Enchanting lets you bind magical effects to weapons, armor and jewelry at an Arcane Enchanter. The skill has three moving parts — learning effects, filling soul gems, and applying enchantments — plus a powerful synergy with Alchemy. Here's how it all fits together.
How enchanting works
- Learn an effect. Take an already-enchanted item to an Arcane Enchanter and disenchant it. This destroys the item but permanently teaches you its enchantment (one effect per disenchant).
- Fill a soul gem. Capture souls with the Soul Trap effect (or buy filled gems). The bigger the soul, the stronger the enchantment and the more charges it holds — a Grand Soul Gem is best.
- Enchant the item. At the Arcane Enchanter, pick an item, a learned effect, and a filled soul gem. The effect is bound to the item.
Leveling Enchanting
- XP scales with the soul used and the enchantment's value — enchant with filled (ideally Grand) soul gems and high-value effects for the fastest gains.
- A reliable grind: buy soul gems and petty/common souls in bulk, fill them, and enchant cheap jewelry, then sell it back for gold and XP.
- The Enchanter perk line raises enchantment strength; the Extra Effect perk lets you apply two enchantments to one item.
The Fortify Enchanting synergy
The biggest boost to your enchantments doesn't come from Enchanting at all — it comes from Alchemy. Drinking a Fortify Enchanting potion right before you enchant makes the result stronger, and pairing it with Fortify Alchemy gear creates the self-reinforcing crafting loop. See our Fortify Enchanting potion guide for the full loop.
Notes & tips
- You can power up enchanting through the console too — spawn soul gems and grant spells with the commands in our enchanting console commands guide. Open the console with the tilde key (
~). - Disenchanting is one-way: you lose the item but keep the effect forever, so disenchant duplicates and items you don't plan to use.
- Browse every enchantment you can learn and apply on the enchantment list.
Frequently asked questions
How do I learn enchantments in Skyrim?
Disenchant an already-enchanted item at an Arcane Enchanter. Doing so destroys the item but permanently teaches you its enchantment effect, which you can then apply to your own gear. You learn one effect per disenchant.
What do I need to enchant an item?
Three things: a learned enchantment effect (from disenchanting), an item to enchant, and a filled soul gem to power it. Bigger souls produce stronger enchantments and more charges, so a Grand Soul Gem with a grand soul is ideal.
How do I level Enchanting fast?
Enchanting XP scales with the soul used and the enchantment's value, so enchant items with filled (especially Grand) soul gems and high-value effects like Banish. Buying soul gems in bulk, filling them, and enchanting cheap jewelry to sell is the standard fast method.
How does the Fortify Enchanting potion fit in?
Drinking a Fortify Enchanting potion before you enchant makes the enchantment stronger. Combined with Fortify Alchemy gear, this forms the crafting loop that pushes enchantments far past their normal limits.