Written by Jordon O.
Most players desire to level up quickly to get more powerful or unlock certain quests. However, the game does not explicitly state the best ways to level up, and there are many misconceptions about the best methods. Thus, this guide serves to aid players in attaining higher levels in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and its expansions.
Note: This guide assumes you are playing on an unmodified version of the game using the latest patch.
Method 1: Leveling Sneak
For players starting a new playthrough and wanting to skip the early-game level grind, this method is arguably one of the best. It involves leveling the Sneak skill by performing sneak attacks on an unkillable NPC.
The fastest way to perform this method is to sneak attack Hadvar or Ralof in Helgen Keep once you gain the ability to do so. Pick up one of the weapons found on the dead soldiers, press your sneak keybind, move behind your guide, ensure that the sneak indicator in the center of your screen says ‘hidden’, and attack him. Each sneak attack you perform should give you a level in Sneak and improve the skill related to your equipped weapon. This 1:1 ratio for the Sneak skill ends around Sneak level 35, after which progress will slow (but never fully stop).
For players later in their playthrough, this method may also be performed on the Greybeards in High Hrothgar after a certain point in the main quest. However, it isn’t as easy, and the methods described later are far more efficient for later-game characters.
Method 2: Leveling Conjuration
For this method, you’ll need the spell Soul Trap. It can be purchased from any vendor that sells spell books once you’ve reached level 25 in Conjuration. It may also be found in random loot at a certain point.
Once you’ve obtained the Soul Trap spell, simply kill something – a bandit, wolf, or other creature – and repeatedly cast the spell on it. If your Magicka stat is low (which it most likely will be), consider resting between casts to refill your Magicka pool instantly. Soul Trap is an expensive spell to cast. This method, while slow, can be performed with little to no effort as long as you’ve got the patience. We recommend obtaining Magicka-boosting enchanted items if you plan to do this often. Furthermore, spending points on Conjuration perks to expedite the process.
This method can be performed almost anywhere as long as you’ve got the prerequisite spell, a nearby corpse, and a fair bit of time on your hands. While not the quickest method, it is mind-numbingly easy, allowing you to watch a show or perform another activity while doing this.
Method 3: Leveling Smithing, Speech, Enchanting, and Earning Gold
This method, while significantly more complex and involved, is the best for vanilla players. It doesn’t even require glitches, though it is recommended to use two to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible.
First, you’ll need to gather an immense amount of raw materials. It is recommended that you store them near a forge. The player home in Whiterun is perfect for this. You can gain these raw materials (namely, iron ingots/raw iron and leather, but other raw materials are good too) from random loot, mining them out of the ground, or buying them from vendors.
If you want to expedite this process, there is a glitch you can perform. If you are familiar with the Khajit Caravan vendor chest glitch (where you look at a specific spot on the ground and are permitted access to a chest with lots of free loot), it is similar to that. This chest, which I will guide you to get, is out-of-bounds in Whiterun. There are two methods to get to it. You may jump out of bounds next to the Whiterun gate or clip through the wall behind Jorrvaskr. Once you’re out of bounds, navigate counterclockwise around the wall until you get to the Skyforge. Look for a small gray hill with some holes in the ground, navigate up to and through the wall (putting you beneath the Skyforge), and look for a standard wooden chest floating in a void of nothingness. Walk to it, and it will contain a myriad of items useful to this leveling method. While the chest will not immediately reset, there is a way to restock it instantly.
Once you’ve looted the chest, navigate to the Skyforge and barter with Eorlund Gray-Mane. Once you’ve opened his inventory, back out and save (quicksave or hard save, doesn’t matter). Once you’ve saved, attack him and make sure he is aggressive. Once he hits you (or dies), reload your save. His inventory will be reset, and thus the chest will be reset. The chest below the Skyforge is directly tied to Eorlund’s inventory. This glitch, known by the community as the Vendor Reset Glitch, can be performed on any vendor to reset their inventory to buy or sell more to them.
With these items in hand, go to a forge (the nearest is next to the Whiterun gate at Warmaiden’s) and create as many Iron Daggers and Leather Bracers as you can with the materials you have. If you have additional materials and perks unlocked, creating additional items levels up your Smithing skill further. Generally, it is best to craft as many items as you can instead of the most valuable items due to how the smithing formula works.
Once you’ve created your items, take them to the Workbench or the Grindstone and improve them all for additional skill XP. With your improved items in hand, you have multiple choices. If you have lots of filled soul gems, enchanting them all with something can provide additional levels. Regardless of whether or not you do that, you’ll need to get rid of all this junk somehow. You can’t wear 1,858 bracers at the same time. I recommend taking them to a merchant and selling them off to simultaneously profit from your hard work and improve your Speech. If you’re trying to sell more than what a merchant has in Gold, either use multiple vendors or use the Vendor Reset Glitch described above.
This method not only levels three of your skills – it earns you tens of thousands of gold pieces to fund the rest of your playthrough. However, due to the glitches utilized (though they are by no means required), I will propose one more method, one that requires no glitches at all.
Method 4: Leveling Block and Restoration
This last method will be much more active and dangerous than the rest. Keep in mind that, while fast, this method takes a fair bit of skill and finesse. In other words, you may die. Save often.
To perform this trick, you need a shield and ways to heal yourself. You will also need to find a Frost Troll. There is a guaranteed encounter with one while traversing the 7,000 Steps, but beyond that, they are randomly found in snowy locations, typically at higher elevations. You should also know a healing spell or have several dozen healing potions in your inventory. Additionally, a spell such as Flames is useful to kill the troll from a distance once you’re done with it.
Once you have found your Frost Troll, simply have it attack you. You need to block all of its attacks while occasionally retreating to heal. Holding a spell such as Healing or Fast Healing in your free hand while holding your shield is ideal, but potions and other circumstances are fine too. While blocking its attacks, your Block level will increase tremendously due to the damage output of the Frost Troll. Additionally, as your Block level goes up, so does the damage you block from the troll’s attacks, allowing you to last longer before a retreat is necessary.
This method levels a vital combat skill for melee builds, rendering it the most useful for those players. Additionally, this method even works if you have game-changing modifications enabled, allowing you to perform this on effectively any version of the game as long as you’ve got a shield and a way to heal.
Got any other methods you’d like to share? Is there anything glaringly obvious that I missed? Leave them in the comments so fellow users can make use of them.
