Whether you’re more of a mage than a warrior or not, we can all appreciate the art of fighting with a sword inSkyrim. By now, almost everyone has done at least one play through of the game as a classic warrior, and if you haven’t, well, you’ve come to the right place to pick your weapon of choice.
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Swords are a staple in Skyrim, and most of your enemies will use one. You can choose between one-handed or two-handed, but for the sake of simplicity, today we’re discussing the five coolest one-handed swords and five thatclaimto be swords but look like a total joke.
10Cool: Bolar’s Oathblade
Who doesn’t love the aesthetic of the Blades in Skyrim? Inspired by real-life samurai, the Blades have one of the most unique swords in the game. One sword in particular, Bolar’s Oathblade, is cool due to the Stamina damage it does and the fear it induces in enemies of Level 12 and under.
In order to get your hands on this unique Blades sword, which is no doubt inspired by the famous Akaviri Katana from the previousElder Scrollsgame,Oblivion, you need to travel to Bloated Man’s Grotto, where the sword awaits you at the foot of a Talos shrine.
9Terrible: Imperial Sword
Just like the Stormcloaks, the Imperials,are just a little too simplistic for our tastes. If you prefer classic gear and weapons, by all means, but when it comes to swords in Skyrim, it’s evident that our favorite legionnaires could do a bit better with style. Thankfully, tons of modders have re-textured the classic Imperial sword, which fixes its boring appearance at least a little bit.
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To get your hands on this bland sword, you may’t actually craft it; you’ll need to find yourself an Imperial. Most camps run by Imperials will have tons of them, or just killing off a few Imperial soldiers will let you loot their swords.
8Cool: Nightingale Blade
The Nightingales are a pretty cool and unique mini-faction found in Skyrim, within the Thieves Guild. Not only is their gear top-notch and beautiful, so are their weapons. The Nightingale Sword in particular looks super sleek and unique from any other sword in the game.
The blade is a black ebony sword and it’s enchanted with an absorb spell that takes 25 points of health and stamina when struck. To get the blade, you have to speak to Karliah after completing the Hard Answers quest in the Thieves Guild quest line.
7Terrible: Ancient Nord Sword
Any dungeon crawler of Skyrim will recognize this ragged and half-broken blade any day. A favorite weapon among Draugr, it’s hard to miss it when wandering deep into the depths of Nordic ruins to look for treasure. Skeletons also seem to like this sword, and you’ll frequently see it on just about any undead creature.
While there are some unique, cool-looking variations of the Ancient Nord Sword like Eduj, Gauldur Blackblade and the Ghostblade, its most basic appearance is just that — basic. Why would you want a broken-down sword anyway?
6Cool: Chillrend
This sword is another reference to the previous game,Oblivion. Chillrend is a glass sword, and the go-to weapon of Mercer Frey from the Thieves Guild. It has a frost enchantment, which means your enemies will take 30 points of frost damage. It can also paralyze an enemy for 2 seconds.
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The Chillrend is cool because it’s a frost-enchanted Glass Sword, which fits well together in appearance. Glass swords in general are beautiful, which makes it worthwhile to snatch during the Thieves Guild quest line.
5Terrible: Falmer Sword
Anything made by Falmer is usually not extremely aesthetically pleasing, and it definitely shows when it comes to the Falmer Sword. This sword looks like it was ripped straight from the guts of a Chaurus insect, and that’s actually much closer to the truth than you’d think.
The sword has strange-looking embedded stones that appear like eyes, and it has a slightly weird shape at the base of the blade which makes it really annoying to look at if you enjoy geometrically pleasing things. It’s definitely a hard pass from us.
4Cool: Daedric Sword
The Daedra definitely know how to make edgy, cool-looking gear and weapons to entice mortals to worship them. Not only are their artifacts spectacular and beautiful, but the regular armor and the swords have the appearance of something out of a dark lord’s armory.
You’ll have to wait until Level 46 to start finding these swords in loots and stores around Skyrim. Alternatively, you’re able to also craft one yourself with the Daedric Smithing perk, by combining one Daedra Heart, one leather strip and two ebony ingots.
3Terrible: Forsworn Sword
The Forsworn are the native tribes living in the southwest parts of Skyrim. Much of their style is very close to nature and tradition, which is why it might come across as a bit unrefined. That being said, never underestimate the Forsworn in battle. Their swords alone look terrifyingly spiky and painful.
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While they’re not pleasing to the eye like classic swords, if you want one in your collection, heading to any Forsworn camp will do the trick. At least one member of the tribe will be carrying one of these woven blades.
2Cool: Dawnbreaker
There’s no sword more beautiful than the one we get from Meridia after we guide the light trough her temple and cleanse it from evil. The Dawnbreaker not only has a cool name, it also looks gorgeous. It has a fully unique design, with a glowing handle that will make anyone believe you’re the hero of the story.
While the Dawnbreaker isn’t the strongest sword, it’s still immensely useful against the undead, as it has a chance of setting a fiery explosion when killing one. It also burns the enemy for 10 points. Once you have this sword, you’ve basically made it.
1Terrible: Miraak’s Sword
While Miraak might be the ultimate antagonist that was lacking in the originalSkyrimmain quest, his sword isn’t quite worth the sword of a Dragonborn. It doesn’t really even look like a sword. If anything, his blade has the appearance of a claw, with details that look like moving tentacles, but not in a flattering way.
Miraak’s sword is obviously acquired once he’s defeated, and it absorbs 15 stamina when struck with. You’ll need theDragonbornDLC to even get the quest in the first place.
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