Skyrim Codex

How to Level Up & Boost Skills in Skyrim

Force a level-up with player.advlevel, grant skill XP with advskill, and set any skill to a level with player.setav in Skyrim.

You can raise your character level and individual skills directly from the console. There are three commands worth knowing: player.advlevel forces a level-up, advskill grants real skill experience, and player.setav sets a skill's value outright.

How to level up

  1. Open the console with the tilde key (~) — see the open the console guide.
  2. Type player.advlevel and press Enter to force one full character level-up, with the usual health/magicka/ stamina choice.
  3. Repeat the command for each level you want to gain.

Boosting individual skills

  • advskill onehanded 5000 — grants 5,000 experience to One-Handed, raising the skill and contributing toward your next level-up.
  • player.setav destruction 100 — sets your Destruction skill directly to 100 (this does not award level progress).
  • player.setlevel 50 — sets your character level to 50, though it skips the perks and attribute gains you would normally collect.

Notes & tips

  • Prefer advskill if you want both a higher skill and the perk point that comes from leveling up — it mimics natural progress.
  • Skill names use editor IDs with no spaces, e.g. heavyarmor, lockpicking, speechcraft; archery is marksman.
  • Want to spend those new level-ups? See the add perk points guide and the full command list.

Frequently asked questions

How do I instantly level up in Skyrim?

Type player.advlevel in the console. Each use forces one character level-up and opens the perk/attribute choice, just as if you had earned it naturally.

What is the difference between advskill and player.setav?

advskill <skill> <xp> grants raw experience toward a skill, which counts toward your next character level. player.setav <skill> <level> hard-sets the skill's displayed value but does not award level progress, so use advskill if you also want to level up.

How do I set my character to a specific level?

Use player.setlevel <number>. Note that this changes your level value but does not retroactively grant the perk points or attribute increases you would have earned along the way.

What are Skyrim's skill names for these commands?

Use the editor IDs without spaces: onehanded, twohanded, marksman (archery), block, smithing, heavyarmor, lightarmor, pickpocket, lockpicking, sneak, alchemy, speechcraft, alteration, conjuration, destruction, illusion, restoration and enchanting.