The Mudcrab is a classic early Skyrim encounter, often because the player took it for a boulder. These hard-shelled crustaceans sit motionless along the northern shoreline and the edges of lakes and rivers, waiting for something careless to wander close. On its own a mudcrab is more pest than peril, but they are territorial and stubborn, and a cluster of them can still chew through a low-level character’s health surprisingly fast.
You will usually hear one before you notice it: the clatter of its legs on stones is the giveaway. Their attachment to water works in your favour, too. Mudcrabs rarely chase their target far from home, so stepping away from the bank is often enough to end the encounter. Archers should know that their shells are hard enough to make arrows glance off, much like the plating on Dwarven constructs, although the shots still deal damage.
Variants
The game contains three mudcrab records of rising strength. Younger crabs have flat shells, while older ones grow a noticeably more conical carapace.
| Level | Health | Stamina |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 25 |
| 2 | 35 | 30 |
| 3 | 55 | 35 |
All three share 4 magicka and the Water Breathing ability, and each holds a petty soul.
Where to find them
Mudcrabs are not tied to any one hold. Look along the northern shoreline and on the banks of practically any lake or river: wherever there is water, there is a decent chance a rock nearby is actually a crab sitting on a supply of Mudcrab Chitin. Solstheim has its own famous specimen, covered below.
Unique mudcrabs
- Fossilized giant mudcrab – the remains of an enormous crab lie by a small pond a short way east of Gjukar’s Monument. Conjuration magic cannot bring it back to life.
- Pincer – with Hearthfire installed, an adopted child may come home with this small mudcrab and ask to keep it. If you agree, Pincer lives in your house until something kills it.
- Old Salty – a named mudcrab that lives on Solstheim.
Notes
Besides chitin and legs, a dead mudcrab very occasionally turns out to have been hoarding a small treasure: some gold, a garnet, amethyst or ruby (sometimes flawless), or a silver ring with or without one of those stones. It is not common enough to farm, but it explains why some players loot every crab they kill. Other shoreline neighbours worth knowing are the Horker on the coast and the Slaughterfish waiting in the water itself.
