The Dragonbone Sword arrives with the Dawnguard add-on and sits at the very top of the material ladder. Its 15 base damage outclasses every Daedric and ebony sword, making it the strongest standard one-handed sword in the game. At 19 weight it is hefty for a sword, but nobody complains once it starts landing hits.
It is built from the remains of the dragons you have been slaying all game, so there is a pleasing circularity to it. Requiring the final Dragon Armor perk, it is very much an endgame weapon, and it pairs naturally with Dragonplate Armor.
Stats
| Type | Sword |
|---|---|
| Skill | One-handed |
| Material | Dragonbone |
| Damage | 15 |
| Weight | 19 |
| Value | 1500 gold |
| Speed | 1 |
| Reach | 1 |
| Stagger | 0.75 |
| Critical damage | 7 |
| Add-on | Dawnguard |
| Item ID | 02014FCE |
Where to find
- Sometimes dropped by Revered or Legendary dragons.
- Sold by blacksmiths from around level 46.
- Found as random loot from around level 46.
Before that level the leveled lists simply won’t offer it, so if you want one earlier, forging it is the only option.
Crafting and upgrading
Crafting at a forge: 1 × 
Leather Strips, 1 × 
Ebony Ingot, 1 × 
Dragon Bone. Requires the Dragon Armor Smithing perk.
Improving at a grindstone: 1 × Dragon Bone. The Arcane Blacksmith perk doubles the improvement.
Compared with other swords
Base stats of all regular (unenchanted) swords in Skyrim, weakest first:
| Weapon | Damage | Weight | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Sword | 7 | 9 | 25 |
| Ancient Nord Sword | 8 | 12 | 13 |
| Imperial Sword | 8 | 10 | 23 |
| Silver Sword | 8 | 7 | 100 |
| Steel Sword | 8 | 10 | 23 |
| Orcish Sword | 9 | 11 | 75 |
| Dwarven Sword | 10 | 12 | 135 |
| Falmer Sword | 10 | 18 | 67 |
| Forsworn Sword | 10 | 13 | 70 |
| Blades Sword | 11 | 10 | 300 |
| Elven Sword | 11 | 13 | 235 |
| Honed Ancient Nord Sword | 11 | 15 | 23 |
| Nord Hero Sword | 11 | 9 | 135 |
| Nordic Sword | 11 | 12 | 290 |
| Scimitar | 11 | 10 | 5 |
| Skyforge Steel Sword | 11 | 10 | 70 |
| Glass Sword | 12 | 14 | 410 |
| Honed Falmer Sword | 12 | 18 | 205 |
| Ebony Sword | 13 | 15 | 720 |
| Stalhrim Sword | 13 | 14 | 985 |
| Daedric Sword | 14 | 16 | 1250 |
| Dragonbone Sword | 15 | 19 | 1500 |
Tips and notes
- Forging needs Smithing 100 and the Dragon Armor perk: one Dragon Bone, one Ebony Ingot and one Leather Strip. That is a remarkably cheap recipe for an endgame blade.
- Temper it with a Dragon Bone; the Dragon Armor perk doubles the improvement.
- Every dragon you kill leaves bones, so supply is rarely a problem late in the game.
Stats from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (Dawnguard.esm, record DLC1DragonboneSword). Values are base values before perks, smithing improvements and enchantments.