Dragon Bone is what remains of a dragon once you have absorbed its soul and the flesh has burned away. It is the backbone (literally) of the top tier of Smithing: with the Dragon Armor perk you turn it into Dragonplate armor and every Dragonbone weapon, from the dagger to the greatsword. At 500 gold a piece it is also one of the most valuable things you can carry, though at 15 weight each it will fill your pockets fast.
How to get it
There are no veins to mine and no smelter recipe. Almost every Dragon Bone you will ever own comes from looting dragon skeletons. Once you kill a dragon and absorb its soul, search the remains and you will usually find a mix of bones and scales. Since dragons keep showing up throughout the main quest and beyond, a dragon-hunting Dragonborn rarely runs short for long.
The game places exactly one loose Dragon Bone in the world: in the Volkihar Ruins beneath Castle Volkihar, the vampire stronghold of the Dawnguard storyline. Dragon Bone is not part of the usual blacksmith stock, so don’t count on buying your way to a Dragonplate set.
The court wizard Farengar Secret-Fire in Dragonsreach asks for dragon remains in the side quest Dragon Research, so hold on to one if you plan to help him. A Dragonbone Greatsword alone eats four bones, and the Dragonplate cuirass takes two plus three scales.
Used to craft
Dragon Bone appears in 14 recipes in the game files.
Armor
- Dragonplate Armor – Dragonplate Shield (1), Dragonplate Helmet (1), Dragonplate Gauntlets (1), Dragonplate Armor (2), Dragonplate Boots (1)
Weapons and other items
- Dragon Armor: Dragonbone Arrow (1), Dragonbone Warhammer (3), Dragonbone War Axe (1), Dragonbone Sword (1), Dragonbone Mace (2), Dragonbone Greatsword (4), Dragonbone Dagger (1), Dragonbone Bow (2), Dragonbone Battleaxe (3)
The number in brackets is how many Dragon Bone each recipe needs. Bold labels are the Smithing perk the recipe requires.
Improving gear
At a grindstone or workbench, Dragon Bone is the material used to improve (temper) 10 items, including Dragonplate Armor.
Good to know
- Dragon Armor is the final Smithing perk and sits at the top of the tree, so you need Smithing 100 and one of the heavy or light perk lines leading up to it.
- Bones weigh 15 each – stash spares at home instead of hauling them across Skyrim.
Data from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): value, weight, ore veins, recipes and merchant lists. ID 0003ADA4 is the item’s form ID for the console.
