Daedric Smithing Perk
| Daedric Smithing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skill Requirement | 90 |
| Perk Requirement | Ebony Smithing |
| Forging Materials | Ebony Ingot, Daedra Heart |
| Tempering Material | Ebony Ingot |
| Perk ID | 000CB413 |
Daedric Smithing is the final material perk on the heavy branch of the Smithing tree in Skyrim. It requires skill level 90 and Ebony Smithing, and it allows you to forge Daedric armour and weapons and to improve them twice as effectively.
Daedric armour has the highest armour rating of any set in the base game, and Daedric weapons hit harder than anything short of Dragonbone.
The Daedra Heart Problem
Daedric gear is forged from Ebony Ingots and a Daedra Heart, and the heart is what makes the perk awkward rather than the skill requirement. Hearts are not mined or bought in bulk. They drop from Dremora, appear in a small number of fixed locations, and restock slowly from a handful of vendors, so a full Daedric set takes planning rather than an afternoon of mining.
Tempering, by contrast, only needs an Ebony Ingot, the same material used by the previous tier. Once the set is made, keeping it improved is cheap.
Is It Worth The Perk Points
Armour rating in Skyrim caps out in practice, and a fully tempered ebony set with a decent Heavy Armor skill already reaches the ceiling against most enemies. The honest case for Daedric Smithing is the weapons and the raw numbers, not survivability.
It also unlocks Dragon Armor at level 100 alongside Glass Smithing, though the light branch reaches that point one perk sooner. With Creation Club content installed, the perk additionally covers the Dark and Golden variants of Daedric equipment.
Smelting
Daedric gear is forged from ebony ingots plus a Daedra Heart, and tempered with ebony ingots alone. Each ingot needs:
- Ebony Ore (2)
Smelting is not governed by the Smithing skill itself, so it grants no experience; only forging and tempering do.
Tempering Quality
Skill needed to reach each tier, with and without the perk.
| Quality | No perk | With perk |
|---|---|---|
| Fine | 14 | 14 |
| Superior | 31 | 22 |
| Exquisite | 65 | 40 |
| Flawless | 100 | 57 |
| Epic | 134 | 74 |
| Legendary | 168 | 91 |
Daedra Heart Sources
One heart is consumed per piece forged, so a full set needs a deliberate hunt.
| Source | Restocks |
|---|---|
| Dremora kills | With the summon |
| Fixed world locations | No |
| Alchemy merchants | Slowly |
Items Crafted
Weapons and armor the Daedric Smithing perk lets the forge make.
Improved Twice as Much
Weapons and armor whose improvement the Daedric Smithing perk doubles.
Smithing Perk Categories
