To level Smithing fast in Skyrim, follow these optimized steps:
Fast Smithing Leveling Strategy
- Get Experience Boosts: Activate the Warrior's Stone (+20% Smithing XP), Lover's Stone with the Aetherial Crown (+15%), and sleep in a bed you own with your spouse (+15%) for a total of +65% XP gain while smithing
- Use the Transmute Spell: Obtain the Transmute Mineral Ore spell to convert iron ore into silver ore, then silver into gold ore. This greatly increases the value of the materials you craft with, boosting XP gained
- Craft Gold Rings: Smelt gold ore into gold ingots, then craft gold rings at the forge. Gold rings have a high value, meaning more Smithing XP per item crafted. This method also generates profit as gold rings are worth more than the raw materials
- Start with Iron Daggers: Initially, craft iron daggers using iron ingots and leather strips until you reach Smithing level 30 to unlock the Dwarven Smithing perk
- Switch to Dwarven Bows: After unlocking Dwarven Smithing, farm Dwarven metal ingots from Dwemer ruins and craft Dwarven bows. This is an efficient way to level Smithing from 30 to around 85
- Progress to Ebony and Higher: Once you reach higher Smithing levels, craft Ebony and Daedric items to reach 100 Smithing
Additional Tips
- Mass Crafting: Smithing XP is based on item value and quantity. Crafting many cheap items (like iron daggers) or fewer high-value items (like gold rings) both work, but gold rings are faster due to their high value
- Use Followers for Carrying: When farming Dwemer metal, bring a follower as a mule to carry large amounts of ore
- Improve Items: Tempering items at grindstones and workbenches also grants Smithing XP, but crafting new items is faster
By combining experience boosts, using the Transmute spell to create valuable materials, and crafting high-value items like gold rings and Dwarven bows, you can efficiently level Smithing to 100 in Skyrim. This approach balances speed, resource management, and profit generation
