Scaled Armor is light armor that thinks it’s halfway to heavy: overlapping metal scales riveted onto leather, giving a lot more protection than the leather-and-fur crowd. It belongs to the mid-to-late game tier, beating Elven Armor in raw armor rating while trailing Glass Armor. There’s also a Scaled Horn Armor cuirass with a different look but identical stats.
How to get it
To forge it you need the Advanced Armors Smithing perk, which becomes available at Smithing 50 and also unlocks Steel Plate Armor on the heavy side. The recipes use steel and corundum ingots plus leather. Corundum ore is less common than iron, so keep an eye out for veins in mines and around places like Riften.
If you don’t have the perk, Scaled pieces appear as leveled loot once you’re in the mid levels, so dungeon chests and well-equipped enemies are your best bet. Checking the stock of a city blacksmith now and then doesn’t hurt either. The Scaled Horn cuirass can’t be crafted, so it only comes from loot.
Is it worth wearing?
Yes, for a lot of players. The helmet, cuirass, bracers and boots add up to 64 armor rating for just 12 weight. Compared with Elven Armor (58 for 7 weight) you trade a bit of extra weight for more protection, and you’re still well under heavy armor territory. Matching Set and Custom Fit both apply, and at Smithing 50 you can temper it with corundum without needing the later Glass Smithing perk.
The weak point is the perk path: Advanced Armors sits on the heavy-armor side of the Smithing tree, so a pure light-armor smith who rushes Elven and Glass Smithing may never pick it up. If you’re already taking Advanced Armors for steel plate, though, Scaled is a great bridge until Glass.
Good to know
- Scaled Armor has no shield of its own.
- Scaled Horn Armor is a non-craftable cuirass variant with the same stats as the regular cuirass.
- All craftable pieces are tempered with corundum ingots.
Set pieces
| Piece | Slot | Armor | Weight | Value | ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scaled Helmet | Head | 14 | 2 | 175 | 0001B3A1 |
| Scaled Armor | Body | 32 | 6 | 350 | 0001B3A3 |
| Scaled Bracers | Hands | 9 | 2 | 70 | 0001B3A0 |
| Scaled Boots | Feet | 9 | 2 | 70 | 0001B39F |
Full set totals
- Scaled Armor – helmet, cuirass, gauntlets and boots: 64 armor, 12 weight, 665 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scaled Horn Armor | Body | 32 | 6 | 350 | 0001B3A4 |
Crafting and upgrades
Recipes at the forge – requires the Advanced Armors perk:
- Scaled Helmet: 1 Corundum Ingot, 1 Leather, 1 Leather Strips, 2 Steel Ingot
- Scaled Armor: 2 Corundum Ingot, 2 Leather, 3 Leather Strips, 3 Steel Ingot
- Scaled Bracers: 1 Corundum Ingot, 1 Leather, 2 Leather Strips, 1 Steel Ingot
- Scaled Boots: 1 Corundum Ingot, 1 Leather, 2 Leather Strips, 2 Steel Ingot
Improve (temper) the pieces at a workbench with Corundum 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.