The Warrior Stone

Guardian Stone southwest of Riverwood that makes all combat skills – Block, Heavy Armor, One-Handed, Smithing and Two-Handed – improve 20% faster.

The Warrior Stone is one of the three Guardian Stones, the first standing stones you’re likely to see in Skyrim. It stands southwest of Riverwood and north-northwest of Helgen, close to the river, right next to The Mage Stone and The Thief Stone. Pick it if you plan to solve most of your problems with something sharp, heavy or both.

Effect

Those born under the Warrior learn all combat skills 20% faster. The covered skills are:

How to get there

After escaping Helgen in Unbound, keep following Ralof or Hadvar down the road and they lead you straight to the three stones. Ralof approves of your choice with talk of honour and glory; Hadvar remarks that he knew you shouldn’t have been on that cart the moment he saw you.

Tips

Note that Archery is not boosted here – for the Guardian Stones only, it counts as a stealth skill and falls under the Thief Stone instead. Smithers get a nice bonus: combined with the Ancient Knowledge ability from Unfathomable Depths, Smithing rises 35% faster.

Which stone to pick?

The Warrior suits anyone building a melee character in heavy armour, or a dedicated blacksmith – Smithing being on the list makes it a sneaky crafting stone too. If you’d rather cast spells or pick locks, its two neighbours cover magic and stealth, and other standing stones such as The Lord Stone wait further out in Skyrim for later in your adventure.

Good to know

The head of the Warrior’s axe on the stone is shaped like Mjolnir, the hammer of the Norse thunder god Thor – a fitting nod for a sign that loves hitting things.

Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim game files, summarised in our own words.

Characters found here

Quests that lead here

Creatures you will meet

Weapons found here

Armor found here

Items found here

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Sources checked: Elder Scrolls Fandom location articles (export 2026-10-13); Skyrim game files