Rare Curios is one of the many Creations included in Skyrim Anniversary Edition, and it adds a ton of new items to the game. Among these new items are Flawed Varla Stones, though there is not much information about them to be found in-game.
For those Skyrim players that are trying to determine exactly what they are supposed to do with their Flawed Varla Stones, full details on this special gem can be found in this guide. It's incredibly useful, though it is a little limited in its power. Nonetheless, it's an item worth keeping on hand for the avid Enchanter.
Updated July 7, 2023 by Erik Petrovich: Varla Stones, and Flawed Varla Stones, are items new to Skyrim as of the Anniversary Edition release, but Elder Scrolls fans will recognize these iconic items immediately. Found originally in Oblivion, Flawed Varla Stones are a powerful tool for the magic-inclined, and can help save inventory space and the headache of managing many Stones rather than just one type. There are some issues with Skyrim Varla Stones, namely a glitch that can wipe out the souls captured on a stack of them. It's worth learning about what Flawed Varla Stones do, despite this rare bug, and they're a lot easier to acquire than their unique effect might suggest.
What Is A Varla Stone, And What Is a Flawed Varla Stone?
A Varla Stone is an item found in ancient Ayleid ruins in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, returned to players' inventories in Anniversary Edition. They work differently now, though. Varla Stones and Flawed Varla Stones function identically to Soul Gems aside from one major difference: they are reusable. Indeed, Varla Stones do not break upon use, allowing players to recharge them for further applications over and over again.
Though Flawed Varla Stones are "flawed," they are none the less reusable, with power equal to a Common Soul Gem. This makes the Flawed Varla Stone a very useful item for enchanting weapons and armor in Skyrim, as it essentially eliminates the need for fans to stockpile Common Soul Gems.
With a few of these, players can level their Enchanting reliably, and they sell for a decent value once they've outlasted their usefulness. A Common Soul Gem-level enchantment isn't anything to write home about, and players may find themselves looking to the regular Varla Stone and stronger Soul Gems instead.
Alternatives to Flawed Varla Stones In The Base Game
Flawed Varla Stones are not the only reusable Soul Gems in this legendary RPG, as Azur’s Star and the Black Star both have similar functionality. Both of these Soul Gems are available in the base game, too, though players cannot have both at once.
These special Soul Gems come through completing Skyrim’s Black Star quest, which can be initiated by speaking with Aranea Lenith at the Shrine of Azura just outside of Winterhold, and the Black Star is typically considered the better of the two possible rewards. That said, players should certainly feel free to go for Azur’s Star if it is more in keeping with their roleplaying.
How To Get A Skyrim Flawed Varla Stone
As with the other items featured in the Rare Curios Creation, these stones can be purchased from Khajiit caravan traders, which move between the settlements that are scattered across Skyrim’s map. They can also be found in certain dungeons, though extremely rarely.
Flawed Varla Stone Locations: Caravan
Across Skyrim Anniversary Edition, there are three Khajiit trading caravans that players can run into. One caravan runs between Whiterun and Markarth, one runs between Windhelm and Solitude, and the last runs between Dawnstar and Riften. Flawed Varla Stones are common finds from vendors in these caravans.
It's faster to go to one of these locations that bookend the Khajiits' travel than to try to locate them on the road. At these cities, the members of the caravan will stay and camp for a few days. Thus, it's easier to just go to a city and wait outside over and over again until they load in.
Flawed Varla Stone Locations: Bosses and Chests
Additionally, Flawed Varla Stones will occasionally be looted from boss chests, though players should not expect to come across them in this way very often. In fact, it appears that they are limited to Anniversary Edition areas or places updated with Anniversary Edition content, specifically areas related to Saints and Seducers.
Flawed Varla Stones, and normal Varla Stones, do not spawn in the normal Merchant loot table, and can't spawn on the ground except for in Saints and Seducers-specific areas. Ayleid ruins discovered during the Saints and Seducers questline contain a few of these for players to pick up, and they should respawn like other crafting materials after a short time.
Some players are reportedly encountering issues with the stacking of Flawed Varla Stones. Stacks of Flawed Varla Stones occasionally seem to act as a single stone, which erases the captured souls on every individual Stone and renders them mostly empty and useless.
If this happens, drop the affected Flawed Varla Stones and pick them back up, as this appears to fix the issue in a lot of cases. For some players, the Flawed Varla Stone souls will remain missing even after this fix, though, so consider decreasing your autosave timer or making a habit of saving manually often.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.