Steel Plate Armor is the grown-up version of Steel Armor: polished, fully plated and much tougher. A full set offers 87 armor for 59 weight, which puts it ahead of Dwarven Armor on protection while being noticeably lighter. It sits firmly in the mid-game tier, just below Orcish Armor.
How to get it
To forge it you need the Advanced Armors perk, which becomes available at Smithing level 50. The odd bit is the route: Advanced Armors lives on the light armor side of the Smithing tree, after Elven Smithing, so heavy armor fans have to take a small detour to reach it. The recipes are friendly, though, using Steel and Iron Ingots, Leather Strips and a single Corundum Ingot per piece.
Steel Plate pieces also enter leveled loot from around player level 18 (enchanted versions a level later), so you may end up wearing a piece or two before you can craft it. There is no matching shield in the set, so pair it with whatever shield you like.
Is it worth wearing?
It is one of the better-kept secrets of heavy armor. The cuirass matches Orcish at 40 armor, and the whole set is only two points of weight heavier than Orcish while costing far less to make. Compared to Dwarven, you get more protection for 16 less weight, which is a great trade if you haven’t taken Conditioning yet.
The downside is the perk path. If you are already investing in the heavy branch (Dwarven, Orcish, Ebony), Advanced Armors is a side trip, but it also unlocks Scaled light armor and leads on to Glass Smithing, which in turn opens the path to Dragonplate. Tempering uses Corundum Ingots, and the Advanced Armors perk doubles its effect.
Juggernaut, Well Fitted and Matching Set all apply as usual, and since there’s no shield, the set bonus only needs the four main pieces.
Good to know
- The set has no shield of its own.
- It shares its crafting perk with Scaled Armor, a light set.
- All pieces are tempered with Corundum Ingots.
Set pieces
| Piece | Slot | Armor | Weight | Value | ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steel Plate Helmet | Head | 19 | 6 | 300 | 0001395E |
| Steel Plate Armor | Body | 40 | 38 | 625 | 0001395C |
| Steel Plate Gauntlets | Hands | 14 | 6 | 125 | 0001395D |
| Steel Plate Boots | Feet | 14 | 9 | 125 | 0001395B |
Full set totals
- Steel Plate Armor – helmet, cuirass, gauntlets and boots: 87 armor, 59 weight, 1175 gold.
Crafting and upgrades
Recipes at the forge – requires the Advanced Armors perk:
- Steel Plate Helmet: 1 Corundum Ingot, 1 Iron Ingot, 2 Leather Strips, 2 Steel Ingot
- Steel Plate Armor: 1 Corundum Ingot, 1 Iron Ingot, 3 Leather Strips, 3 Steel Ingot
- Steel Plate Gauntlets: 1 Corundum Ingot, 1 Iron Ingot, 2 Leather Strips, 2 Steel Ingot
- Steel Plate Boots: 1 Corundum Ingot, 1 Iron Ingot, 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.