Dwarven Armor is the unmistakable golden plate of the vanished Dwemer, all rivets, gears and angular bronze. In game terms it is a mid-tier heavy set: a full outfit gives 78 armor, a step up from Steel, but it weighs a hefty 75. It is the classic look of anyone who has spent too much time poking around Dwemer ruins.
How to get it
Crafting requires the Dwarven Smithing perk, available from Smithing level 30 once you have Steel Smithing. The key ingredient is the Dwarven Metal Ingot, and you can’t mine it. Instead, you smelt down the scrap you find in Dwemer ruins: bent scrap metal, struts, plates and solid chunks, with bigger pieces giving more ingots. Mzulft, Alftand and the Dwemer museum in Markarth are full of the stuff, and destroyed Dwarven spheres, spiders and Centurions sometimes drop scrap too.
If smelting sounds like a chore, blacksmiths and general goods merchants sell Dwarven Metal Ingots from fairly early levels. Ready-made Dwarven armor starts appearing in leveled loot around level 12, with enchanted versions shortly after.
There is also a full fixed set tucked away in the armory of Nchuand-Zel, beneath Markarth, behind an expert-level lock.
Is it worth wearing?
It depends on how much you love the look. Dwarven protects better than steel, but it is one of the heaviest sets for its tier. Steel Plate gives more armor for less weight, and Orcish, one perk further down the heavy branch, beats it handily on both counts.
Where Dwarven shines is accessibility. The perk is cheap, the ingots are plentiful, and Dwarven Smithing doubles your tempering results. With Juggernaut, Well Fitted and Matching Set stacked, it carries you comfortably through the mid-game. Once you take Conditioning, the weight problem disappears entirely.
Good to know
- Dwarven Metal can’t be mined, only smelted from Dwemer scrap.
- Mzulft is one of the richest scrap sources in Skyrim, which makes it a smelter’s paradise.
- The Blades helmet, gauntlets, boots and shield share their stats with the Dwarven pieces.
Set pieces
| Piece | Slot | Armor | Weight | Value | ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwarven Helmet | Head | 18 | 12 | 200 | 0001394F |
| Dwarven Armor | Body | 34 | 45 | 400 | 0001394D |
| Dwarven Gauntlets | Hands | 13 | 8 | 85 | 0001394E |
| Dwarven Boots | Feet | 13 | 10 | 85 | 0001394C |
| Dwarven Shield | Shield | 26 | 12 | 225 | 00013950 |
Full set totals
- Dwarven Armor – helmet, cuirass, gauntlets and boots: 78 armor, 75 weight, 770 gold; with the Dwarven Shield: 104 armor, 87 weight.
Crafting and upgrades
Recipes at the forge – requires the Dwarven Smithing perk:
- Dwarven Helmet: 2 Dwarven Metal Ingot, 1 Iron Ingot, 2 Leather Strips, 1 Steel Ingot
- Dwarven Armor: 3 Dwarven Metal Ingot, 1 Iron Ingot, 3 Leather Strips, 1 Steel Ingot
- Dwarven Gauntlets: 1 Dwarven Metal Ingot, 1 Iron Ingot, 2 Leather Strips, 1 Steel Ingot
- Dwarven Boots: 2 Dwarven Metal Ingot, 1 Iron Ingot, 2 Leather Strips, 1 Steel Ingot
- Dwarven Shield: 2 Dwarven Metal Ingot, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Leather Strips, 1 Steel Ingot
Improve (temper) the pieces at a workbench with Dwarven Metal 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.