Enchantments in Skyrim give passive buffs and advantages to players in the form of statistical improvements to a player’s gameplay.
These enchantments can be found at various points throughout the game or even crafted by players. This requires you to upgrade your enchanting skills. To apply enchantments to your armor in Skyrim, you also need to upgrade your smithing skill to some degree.
Since players can use many enchantments on their Armor in Skyrim, we have shortlisted the top 20 enchantments you can use for your armor. The list includes enchantments for different types of armor and classes. This Enchantment list also has enchantments from expansions so you can use it for any edition of Skyrim.
20. Fortify Unarmed
Starting with a simple yet effective enchantment. The unarmed enchantment is useful for players who want to play with a unique hand-to-hand combat scenario. This enchantment increases a player’s punch damage by a good amount. The enchantment is only applicable to Hands and Rings.
19. Fortify Sneak
As the name suggests, this enchantment improves a player’s sneaking ability. One thing to remember is that it makes your character move quietly; this enchantment lessens the possibility of detection for a longer period. This enchantment best suits players who wish to play more of a stealth-based game. This enchantment applies to Feet, Hands, Amulets, and Rings.
18. Fortify Restoration
It’s a must-have enchantment for anyone new to Skyrim. This enchantment boosts the healing of potions and items on a player. Even though it is applied on an apparel, the effect can be seen when using a healing spell. Players that play as a Mage often have this enchantment as their main selection, but it is as much helpful for Warriors and Stealth players as well. Restoration Enchantment is applicable on Head, Amulets, Rings, and Chest.
17. Fortify Block
Blocking is one of the main focuses when drawn into a fight. One or two timely blocks can save you from dying at times. An enchantment that enhances the blocking capabilities of your weapons is one to keep an eye on. Especially if your playstyle is a Warrior playstyle. This enchantment is applicable to Hands, Shields, and Rings.
16. Resist Fire
One thing that Skyrim players have to suffer through is the elemental superiority the enemies hold over you. You are not only vulnerable to weaponry attacks but also have to be on a lookout for elemental damage. Fire is one of the heavy hitters when it comes to elements, and players have to rely on specific gear to help them resist these attacks. Using a Resist Fire enchantment greatly nullifies the fire damage given to players, proving to be very beneficial. Resist Fire is applicable on Shields, Rings, and Feet.
15. Resist Shock/Frost/Water
Just like fire, other elemental damages are ones to be wary of for any player in Skyrim. It becomes a hassle for a player to carry all the resist element enchantments on them. So, players must have a prior knowledge of what to expect from the enemy and prepare accordingly. It is easier to craft a few enchantments rather than all at once. You can use this enchantment on Shields, Rings, and Feet.
14. Waterbreathing
Waterbreathing enchantment is somewhat preference and scenario-based. However, it can easily be one of the best enchantments in Skyrim. Water Breathing prolongs the capability of your character to swim underwater. Initially, you might find it useless; however, as you progress further in Skyrim, you might have to stay underwater for longer durations, and this is where the enchantment will prove useful. Furthermore, it can offer great utility since you don’t have to put it on your main gear piece. So whether you are a Mage, a Warrior, an Archer, or an Assassin, you will not be at a disadvantage if you acquire the water-breathing enchantment. This enchantment applies to Amulets, Head, and Rings.
13. Muffle
Not to be mixed with Fortify Sneak, the Muffle enchantment plays a completely different role in the game. This enchantment is suited for stealth lovers as it allows you to move in complete silence, and when paired up with a certain weapon set, you can become a complete assassin. This enchantment applies to the Feet.
12. Fortify Magicka
As the name suggests, this enchantment is for Mages. If your playstyle revolves around using magic and spells, you know how important magicka is for you. And running out of Magicka in combat can mean the end for you. Players can use Fortify Magicka to increase their Magicka capacity and be more aggressive in magic casting. This enchantment applies to Hands, Head, Rings and Amulets.
11. Fortify Stamina
A vital aspect of any playstyle, players in Skyrim understand how much it means to keep your stamina in check. Every swing of the sword, every block of the shield, means you have used a bit of stamina, and hence its preservation is also necessary. With Fortify Stamina, players can be more relaxed regarding their stamina consumption and swing into battle with more confidence. You can apply this enchantment to Rings, Chest, Feet.
10. Fortify Smithing
Smithing, in general, improves the capabilities of your armor and weapons. Applying Fortify Smithing helps in boosting that increment in capability. Players who enjoy making their own gear and increasing the effectiveness of their gear rely on this enchantment to greatly affect the buffs on their gear. This enchantment applies to Hands, Rings, and Amulets.
9. Fortify Destruction
Some players may think that this enchantment increases the destructive force of their weapons, but Fortify Destruction’s benefit is that it boosts a player’s destructive magic casting. One downside of this enchantment is that it is only usable by players who selected the School of Destruction when becoming a mage. But some players have also argued that this enchantment reduces the soul and Magicka costs irrespective of your school. This enchantment applies to Rings, Amulets, Chest and Head.
8. Absorb Magicka
When it comes to magic casting, Magicka is a key aspect. Players need a way to restore magicka as soon as possible. One efficient way is to apply the Absorb Magicka enchantment onto your armor. This enchantment allows players to absorb a portion of Magicka from the enemies they are fighting. So if you are a mage with a bow, utilise your arrows by killing enemies when you run out of magicka to restore your magicka. This enchantment applies to Amulets, Rings, and Chest.
7. Paralyze
Paralyze enchantment comes in handy for the close combat-loving players. Players with this enchantment have a chance to paralyze the enemy for a certain amount of time. It results in the enemies being unable to move and become easy targets. This enchantment applies to Hands and rings.
6. Fortify Alchemy
Alchemy is not a priority for players at the beginning of Skyrim. It seems to be a simple and useless skill to attain as all minds are focused on slashing and shooting arrows. But once you understand the usefulness of crafting potions and poisons, you become a whole new player. Fortify Alchemy increases your alchemy abilities, granting you buffs in your crafting. This enchantment applies to Rings, Amulets, and Helmet.
5. Resist Magic
In comparison to other resistances, Resist Magic takes the cake. While armors have different elemental resistances to some degree and Fortifying the resistance using Resist enchantments helps to cover up one or two elements, Resist Magic gives players a significant boost in immunity to all types of magic. This enchantment is recommended for Mages, Warriors, Archers, Assassins and all other builds. This enchantment is applicable to Rings, Amulets, Shields.
4. Chaos Damage
This enchantment gives the players a 50% chance to emit elemental damage on the enemies on every hit. Be it a swing of the sword or an arrow, you will inflict Fire, Frost, or Shock damage on your enemies with this enchantment. This enchantment applies to Rings, Amulets, and Hands.
3. Fortify One-Handed/ Two-Handed
The most popular build among Skyrim players is a Warrior build consisting of heavy attacking. Some players rely on one-handed weapons, while others go for more devastating two-handed weapons. How can one excite their thirst for slashing down enemies? By applying enchantments that increase the damage being dealt by their weapons of course. Fortify One-Handed and Fortify Two-Handed enchantments increase the damage of respective weapons by up to 50%. These enchantments can be applied to Hands, Rings, Amults, Feet.
2. Fortify Heavy Armor
Fortify Heavy Armor is another fan favorite when it comes to close-range combat. The heavy Armor enchantment increases the protective capability of your armor by a good amount and gives you that extra sense of protection when going into battle. This enchantment applies to Hands, Rings, Amulets, Chest.
1. Fortify Healing Rate
Sitting on the top of our list is Fortify Healing Rate. It is understandable why this enchantment takes the first place as the most useful enchantment in the list. No matter your level, you always prioritize your health in the game. Fortify Healing Rate is a great choice for armor enchantments, as it significantly amps the restoration rate of the player. No matter the build, you can never go wrong with this enchantment. This enchantment applies to Rings, Amulets, and Chest.
