Skyrim:Dwarven

Dwarven Metal Ingot

Dwarven weapons and armor are medium-quality items of Dwemer design that are made from Dwarven Metal Ingots. The secret of creating Dwarven Metal was lost with the Dwemer, and therefore it is one of the two metals that can't be mined, the other being Steel. However, the Dwemer left large amounts of scrap metal behind in their Dwarven Ruins, and this scrap metal can be smelted into ingots.

For more information, see the main lore article.

Overview

Six different types of scrap Dwemer metal can be smelted to yield Dwarven Metal Ingots. The following lists all of these scraps, along with the number of ingots that each produces when smelted and the total number of guaranteed samples that can be found.

Other metallic items that are found in Dwarven Ruins cannot be smelted, including various other types of Dwemer scrap metal and Dwemer dishes. A rule of thumb is that if it starts with the word "Dwemer" it cannot be converted, not even Dwemer Scrap Metal (see Bugs for a workaround on regular Dwemer Scrap Metal); however Bent Dwemer Scrap Metal can be smelted. The Small Dwemer Lever is the only exception; its name doesn't start with Dwemer, but it still cannot be smelted.

	Name	ID			Yield	Guaranteed Samples	Ingots/Weight
	Dwarven Metal Ingot	000db8a2	1	30	N/A	50	1.00
	Bent Dwemer Scrap Metal	000c886c	2	15	3 ingots	95	1.50
	Large Decorative Dwemer Strut	000c8878	15	10	2 ingots	68	0.13
	Large Dwemer Plate Metal	000c8864	2	15	3 ingots	84	1.50
	Large Dwemer Strut	000c8872	20	15	3 ingots	82	0.15
	Small Dwemer Plate Metal	000c8866	2	15	3 ingots	61	1.50
	Solid Dwemer Metal	000c8874	25	25	5 ingots	113	0.20

• The value of all of these items is proportional to the number of ingots they create (5 gold/1 ingot). However, the weights of the raw items vary widely.
• Dwarven Smithing requires 30 Smithing skill.
• Dwarven armor is level 12 Heavy Armor, made from Dwarven Metal Ingots, Steel Ingots, Iron Ingots, and Leather Strips.
• Dwarven weapons are level 12 weapons, made from Dwarven Metal Ingots, Steel Ingots, Iron Ingots, and Leather Strips.

Mineral Sources

In addition to the following guaranteed sources, the best random locations are:

• Dwarven Metal Ingots may be sold by blacksmiths starting at level 6 and general goods merchants starting at level 4.
• All varieties of Dwarven Spiders have a 20% chance of dropping Bent Dwemer Scrap Metal.
• All varieties of Dwarven Spheres have an 8% chance of dropping Bent Dwemer Scrap Metal.
• The other five types of Dwemer metal each have a 10% chance of 1-3 samples being dropped by all varieties of Dwarven Spheres and Dwarven Centurions.
• All types of Dwemer metal can be randomly found in chests and other loot containers in Dwarven Ruins.
• If the Merchant perk is unlocked, Calcelmo will have a few bits of Dwemer metal and items for sale (this is the scrap metal and Dwemer items that are lying on the floor, tables and other surfaces around him: it can also be easily stolen, or picked up for free if your disposition with him is good, and will disappear from his sale menu if you pick it up.)

The total column provides the total number of ingots that could be obtained if all of the metal in each location was retrieved and smelted. Only locations containing multiple items are included in the following list.

Region	Location	Ingot	Bent Dwemer Scrap Metal (×3)	Large Decorative Dwemer Strut (×2)	Large Dwemer Plate Metal (×3)	Large Dwemer Strut (×3)	Small Dwemer Plate Metal (×3)	Solid Dwemer Metal (×5)	Total
Eastmarch	Mzulft	25	18	19	28	24	18	29	472
Markarth	Nchuand-Zel		23	16	23	17	10	28	391
Markarth	Dwemer Museum	2	11	5	10	10	10	16	215
Winterhold	Alftand	4	11	10	8	6	4	12	171
Markarth	Calcelmo's Laboratory		12	2	7	11	8	10	168
The Pale	Raldbthar	3	5	4	3	4	3	3	71
Hjaalmarch	Mzinchaleft	1	3	3	2	1	1	3	43
The Rift	Avanchnzel	10	1	2		2		4	43
The Reach	Reachwind Eyrie		2	3		2	1	1	26
Winterhold	Blackreach	1	3	1	2	1	2	3	42
Markarth	Understone Keep	3	1	1		1	1	2	24
The Pale	Irkngthand	1	3			2	1	1	24

Dwarven Smithing

Dwarven Smithing is the first perk in the Heavy Armor branch of the Smithing skill's perk tree. Unlocking it requires a Smithing skill of 30, and the Steel Smithing perk must have already been unlocked. Dwarven Smithing allows both Dwarven armor and Dwarven weapons to be crafted.

The Dwarven Smithing perk also causes tempering of Dwarven weapons and armor to be twice as effective. This perk applies to both unenchanted Dwarven gear and enchanted gear (generic armor, generic weapons, or custom), as long as the Arcane Blacksmith perk has been unlocked.

Dwarven Armor

Dwarven armor is a variety of heavy armor that is only better than Iron and Steel (and unimproved Bonemold^DB) armors. It appears in leveled lists starting at level 12 (enchanted varieties at level 13). All items can be tempered using 1 Dwarven Metal Ingot, and having the Dwarven Smithing perk doubles the quality improvement.

The Fearsome Fists Creation adds the Brawler's dwarven gauntlets, a new gauntlet variant. The base pair can be crafted and differ only in appearance, while a pair with a 12 point Fortify Unarmed enchantment can be bought from vendors and found in random loot.

A male Nord wearing dwarven armor

	Name (ID)				Raw Materials				Delta		Ratio
					Dwarven	Steel	Iron	Strips
	Dwarven Armor (0001394d)	45	400	34	3	1	1	3	39.7	274	8.49	3.17
	Dwarven Boots (0001394c)	10	85	13	2	1	1	2	5.8	-8	2.38	0.91
	Dwarven Gauntlets (0001394e)	8	85	13	1	1	1	2	4.8	22	2.50	1.35
	Brawler's Dwarven GauntletsCC (FExxx853)	8	85	13	1	1	1	2	4.8	22	2.50	1.35
	Dwarven Helmet (0001394f)	12	200	18	2	1	1	2	7.8	107	2.86	2.15
	Dwarven Shield (00013950)	12	225	26	2	1	1	1	7.9	135	2.93	2.50
Totals (with shield):		87	995	104	10	5	5	10
Totals (without shield):		75	770	78	8	4	4	9

• 

  A female Imperial wearing dwarven armor

• 

  Brawler's dwarven gauntlets^CC

Dwarven Plate Armor^CC

Dwarven Plate is a heavy armor variant added by the Alternative Armors - Dwarven Plate creation, consisting of a cuirass and boots.

Both pieces are of higher value and have a slightly better armor rating than the regular dwarven versions.

A female Imperial wearing dwarven plate armor

	Name (ID)				Raw Materials				Delta		Ratio
					Dwarven	Steel	Iron	Strips
	Dwarven Plate Armor (FExxx801)	45	500	35	3	1	1	3	39.7	374	8.49	3.97
	Dwarven Plate Boots (FExxx800)	10	100	14	2	1	1	2	5.8	7	2.38	1.08
Totals (with regular dwarven set pieces):		87	1120	106	10	5	5	10
Totals:		55	600	49	8	4	4	9

• 

  A male Nord wearing dwarven plate armor

Dwarven Mail^CC

Added by the Alternative Armors - Dwarven Mail creation, the Dwarven Mail chest piece, boots, gauntlets, and helmet are alternative light armor variants of Dwarven armor.

In terms of stats, it's slightly better than elven armor (but worse than elven gilded armor), though it is much heavier. In fact, it weighs significantly more than even dragonscale armor and amber armor^CC, making it the heaviest light armor set in the game.

A male Nord wearing dwarven mail

	Name				Raw Materials				Delta		Ratio
					Dwarven	Steel	Iron	Strips
	Dwarven Mail (FExxx801)	15	400	25	3	1	1	3	9.7	274	2.83	3.17
	Dwarven Mail Boots (FExxx800)	5	85	10	2	1	1	2	0.8	-8	1.19	0.91
	Dwarven Mail Gauntlets (FExxx802)	4	85	10	1	1	1	2	0.8	22	1.25	1.35
	Dwarven Mail Helmet (FExxx803)	5	200	15	2	1	1	2	0.8	107	1.19	2.15
Totals:		29	770	60	8	4	4	9

• 

  A female Imperial wearing dwarven mail

Dwarven Weapons

Dwarven weapons are better than Iron, Steel, and Orcish weapons. They appear in leveled lists starting at level 12 (enchanted varieties at level 13). All items except ammunition can be tempered using 1 Dwarven Metal Ingot, and having the Dwarven Smithing perk doubles the quality improvement. Ammunition can only be smithed if the Dawnguard add-on has been installed.

	Name (ID)				Crit.	Speed	Reach	Raw Materials					Delta		Ratio
								Dwarven	Steel	Iron	Strips	Other
	Dwarven Dagger (00013996)	3.5	55	7	3	1.3	0.7	1	1	1	1		0.4	-5	1.13	0.92
	Dwarven Sword (00013999)	12	135	10	5	1	1	1	1	1	1		8.9	75	3.87	2.25
	Dwarven War Axe (00013993)	14	165	11	6	0.9	1	1	1	1	3		10.8	102	4.38	2.62
	Dwarven Mace (00013998)	16	190	12	6	0.8	1	2	1	1	1	-	11.9	100	3.90	2.11
	Dwarven Greatsword (00013997)	19	270	19	9	0.7	1.3	2	2	2	3		12.7	147	3.02	2.20
	Dwarven Battleaxe (00013994)	23	300	20	10	0.7	1.3	2	2	1	2		17.8	187	4.42	2.65
	Dwarven Warhammer (0001399a)	27	325	22	11	0.6	1.3	2	2	1	3		21.7	209	5.09	2.80
	Dwarven Bow (00013995)	10	270	12	6	0.75	1	2		1			7	203	3.33	4.03
	Dwarven Arrow (000139bc)	0	4	14	N/A			1				1 Firewood Makes 24 arrowsDG	-6	61	0.00	2.74
	Dwarven CrossbowDG (xx00b647)	20	350	22	11	1	1	5					15	200	4.00	2.33
	Enhanced Dwarven CrossbowDG (xx00f19f)	21	550	22	11	1	1					1 Dwarven Crossbow + 2 Quicksilver	-1	80	0.95	1.17
	Dwarven BoltDG (xx00d099)	0	3	14	N/A			1				1 Firewood Makes 10 bolts	-6	-5	0.00	0.86
	Exploding Dwarven Bolt of FireDG (xx00f1b1)	0	15	14	N/A							10 Dwarven Bolts, 1 Fire Salts Makes 10 bolts	-0.3	70	0.00	1.88
	Exploding Dwarven Bolt of IceDG (xx00f1b7)	0	15	14	N/A							10 Dwarven Bolts, 1 Frost Salts Makes 10 bolts	-0.3	20	0.00	1.15
	Exploding Dwarven Bolt of ShockDG (xx00f1b9)	0	15	14	N/A							10 Dwarven Bolts, 1 Void Salts Makes 10 bolts	-0.3	-5	0.00	0.97
	Irkngthand War AxeCC (xx07aed6)	16	265	13	8	0.9	1	1	1	1	3	Unlocked by completing Beneath Bronze Waters	12.7	199	4.85	4.01

†The base gold value used for all generic enchanted versions of the Dwarven Bow is 95 instead of 270. This means that the enchanted weapons are 175 gold cheaper than they should be, and in several cases are cheaper than the unenchanted bow. This bug is shared by several types of bow in the game.

• The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.3.1, fixes this bug.

‡This item can only be acquired or crafted by siding with the Dawnguard. See Ancient Technology for details.

¥The Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow has an additional property: Attacks with this crossbow ignore 50% of armor.

±Crafting crossbows and exploding bolts is only possible at Gunmar's forge in Fort Dawnguard, which does not appear until after A New Order (must side with the Dawnguard). Normal bolts can be crafted at any forge.

Notes

• The Ancient Knowledge ability, gained from the quest Unfathomable Depths, is supposed to make Dwarven armor 25% more effective when worn (see Bugs).
• Purchasing any Dwarven armor or weapon will cause the Buy Dwarven artifact quest to start.
• One Dwarven metal ingot is needed at workbenches to improve Spellbreaker.
• If you have Dawnguard installed, you can find Dwarven Bolts on dead Dwarven Spheres.
• A full suit of Dwarven armor can be found at Nchuand-Zel Armory, inside an expert-locked door to the right of Erj.
• All Honed Ancient Nord weapons gain from the Dwarven Perk despite requiring Steel Ingots to temper.
• Wearing a full set of Dwarven Mail armor, you can benefit from either the light armor or heavy armor matching set perk. Any combination of Dwarven and Dwarven Mail armor will benefit from the Heavy Armor Matching Set perk only.

Bugs

• Inconsistently, regular Dwemer scrap metal cannot be smelted, while bent Dwemer scrap metal can.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.3.3, fixes this bug. (details)
• NPCs are not able to properly use Dwarven crossbows due to an animation bug.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 2.0.0, fixes this bug. (details)