The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Merchants & Trainers

Navigate Skyrim's economy and skill progression. Learn how to use merchants, invest in vendors, and find trainers to accelerate your character's growth.

Merchants & Trainers

Navigating the economy and skill progression in Skyrim is crucial for any Dragonborn. This section details how to effectively utilize merchants for buying and selling, and trainers for rapid skill advancement.

Maximizing Your Gold: Merchant Strategies

Merchants are your primary source of income and essential gear. Understanding their mechanics can significantly boost your wealth and access to powerful items.

Selling Goods

  • Know Your Merchants: Different merchants specialize in different item types and have varying amounts of gold.
    • General Goods Merchants: Found in most major cities (e.g., Lucan Valerius in Riverwood Trader, Belethor in Belethor's General Goods in Whiterun). They buy almost anything but often have limited gold. Ideal for selling miscellaneous items, low-value armor, and weapons.
    • Blacksmiths: (e.g., Alvor in Riverwood, Adrianne Avenicci in Whiterun) Buy weapons, armor, and smithing materials (ores, ingots, leather). They typically have more gold than general goods merchants if you're selling high-value gear.
    • Alchemists: (e.g., Arcadia in Arcadia's Cauldron in Whiterun) Buy ingredients, potions, and poisons. Useful for offloading your abundant alchemical supplies.
    • Court Wizards: (e.g., Farengar Secret-Fire in Dragonsreach, Whiterun) Buy staves, spell books, and enchanted items. They are often the best buyers for magical loot.
    • Fences (Thieves Guild): Once you join the Thieves Guild, fences like Tonilia in the Ragged Flagon will buy stolen goods. They have a higher gold cap and are essential for moving illicit items.
  • Merchant Gold Reset: Most merchants reset their gold and inventory every 48 in-game hours. You can exploit this by waiting two full days near a merchant to refresh their funds, allowing you to sell more items.
  • Invest in Merchants: With the Speech skill perk "Investor," you can invest 500 gold into a merchant, permanently increasing their available gold by 500. Prioritize investing in merchants you frequently use, such as blacksmiths or general goods vendors in major cities.
  • The "Rich" Merchant Trick: For early game wealth, consider selling expensive enchanted items or crafted gear. If a merchant runs out of gold, you can buy items from them to replenish their funds, then sell your high-value items. This is less efficient than waiting but can be useful in a pinch.

Buying Goods

  • Essential Supplies: Always keep an eye out for rare ingredients, unique spell books, or crafting materials that are difficult to find in the wild.
  • Soul Gems: Merchants are a reliable source for filled and empty Soul Gems, crucial for enchanting and recharging enchanted weapons. Court Wizards are your best bet.
  • Arrows: If you're an archer, buying arrows from fletchers (e.g., Faendal in Riverwood, Elrindir in The Drunken Huntsman in Whiterun) or general goods merchants is a convenient way to stay stocked.
  • Spell Books: Court Wizards and other magic vendors will sell new spell books as your character's skill in a magic school increases. Check back frequently.

Accelerating Your Skills: Trainer Locations & Costs

Trainers offer a quick way to level up specific skills for a fee. You can train up to 5 times per character level. This is invaluable for boosting a skill you frequently use or one you want to unlock higher-tier perks for quickly.

Key Trainers by Skill

  • Archery:
    • Faendal (Common): Riverwood. Can be a follower and trained for free if you complete his quest "A Lovely Letter" in his favor.
    • Aela the Huntress (Expert): Whiterun, Jorrvaskr. Member of the Companions.
    • Niruin (Master): Riften, Thieves Guild.
  • Heavy Armor:
    • Farkas (Expert): Whiterun, Jorrvaskr. Member of the Companions.
    • Isran (Master): Fort Dawnguard (Dawnguard DLC).
  • Light Armor:
    • Grelka (Expert): Riften, outside the marketplace.
    • Nazir (Master): Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.
  • One-Handed:
    • Athis (Expert): Whiterun, Jorrvaskr. Member of the Companions.
    • Chief Yamarz (Master): Largashbur (Orc Stronghold). Requires completion of "The Cursed Tribe" quest.
  • Two-Handed:
    • Torvar (Expert): Whiterun, Jorrvaskr. Member of the Companions.
    • Vilkas (Master): Whiterun, Jorrvaskr. Member of the Companions.
  • Block:
    • Chief Larak (Expert): Mor Khazgur (Orc Stronghold).
    • Shield-Sister (Master): Whiterun, Jorrvaskr.
  • Smithing:
    • Alvor (Common): Riverwood.
    • Adrianne Avenicci (Expert): Whiterun, outside Warmaiden's.
    • Eorlund Gray-Mane (Master): Whiterun, Skyforge.
  • Alchemy:
    • Arcadia (Expert): Whiterun, Arcadia's Cauldron.
    • Babette (Master): Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.
  • Enchanting:
    • Hamal (Expert): Markarth, Temple of Dibella.
    • Sergius Turrianus (Master): College of Winterhold.
  • Pickpocket:
    • Silda the Unseen (Expert): Windhelm.
    • Vipir the Fleet (Master): Riften, Ragged Flagon (Thieves Guild).
  • Lockpicking:
    • Ma'jhad (Expert): Khajiit Caravan.
    • Vex (Master): Riften, Ragged Flagon (Thieves Guild).
  • Sneak:
    • Khayla (Expert): Khajiit Caravan.
    • Delvin Mallory (Master): Riften, Ragged Flagon (Thieves Guild).
  • Speech:
    • Ogmund (Expert): Markarth, Understone Keep.
    • Giraud Gemane (Master): Solitude, Bards College.
  • Alteration:
    • Tolfdir (Master): College of Winterhold.
  • Conjuration:
    • Phinis Gestor (Master): College of Winterhold.
  • Destruction:
    • Faralda (Master): College of Winterhold.
  • Illusion:
    • Drevis Neloren (Master): College of Winterhold.
  • Restoration:
    • Colette Marence (Master): College of Winterhold.

Trainer Cost Management

  • "Train and Loot" Strategy: A common tactic is to train with a follower who is also a trainer (e.g., Faendal for Archery, Farkas for Heavy Armor). Pay for the training, then open their inventory and retrieve your gold. This effectively makes training free. Be aware that this is considered an exploit by some players.
  • Save Your Gold: Training can become expensive at higher levels. Prioritize training for skills that are difficult or slow to level naturally, or for skills where you need specific perks immediately.
  • Level Up First: Since you can only train 5 times per character level, it's often best to level up your character naturally a bit before seeking out trainers to maximize the number of training sessions you can get in a single visit.