Chitin Plate (Dragonborn) is the Dunmer answer to steel: shaped insect shell, light, cheap and surprisingly tough. On Solstheim it is used to forge the whole Chitin armor family, both the light set and the heavier Chitin Heavy pieces, nine recipes in all. Every one of them needs the Elven Smithing perk. At just 5 gold and 1 weight it is no money-maker, but it is practically weightless to carry around.
How to get it
The single best spot is Bristleback Cave on Solstheim, where the game places 15 Chitin Plates. That alone is enough to forge a full light Chitin set plus a helmet or two. If you want the heavy cuirass (six plates on its own), you will need to top up elsewhere.
For that, two merchants sell it: Glover Mallory, the Raven Rock blacksmith, and Fethis Alor. Their stock restocks over time, so checking back every couple of days is the easiest way to collect enough for both armor variants.
Chitin armor is a nice fit for a light or medium build that wants a regional look on Solstheim without grinding into Glass or Ebony.
Used to craft
Chitin Plate appears in 9 recipes in the game files.
Armor
- Chitin Armor – Chitin Heavy Gauntlets (3), Chitin Heavy Armor (6), Chitin Heavy Boots (4), Chitin Helmet (3), Chitin Shield (4), Chitin Heavy Helmet (4), Chitin Bracers (2), Chitin Armor (5), Chitin Boots (3)
The number in brackets is how many Chitin Plate each recipe needs. Bold labels are the Smithing perk the recipe requires.
Improving gear
At a grindstone or workbench, Chitin Plate is the material used to improve (temper) 9 items, including Chitin Armor.
Good to know
- All nine Chitin recipes need the Elven Smithing perk.
- The Chitin Heavy Armor cuirass alone takes six plates, the light version five.
Data from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): value, weight, ore veins, recipes and merchant lists. ID 0402B04E is the item’s form ID for the console.
