Refined Moonstone is the elegant, pale metal behind the Elven set. Worth 75 gold, it appears in 28 forge recipes: all Elven weapons and armor under the Elven Smithing perk, and as a secondary ingredient in Glass equipment under Glass Smithing. Light armor fans will want a lot of it.
How to get it
Two 
Moonstone Ore smelt into one bar. Moonstone veins are not common – 56 in total. The richest area is outdoors near the Forgotten Vale (Dawnguard) with 9, while Soljund’s Sinkhole has 5 and Mzulft plus its boilery have 3 each.
Blacksmiths such as Adrianne Avenicci, Aval Atheron or Camilla Valerius sell it, and bandits sometimes carry a piece.
Loose bars are scattered in a handful of places: The Midden under the College of Winterhold has 4, Soljund’s Sinkhole 2 and the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon 2. Blind Cliff Bastion and Frossel have one each.
Since Elven armor alone needs four bars and the gilded variant another four, it pays to mine and smelt your own whenever you pass a vein rather than relying on merchant stock.
Smelting and tanning
- 2 Moonstone Ore → 1 Refined Moonstone at the smelter
Used to craft
Refined Moonstone appears in 28 recipes in the game files.
Armor
- Glass Armor – Glass Shield (1), Glass Helmet (1), Glass Gauntlets (1), Glass Armor (2), Glass Boots (1)
- Elven Armor – Elven Gilded Armor (4), Elven Shield (4), Elven Helmet (2), Elven Gauntlets (1), Elven Armor (4), Elven Boots (2)
Weapons and other items
- Glass Smithing: Glass Bow (1), Glass Warhammer (2), Glass War Axe (1), Glass Sword (1), Glass Mace (1), Glass Greatsword (2), Glass Dagger (1), Glass Battleaxe (2)
- Elven Smithing: Elven Bow (2), Elven Warhammer (2), Elven War Axe (1), Elven Sword (1), Elven Mace (2), Elven Greatsword (2), Elven Dagger (1), Elven Battleaxe (2), Elven Arrow (1)
The number in brackets is how many Refined Moonstone each recipe needs. Bold labels are the Smithing perk the recipe requires.
Improving gear
At a grindstone or workbench, Refined Moonstone is the material used to improve (temper) 25 items, including Ancient Falmer Armor, Auriel's Shield, Elven Armor, Morokei.
Good to know
- Soljund’s Sinkhole has both veins and loose bars, so one trip covers ore and ready-made metal.
- Refined Moonstone tempers 25 items, including the dragon priest mask Morokei and Firiniel’s End.
Data from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): value, weight, ore veins, recipes and merchant lists. ID 0005AD9F is the item’s form ID for the console.
