Heart Stone

A glowing Red Mountain stone from Solstheim (Dragonborn), used at the staff enchanter to craft dozens of magic staves.

Heart Stone is a strange, pulsing rock found only on Solstheim (Dragonborn). It is not smithing material at all: its job is to power the staff enchanter, where it goes into 43 staff recipes, from simple fire and frost staves to atronach and Daedric summoning staves. Each stone is worth 100 gold, so even if you never craft a staff, they are well worth picking up.

How to get it

Heart Stone is mined from glowing deposits, and there are 28 of them on the island. The biggest cluster is outdoors near Tel Mithryn, home of the cranky wizard Neloth, with 6 deposits and a loose stone nearby. Brodir Grove and Coldcinder Cave have 3 each. You can also find 2 at Ashfallow Citadel, Hrodulf’s House, White Ridge Barrow and Broken Tusk Mine, plus 4 in and around Fort Frostmoth. Single deposits sit in Kolbjorn Barrow, Highpoint Tower and near Old Attius Farm.

Unlike the regular ores, Heart Stone has no merchant listings and no enemy drops in the game data, so a pickaxe and a tour of the ash wastes is the way to go.

Used to craft

Heart Stone appears in 43 recipes in the game files.

Weapons and other items

  • staff enchanter (Dragonborn): Staff of Thunderbolts (4), Staff of the Storm Wall (4), Staff of the Frost Wall (4), Staff of the Flame Wall (4), Minor Staff of Turning (2), Staff of Turning (3), Grand Staff of Turning (4), Staff of Sparks (1), Staff of Soul Trapping (2), Staff of Vanquishment (4), Staff of Revenants (3), Grand Staff of Repulsion (4), Staff of Repulsion (3), Staff of Reanimation (2), Staff of Inspiration (3), Staff of Zombies (1), Staff of Paralysis (4), Staff of Magelight (2), Staff of Incineration (4), Staff of Icy Spear (4), Staff of Ice Storms (3), Staff of Ice Spikes (2), Staff of Mending (3), Staff of the Healing Hand (2), Staff of Fury (2), Staff of Frostbite (1), Staff of Frenzy (3), Staff of Flames (1), Staff of Firebolts (2), Staff of Fireballs (3), Staff of Fear (2), Staff of Expulsion (4), Staff of Dread Zombies (4), Staff of Courage (1), Staff of the Storm Atronach (4), Staff of the Frost Atronach (3), Staff of the Flame Atronach (2), Staff of the Familiar (1), Staff of Daedric Command (4), Staff of Chain Lightning (3), Staff of Calm (2), Staff of Banishing (3), Staff of Lightning Bolts (2)

The number in brackets is how many Heart Stone each recipe needs. Bold labels are the Smithing perk the recipe requires.

Good to know

  • Heart Stone is used at the staff enchanter, not the forge, and most staves need between 1 and 4 stones.

Data from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): value, weight, ore veins, recipes and merchant lists. ID 040195A9 is the item’s form ID for the console.

Where to find it

  • Outdoors near Tel Mithryn: 6 deposits
  • Brodir Grove and Coldcinder Cave: 3 deposits each
  • Fort Frostmoth and its surroundings: 4 deposits
  • White Ridge Barrow and Broken Tusk Mine: 2 deposits each

Crafting materials

Lore notes

Dropped by

Quest reward from

Where it appears

Characters connected to it

Neloth is the eccentric Telvanni wizard of Tel Mithryn on Solstheim – heart stone expert, Master Enchanting trainer and the rudest genius in Skyrim’s Dragonborn DLC.

More items like this

Ore, Smithing Material
Value 25 gold
A shiny ore smelted two-to-one into Quicksilver Ingots, used mostly for Elven weapons and armor and for tempering Nordic gear.
Ingot, Smithing Material
Value 7 gold
The humblest metal in Skyrim, Iron Ingots are smelted from iron ore and feed more forge recipes than any other material.
Hide & Pelt, Smithing Material
Value 15 gold
Ice Wolf Pelt is the pale pelt of the ice wolves in Skyrim’s snowy north, worth a bit more than an ordinary wolf pelt.
Daedric Artifact, Ring
Value 400 gold
Hircine’s ring: unlimited daily werewolf transformations for players who are already werewolves.
Hide & Pelt, Smithing Material
Value 40 gold
Sabre Cat Snow Pelt comes from the white snowy sabre cats of Skyrim’s north and tans into four pieces of Leather.
Ingot, Smithing Material
Value 30 gold
Dwarven Metal Ingots come from smelting Dwemer scrap found in ancient ruins and are needed for all Dwarven gear.
Sources checked: Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm, Dawnguard.esm, Dragonborn.esm): value, weight, ore veins, placements, merchant lists, recipes