One of the things that makes Skyrim a great game is how incredibly immersive it is. There’s so many ways you can play, dual wield spells, wield a huge warhammer, wield two daggers, go bow & arrow etc. For those who like to use one handed weapons (specifically, swords) then here’s the top 10 best swords in Skyrim. These swords are based on usefulness but also how early in the game you get them, as well as how hard they are to get.

CAUTION: SWORD DESCRIPTIONS CONTAIN SPOILERS ABOUT HOW TO OBTAIN THEM

10. Silver Sword

After you’ve finished the starting quest you get to roam freely and it’s advised that you pick one of these up as soon as possible. The best way is to go straight to the Companions and go through that quest line, there you’ll find the powerful axe Wuuthrad but if you’re going for one handed then this is a good choice. It has low base damage but deals 20 extra damage against undead which is a huge amount, especially when starting off. You can also enchant it to have another effect, or if you have the right enchanting perks, enchant it twice!

9. Eduj

(Apologies for the crappy picture, ignore the stats shown)

You get this at the same time you get the Okin, the war axe which is pretty much the same. For those looking to dual wield, going through the quest and obtaining these is a must. You get it from the quest Silenced Tongues, which I believe can be found by one of those courier letters from a friend. As you can see, this sword is based off of an Ancient Nord Sword and has a fairly decent enchantment, although there are better.

8. Gauldur Blackblade

From one of my favourite quest lines, the Blackblade has the power to deal decent damage but also absorb health. The boss you fight for it is fairly tough but with enough potions you can get through and if you have the silver sword as I mentioned then you’ll go through the ruins very quickly (even quicker if you have a companion with you). The quest line (Forbidden Legend) is a great starting quest and really helps to increase your armoury when starting a new character.

7. Dragonbane

If you’ve already played Skyrim then you really should know this or you’ve missed something very good. During the Dragonborn quest line when you enter Skyhaven Temple, if you check all of the rooms you’ll find this sword and some Blades armour (Akiviri armour if you have the Immersive Armours mod). This sword is a powerful sword that deals massive damage to dragons and some good shock damage to anything else.

6. Dawnbreaker

A fairly easy sword to get, depending on how lucky you are. Dawnbreaker is arguably the best looking sword in the game, that glow as well as the colour make it one of those items you’re shocked to see when you obtain it. This is a huge step up from the silver sword, it deals fire damage to any target but if you kill an undead with it, there’s an explosion which deals huge damage to all over undead around. It can be obtained from the Daedric Prince Meridia by finding Meridia’s beacon in a random chest after level 12.

5. Ghostblade

Yes, you can see that correctly. It lives up to its name by looking ghost like, which is completely awesome. The sword itself is based off of an Ancient Nord Sword so has average damage, but the enchantment is what makes it so good. It does a small amount of extra damage but it completely ignores armour. It’s great for taking down heavily armoured opponents. It can be obtained from the A Love Beyond Death quest, which is fairly easy if by now you have the Dawnbreaker or Silver Sword.

4. Dragonbone Sword

Only available in the Dawnguard DLC, this weapon has the second highest damage (well tied, as you’ll see later) out of any in the game. You need 100 smithing to create this, as well as the materials (which are easy to obtain). There’s not really much else to say, it’s powerful, looks good and with a good enchantment it’d be incredible.

3. Nightingale Blade

Obtained via the Thieves Guild questline, this sword is a much stronger version of the Gauldur Blackblade. It has more damage for one and it absorbs health AND stamina per hit. It also has it’s own look, which I love and I think it goes really well with the Nightingale set. It also has the same sheath as Dawnbreaker, random fact!

2. Miraak’s Sword

Only available with the Dragonborn DLC, this sword has the highest amount of base damage in the game. The enchantment isn’t the best as it only absorbs stamina and it doesn’t look that good but the highest damaging sword always has to be high in a list like this.

1. Chillrend

Another awesome sword found in the Thieves Guild quest line, it makes its return after featuring in the previous Elder Scrolls title Oblivion. It has the joint second highest damage (alongside the Dragonbone sword) but also has an incredibly powerful enchantment. Unlike the previous Chillrend which dealt frost damage and increased the weakness to frost, this deals a lot more frost damage but can also paralyse the target, making them completely vulnerable.

It’s really easy to get too, no special boss or anything, you just find it. I recommend only getting it after level 46 or so because that’s when it has full power.

Forgot to mention that these are only one handed swords, not just any blades!

Click here to return to the home page