Is it possible to upgrade the blades armor to a level where it will be worthwhile late game when the Daedra armor is available? I really like the look of the armor but from what I've read it seems that towards endgame you're better off using the Daedra. I ask because if it can be upgraded to such levels I will wait to upgrade it until my smithing is at 100 but if it can't, I'll just upgrade it now for the current bonuses it would give me.
Skyrim Blades Armor vs Daedra Armor
- Thread starter MikePeck
- Start date
Yes it is, the armour cap is at 567 if you can reach it in blades armour it's as good as any other.
You can make any sort of armour or weapon viable in the late game, but it means a bit of work. You have to use your alchemy to improve your enchanting, then enchant some gear to improve your alchemy skill, put it on, and start all over again. You can get your stats to pretty insane levels - to the point where the base stats don't matter anymore - but you would not believe how fast you can go through soul gems, ingredients and clothes in getting there.
Personally, I spent ages gathering the resources to do this, and now I prance around in a set of iron armour, with a base armour stat of around a thousand.
Personally, I spent ages gathering the resources to do this, and now I prance around in a set of iron armour, with a base armour stat of around a thousand.
Assuming you max out the respective Armor Perks (+100% Armor, +25% for a full set, +25% for all same type), max out Smithing and then use Alchemy/Enchanting loop, you can make ANY Armor set reach the Armor cap. Upgrading works by adding a flat value to your items and has nothing to do with base values.
If you're wondering what the Alchemy/Enchanting loop is, it works like this: You max out all three Crafting Skills. Then you make a potion that boosts Enchanting. Drink that potion and enchant a set of gear that boosts Alchemy. Put that gear on and make another potion that boosts Enchanting. Since all crafting skills benefit from going over 100, you can keep this loop going for a while. It has diminishing returns, though, so at some point you'll want to stop and use your hyperboosted Alchemy to craft Smithing enhancing potions and your hyperboosted Enchanting to enchant a set of Smithing boosting gear. Now, with your utterly ridiculous Smithing level, you can make anything reach the Armor cap and upgrade weapons to ridiculous amounts (one shotting Ancient Dragons isn't out of the question).
That being said, you might not need to go to such insane levels. Just maxing out Smithing (and the respective Armor Perk tree) can bring most item sets to the max cap. I don't have the exact numbers, but I'm pretty sure most Heavy Armor sets don't need the loop to hit the cap, and neither do most Light Armor sets. The loop is mostly used to make your weapons godlike, since there's no cap there...
If you're wondering what the Alchemy/Enchanting loop is, it works like this: You max out all three Crafting Skills. Then you make a potion that boosts Enchanting. Drink that potion and enchant a set of gear that boosts Alchemy. Put that gear on and make another potion that boosts Enchanting. Since all crafting skills benefit from going over 100, you can keep this loop going for a while. It has diminishing returns, though, so at some point you'll want to stop and use your hyperboosted Alchemy to craft Smithing enhancing potions and your hyperboosted Enchanting to enchant a set of Smithing boosting gear. Now, with your utterly ridiculous Smithing level, you can make anything reach the Armor cap and upgrade weapons to ridiculous amounts (one shotting Ancient Dragons isn't out of the question).
That being said, you might not need to go to such insane levels. Just maxing out Smithing (and the respective Armor Perk tree) can bring most item sets to the max cap. I don't have the exact numbers, but I'm pretty sure most Heavy Armor sets don't need the loop to hit the cap, and neither do most Light Armor sets. The loop is mostly used to make your weapons godlike, since there's no cap there...
you will need to use some smithing potions and smithing enchanted armor to upgrade it to max potential. actualy I think you will need to use those to create those that would be powerful enough to max it.
Its not really a cheat but if you have the materials and ingrediants you start with potions and enchanted armor to make better potions to make better enchants. goal is to have both a potion and enchanted armor for smithing thats the best you can get. but to do that you need to repeatedly make enchanted armor and potions for alchemy and enchanting. you repeat each until you have maxed out both alchemy and enchanting. once you do that you enchant armor and make potions for smithing. put the smithing gear on, drink the potion and then upgrade the weapon/armor.
*edit
you can stack potions and enchanted gear very early on and have max weapon upgrade and enchant power. takes time and patience though.
**edit
fortify enchanting ingredients:
Blue Butterfly Wing, Hagraven Claw, Snowberries, and Spriggan Sap
for fortify alchemy the armor parts are:
head, necklaces, gloves, and rings
do the enchant to make the alchemy gear, repeat.
for smithing the ingriediants are:
Blisterwort, Glowing Mushroom, Sabre Cat Tooth, and Spriggan Sap.
parts are for enchanting smithing gear are:
Necklaces, gloves, armor(chests), and rings.
Plus grab the notched axe from the throat of the world as it adds a smithing bonus.
Its not really a cheat but if you have the materials and ingrediants you start with potions and enchanted armor to make better potions to make better enchants. goal is to have both a potion and enchanted armor for smithing thats the best you can get. but to do that you need to repeatedly make enchanted armor and potions for alchemy and enchanting. you repeat each until you have maxed out both alchemy and enchanting. once you do that you enchant armor and make potions for smithing. put the smithing gear on, drink the potion and then upgrade the weapon/armor.
*edit
you can stack potions and enchanted gear very early on and have max weapon upgrade and enchant power. takes time and patience though.
**edit
fortify enchanting ingredients:
Blue Butterfly Wing, Hagraven Claw, Snowberries, and Spriggan Sap
for fortify alchemy the armor parts are:
head, necklaces, gloves, and rings
do the enchant to make the alchemy gear, repeat.
for smithing the ingriediants are:
Blisterwort, Glowing Mushroom, Sabre Cat Tooth, and Spriggan Sap.
parts are for enchanting smithing gear are:
Necklaces, gloves, armor(chests), and rings.
Plus grab the notched axe from the throat of the world as it adds a smithing bonus.