Just incase anyone needs it, this is prolly my favorite game, trying a different style of play now ( FUCK THE MAIN QUEST STYLE ) lol!!
Armor / Weapons with no training:
Full Daedric Armor: 160 Armor
Daedric Bow: 24 Damage
Daedric Dagger: 12 Damage (wrote down wrong... I think it was this)
Daedric Two Handed Sword: 26 Damage
Daedric One Handed Sword: 15 Damage
100 skill with Juggernaut 5, Well Fitted, Tower Of Strength, Matching Set and 5 Weapon Perks (13 Perks Total)
Full Daedric Armor: 538 Armor
Daedric Bow: 57 Damage
Daedric Dagger: 33 Damage
Daedric Two Handed Sword: 72 Damage
Daedric One Handed Sword: 42 Damage
With Daedric Smithing Level 100 (Steel, Dwarven, Orcish, Ebony, Daedric: 5 Perks) (18 Perks Total)
Full Daedric Armor: 765 Armor
Daedric Bow: 87 Damage
Daedric Dagger: 63 Damage
Daedric Two Handed Sword: 102 Damage
Daedric One Handed Sword: 72 Damage
Level 100 Enchanting (5 X Enchanter, Insighful, Corpus, Extra Effect: 8 Perks) (26 Perks Total)
With Level 100 Enchanted Smithing Gear and Using Store-bought Smithing Potions (+50 Smithing for 30 Seconds)
Full Daedric Armor: 1107 Armor
Daedric Bow: 141 Damage
Daedric Dagger: 117 Damage
Daedric Two Handed Sword: 156 Damage
Daedric One Handed Sword: 126 Damage
Level 100 Alchemy (5 X Alchemy, Physician, Benefactor: 7 Perks) (33 Perks Total)
You can brew better + Enchanting and + Smithing Potions with Alchemy than you can with store bought (Note you can eek out about 5-10% more by using Enchanting to Improve Alchemy and Alchemy to Improve Enchanting until your potions are +130% Smithing and +32% Enchanting. Your crafting gear is then +29% X 4 (instead of 25% from base enchanting). The potions make a huge difference.
Full Daedric Armor: 1597 Armor
Daedric Bow: 195 Damage
Daedric Dagger: 171 Damage
Daedric Two Handed Sword: 210 Damage
Daedric One Handed Sword: 180 Damage
At this level it looks like Daggers are the clear winner... but they don't benefit from enchants...
Gear fully Enchanted
4 X Weapon Enchants and 4 X Armor Enchants. (Note I used the +32% self made Enchanting Potion to Power the Enchants... if you don't do this, your results will be 20%ish lower)
Full Daedric Armor: 2125 Armor
Daedric Bow: 562 Damage
Daedric Dagger: 171 Damage - Too bad one handed enchants don't work for daggers... I guess sneak attacking with fully enchanted swords is better.
Daedric Two Handed Sword: 605 Damage
Daedric One Handed Sword: 518 Damage
Dual wielding One handed weapons seems to be the best for DPS. They also seem to sneak attack for more.
Add 60 Second Weapon + Armor Potions
Custom Made Potions using my enchanted Alchemy gear: Last 60 seconds
Full Daedric Armor: 2419 Armor
Daedric Bow: 1242 Damage - So much the display reads 124!=P
Daedric Dagger: 171 Damage
Daedric Two Handed Sword: 1391 Damage!
Daedric One Handed Sword: 1192 Damage
Add 60 Second Weapon + Armor Potions + Bugged Marskman Potion
The Marksman potion seems to be bugged and gives a flat 130% to all damage Last 60 seconds
Full Daedric Armor: 2419 Armor
Daedric Bow: 1242 Damage - So much the display reads 124!=P
Daedric Dagger: 393 Damage- Marksman buffs this too!
Daedric Two Handed Sword: 3199 Damage!
Daedric One Handed Sword: 2742 Damage
Dual wielding One handed weapons now clearly do the most damage followed by Two handed weapons than Weapon + shield. Daggers come in last. Sword Sneak Attack (16452) Dagger Sneak Attack (6288) Bow Sneak Attack (3726)
Pretty much, a one handed weapon sneak attack will kill almost anything at this damage level, even on master. A bow sneak attack will most likely one shot anything except for a boss dragon. Edit: It looks like you get these numbers because of a bug with Marskman Potion that makes it's damage a universal modification. It seems to be stacking with the One-handed and Two-handed Potions.)
All of the Above + the Orc Berkserker Rage
The 100% damage bonus of Berserker Rage seems to stack with everything!
Full Daedric Armor: 2469 Armor
Daedric Bow: 2583 Damage - So much the display reads 258!=P
Daedric Dagger: 787 Damage Sneak attacks for 23.6k
Daedric Two Handed Sword: 6399 Damage!
Daedric One Handed Sword: 5485 Damage Sneak attacks for 32.9k
Conclusion:
Using 26 points to get these crafting feats seem to no-brainer for any min-maxer playing on Master's difficulty. They synergize incredibly well. Dual Wielding One handed weapons / Archery Seem to be the way to go for DPS with Two handed weapons coming closely behind. Once you are this buffed, your hardest problem will be not accidentally killing your hireling.
If you don't like Daedric Armor you could use an Ebony Chest (That's what I do) This took me from 2175 Armor to 1793 Armor. Still Plenty of Armor. Light Dragon Armor (Less feat intensive when sneaking, but getting staggered hurts your melee dps) yields 1770 Armor.
Thanks for Reading!
- Jerich
Optional build for Archer / Melee Weapon Hybrid who wants damage over armor
Optional Build for a one handed / Archery hybrid. If you don't mind having less armor (1200-1500), you could swap the heavy armor enchants in the rings and gloves for archery / melee weapon enchants. Then put Archery on you helm and melee weapon on your boots. You will do full damage to everything.
Maxing Magic Resist
Magic Resist caps at 85%. Here are the ways I currently know how to get magic resist:
Breton - 25%
Lord's Stone - 25% + block 50 damage: This is hard to get to. It is in the pale South by southwest of Dawnstar.
Agent Of Mara: 15% - Quest starts in the Temple of Mara at Riften
Magic Resistance X 3 in the Alteration Tree: 30% (it may only be +30 and not 30%)
Enchant a Ring, Jewelry or Shield: 23% Each max
Potion of resist magic: 32% each max
Savior's hide armor gives +15%
Non-Bretons will probably want to use at least one ring.
Edit: Other enchants with your extra dual enchanting slots?
- I have toyed following: Boots: Sneak, Carrying Capacity, Stamina, Stamina Regen. Helm: Water Breathing, Magica, Magica Regen. Chest: Health, Health Regen.
Simple Step by Step Directions
1. Once you have max perks and 100 in each skill...
2. Enchant fortify alchemy helm, ring, gloves + necklace. The buff should be +25 on each for + 100 total.
3. Put on the gear and make 4 fortify enchant potions (+ 27ish?)
4. Use those potions to make better fortify alchemy gear. Note... You have to be quick because you only have 30 seconds per potion.
5. Use that gear to make better fortify enchanting potions...
6. Keep repeating 4 - 5 until you can make fortify alchemy + 29 on each piece (116 total)
7. Use 4 +32 enchanting pots to create fortify smithing rings, neck, gloves and chest.
8. Make some fortify smithing potions (+130% with your alchemy gear)
9. Craft daedric armor, shield and weapon.
10. Put on your smithing gear, drink the potion (130 + 116 = +246% to smithing), then improve your weapons.
11. Make about 10 enchanting potions (+32)
12. Enchant a ring gloves and neck with fortify heavy armor and fortify one handed. I believe the number was 29 for armor 47% for weapon? Not in front of computer.
13. Enchant health / heavy armor to chest.
14. Enchant one handed / stamina to boots.
15. Enchant helm with whatever you want... (archery... Magic?)
Leveling Smithing
- Smithing is fairly easy to level and takes relatively few attempts to max.
- Dwarven ruins give a ton of scrap that you can melt down for free dwarven ingots
- You can often steal ingredients.
- You can mine ebony at the Gloombound mine as early as level 8. It is located in Eastmarch's eastern mountains, just south of the Orcish stronhold of Narzublbur. This is the only ebony mine in the game.
- Improving things you find is a quick way to level and often pays for buying the ingredients
- Make sure to save your Daedra hearts for forging daedric weapons and armor later.
- You will be able to forge skyforge items after finishing the companion's quest line. The stats look better than daedric, but I'm not sure if you can upgrade them...
- There is a quest chain, Unfathomable Depths that gives you a perk that gives you +25% armor in dwarven armor and makes smithing increase 15% faster. You can get it once you are level 15 from an argonian named From-Deepest-Fathoms who wanders around the docks of Riften that overlook the lake. This also gives you bunch of dwarven scraps.
- Daedra Armor is better than Dragon armor. So unless you want to make light armor for yourself or your companion... there is no reason to get Dragon Smithing. You also don't need to get enchanted Smithing since you can just pre-improve your weapons / armor before enchanting. It does make life easier, however to be able to improve your existing item.
- Smithing Trainers: Journyman: Ghorza of Markath. Expert: Balimund of Riften. Master: Earlund Gray-Mane of Whiterun.
Leveling Enchanting
- Easiest Method: Do the Black Star quest. (starts at the Shrine of Azura... ask innkeepers for rumors until they place it on the map). This will give you a reusable soul gem (black star: traps humans or Azura's star: traps non-humans). Note: You will have to fight Dremora, so be careful if low level.
- Once you have this item, enchant a weapon with soul trap and keep recharging it each time you fill Azura's star. Each time you do this you gain enchanting xp.
- You gain enchanting xp for disenchanting
- You can steal soul gems if you are stealthy enough. When you enchant something with them, they fill up.
- Make sure to disenchant alchemy and smithing enchants early on.
-Enchanting Trainers: No Journeyman. Expert Trainer: Sergius Turrianus of the College of Winterhold. Master Trainer: Hamal, of Markarth.
- The left side of the tree is pretty worthless (elemental enchants pale in comparison to the other enchants)... so it is best to max the right side of the tree to dual enchant.
Leveling Alchemy
- Leveling Alchemy is a HUGE pain to level. It takes over 10x the combines that smithing and enchanting do. Pick everything you come across... Steal Everything (potions made with stolen ingredients aren't flagged as stolen)...Use your trainer points...Buy cheap ingredients at the shops...
-You gain skill when you learn new uses ingredients... The more you use an ingredient the more you discover about them.
- I would save your trains for alchemy... This might actually be a reason you would want to join the dark brotherhood. (The master trainer is in it)
- Save the books + the Final Daedric Quest Reward for the 90-100 slog
- Fortify Enchanting Ingredients: Blue Butterfly Wing, Hagraven Claw, Snowberries, Spriggan Sap.
- Fortify Smithing Ingredients: Blisterwort, Glowing Mushroom, Sabre Cat Tooth, Spriggan Sap.
- Fortify Marsksman Ingredients: Canis Root, Elves Ear, Juniper Berries, Spider Egg
- Fortify One-Handed: Bear Claws, Canis Root, Hanging Moss, Hawk Feathers, Rock Warbler Egg, Small Pearl
- Fortify Two-Handed: Dragon's Tongue, Fly Amanita, Troll Fat
- Fortify Heavy Armor: Ice Wraith Teeth, Sabre Cat Tooth, Slaughterfish Scales, Thistle Branch, White Cap
- Resist Magic: Bleeding Crown, Chicken's Egg, Crimson Nirnroot (save for quest) Hagraven Claw, Lavender, Nirnroot, Tundra Cotton, Void Salts, Wisp Wrappings.
- Return to your Roots (A side quest): gives you a 25% chance of making a second potion when you craft a potion. It is a ninroot gather quest you can do after you have started the Daedric Quest: Discerning the Transmundane.
- Alchemy Trainers: Journeyman Trainer: Lami of Morthal. Expert Trainer: Arcadia, of Whiterun. Master Trainer: Babette, of the Dark Brotherhood.
- Alchemy Books: A Game at Dinner: (Honningbrew Meadery on the second floor in the bedroom), De Rerum Dirennis: Winterhold (In Midden Dark on the Alchemy Lab), Herbalist's Guide to Skyrim: Whiterun (In Arcadia's Cauldron downstairs), Mannimarco, King of Worms: (Either in Nightcaller Temple near the alchemy lab or Evergreen Grove near the dead mage on the alter in the water), Song of the Alchemist (Anise's Cabin)
Leveling tips for Master Difficulty
- Breton (for the magic resist) or Orc (head start to skills and a REALLY good daily ability) seem to make the best warriors for Masters
- I usually go 50 / 50 Health / Stamina or 60 / 40 Health / Stamina.
- Don't just power your crafting skills right out of the first dungeon... you want to make sure your weapon / armor skills are at least keeping pace or you will get out leveled.
- It is easier if you try to limit gaining skills other than weapon / armor / crafting skills as you will become quickly outleveled.
- It is easier to level your armor skills if you use a melee weapon. If you use sneak a lot and snipe, it will not keep pace.
- The +25% armor and +25% weapon damage are the most important perks you can get. Get them as soon as they are available.
- Important Quests:
-- Black Star (unlimited Soul Gem),
-- Mara's Favor: +15% permanent Magic Resist (Get it from Riften Temple)
-- Lord's Stone: +25% Magic Resist, +50 block damage
-- Main Quest (so you start getting dragon souls, go at least until you get dragon rend so you can make them land, especially if you are not going archery),
-- Unfathomable Depths (See Smithing)
-- Favorite Shout, Slow Time: You get it at Hag's End in the Reach (Dark Brother hood quest the feeble fortune), Karvanjund (The Pale): Civil War Quest the Jagged Crown, Labryinthian (Hjaalmarch): During Winterhold: Staff of Magnus
-- Useful for Travel (Whirlwind Sprint): Dead Men's Respite (Hjaalmarch): Used for Bards' Quest: Tending the Flames, Volskygge (Haafingar)
-- Companions Questline: Awesome Form Abilities and Ability to Forge Skyforge.
Subject: Skyrim Crafting Guide! 
Fri Nov 18, 2011 8:43 am