When Skyrim was released players were limited to a level cap of 81 because of the way that skill progression worked originally. With later updates (and in Skyrim Special Edition) this skill cap was removed with the introduction of the Legendary Skill system.
Legendary Skills in Skyrim are not unique skills unlocked late in the game, nor are they improvements on existing skills and abilities pertaining to each skill line. Legendary Skills are simply a part of the system that ensures characters are free to level up as much as possible.
Updated June 29, 2023 by Erik Petrovich: Before making a skill Legendary Skyrim players have to first max out a skill tree by reaching Level 100. After that, it's a simple process: the difficulty comes with making a decision. Making a Skyrim skill Legendary can grant players a bit of additional power over time, and it allows the game to be played near indefinitely, with constant progression. The Legendary Skill process ultimately has as many drawbacks as it does benefits, though, and the sudden loss in power that comes from resetting a Skill Tree can deter some players from ever using the Legendary Skill system. Players should be keenly aware of this trade-off, as it asks for a significant sacrifice in exchange for long-term benefits.
What Does Making A Skill Legendary Do?
The Legendary Skills system acts as a kind of Prestige system that completely resets a skill while also refunding all points spent in that skill's associated skill tree. Legendary Skills start back at Lvl 15, giving players the opportunity to continue leveling that skill (and their overall player level) practically indefinitely.
When a skill is reset, their perk points aren't lost, and can be used again to strengthen other Skill Trees. When players level up, just like normal, they will gain more Perk Points to spend on their reset skill tree.
This might seem like an inherently bad thing at first – going from Lvl 100 Destruction to Lvl 15 Destruction in the end game makes it hard to kill enemies, after all. Because every Perk Point is refunded, making skills Legendary will increase the number of Perks affecting the player over time. Plus, because those abilities start so low, they're easy to level up against harder challenges of the later game.
Are Legendary Skills Worth It?
Legendary Skills in Skyrim are kind of a mixed bag. On one hand, it technically makes the game near-infinitely playable alongside the game's Radiant quest system. On the other hand, it can stop a build dead in its tracks as you lose access to useful perks for specific builds - where would the Stealth Archer be without Eagle Eye, after all?
If playing through everything the game has to offer on one character sounds like something you'd like to do, then resetting with the Legendary Skill system is a good idea. If you don't mind going through the lengthy intro in Helgen and Whiterun, it's sometimes more fun to try out different races and playstyles than commit to a single character.
Pros of Legendary Skills
- No level cap - skills can be reset infinitely
- Skill points are refunded upon making a skill legendary
- Allows players to focus on a select few skills, rather than all of them
The main benefit to Legendary Skills is that it removes the level cap and allows players to theoretically gain as many Perk Points as they like. It also means that instead of forcing players to take on every skill in the game, Skyrim allows players to focus on a select few and always have the ability to level up, even if it means completely resetting one's progress.
Make a skill Legendary if you want to experience everything in the game on a single character, but keep in mind that you lose access to all unlocked Perks in that skill tree.
Cons of Legendary Skills
- Enforces a narrow playstyle without branching away from a handful of skills
- Racial bonuses don't apply on reset, and Skill Books that have been read are unusable
- Turning Lvl 100 skills back to Lvl 15 can make combat more difficult (e.g. Destruction or a melee skill like One-Handed)
The downsides of Legendary Skills mirror the upsides. While players can exclusively level a few skills, it enforces playstyles that don't branch out and experience all of the other aspects to Skyrim. Additionally, racial bonuses to skills aren't factored into the reset – for example, a Dunmer who resets will have Lvl 15 Destruction despite having a +10 to Destruction as a racial passive.
Some other examples of this include the dual-summon Conjuration Perk, or the Eagle Eye Archery Perk, which when removed can completely change the way you experience spellcasting and Ranged builds, respectively.
Generally, avoid making a skill Legendary if you rely on Perks that define the way you play.
How To Make A Skill Legendary in Skyrim
Making a skill Legendary in Skyrim is a simple process, but it can't be done unless the player has maxed out progression in that skill entirely. Upon reaching Lvl 100 in a skill, the option to make it Legendary appears in the Skills screen. This should appear only on abilities that the Dragonborn has reached level 100 in, so scroll over to the skill you want to reset, and confirm your choice.
Immediately, the skill that was selected will be reverted back to its default level, which can be buffed with Racials and other passives. The player is immediately given all Perk Points spent in that tree to spend elsewhere, too.
After this, the skill can continue to be leveled and continue to increase the player's overall level in turn, just without any of the Perks that were previously acquired and without access to higher-level abilities and spells – not until the skill is leveled up again, that is.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is available for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S
