The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim has a vast world for players to explore and quest across. As players delve into dungeons, slay dragons, and sway the tides in a civil war, they level up, unlock new skills, and find or craft new gear for Skyrim's Dovahkiin. While there are many different types of armor and weapons that players can equip to make different builds, many players will also seek out the game's most powerful unique weapons.
Skyrim's unique weapons are each very distinct from anything else in the game. Not only do they have special appearances, but they also have completely realized backstories in the world's history and their own abilities that players can't find anywhere else in the game. Additionally, players are only supposed to get their hands on one of each during a single Skyrim playthrough. This makes the weapons very unique, and Skyrim players should definitely try each of them out before moving on from the game. Of course, some unique weapons are better than others, and these are the weapons that every Skyrim player should make sure to get their Dragonborn hands on at least once.
How to Get Skyrim's Dawnbreaker
Dawnbreaker is one of the most iconic unique weapons in all of Skyrim, as it is one of the most powerful one-handed weapons in the game. It has a base damage of 12 while also inflicting a burn on enemies that lasts for 10 seconds. If an undead enemy is killed with the sword, it also causes those enemies to explode in a fiery blast that can either ignite or turn nearby undead. This makes Dawnbreaker one of the game's best weapons for clearing out dungeons filled with Skyrim's Draugr.
Dawnbreaker is also relatively simple to obtain. To do so, players have to complete the quest The Break of Dawn. The quest can be started either by visiting the Statue to Meridia or by finding Meridia's Beacon in a chest after reaching level 12. To complete the quest, players have to take Meridia's beacon to Mount Kilkreath where they will go through a short dungeon to guide the light through a temple. Afterward, the player will fight the necromancer Malkoran, which Meridia will reward them for with Skyrim's storied Dawnbreaker sword.
How to Get Skrim's Blade Of Woe
Skyrim's Blade of Woe is the unique weapon carried by Astrid, the leader of the game's assassin faction, the Dark Brotherhood. The Dark Brotherhood is a staple in the Elder Scrolls series, and it almost always introduces the Blade of Woe to its respective games as well. In Skyrim, the dagger deals 12 base damage while also absorbing 10 points of health. The cost of activating the enchantment is reduced by a higher Destruction stat, so the dagger is especially preferable for magic users.
The intended way for players to earn the Blade of Woe is by completing the quest Death Incarnate. The quest is the final part of the Dark Brotherhood's questline in Skyrim that players will progress through after joining the guild. For gamers who don't want to play through the questline, it can also be stolen by pickpocketing Astrid or by killing her during the With Friends Like These quest which leads to the player destroying the Dark Brotherhood.
How to Get Skyrim's Bloodscythe and Soulrender
The unique swords Bloodscythe and Soulrender are earned at the same time and are best used together, as their enchantments only activate when a player has both. When the swords are wielded as a pair, they are one of the strongest loadouts in all of Skyrim. The Bloodscythe has a base damage of 13 and absorbs 15 health with a chance to lower an enemy's armor. Souldrender also has 13 base damage and absorbs 15 magicka, and it has a chance to lower the target's magical defenses. To earn the swords, players have to defeat the spirit of Haknir Death-Brand in the Gyldenhul Barrow dungeon. Players go there at the end of the Deathbrand quest that is started by reading a copy of the book Deathbrand after level 36. The book can be found in either Tel Mithryn or Raven Rock Temple.
How to Get Skyrim's Zephyr
Zephyr is one of the strongest bows for players who prefer to tackle Skyrim's challenges with a bit more distance. It is a dwarven bow with a base of damage 12 that can fire 30% faster than standard bows. It can be found during the Lost to the Ages quest that sees players exploring the Dwemer ruin of Arkngthamz. Not much is known about the Elder Scrolls' Dwemer race, but it certainly seems like the race could make some great bows. To get Zephyr, players have to carefully walk across a log to grab the bow without falling or knocking it off. Unfortunately for any magic users looking to grab it, it cannot be picked up with the Telekenesis spell.
How to Get Auriel's Bow in Skyrim
Auriel's Bow is a unique weapon that has been featured in a number of Elder Scrolls titles. The bow was added to Skyrim in its Dawnguard expansion and is earned by playing through the expansion's main questline. Players are rewarded with the bow after completing the Touching the Sky quest near the end of the DLC. The bow deals 13 base damage as well as 20 points of sun damage. However, the bonus sun damage is tripled when the bow is used against undead enemies, making it a prime target for tackling Dawnguard's vampire threat.
Another unique aspect of Auriel's Bow is that it has two unique arrow types that players can equip, which are the Sunhallowed Arrows and Bloodcursed Arrows. Sunhallowed Arrows are elven arrows that can be shot at the sun, causing it to explode. The explosion sends beams of sunlight down on all enemies around the player while shooting the arrows at an enemy turns its damage into an area of effect explosion. Bloodcursed Arrows are also elven arrows, but are especially useful for vampire characters in Skyrim. Shooting one of the arrows at the sun envelops the sun in darkness for an entire in-game day, allowing vampires to go out during the day and attack towns.
Skyrim is available now on PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.