Skyrim - Maces

Maces hit for the most of any one-handed class, up to 18, and they carry the one class perk that scales instead of flattening out. Bone Breaker makes mace attacks ignore 25, 50 or 75 per cent of the target's armour, and because that is a multiplier rather than a flat bonus it is worth more the stronger the character gets.

Combat

Where it wins

• Highest damage of the three one-handed classes. Two more per swing than a sword of the same material, one more than a war axe.
• Bone Breaker is the only one-handed class perk that scales with the wielder's damage rather than against it. Against high level bandits the effect reaches around 40 per cent bonus damage.
• The class holds Scourge at 6,569 gold, the most valuable weapon in the game, and it banishes summoned Daedra outright.
• Armour penetration answers the one thing swords cannot: a heavily armoured target.

Where it loses

• Slowest of the three one-handed classes, so the damage per hit advantage partly disappears in damage per second.
• Bone Breaker does nothing against an enemy with no armour rating. Dwarven automatons look armoured and are not, and draugr and skeletons give it nothing either.
• That makes the class weakest exactly inside a Nordic ruin, which is a large share of the game's dungeons.
• No bleed and no critical chance, so against unarmoured targets a mace is a plain damage stick.

Builds

A mace build is a late-blooming one. The class perk is worth little early and a great deal once smithing and enchanting have raised the damage.

• Armsman to 5 before anything else, as with every one-hander.
• Bone Breaker to 3. Unlike Bladesman it gets better as the damage climbs, so it is worth finishing rather than stopping at rank 1.
• Carry a sword for the ruins. Bone Breaker's dead zone is large enough that a second weapon for draugr and automatons is worth the slot.
• Where the next chunk of damage comes from: Fortify One-Handed and smithing, both of which Bone Breaker multiplies rather than competes with.

Best Maces

Weapon	Image	Damage	Weight	Value	Why Take It
Scourge		18	22	6569	18 damage, the most valuable weapon in the game at 6,569 gold, and it banishes summoned Daedra up to level 36 outright.
Madness Mace		18	23	2200	18 damage, tied for highest in class, from the Saints & Seducers Creation.
Dragonbone Mace		17	22	2000	17 damage, the strongest mace forgeable in the base game, needing Dragon Smithing.
Ebony Mace CC		17	19	1000	Highest in class at 17 damage.
Amber Mace		17	18	2100	Highest in class at 17 damage.

Notes

• Bone Breaker makes mace attacks ignore 25, 50 or 75 per cent of armour at 30, 60 and 90 One-Handed.
• It has no effect on an enemy with no armour rating. Dwarven automatons have none despite their metal shells.
• Because it is multiplicative it overtakes the flat perks in the mid game: at 100 damage it adds around 10 where Bladesman adds at most 5.6.
• Maces are the slowest one-handers, so the class trades attack speed for the damage and the penetration.

The Mace of Molag Bal

The Mace of Molag Bal is a Daedric artifact. It is the reward for The House of Horrors, a quest that begins in an abandoned house in Markarth. The mace first appears as a Rusty Mace placed as an offering at the altar of Molag Bal.

Each hit drains twenty five points of both Magicka and Stamina from the target. The mace also casts Soul Trap on the target for three seconds. A target that dies inside that window fills an empty soul gem in the wielder's pack.

Draining Magicka leaves an enemy mage less power for spells. Draining Stamina leaves an enemy warrior less for power attacks. The mace is improved with an Ebony Ingot at a Grindstone.

Other Unique Maces

The Lunar maces come from Silent Moons Camp, home of the Lunar Forge. The Lunar Iron Mace and the Lunar Steel Mace carry the Silent Moons enchantment, which burns the target for a moment with each hit. They are leveled, so their strength follows the character's level when they are found.

The Dragonborn DLC adds Horksbane on Solstheim. This steel mace lies beside the body of its owner, the pirate Saden, on Horker Island.

Two Creations add mace artifacts. Scourge belongs to the Creation The Cause and is wielded by a Dremora in the Deadlands. Its enchantment can banish summoned Daedra. The Mace of the Crusader belongs to the Divine Crusader Creation. It is one of the relics held by bandits at Four Skull Lookout, east of Markarth.

Forging and Upgrades

Forged maces follow the usual metals. Iron, Steel, Orcish, Dwarven, Elven, Glass, Ebony and Daedric come from the base game. The Dawnguard DLC adds the Dragonbone Mace, and the Dragonborn DLC adds the Stalhrim Mace and the Nordic Mace.

Every metal above Iron needs its Smithing perk before a mace can be forged from it. Steel Smithing covers Steel. The heavy branch of the tree opens Dwarven, Orcish, Ebony and Daedric, and the light branch opens Elven and Glass. Dragon Armor at the top opens the Dragonbone Mace.

Maces are improved at a Grindstone with one ingot of their metal per step. The matching Smithing perk makes each improvement much stronger. Enchanted maces, including the Mace of Molag Bal, also need the Arcane Blacksmith perk before they can be improved.

Maces and Enchanting

Maces take the same enchantments as any other weapon. Each hit uses some of the stored charge, and a filled soul gem restores it at any time. The enchantment is learned first by disenchanting another weapon that carries it.

Soul Trap is a useful enchantment for a backup weapon. A mace with Soul Trap fills soul gems while the character fights. Those gems then recharge other enchanted weapons or power new enchantments at an Arcane Enchanter.

The Destruction perks also strengthen weapon enchantments. Augmented Flames, Augmented Frost and Augmented Shock raise the fire, frost and shock damage of enchanted weapons. A mace build with points in Destruction gains from them as well.

All Maces

Name	Image	Damage	Speed	Weight	Value	Enchantment	Item ID	Level	Upgrade Material	Crafting Perk	Skill	Unique	DLC
Daedric Mace		16	0.8	20	1750	Enchantable	000139B8	1+	Ebony Ingot	Daedric Smithing	One-Handed	-	Skyrim
Dragonbone Mace		17	0.8	22	2000	Enchantable	XX014FCD	1+	Dragon Bone	Dragon Smithing	One-Handed	-	Dawnguard
Dwarven Mace		12	0.8	16	190	Enchantable	00013998	12+	Dwarven Metal Ingot	Dwarven Smithing	One-Handed	-	Skyrim
Ebony Mace		16	0.8	19	1000	Enchantable	000139B0	36+	Ebony Ingot	Ebony Smithing	One-Handed	-	Skyrim
Elven Mace		13	0.8	17	330	Enchantable	000139A0	19+	Refined Moonstone	Elven Smithing	One-Handed	-	Skyrim
Glass Mace		14	0.8	18	575	Enchantable	000139A8	1+	Refined Malachite	Glass Smithing	One-Handed	-	Skyrim
Horksbane		10	0.8	14	250	Especially effective against horkers	XX026490	1+	Steel Ingot	Steel Smithing	One-Handed	Yes	Dragonborn
Iron Mace		9	0.8	13	35	Enchantable	00013982	1+	Iron Ingot	None	One-Handed	-	Skyrim
Lunar Iron Mace		9	0.8	13	168	While the moons are out, burns the target for 20 points	0003B0C1	6+	Iron Ingot	None	One-Handed	-	Skyrim
Lunar Steel Mace		10	0.8	14	198	While the moons are out, burns the target for 20 points	0003B0BC	8+	Steel Ingot	None	One-Handed	-	Skyrim
Mace of Molag Bal		16	0.8	18	1257	Deals 25 damage to Stamina and Magicka. If target dies within 3 seconds, fills a soul gem	000233E3	1+	Ebony Ingot	None	One-Handed	Yes	Skyrim
Nordic Mace		13	0.8	16	410	Enchantable	XX01CDB0	1+	Quicksilver Ingot	Advanced Armors	One-Handed	-	Dragonborn
Orcish Mace		11	0.8	15	105	Enchantable	00013990	1+	Orichalcum Ingot	Orcish Smithing	One-Handed	-	Skyrim
Prelate's Mace		13	0.8	7	330	Cannot be enchanted	00013990	1+	Refined Moonstone	Elven Smithing	One-Handed	Yes	Dawnguard
Rusty Mace		7	0.8	13	5	Cannot be enchanted	0022F0F	1+	Cannot be Upgraded	None	One-Handed	Yes	Skyrim
Stalhrim Mace		16	0.8	18	1375	Frost Enchants are 25% stronger	XX01CDB7	35+	Stalhrim	Ebony Smithing	One-Handed	-	Dragonborn
Steel Mace		10	0.8	14	65	Enchantable	00013988	2+	Steel Ingot	Steel Smithing	One-Handed	-	Skyrim
Ancient Nord Mace		10	0.9	16	17	Enchantable	XX000E46	1+	Steel Ingot	Steel Smithing	One-Handed	Yes	Creation Club
Honed Ancient Nord Mace		13	0.9	18	31	Enchantable	XX08A1EE	1+	Steel Ingot	Steel Smithing	One-Handed	Yes	Creation Club
Light of Day		16	0.9	20	1614	30 points of sun damage, undead targets take triple damage	XX13101E	1+	Iron Ingot	None	One-Handed	Yes	Creation Club
Sunder		15	0.9	18	1720	Does 5 points of frost, fire, and shock damage each. Does 15 points of damage to stamina and magicka	FEXXX801	1+	Dwarven Metal Ingot	Dwarven Smithing	One-Handed	Yes	Creation Club
Scourge		18	0.8	22	6569	Summoned Daedra up to level 36 are sent back to Oblivion	XX000B5E	1+	Ebony Ingot	Daedric Smithing	One-Handed	Yes	Creation Club
Mace of the Crusader		16	0.8	18	2501	Burns the target for 15 points. Targets on fire take extra damage	FEXXX80d	1+	Steel Ingot	Steel Smithing	One-Handed	Yes	Creation Club
Ebony Mace CC		17	0.8	19	1000	Enchantable	XX000E37	1+	Ebony Ingot	Ebony Smithing	One-Handed	-	Creation Club
Madness Mace		18	0.8	23	2200	Enchantable	XX000BE8	1+	Madness Ingot	Quest	One-Handed	-	Creation Club
Amber Mace		17	0.8	18	2100	Enchantable	XX000BDF	1+	Amber Ingot	Quest	One-Handed	-	Creation Club
Dark Mace		14	0.8	15	370	Enchantable	XX000824	1+	Quicksilver Ingot	Daedric Smithing	One-Handed	-	Creation Club
Golden Mace		13	1	15	370	Enchantable	XX000827	1+	Gold Ingot	Daedric Smithing	One-Handed	-	Creation Club

One-Handed Weapon Categories