Skyrim has one of the most interesting weapon systems around. For example, the dagger is one of the smallest weapons, but be smart with it, and you have one of the most deadly weapons in the game, too. There’s a host of daggers available in Skyrim, but not all of them are as good as others. Not all of them are as easy to obtain as others, too.
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Table of Contents
Best Skyrim Daggers
Chillrend
Chillrend is an icy blue sword that improves in attack power as you level up. It also gives you 15 extra points of damage per swing, and has a chance of freezing your opponent for two seconds.
To find it, you’ll want to start the Thieves Guild quest named “The Pursuit”. During the quest, you’ll head to Riften, in Mercer Frey’s house. The dagger can be found on a table upstairs, and is one of the best daggers in Skyrim.
Nightingale’s Blade
Nightingale’s blade is a leveled one-handed dagger that once belonged Gallus Desidenius, Nightingale and former Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild. If you complete the Thieves Guild quest “Hard Answers”, you will get the dagger from Karliah.
It comes with “Nightingale’s Talon”, an enchantment that can’t be learned or applied to other items, and absorbs a certain amount of stamina and health from your enemy, per second, depending on your level when you obtained it.
Glass Dagger
Glass items truly look stunning in Skyrim, and this Glass Dagger is no exception. If you’re a Dragonborn that’s just starting out, it’s a great choice. However, it does have somewhat low base damage. Therefore, as soon as you get to the higher levels, you might want to jump ship and get something else.
In terms of obtaining it, you can either loot it or buy it after you reach level 20.
Valdr’s Lucky Dagger
If you’d prefer a steel dagger instead early on in the game, Valdr’s Lucky Dagger is a great choice. It also doesn’t have too high of base damage, but it has a 25% chance for a critical hit. This, however, isn’t considered an enchantment so you can add other things to it, too. It’s another dagger that’s good for starting out, but you’ll want to replace it as you level up higher.
Obtaining it is really easy – just find Valdr, he’s sitting outside the Moss Mother Cavern. Give him a healing potion, or heal him otherwise, and he’ll ask you to clear out a cave, which is fairly straightforward. The dagger is your reward at the end.
Ebony Dagger
If you’re fairly deep into your adventure, ebony daggers can be some of the best daggers in Skyrim. They have fairly high base damage, for example, the Ebony Dagger has 10 base damage. It’s still not the greatest dagger in Skyrim, but it will do the job until you find something better.
To obtain it, you’ll need to reach level 35. Afterwards, you can loot it or buy it, if you still think you want it.
Daedric Dagger
Daedric weapons in Skyrim aren’t crowd favorites for their power, but instead, for their looks. The Daedric Dagger is no exception, but to add to that, it’s also one of the most powerful daggers in the game. It weighs just as much as any other dagger, but it has 11 damage to it. As soon as you find one, go ahead and make it your main dagger. You won’t regret it.
As far as obtaining it goes, you’ll want to reach level 46. After that, you can either buy it from merchants, or get it as loot.
Stalhrim Dagger
An interesting comparison people make is between Ebony daggers and Stahlrim ones. Yes, they have the same base damage, and Ebony ones are easier to obtain. However, Stahlrim daggers have 0.5 less weight than Ebony ones, which gives them a big advantage. Oh, and they often look much better than Ebony daggers. The Stalhrim Dagger does remind us of Chillrend a bit, but it’s still a great option for a dagger.
If you want to obtain it, unfortunately, you’ll need to have the Dragonborn DLC. This is the only way to get it, and you can buy it from a merchant, or loot it.
Bloodthorn
Bloodthorn is another one of the best daggers in Skyrim that looks like a steel dagger. However, depending on whether and how you use soul gems, it can be very useful. As one would expect from a steel dagger, the base damage is low. However, if you can make use of the enchantment, it’s great for finishing enemies. If an enemy dies within 3 seconds of you striking it with Bloodthorn, their soul is stolen and it’s placed inside a soul gem.
You can get Bloodthorn on a balcony in Hag’s End, and if you do use soul gems, it’s one you’ll want to try out at least.
Keening
You might be wondering what’s Keening doing on the list of 13 best daggers in Skyrim, provided it has only 8 damage. The answer is the enchantment that absorbs 10 Magicka, Health and Stamina upon strike. Not just decrease – absorb. This is a very powerful effect if you can take advantage of it. Oh, it also looks really nice, too.
When you’re at the College of Winterhold, you’ll get a quest from Arniel Gane. After a long quest, you’ll get the task of retrieving Keening.
Dragonbone Dagger
There isn’t another dagger in Skyrim that deals as much damage as the Dragonbone Dagger does – 12. It’s also the one with the fastest attack speed, and joint most base damage. If you can get one of them, chances are you’ll want to use it as your main source of damage.
Unfortunately, obtaining it won’t be equally easy for everyone. It’s only available with the Dawnguard DLC, so without it, you’ll be missing out.
Blade of Woe
It doesn’t look particularly impressive, but like the Dragonbone dagger, the Blade of Woe also has 12 base damage. Its name is recognized by many Elder Scrolls players, and is the easiest highest damage dagger to obtain. To add to it, there’s the enchantment that absorbs 10 health when you hit an enemy, and it may just be the best overall dagger in the game.
There are two ways to obtain it. The first one is to kill Astrid of the Dark Brotherhood, and loot her corpse. The second one is by completing the Death Incarnate quest. The choice is yours.
Mehrune’s Razor
Mehrune’s Razor is possibly the most recognizable dagger on our list of 13 best daggers in Skyrim. It has an epic appearance and a very powerful effect. It does have 11 base damage, but there’s a 2% chance of instantly killing your enemy once you strike them with the razor. Sure, 2% may not be too reliable, but if you have it happen at the right moment, it can make a world of difference.
It’s obtained via the Pieces of the Past quest, when you kill Silus Vesuvius. Note that if you decide to spare Silus, you can’t acquire Mehrune’s Razor.
Nordic Dagger
The Nordic Dagger comes with a base damage of 8 and is an attractive option for a dagger. It’s a part of the Nordic Weapon Set, and it’s available from the Advanced Armors Perk.
You can get the Nordic Dagger unenchanted, once you’re at level 25, or get an enchanted version once you’re level 26. It’s located next to Bjornolfr’s body, behind Hrodulf’s House’s secret passage. If you find it here, the Dragonborn’s level is unimportant.
Orcish Dagger
While the Orcish Dagger isn’t one of the best performing daggers in the game with the most damage, it is a solid option for the beginning of the game and if you don’t want to rely too heavily on a dagger in your combat.
It’s easily available as well, found on almost every rookie assassin or thief, and can be bought from any of the merchants or blacksmiths that you come across. But if you’re up for (another) adventure, you can try to get the orcish dagger that’s stabbed into a skeleton in Labrynthian, as long as you’re willing to get through the trolls that guard it.
Elven Dagger
If the Orcish Dagger isn’t your type of crude weapon, how about searching for an Elven Dagger? They’re not as commonplace as the former, given as they are allegedly crafted only by the blacksmiths from Summerset Isles. This dagger is also readily available at any merchant or blacksmith that you encounter in the game: but where’s the fun in that?
If you truly want to challenge yourself and feel worthy of the choice weapon of the High Elven race, try swiping the Elven Dagger from bandit chiefs in bandit dens. It’ll likely be a tough mission, but it beats paying for it!
Borvir’s Dagger
The Borvir’s Dagger is almost an exact replica of the Elven Dagger, with the big difference that you can acquire it at the very beginning of the game without having to level up (as in the case of the Elven Dagger). After completing a short quest called the ‘Missing Apprentices quest. You can do this by talking to Phinis Gestor who can be found at the College of Winterhold.
If you use Borvir’s Dagger you actually may not ever need to hunt for the Elven Dagger since it has the same performance and damage levels, and it’s much easier to get it since you just have to locate Borvir. It’ll be lying down next to his corpse from where you can just collect it.
Skyforge Steel Dagger
This dagger has one of the most unique designs, like a miniature sword. It has the same damage as the Elven Dagger and is relatively easy to acquire in the game. To get the Skyforge Steel Dagger, the most surefire way is to track down Eourlund Gray-Mane who will most certainly have it with him, among many other weapons.
You do have to purchase it from Eourlund Gray-Mane, but there are always chances that you win it as a reward from a random quest. There are many Skyforge weapons to be discovered in the game, and the Skyforge Steel Dagger is one of reliable weapons for the beginning of the game.
Alessandra’s Dagger
The best part about Alessandra’s Dagger is how lightweight it is. So if you’re not chasing big damage points and care more about being lightweight during fights, this dagger is one of the best you’ll find in the game. A bonus point to this dagger goes for being a quest item, which means that it’s not stored in the inventory and will always be on your person (yes, even if you’re thrown into jail)
The owner of the dagger, Alessandra is an Arkay priest who received it as a gift from her father after completion of her training, so this dagger is definitely a special one.
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