Elven Smithing Perk
| Elven Smithing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skill Requirement | 30 |
| Perk Requirement | Steel Smithing |
| Tempering Material | Refined Moonstone |
| Improvement | Doubled |
| Perk ID | 000CB40F |
Elven Smithing opens the light armour branch of the Smithing tree in Skyrim. It requires skill level 30 and Steel Smithing, and it allows you to forge Elven armour and weapons while doubling how much they gain from tempering.
Elven equipment is worked with Refined Moonstone, smelted from moonstone ore. That single material covers the whole set, which keeps the branch simple to supply compared with the heavy path, where each tier wants a different ingot.
Progression
Taking this perk is a commitment to the left-hand side of the tree. It unlocks Advanced Armors at level 50, which in turn leads to Glass Smithing at 70 and finally Dragon Armor at 100. That route reaches Dragon armour one perk point sooner than the heavy branch through Ebony and Daedric Smithing.
It is not purely a light armour path, though. Advanced Armors adds Scaled and Steel Plate, both of which are heavy, so a heavy armour character who wants to reach Dragonplate quickly can still justify starting here.
With the Dragonborn add-on installed, Elven Smithing also unlocks Chitin armour, the light Dunmer set found on Solstheim.
Elven Gear in Practice
Elven weapons and armour start appearing in loot and on vendors from around level 12, so this perk usually arrives at a point where you already have pieces worth improving rather than forging from scratch. The doubled improvement is what makes it worthwhile: an Elven bow tempered with the perk reaches Exquisite at skill 40 instead of 65.
Smelting
Refined moonstone is the only material Elven equipment uses, for both crafting and tempering. Each unit needs:
- Moonstone 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 |
Light Armour Branch
| Perk | Skill |
|---|---|
| Steel Smithing | None |
| Elven Smithing | 30 |
| Advanced Armors | 50 |
| Glass Smithing | 70 |
| Dragon Armor | 100 |
Items Crafted
Weapons and armor the Elven Smithing perk lets the forge make.
Improved Twice as Much
Weapons and armor whose improvement the Elven Smithing perk doubles.
Smithing Perk Categories
