Blades Armor is the elegant, Akaviri-inspired plate of the Blades, the ancient order sworn to serve and protect the Dragonborn. It is heavy armor with a distinctive, samurai-like silhouette, and it stands out among Skyrim’s mostly Nordic and Imperial gear. A full set gives 88 armor for 75 weight, a strong showing for mid-game but heavier than its numbers might suggest.
How to get it
You can’t forge Blades armor. Instead, you’ll find it at Sky Haven Temple, the Blades’ hidden stronghold in the Reach, which you open during Alduin’s Wall with Delphine and Esbern. Inside, head to the armory: an unlocked chest tucked between the wall and the wooden table holds all five pieces of Blades equipment, plus a few coins.
Followers you recruit into the order are given their own set of Blades armor and default back to it if they leave your service. You can’t take it off a living recruit, though; it only ends up in their inventory if they die. Tempering works at any workbench using Steel Ingots, so you can still improve it without a special perk.
Is it worth wearing?
The cuirass is the star: at 44 armor it beats Ebony‘s cuirass and is the best part of the set. The helmet, gauntlets and boots, on the other hand, have exactly the same stats as Dwarven Armor, which keeps the full set in mid-game territory. Orcish Armor offers slightly more total protection for considerably less weight.
Since it can’t be crafted, there’s no perk that doubles its tempering, so it falls behind high-end crafted sets as your Smithing grows. Many players keep just the cuirass and pair it with other pieces, which costs you Matching Set but still benefits from Juggernaut and Well Fitted. If you love the look, it’s perfectly wearable through the main quest.
Good to know
- Blades armor can’t be crafted, only found and tempered.
- All pieces are tempered with Steel Ingots.
- The helmet, gauntlets, boots and shield mirror Dwarven stats exactly.
Set pieces
| Piece | Slot | Armor | Weight | Value | ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blades Helmet | Head | 18 | 12 | 200 | 0004B28F |
| Blades Armor | Body | 44 | 45 | 400 | 0004B28B |
| Blades Gauntlets | Hands | 13 | 8 | 85 | 0004B28D |
| Blades Boots | Feet | 13 | 10 | 85 | 0004B288 |
| Blades Shield | Shield | 26 | 12 | 225 | 0004F912 |
Full set totals
- Blades Armor – helmet, cuirass, gauntlets and boots: 88 armor, 75 weight, 770 gold; with the Blades Shield: 114 armor, 87 weight.
Crafting and upgrades
This set can’t be forged by the player – you have to find, buy or earn the pieces.
Improve (temper) the pieces at a workbench with Steel Ingot.
Stats from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): base armor rating, weight and value before Smithing improvements and perks. The ID is the item’s form ID for the console.