Skyrim: Pros & Cons Of Leveling The Smithing Skill Tree

Smithing in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a long road of mining, hunting, buying, selling, and forging, one that comes with a number of pros and cons. As is the case with leveling any of the crafting skills in Skyrim, the work and time that goes into improving Smithing has to feel worth it. If it doesn’t dramatically enhance the Dragonborn’s combat prowess or make it easier to survive Skyrim’s toughest boss encounters, it might be better to spec those hard-earned perk points into other skill trees.

No matter the play style, the weapons and armor a player chooses to wield and wear are an integral factor. That being said, gear of equal or better value can just as easily be purchased from vendors or looted throughout Skyrim’s many dungeons. It may at first seem like Mage builds have little need to invest in Smithing,  but even they can benefit from enchanted armor and jewelry. Armor and jewelry can both be crafted via Smithing, and armor can be enhanced to better quality than what is offered by vendors or found in dungeons. With higher skill levels in Smithing, players can also craft increasingly stronger gear. Higher-tier weapons deal more damage in combat, while armor forged from sturdier material provides better protection. Even if they don’t need weapons for their damage-dealing, Skyrim’s more magic-oriented builds that are tired of being one-shotted by dragons can find a lot of value in a strong set of armor.

Higher level perks placed into Archery, One-Handed, Two-Handed, Block, Heavy Armor, and Light Armor can also provide significant improvements to the effectiveness of a player’s gear. For example, one rank of the Barbarian perk in the Two-Handed skill tree increases the damage output of two-handed weapons by 20%. This stacks for more damage on top of however much a player has improved their weapon through Smithing. To deal the most damage possible with weapons in Skyrim, Smithing plays a key role. For players looking to conserve their perk points, however, it may seem more cost-effective to spend one perk in Barbarian rather than the five (or six) in Smithing. Smithing also requires more components to benefit from the damage boosts, making it a lengthier process. Since Smithing is also a non-combat skill, it won’t level as quickly or organically as something like Two-Handed, Block, or Archery. It takes a lot more time to craft Skyrim’s Dragonbone Greatsword than it does to simply sink five perk points into Barbarian.

While simply being able to find or purchase a wanted item seems advantageous, it’s not guaranteed that a dungeon or shopkeeper will carry something like a Dragonbone Greatsword, or any specific weapon or armor that the player might be looking for. The only way to ensure that such a weapon could be obtained at any time is through knowing how to craft it at a forge – something that comes in handy when trying to get a set bonus. Matching Set is the only perk found in both the Light Armor and Heavy Armor skill trees, and in both cases it provides a 25% armor bonus for wearing a matching set. While there are some perfect Skyrim armor combos that look meant to match, they will never receive the benefit of this perk since they’re not made with the same material. The easiest way to ensure that the Dragonborn isn’t wearing a Glass Helmet with Elven Armor and Ebony Boots is to simply craft the full matching set at a forge.

In addition to this, one of the more overlooked advantages to Smithing is that it maximizes the usefulness of lower-level weapons and armor. Smithing perks not only allow them to be forged, but also to be improved by twice as much. Oftentimes if a player loots an Ebony War Axe off a Draugr, its higher damage output obsoletes their lower-tier Elven or Orcish War Axe. If, however, the player has invested in the Orcish Smithing perk, they can improve their Orcish Axe twice as much as they can improve the Ebony one. More high-tier weapons and armor also requires more expensive, rare ingots and ore to craft and improve. Steel, iron, and leather are far easier to come by in comparison.

Smithing Helps Keep Skyrim’s Endgame Fresh

One of the reasons late-game Skyrim can sometimes feel more arduous or even boring is that once the player has their strongest gear, the thrill tends to die down. Skyrim is an exploration and gear-driven game, and when the player already has maxed out Daedric Armor and a Dragonbone Warhammer, any lesser rewards earned from doing quests or exploring dungeons aren’t worth doing. Exploring random missed dungeons or caves is one of the best things to do after completing Skyrim, so without that incentive to find better loot, the game starts to lose momentum.

In this instance Smithing, one of the game’s potentially less interesting skills, ends up being one of the best ways to keep the game fresh. Picking up that Daedric Battleaxe early on means the player will be staring at it in their hands for the bulk of their playthrough. With Smithing perks to improve lower-tier weapons, weapons and armor of the mid-game will improve more gradually. This gives gear like Dwarven, Elven, Orcish, and Bonemold more time to shine, making that eventual jump to Glass, Dragonbone, or Daedric feel meaningful and earned.

Players with high levels in Smithing are best off keeping their equipped weapons matching the highest quality material that their perks allow for. Once the Arcane Smithing perk is unlocked, even some of Skyrim’s best Daedric artifacts can be improved with the right ingot. Arcane Smithing also extends to other enchanted unique gear like The Companions’ Wuuthrad, The Thieves Guild’s Nightingale Bow and Chillrend, Armor of the Old Gods, and more. Rather than abandoning these weapons for the higher-damaging Daedric, Arcane Smithing means the player can benefit from their unique advantages well into the late game. It’s a grind to improve Smithing, and takes a good amount of gold, time, and patience. For Skyrim players looking to maximize their protection and damage, however, it’s a necessary skill.

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