Elven Armor is the golden, leaf-shaped armor of the High Elves, and it’s one of the best light sets for the middle of the game. It’s remarkably light, with the full set weighing less than many single heavy cuirasses, and it beats Leather Armor handily while sitting below Scaled and Glass Armor. In Skyrim you mostly see it on the Thalmor, the Aldmeri Dominion’s justiciars and soldiers.
How to get it
Crafting requires the Elven Smithing perk, available at Smithing 30. The recipes are built around refined moonstone, with leather and an iron ingot thrown in. The fancier Elven Gilded Armor cuirass uses the same perk but also needs a quicksilver ingot, and it’s tempered with quicksilver instead of moonstone.
Elven pieces also show up as leveled loot and in blacksmith inventories in the mid levels. According to players, Thalmor patrols on the roads are a reliable source. Fextralife adds that, the non-craftable Elven Light pieces are worn by Thalmor warriors and archers at Northwatch Keep, a Thalmor-held fort where you can kill two birds with one stone.
Is it worth wearing?
Very much so for light armor fans. The standard set adds up to 58 armor rating for only 7 weight, and swapping in the Gilded cuirass (35 AR) pushes that to 64 while staying at the same weight. Matching Set and Custom Fit work with it, and it’s the first real upgrade on the light armor branch of the Smithing tree.
The Elven Light variant is a little weaker than the craftable set and can’t be forged, so treat it as loot to sell or a cosplay option. Long-term, Glass Armor will eventually replace it, but a well-tempered Elven set can carry a sneaky archer surprisingly far.
Good to know
- The Elven Gilded Armor cuirass is the strongest Elven chest piece and uses quicksilver for crafting and tempering.
- Elven Light Armor pieces are a Thalmor variant that cannot be crafted.
- There’s a matching Elven Shield (21 AR), forged with the same perk.
Set pieces
| Piece | Slot | Armor | Weight | Value | ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elven Helmet | Head | 13 | 1 | 110 | 0001391D |
| Elven Armor | Body | 29 | 4 | 225 | 000896A3 |
| Elven Gauntlets | Hands | 8 | 1 | 45 | 0001391C |
| Elven Boots | Feet | 8 | 1 | 45 | 0001391A |
| Elven Shield | Shield | 21 | 4 | 115 | 0001391E |
| Elven Gilded Armor | Body | 35 | 4 | 550 | 0001392A |
Full set totals
- Elven Armor – helmet, cuirass, gauntlets and boots: 58 armor, 7 weight, 425 gold; with the Elven Shield: 79 armor, 11 weight.
- Elven Gilded Armor – helmet, cuirass, gauntlets and boots: 64 armor, 7 weight, 750 gold.
Variants
These versions share the set’s look or slot but are separate items in the game files:
| Piece | Slot | Armor | Weight | Value | ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elven Light Helmet | Head | 12 | 1 | 60 | 00105F14 |
| Elven Light Armor | Body | 26 | 4 | 125 | 00105F12 |
| Elven Light Gauntlets | Hands | 7 | 1 | 25 | 00105F13 |
| Elven Light Boots | Feet | 7 | 1 | 25 | 00105F11 |
Crafting and upgrades
Recipes at the forge – requires the Elven Smithing perk:
- Elven Helmet: 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Leather, 1 Leather Strips, 2 Refined Moonstone
- Elven Armor: 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Leather, 3 Leather Strips, 4 Refined Moonstone
- Elven Gauntlets: 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Leather, 2 Leather Strips, 1 Refined Moonstone
- Elven Boots: 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Leather, 2 Leather Strips, 2 Refined Moonstone
- Elven Shield: 1 Iron Ingot, 2 Leather Strips, 4 Refined Moonstone
- Elven Gilded Armor: 1 Iron Ingot, 3 Leather Strips, 1 Quicksilver Ingot, 4 Refined Moonstone
Improve (temper) the pieces at a workbench with Quicksilver Ingot or Refined Moonstone.
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.