Leveling one's character is a vital part of any RPG — but when there's so much to do and the player is stuck at a low level, it can get frustrating. This can often be the case in Skyrim, where there are bosses to fight, guilds to join, worlds to save, and lives to end. Fortunately, Skyrim players have learned plenty of ways to level various skills fast. No matter which skills the Dragonborn chooses to build, every increase results in progress toward the next level.
If players are looking to level up quickly to gain those stat increases and perk points, these strategies should help. Though all leveling tricks involve some grinding, most can be incorporated into regular gameplay, keeping things from getting too tedious. As long as players don't mind breaking the game a bit to make the Dragonborn extremely adept and powerful in no time, they'll love checking out the many ways players have used Skyrim's systems to make their version of this hero as powerful as possible.
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Updated May 4, 2024, by Ritwik Mitra: Skyrim is one of the greatest open-world RPGs ever made, propelling Bethesda to the stratosphere of popularity and letting them milk a cash cow that players can't get enough of. Despite the controversies that Bethesda has found itself in time and again, fans still come back to Skyrim. It's a testament to the sheer potential of this title that players are still seeking out the best ways possible to level up their Dragonborn's skills, turning them from a worthless chump into a hero capable of defeating multiple dragons in no time.
21 Disenchant Items All The Time
Skills Targeted: Enchanting
Most people who try to level up as many skills as possible end up completely forgetting about Enchanting. With the sheer amount of quality loot that players can obtain, it's easy to see why Enchanting isn't the most appealing skill. However, players may not be aware that leveling up this skill is as easy as can be.
With access to an Enchanting Table, players can take useless loot with enchantments they aren't familiar with. They can use the Arcane Enchanter to disenchant said item to level up their skill and learn another enchantment. It takes care of two birds with one stone and takes very little time, making it a great task that players can accomplish from time to time.
20 Make The Most Of The Invulnerability Of Essential NPCs
Skills Targeted: All Combat And Offensive Magic Skills
Some companions, along with a few NPCs relevant to Skyrim's quests, cannot be killed no matter how hard players try. While regular NPCs can still turn hostile and throw a wedge into the player's story, companions are so obedient that they have no problems turning into a punching bag for the Dragonborn no matter how much they wail on them.
This can be exploited to level up the Dragonborn's combat skills, as long as players don't mind pulverizing their friends over and over again. Keep in mind that skills don't level up when attacking companions who are downed, so players need to wait for a while until their companion's HP is full before wailing on them again.
19 An Exploit In The "Recipe For Disaster" Quest
Skills Targeted: Speech
Sometimes, players just want to level up a skill as much as possible without worrying about breaking immersion. One such exploit for the Speech skill can be used if the player is a member of the Dark Brotherhood. One of the quests from this guild is "Recipe for Disaster," which has a rather amusing exploit that players can abuse for their benefit.
This quest entails players going to Markarth and questioning a man called Anton Virane. There's a part in the conversation where players can Intimidate him to get some information. Doing this and exiting out of the conversation quickly will let players repeat this action, and bring their Speech skill up to 100 in no time.
18 Find As Many Skill Books As Possible
Skills Targeted: All
Skill Books are always great to find, especially since they let players enjoy a free point in a random skill at no cost. This makes it essential to leap at any chance to acquire a skill book in the game by hook or by crook.
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If players want, they can follow guides to find out the location of pre-placed skill books in the game, which can make the leveling process easier. Multiple playthroughs of Skyrim can make the early game a bit grating to deal with, making it easy to see why players would prefer to just do everything in their power to level up and gain access to better weapons, items, spells, armor, and anything else along the same lines.
17 Employ The Benefit Of Certain Standing Stones
Skills Targeted: All
The Standing Stones scattered all across Skyrim offer different benefits to the player whenever they interact with them. However, three of these in particular are perfect for players who wish to hasten the process of leveling up the Dragonborn.
The Lover Stone, Mage Stone, Thief Stone, and Warrior Stone all play their part in helping out the Dragonborn. If players are lucky enough to stumble upon one of these Standing Stones, then they should make a note of its location while also making the most of the skill buffs it provides.
16 Spam The Transmute Mineral Ore Spell
Skills Targeted: Alteration
Many spells in Skyrim can be spammed to increase the values of that particular skill tree. Such is the case with the Transmute Mineral Ore spell, which is about as effective as most people would expect.
Using this spell helps players convert the ore in their inventory into something of higher value. If players have the magicka to spare, then this spell will let them earn a quick buck and level up their Alteration skill in the process, too.
15 Sneak Attack Hadvar Or Ralof Over And Over
Skills Targeted: One-Handed, Sneak
When Alduin attacks Helgen, players have the choice of going with either Hadvar or Ralof in a bid to escape this monstrosity. This ends up being a way to start the tutorial of Skyrim, where players learn the ropes, and includes a moment where they need to sneak around a bear.
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During this instance, players can sneak attack one of these two characters time and time again to improve both Sneak and One-Handed. Patient players can gain many levels before they are even let loose into the vast world of Skyrim in the first place.
14 Combine Telekinesis And Fast Traveling
Skills Targeted: Alteration
Players who want to dabble in Alteration and want to level up quickly should make it a point to unlock Telekinesis as quickly as possible. Doing so allows them to exploit one of the most famous leveling cheats in the game.
Players need to cast this spell on an object, then open the world map and fast-travel while Telekinesis is still active. If done correctly, players will gain a ton of points in Alteration and level-up bucketloads.
13 Spam Soul Trap
Skills Targeted: Conjuration
Conjuration is another great skill tree that players can focus on if they want to summon deadly monsters in combat. It also has a simple yet useful spell called Soul Trap that is unlocked pretty early on and can be spammed on corpses to level up Conjuration.
Doing so on every dead body in the game can lead to Conjuration leveling up in no time at all. Not only will players gain valuable levels by doing this, but they can also unlock more powerful spells in no time at all.
12 Get Circle Of Protection As Soon As Possible
Skills Targeted: Restoration
Another magic tree that is worth investing in is Restoration. Players who don't want to carry too many potions can simply rely on the spells in this tree to heal themselves and their allies instead.
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One of the best spells to take in Conjuration is Circle of Protection, which can be cast over and over again to raise this stat without too many issues. Level grinding becomes a breeze once the Dragonborn has access to this spell.
11 Beat Up Shadowmere
Skills Targeted: All Combat Skills
Shadowmere is an immortal mount that reappears if it takes too much damage, making it the preferred choice for horse riders in Skyrim. That being said, players who don't mind being a bit cruel can abuse the immortality of this horse to raise their attack-minded stats with ease.
Players can use the weapons they have to beat Shadowmere within an inch of his life before letting him regenerate his health and start the process anew. It can take some time, but this relentless horse abuse leads to players increasing their melee stats in no time flat.
10 Craft Weapons And Armor
Skills Targeted: Smithing
One of the most well-known tricks to level up is exploring the smithing in Skyrim. Generally speaking, blacksmithing can be used by the player to craft leveled equipment that helps them tackle tougher dungeons with ease, but those who want to cheese the leveling system can use smithing for nefarious purposes instead.
Players can craft the weakest and cheapest item — like an Iron Sword — over and over again to upgrade this skill and level up their character multiple times in one go. It's a well-known exploit that has become legendary among fans of Skyrim.
9 Rest In An Owned Bed, Preferably With A Loved One
Skills Targeted: All
Players can rest up in several beds across Skyrim, but the abundance of healing items means that most people don't find a use for this mechanic. However, these players will be singing a different tune once they realize that resting for a while gives a temporary bonus to XP gain.
Ideally, players should try and sleep in their own house or in a room they paid for. The best way to maximize XP gain using this method is to marry one of the many prospects in Skyrim before sleeping with them in a shared bed to gain the "Lover's Comfort" buff, increasing XP gain by 15% for eight in-game hours.
8 Sneak Around In Every Encounter
Skills Targeted: Sneak
Sneaking is one of the most fun things to do in Skyrim, which is perhaps why so many people love the Stealth Archer build in the game. However, sneaking serves another purpose that is great for players who want all their actions to contribute to their level.
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Fittingly enough, using stealth in Skyrim increases the Sneak stat, and this can happen quite a bit if players decide to sneak their way around every encounter. It's a simple and fun way to level up in the game while also making sneaking easier and a lot more fun in the meantime.
7 The Equilibrium + Healing Trick
Skills Targeted: Restoration, Alteration
Restoration and Alteration are two schools of magic with a variety of applications, and this trick helps players level them both. Equilibrium is an Alteration spell that drains HP to restore Magicka while healing spells cost Magicka to restore HP. By equipping these two spells in each hand, players can alternate them for as long as they like.
Spam Equilibrium until health gets low, and then spam Healing to bring it back up. Repeat this process, and gamers can sit back and watch both Alteration and Restoration rise. That said, players should be careful that the Dragonborn doesn't accidentally die while using Equilibrium, as this is easily possible.
6 Break Lockpicks
Skills Targeted: Lockpicking
Sometimes, practicing is more important than succeeding, and that's certainly the case for Lockpicking in Skyrim. Every time the player breaks a lockpick, the skill increases by a small amount. This means that the Dragonborn can repeatedly try to break into houses and locked chests and simply fail over and over until they level up.
Admittedly, this is one of the more tedious leveling tricks out there; however, it's often worth it for Skyrim's thieves and plunderers. To use this trick and avoid getting caught by angry NPCs, the Thieves Guild in Riften has a room full of locked chests specifically to practice this skill. Players can gather a massive stack of lockpicks and break them all trying to get those locks open.
5 Spam Muffle & Clairvoyance
Skills Targeted: Illusion
There are lots of low-level Illusion spells out there, but ones like Fury, Fear, or even Calm will cause town guards to turn hostile to the Dragonborn. To level Illusion quickly, the best options are spells that affect oneself, as any other friendly NPCs won't react to them being used.
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With this in mind, holding the Clairvoyance spell is one way to level Illusion — albeit rather slowly. Repeatedly castingMuffle also works well and can quickly get players to level 40 or higher in a short amount of time. Since the latter can have a hefty Magicka cost at lower levels, players should equip enchanted gear to help it regenerate faster and speed the process along.
4 Summon & Banish Creatures
Skills Targeted: Conjuration
Conjuration can be an incredibly valuable school of magic, but at low levels, it's not good for all that much. Fortunately, there's an easy way to level it: call up a familiar or an Atronach and immediately send it from whence it came. Players can repeat until the skill reaches the desired level. As with other magical leveling tricks, wearing gear with the Regenerate Magicka effect helps speed things up, as players have less time to wait for it to recharge.
Conjure Familiar consumes the least Magicka out of all the summoning spells, but Conjure Flame Atronach can be a good option as well. Summon the creature, and then cast Banish Daedra (or Expel Daedra for higher-level summons). Each of these spells raises Conjuration. What's more, neither will make nearby NPCs hostile, so the Dragonborn can do this anywhere.
3 Use The Most Valuable Enchantments
Skills Targeted: Enchanting
Enchanting is often an easy way to both increase levels and earn some quick coin. Players often find themselves picking up weapons and gear that they have no use for, and enchanting them before selling exponentially raises their value.
Most importantly, the more valuable the enchantment applied, the more the Enchanting skill will increase. By far the best enchantment to use for weapons is Banish Daedra, though Paralyze is also a good choice. Meanwhile, Fortify Destruction and Fortify Sneak are the most valuable armor enchantments. So, players should stock up on Soul Gems and find an Arcane Enchanter.
2 Know The Highest-Value Potion Recipes
Skills Targeted: Alchemy
As with Enchanting, crafting higher-value items at the alchemy lab will level the skill much faster than cheap ones. Fortify Carry Weight is one highly valuable effect, along with Invisibility, Slow, and Regenerate Health/Stamina/Magicka. Additionally, potions made with Giant's Toe have much longer-lasting and potent effects, making them more valuable and thus providing a greater skill increase when crafted.
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Some top recipes for alchemy leveling include:
- Giant's Toe, Creep Cluster, Wheat
- Giant's Toe, River Betty, Large Antlers
- River Betty, Deathbell, Creep Cluster
- Luna Moth Wing, Vampire Dust, Hawk Feathers
Not all of these will be strictly useful, as some mix beneficial effects with poisonous ones. However, they can all be sold for profit.
