Skyrim: How To Power Level Smithing

A powerful Dragonborn is only made stronger with powerful gear, making Skyrim‘s Smithing skill essential to power level early-on. As one of three crafting-centered skills in the game, Smithing opens up an entirely new avenue of items for players. You can create anything from dragon bone armor sets to expensive jewelry to powerful weapons – all to improve your abilities or fill your purse.

Fortunately, Smithing isn’t a difficult skill to power level, even for beginner players. If you’re ready for the grind, keep reading below for a quick refresher on how Smithing leveling works and for all the best tips to power level it efficiently.

How Leveling Smithing Works

Back in the days of the Xbox 360/PS3, you used to be able to take advantage of the age-old “Iron Dagger technique” to max out your Smithing levels. All a Dragonborn had to do was to craft hundreds upon hundreds of Iron Daggers – one of the cheapest items to make – and boom, level 100. Unfortunately, the game has since patched that exploit, changing how Smithing leveling works.

Now, Smithing will give experience based on the value of the item crafted rather than a flat amount per item. Similarly to Pickpocketing, you’ll gain more experience for crafting higher-value items. So, in this case, it’s best to focus on quality over quantity.

You can also gain Smithing experience by improving a weapon at a grindstone or improving armor/shields at a work bench. The amount of experience granted for both processes depends on the strength of the improvement you make!

Easiest Ways To Power Level Smithing – Rings Upon Rings

Since Smithing levels are determined by the value of an item, the best way for you to quickly max out the skill is by crafting Gold Rings. While Gold Rings aren’t the highest value item in the game, they are surprisingly the most efficient item to forge. One Gold Ingot will net you two Gold Rings (as opposed to a single Gold necklace), allowing you to quickly mass-produce them at the forge.

Even better, you can combine these Gold Rings with any gems you have to further increase their value. You can find gems by pickpocketing NPCs or stealing from Skyrim’s shops. Now, with pockets laden with Gold Rings, you should end up with a Smithing skill of 100 and lots of expensive jewelry to sell.

To quickly get gold ingots, you’ll need the Transmute Mineral Ore spell tome. You’ll be able to find it within the Halted Stream Camp located north of Whiterun. This Alteration spell will allow you to turn any iron ore into silver, and any silver ore into gold. After learning the spell, you can then buy out all the iron and silver from Skyrim’s stores and transform them yourself into gold in no time. Alternatively, you could mine ore in caves yourself, but that will take significantly longer.

Here’s an extra bonus for those of you who happen to already be at level 100 Enchanting – if you choose your Perks wisely, you can place a 25% cost reduction on four items. This will make your spell cost zero, allowing you to Transmute Mineral Ore to your heart’s content.

Additional Potions and Spells To Use For Bonus XP

Another method to power level Smithing is by taking advantage of potions. Draughts like the Blacksmith’s Potion or Elixir will give you anywhere from 20 – 50% bonus to weapon and armor improving for 30 seconds. This means you’ll be able to temper your gear for stronger enhancements, which in turn will boost your Smithing skill. If you decide to craft these potions yourself, this process will also significantly boost your Alchemy skill!

These potions may lean on the expensive side (unless already you’ve power leveled your Sneak for stealthly stealing), but they’ll grant some bonus experience at the grindstone. You’ll be able to buy these potions from most Apothecary merchants.

If you’re looking for a more magical solution, you can also made use of the Fortify Smithing enchantment. This enchantment can be learned by dis-enchanting an item that has Fortify Smithing already on it. You’ll likely be able to find these enchanted items at blacksmith shops or by looting enemies. Once you know it, you can enchant jewelry or armor to stack the Fortify Smithing effect. This will increase your bonus to improving items at a grindstone, but it will not effect crafting at a forge.

And that covers all of our tips on power leveling Smithing! If you’re looking to Power Level other skills, be sure to check back here for more tips and tricks on quickly becoming the strongest Dragonborn possible.