weapon, they’ll only need to have a character level of 45 to find it on the body of a Keeper during the “Chasing Echoes” quest.

16 Miraak’s Sword Is Skyrim’s Strongest Sword

Being another leveled weapon in Skyrim, the potential of Miraak’s Sword increases with the player’s own power. As its name would imply, it belongs to Miraak: a powerful Dragon Priest, and a fellow Dragonborn who stands in direct opposition to the player during the aptly-named Dragonborn DLC.

It’s the lightest one-handed sword, with a weight of only three, but it can dish out up to 16 points of base damage, making it the highest DPS weapon of its class. To get the best Skyrim sword, players will need to defeat the formidable Miraak during the “At the Summit of Apocrypha” quest.

17 Dragonbane Makes Killing Skyrim Dragons A Breeze

Contrary to popular belief, Skyrim‘s strongest animals aren’t dragons, but they’re still quite difficult – and often incredibly time-consuming – to slay. Luckily, the fittingly-titled Dragonbane can aid players in this regard with its unique capabilities.

A leveled one-handed katana belonging to the Blades, it deals between 10 and 14 points of base damage. However, it’ll do a further 10 points of shock damage to non-dragon foes, or more impressively, a whopping 20 to 40 additional damage to dragons. Dragonbane can be found in the Sky Haven Temple during the “Alduin’s Wall” quest, alongside a full set of Blades armor.

18 Skyrim’s Ebony Blade Comes At A Bloody Price

The Ebony Blade is a katana associated with the elusive Daedric Prince of secrecy, Mephala. Its base damage isn’t great, but it has a fascinating and completely unique ability: for every trusted ally that the player murders in cold blood, it will gain the capacity to drain more health from its opponents. Though they should avoid all of Skyrim‘s essential followers for obvious reasons, particularly cunning Dragonborn can kill up to 10 friends with this blade to maximize its effects and achieve a staggering 30 points of health absorption on hit.

The Ebony Blade can be found underneath Dragonsreach during the Daedric quest, “The Whispering Door.” However, it’s only available to those who have reached level 20 and have completed the “Dragon Rising” quest.

19 The Drainblood Battleaxe Lets Players Become Skyrim Draugr

The Drainblood Battleaxe is the most powerful of the four ghost weapons in Skyrim, which are rare, obtainable armaments that players may recognize from the arsenals of spectral draugr. It has a base damage output of 21, but every blow absorbs a further 15 points of health, making it one of the best two-handed weapons in the game.

Plus, it has a measly weight of five, making it much lighter than most weapons and thus a relief to the Dragonborn, proving why Elder Scrolls6 should improve the inventory system. To locate the Drainblood Battleaxe, players must keep a close eye out for this item on draugr corpses as they explore the Labyrinthian during the “Staff of Magnus” quest.

20 The Dwarven Black Bow of Fate

The Dwarven Black Bow of Fate is a powerful Skyrim weapon with well-rounded enchantments and an element of luck. Aside from its base damage of 13, the bow has a 50% chance of absorbing 25 points from health, magicka, and/or stamina with each shot.

It can simply be found in Kagrumez, a Dwemer ruin on the Dragonborn DLC’s Solstheim. It’s surprising that as one of Skyrim‘s best weapons, the Dwarven Black Bow of Fate, isn’t locked behind a quest, and so every player who owns the expansion should certainly take advantage of this fact.