Between Skyrim's fairly extensive armory and the bevy of enchantments that the Dragonborn can apply to beef up those weapons, the possibilities are almost limitless. You can dual wield scimitars that drain your opponent's health, freeze them with a frosty battleaxe, or set them aflame from a distance with fiery arrows. In short, chances are that if you can dream it, you can do it.
Those options expand considerably when you consider Skyrim's selection of unique weapons, many of which come packaged with unique enchantments that players simply can't emulate on their own. If you were wondering which of those were the best of the best, then you've come to the right place. Below we've ranked ten of the top tier unique weapons in Skyrim. But as a catch, they must possess enchantments that can't be recreated via crafting. So weapons like Chillrend, despite being incredibly powerful, are off the table since they can be imitated with enchanting.
10 Wuuthrad
The iconic legendary axe of the Companions does an incredible amount of base damage to start with. In earnest, this likely goes a much longer way towards earning its spot on the list than its enchantment does, considering its very limited scope.
Granted, the game's logic doesn't consider it an enchantment more than it does an effect, but it comes close enough to make the cut. Wuuthrad does an exceptional amount of damage against elven foes, including wood elves, dark elves, high elves, and the falmer. As a bonus, this being considered an "effect" allows players to apply a secondary enchantment to the weapon, boosting its power.
9 Dragonbane
If you fancy yourself a dragon slaying samurai, then it's hard to go wrong with this storied relic of the Blades. It has decent base damage for a one handed weapon, and it benefits from the Steel Smithing perk. Its enchantment deals up to an extra forty damage versus dragons. It's admittedly limited in scope, but is entirely welcome against big, fire breathing monstrosities.
The catch is that Dragonbane is a leveled weapon. This means that its statistics scale to whatever level the player happens to be when they find it. The best version of it is available at level forty six, so players looking to get the most of it will want to wait until then to enter Sky Haven Temple.
8 Zephyr
Zephyr presents players with a bit of quandary. Its innate enchantment allows it to draw and fire thirty percent faster, loosing its arrows quicker than any other bow. However, its low base damage compared to other options makes it less than optimal for the popular sneak attack sniper build that most archery based characters fall into.
Over the course of extended combat, it'll do more damage than most of its competitors. But lacking that initial sneak attack punch definitely hurts its appeal. In the end this one boils down to play style, but it can't be denied that in a flat contest of sheer damage, the Zephyr is a mighty weapon.
7 Bloodskal Blade
This Nordic artifact retrieved from Solstheim possesses one of the most unique enchantments in the game. Power attacks performed while wielding it will produce a ranged energy blast. It isn't incredibly damaging on its own, but it can stagger opponents, and will strike in addition to the blade's base damage in melee, which is particularly effective.
One flaw that holds it back in terms of ranking is the fact that it isn't attached to a smithing perk. This can make upgrading it to its best potential a bit troubling. However, it's still an incredibly powerful weapon. Considering the relative scarcity of unique two handers, it's a must have for any character that fancies the bigger weapons.
6 The Longhammer
The enchantment attached to the Longhammer allows it to swing thirty percent faster. This is a pretty incredible boost considering its already high base damage, allowing it outpace most other weapons in its class when it comes to damage per second.
This is another case where the game doesn't specifically consider this bonus an "enchantment," but it comes close enough for us. It also allows further enchantments to be applied to the weapon, safely earning it a spot among the absolute best choices when it comes to two handed weaponry.
5 Dawnbreaker
At first glance, the Dawnbreaker may not be much to look at. This is largely on account of its low base damage. But its unique enchantment renders it one of the most effective tools to have at your side when dealing with undead creatures. And given the prevalence of draugr and vampiric foes, this means it'll come in handy more often than not.
If an undead creature dies within ten seconds of being struck with Dawnbreaker, it'll erupt with a holy explosion that is intensely damaging to other undead creatures. However, this still leaves the base damage as an incredibly valid complaint. Unfortunately, it's a difficult hurdle to overcome considering the Dawnbreaker isn't attached to a smithing perk.
4 Dwarven Black Bow of Fate
This bow's unique enchantment is much like the "chaos damage" enchantment available to the player, but with one crucial difference. Instead of doing flat attribute damage, it has a fifty percent chance to absorb either magicka, health, or stamina from the target.
The bow itself has slightly higher base damage than typical dwarven bows. It also benefits from the "Dwarven Smithing" perk, making upgrading it a breeze. The only downside is the relative unreliability of the enchantment, but it kicks off often enough to make this an incredibly attractive prospect for archers.
3 Soulrender & Bloodscythe
These twin scimitars have to be wielded as a pair, or else the wielder won't receive the full benefits of their unique and powerful enchantments. Soulrender will drain magicka and lower the magical defenses of an opponent. Bloodscythe, on the other hand, will drain health and lower the physical defenses of the victim.
As mentioned, the weapons must be dual wielded in tandem in order for their enchantments to work. This isn't much of an issue since they pair up so nicely, and they both boast decent base damage ratings. Pairing the duo up with the Deathbrand armor set will make them even deadlier with the bonuses it affords for dual wielding.
2 Mehrunes' Razor
When discussing the relative power of unique enchantments, it's difficult to outdo one that can instantly kill your opponents. Considering that's precisely what Mehrunes' Razor is capable of, the logic behind its high placement on the list should be obvious.
Although the chance for the instant kill effect to work is minimal, it'll trigger often enough to be more than noticeable. There are also only a precious few NPCs that are totally immune to it. The dagger itself can be a pain to upgrade as it lacks a smithing perk. But although its base damage isn't too shabby, it obviously isn't the primary reason to carry it around.
1 Windshear
The infamously abusive unique enchantment of this scimitar isn't one of outright power. But it's deadly effective in practically every combat scenario the player will ever face. The Windshear produces a knockdown effect when bashing, and will stagger opponents with almost every strike when using normal attacks.
This one can be a little tricky to get, as the Dragonborn won't be able to snag it until the Dark Brotherhood quest "Hail Sithis," and it's not easy to find. Once aboard the Imperial ship called The Katariah, keen eyed players will be able to spot it wedged into a wooden beam at the ship's bow.