Daedric artifacts come from the deepest parts of enchanted lore in the game; but even the noblest of warriors can fall victim to the temptation of using them.
They are extremely useful and in most cases they are also as powerful as you can imagine. Some of them can fit great for thieves, while others are the ultimate weapons of destruction for a savvy warrior.
In any case, Daedric artifacts are not always difficult to obtain.
In this article will aim to show off all the best Daedric artifacts that Skyrim has to offer so you can get a better idea of which ones fit best with your fantasy adventuring goals.
15. Ebony Blade
The Ebony Blade is a Daedric artifact that has been featured in many games, as it has changed its wielder plenty of times throughout the millennia.
The Ebony Blade is a special sword that was created by Daedric Prince Mephala, which has the ability to drain any foe’s life essence by attacking with it. Just land a hit and watch the sparks fly.
You can also make this weapon much more powerful if you keep using it, but to first get it you’ll need to complete The Whispering Door quest.
14. Dawnbreaker
Meridia, the Daedric Prince of Life, created the Dawnbreaker as a mean to cause fear amongst the undead.
This weapon is capable of inflicting 10 points of damage to any foe that it hits. But it has a special effect that makes it even stronger when fighting undead enemies – it can randomly create an explosion of light that deals damage to every undead foe in range. Neat!
It even has a special enchantment which works like soul trap, which was put in the sword by Meridia herself.
The Dawnbreaker is one of the best swords in the game and an amazing Daedric artifact, especially as one that was recently introduced into the TES franchise.
13. Mace of Molag Bal
The Mace of Molag Bal is a dark mace that is capable of entrapping souls if a foe dies from one of its hits.
This powerful mace, created by Molag Bal himself, also saps 25 points of damage to any foe that it hits. And it doesn’t do this in a traditional way – it targets your enemy’s stamina and magicka with each strike.
If you want to get your hands on it, the mace can be obtained by entering an abandoned house in Markrath and completing the quest that starts after you’re given the mace to place in the altar of Bal himself.
Certainly tough but far from being the toughest quest in the game.
12. Masque of Clavicus Vile
Even though the Masque of Clavicus Vile does look like something that you’d like to carry into battle, it’s far from being a battle-ready piece of armor.
This helmet allows you to receive 20% better prices in every shop in the game. Save money and look cool, score!
This uses the embedded powers of Clavicus Vile himself that the masque has enchanted on it.
It also allows you to regenerate your magicka 5% faster, which isn’t much to be honest. But it’s a buff that stacks with others if you plan ahead.
11. Ebony Mail
The Ebony Mail is a piece of heavy armor that can only be obtained during the Boethiah’s Calling quest.
And it’s a piece of armor that must be looted from the body of the champion of the Daedric prince himself.
This mighty armor, even though it’s heavy, allows you to move as quickly as if he wasn’t wearing heavy armor at all. It’s a neat effect, I have no idea how it works but it does. Plus it doesn’t make noise as you wear it so you can move as quietly as a feather.
If you wish to carry it into battle the Ebony Mail also does a staggering 5 points of poison damage to every opponent that dares get too close. It’s a beast for sure.
10. Azura’s Star
Azura’s Star is basically a regular soul gem.
But unlike every other gem in the game, you won’t lose it upon each use.
That means that getting your hands on Azura’s Star basically entitles you to have an unlimited supply of soul gems in your inventory without having to carry a ton of items.
You need to complete The Black Star quest and choose to give the star to Aranea Lenith during the second part of the quest. Afterwards you will be offered the star by Azura herself.
9. Skull of Corruption
The Skull of Corruption is a powerful staff that becomes more powerful if you feed it with the dreams of other people.
It deals a base 20 points of damage, but the damage can go up to 50 if it’s well fed with dreams.
As such, the Skull of Corruption is one of the best staves in the game and it can be obtained in the Waking Nightmare quest which begins in Dawnstar.
The best thing about collecting dreams from sleepers is that the action itself doesn’t count as an aggression, which means that you can freely collect dreams without having to fear for your life.
You won’t be attacked, and you can’t get aggro’d as a consequence of this basic action.
8. Oghma Infinum
The Oghma Infinum is a book that belongs to Hermaeus Mora. It is considered to be the best skill book in the game.
This Daedric Artifact allows you to earn 5 points in a plethora of different skills – and you have three different options to choose from with each option boosting different skills.
Have a look at the chart on this page to get a better sense of the three different paths you can take.
Now there was a bug that could be exploited to read the book countless times and get all of your skills to level 100, but it was patched. That was one heck of a loophole while it lasted.
If you’re still going to track this down you can only obtain this book by completing the quest Discerning the Transmundane.
7. Volendrung
Volendrung is a warhammer that has been appearing in almost every single Elder Scroll game since the beginning.
It’s one of the strongest two-handed weapons in Skyrim, and it has the effect of absorbing 50 points of the stamina from any foe that it hits.
The hammer also hits for 25 points and even though it’s very heavy at first glance, it offers a lot of advantages to counteract that weight. Generally the stamina absorption is a good one.
Volendrung is a possessed Dwarven warhammer that serves as the main Daedric artifact of Malacath.
Completing his quest will get you this mighty and fearsome piece of cursed weaponry.
6. Ring of Namira
This eerie ring allows you to feed on corpses while also boosting your stamina by a massive 50 points.
You can also regenerate health much quicker when feeding on a corpse, also receiving a boost to your overall health in the process. Crazy yes, but just crazy enough to work!
Note you’ll need to complete the Taste of Death quest to get this rare item, upon which point you can speak to a Namira follower in the Hall of Death to be granted her ring.
5. Savior’s Hide
The Savior’s Hide is a special light piece of armor made of skin, and it belongs to the wolf Daedric prince Hiricine.
You’ll need to go and retrieve this piece of armor for Hiricine during his quest. But upon completion, Hiricine appears and blesses the robe so that you can keep it. How nice, huh?
It has good defense value for such a lightweight piece of armor and it’s arguably one of the better choices in the game.
The main forte of this Daedric artifact is that it protects you by increasing poison resistance by 50%. It also grants 15% resistance against magicka-based attacks, including any spell in the game!
4. Sanguine Rose
Sanguine Rose is a staff that is shaped like a… you guessed it, a rose.
It lets you summon a powerful Dremora warrior to fight for a total of one minute in battle. And let me say this thing is powerful.
In-game this item belongs to Sanguine, the Daedric prince of debauchery and the main guide of the Dark Brotherhood. You can obtain this item by completing Sanguine’s quest which you can start right after level 14(or higher).
3. Spellbreaker
Spellbreaker is the Daedric artifact of the Dragon lord Peryite.
This mighty shield is capable of a good starting level of defense, but it has the added bonus of giving you a special ward that also protects you for 50 points against all sorts of magic damage.
This is probably the best choice for someone who wants to go up against some powerful magicians and really needs that extra defense boost.
2. Wabbajack
Wabbajack is the Daedric artifact of Sheogorath, as you might be able to guess because of the crazy name.
It’s a staff with a random effect attached to it – it can cast any random spell, but it doesn’t do it at your will.
You might use it on a foe and accidentally boost his abilities, or you might use it on a friend and kill him with a mighty destruction spell. But that’s the fun, right?
The Wabbajack is a risky item but one of the best Daedric artifacts in the game, which has been present in a few of the Elder Scrolls titles.
1. Skeleton Key
Even though this item doesn’t count towards the Oblivion, the Skeleton Key remains one of the most emblematic items in The Elder Scrolls franchise.
It works as a lockpick, but unlike any other pick in the game this one doesn’t break. Ever!
That means that you can use it to quickly level up your lockpicking skills and open up any door or chest without a high level. It’s basically a master key to everything.
To pick up this bad boy in Skyrim you’ll want to complete the Blindsighted quest. Hint: this involves working with some thieves, color me shocked.
Born in the first half of the 90s, video games have been a part of my life ever since I was introduced to Age of Empires I by my dad. I'm a Mass Communications graduate with a specialization in Marketing, as well as a hardcore gamer. My aim is to bring you quality content so you can get the best out of your games and take your experience to the next level!
