Top 10 Best Skyrim Enchantment Spells

In the world of Skyrim, merely buying weapons and armor isn’t enough. If you want to have the strongest weapons and the best armor, you’ll need to use some additional magic to make you invincible. That’s what the Enchanting skill is for – to help you create custom, individualized gear to give you an edge in battle and make you invincible against opponents. But when it comes to enchantments, there’s so many options when trying to figure out how to enhance your armor and weapons. How can you decide what spells are worth it and what’s not? 

Luckily, we’ve got you covered. We at Nerds & Scoundrels have compiled a list of ten of the best Armor & Weapon Enchantments in the game. Check out this list of the top ten Enchantments in Skyrim!

Our Top 10 Skyrim Enchantments

Below are the top ten armor & weapon enchantments in Skyrim:

10. Fortify Health

Fortify Health comes from the Restoration school to increase (or fortify) your health points. Cast this spell on your armor to give you an extra health boost during battle. Note that the enchantment’s effects are on a time limit, and as soon as the effect expires or wears out, the additional HP points will be lost. The only exception to this rule is if the resulting number after the decrease would be zero or negative; in that case, only enough points to leave the player with 1 HP would disappear. Rally spells will also include an accompanying Fortify Health effect when cast. 

9. Muffle

The Muffle enchantment comes from the Illusion school and, as the name would imply, helps to literally muffle your sound and help you move quietly. Incredibly useful for stealth-based attacks, this enchantment can be cast on your armor, though it also affects your own footsteps while you move. Note that while Muffle can diminish the sounds of your movements, it does not entirely silence them. However, Muffle effects can stack, so there is certainly a way to get completely (or as close to) silence as possible if you have additional effects. When combined with a spell that makes you invisible, you have the potential to become completely undetectable to enemies.  

8. Fiery Soul Trap

Although Fiery Soul Trap is a rare enchant that’s notably difficult to find on weapons in shops, you’ll definitely want to keep your eyes peeled for this. It deals double damage, sending damaging flames an enemy’s way while simultaneously casting a soul trap that can help you fill a soul gem. It’s an enhanced version of the more commonly procured Soul Trap effect, though the additional fire damage makes it special. The spell is affected by both Conjuration and Destruction perks in addition to Enchanting, so the number of charges you can get will depend on your levels of all three skills. 

7. Fortify Destruction

If you’re looking for a frugal way to cast some Destruction spells, Fortify Destruction is the way to go. This armor enchantment will decrease the cost of Destruction spells and the use cost of Destruction-based enchantments, helping you save up during an important battle. While it doesn’t increase the power of your Destruction spell, it can affect the soul consumption of enchantment weapons. Of the 18 weapon enchantments, 10 of them will benefit from Fortify Destruction. 

6. Absorb Magicka

Low on magicka and need to stock up quickly? Absorb Magicka can help you out! Use the spell to transfer magicka appoints from your opponent right back to you. Sure, you could cast Damage Magica to your opponent and then Restore Magicka back to you, but this just saves you the time and effort. Similarly to Spell Absorbtion, it’s a bit of a passive spell. But it still can help you out in the end if you need a quick and easy magicka boost. 

5. Paralyze

If you ever need a breather during a fight, use Paralyze to give yourself a break. The enchantment will temporarily cause your opponent to freeze, giving you a second to regroup and prepare for another attack. While your opponent is frozen, they’ll be completely unable to move or fight back until the effect wears off. And though the effect cannot directly kill an enemy, if timed correctly (e.g. the enchantment is cast while your enemy is on the edge of a cliff and the paralysis causes them to fall off), there is potential for death. Additionally, there is no Cure Paralysis effect in the game, meaning your enemies will have no choice but to wait it out if paralyzed. 

4. Resist Magic

Resist Magic will help defend you against any magic spells in battle as it increases your magic resistance diminishing the damaging effects of a spell cast your way. The spell itself is capped at 85%, meaning there’s no way to resist a magic attack completely using solely Resist Magic, though with additional effects you may be able to become completely immune. It’s recommended to pair this enchantment with Spell Absorption, as it has the potential to completely negate a magic attack.  

3. Absorb Health

Want to just drain your enemy’s HP points? Simply use Absorb Health! Yes, the spell itself sounds simple, but sometimes after a long and arduous battle, a quick and easy spell is the way to go. The effect will transfer health points from your opponent to you; a similar tactic would be to use Damage Health on your opponent and Restore Health on yourself. 

2. Chaos Damage

Want to instantly cause some chaos? You’ve come to the right enchantment. The Chaos Damage enchantment has a 50% chance of dealing fire, frost, and shock damage simultaneously to your opponent, which has the potential to diminish your opponent’s health, stamina, and magicka values. Even if the spell doesn’t cast all three kinds of damages to your opponent, the majority of the time one-to-two effects will be cast out to your enemy. The enchantment has eight possible outcomes on its own; but when using two one-handed weapons that have been enchanted with Chaos Damage, the number of outcomes jumps up to 64. 

1. Fortify Smithing 

Don’t sleep on Fortify Smithing! The enchantment affects the improvement of weapons and armor when they’re on grindstones and workbenches (so only when you’re adding additional improvements and not creating them). While the effect itself may not seem like anything special, when used effectively and efficiently with other enchantments like the others on this list, you have the potential to create some pretty invincible weapons. 

Nerds and Scoundrels

And that concludes our Skyrim enchantment spells Top 10. Did we leave anything out? If so, don’t forget to let us know in the comments! And don’t forget to check out our Top 10 Best Skyrim Restoration Spells Guide.