Enchanting Guide: Soul Gems & Effects

The Enchanting skill in The Elder Scrolls VI allows you to imbue weapons, armor, and jewelry with magical properties, transforming mundane items into powerful artifacts. This intricate craft involves capturing the souls of creatures and using them to power potent enchantments.

The cornerstone of enchanting is the Soul Gem. These vessels are used to capture the souls of slain creatures. Soul Gems come in various sizes, from petty to grand, with larger gems capable of holding more powerful souls. The size of the Soul Gem required for an enchantment often corresponds to the strength of the desired effect. You can find Soul Gems scattered throughout the world, in chests, on shelves, or purchased from mages and merchants.

To capture a soul, you must first cast a soul-trapping spell on your weapon or have a weapon with the soul-trap enchantment. When you then defeat a creature with that weapon, its soul will be captured within the equipped Soul Gem. If the gem is empty and of sufficient size, the soul will be stored. Empty Soul Gems can also be purchased and then filled.

Once you have a filled Soul Gem and an item you wish to enchant, you will need to visit an Arcane Enchanter. These magical workstations are typically found in mage guilds, wizard towers, and some larger settlements. At the Arcane Enchanter, you can select an item, choose an enchantment effect, and then select a filled Soul Gem to power the enchantment. The strength of the enchantment will be influenced by the size of the Soul Gem used and your Enchanting skill level.

Enchantment effects are learned by disenchanting magical items. When you disenchant an item at an Arcane Enchanter, you learn its enchantment effect permanently, but the item is destroyed. This is a crucial step in building your repertoire of available enchantments. Common effects include elemental damage (fire, frost, shock), stat boosts (fortify health, magicka, stamina), skill enhancements (fortify archery, one-handed), and resistances.

Investing in the Enchanting skill tree will unlock powerful perks. Some perks might allow you to learn more effects from disenchanted items, increase the magnitude of your enchantments, or even allow you to apply two enchantments to a single item. This latter ability, known as "Dual Enchanting," is incredibly potent and can create truly unique and powerful gear combinations. Mastering enchanting allows you to customize your equipment to an unparalleled degree, tailoring it to your specific playstyle and overcoming any challenge.

Acquire Soul Gems: Find or purchase empty Soul Gems of various sizes.
Capture Souls: Use a soul-trap weapon or spell to capture creature souls into filled gems.
Learn Enchantments: Disenchant magical items at an Arcane Enchanter to learn their effects.
Enchant Items: Combine items, filled Soul Gems, and learned effects at an Arcane Enchanter.
Invest in Perks: Enhance your enchanting capabilities through the skill tree.