Smithing is the skill that turns a random adventurer into someone walking around in Daedric or Dragon armor they forged themselves. It is also one of the easiest skills to level fast, if you know how the XP actually works. Most people don’t.
Here’s the play: understand the formula, start with cheap mass crafting, switch to gold jewelry, then finish with high value items and tempering. Let’s get into it.
How Smithing XP Works
Every item you craft gives XP based on its value, plus a flat bonus per item. That flat bonus is the key. It means a stack of cheap items can beat one expensive item, which is why iron daggers are still a great early option. Five iron daggers give roughly twice the XP of one set of iron armor, for about the same iron.
- Crafting: XP grows with the item’s value, plus a fixed bonus per item.
- Improving (tempering): also gives XP, more for high value gear and bigger upgrades.
- Smelting ore and tanning hides: give no Smithing XP at all. They only make materials.
Stop Doing This: smelting a mountain of ore and expecting levels. The smelter is a material step, not an XP step.
How to Level Smithing to 100, Step by Step
Levels 15 to 40: Iron Daggers and Leather
Buy iron ingots and leather strips from any blacksmith. One iron dagger needs one iron ingot and one leather strip. Craft them by the dozen, sell them back, repeat. Iron and leather are cheap, the flat XP bonus does the heavy lifting and you get some gold back. Dawnguard also lets you craft iron and Dwarven arrows, another cheap option at low level.
Levels 40 to 70: Gold Jewelry
Jewelry needs no perks and has much higher value per ingot. This is where the classic money loop comes in.
- Learn Transmute Mineral Ore. The spell tome is at Halted Stream Camp, the bandit mine north of Whiterun.
- Buy iron ore. Blacksmiths and general stores stock it.
- Transmute it. Each cast turns one iron ore into silver ore, or one silver ore into gold ore. It levels Alteration on the side.
- Smelt the gold ore into gold ingots at any smelter.
- Craft gold rings and necklaces at a forge. Add gems you collect, since a gold diamond necklace is worth far more XP than a plain ring.
- Sell the jewelry to general merchants and repeat. Merchants restock every 48 hours.
Why This Slaps: the gold jewelry loop pays for itself. Every batch funds the next one, and by the end you are richer than when you started.
Levels 70 to 100: Perks, Dwarven Bows and Tempering
Take the Dwarven Smithing perk at 30 and Dwarven bows become a strong option from around skill 40. Dwarven metal ingots come from smelting the scrap you find in Dwemer ruins. Craft the bows, then improve them at a workbench, because tempering high value items is where the late XP comes from. From here, every piece of gear you improve for your actual build is XP too.
XP Boosts That Stack
- Warrior Stone: combat skills, Smithing included, level 20% faster. It sits on the road between Helgen and Riverwood.
- Rest first: sleeping in a bed gives a Rested or Well Rested bonus, or Lover’s Comfort (15%) if your spouse is nearby.
- Ancient Knowledge: finishing Unfathomable Depths, the Dwemer quest that starts with From-Deepest-Fathoms, gives 15% faster Smithing.
- Trainers: up to five lessons per level. See the table below.
- Skill books: The Armorer’s Challenge, Cherim’s Heart, Heavy Armor Forging, Last Scabbard of Akrash and Light Armor Forging each give a free level. Our skill book locations guide shows where.
| Trainer | Location | Trains up to |
|---|---|---|
| Ghorza gra-Bagol | Markarth | 50 (Common) |
| Balimund | The Scorched Hammer, Riften | 75 (Expert) |
| Eorlund Gray-Mane | Skyforge, Whiterun | 90 (Master) |
| Gunmar | Fort Dawnguard (Dawnguard) | 90 (Master) |
Smithing Perk Tree
The tree has two paths that meet at the top, plus Arcane Blacksmith for improving enchanted gear.
| Perk | Skill | Path |
|---|---|---|
| Steel Smithing | 0 | Start of both paths |
| Elven Smithing | 30 | Light armor path |
| Dwarven Smithing | 30 | Heavy armor path |
| Advanced Armors | 50 | Light armor path |
| Orcish Smithing | 50 | Heavy armor path |
| Arcane Blacksmith | 60 | Improve enchanted items |
| Glass Smithing | 70 | Light armor path |
| Ebony Smithing | 80 | Heavy armor path |
| Daedric Smithing | 90 | Heavy armor path |
| Dragon Armor | 100 | End of either path |
The Play: pick the path that matches your armor. Heavy armor tanks and two handed builds go Dwarven to Daedric, light armor and stealth builds go Elven to Glass. Everyone takes Arcane Blacksmith, because improving enchanted gear is mandatory for endgame. Light armor archers will want our stealth archer build next, and heavy hitters should check our best overall build.
Smithing FAQ
What is the fastest way to level Smithing in Skyrim?
Iron daggers early, then gold jewelry made from transmuted ore, then Dwarven bows and tempering. Stack the Warrior Stone and a rested bonus while you do it.
Where is the Transmute spell in Skyrim?
The Transmute Mineral Ore spell tome is in Halted Stream Camp, a bandit mine north of Whiterun.
Who is the best Smithing trainer?
Eorlund Gray-Mane at the Skyforge in Whiterun and Gunmar at Fort Dawnguard are Master trainers. Training stops at 90; the last ten levels come from crafting.
Does smelting ore give Smithing XP?
No. Smelting and tanning only produce materials. You only get XP from crafting and improving items.
GG: do the jewelry loop with a stone and a rested bonus, and Smithing 100 comes faster than any other crafting skill. Plenty of players are still out there hammering away, as our Skyrim Special Edition player stats show. More guides live on our Skyrim hub. Do this. Thank me later.
