Summary
Leveling one’s character is a vital part of any RPG — but when there’s so much to do and the player is stuck at a low level, it can get frustrating. This can often be the case inSkyrim, where there are bosses to fight, guilds to join, worlds to save and lives to end. Fortunately,Skyrimplayers have learned plenty of ways to level various skills fast. No matter which skills the Dragonborn chooses to build, every increase results in progress toward the next level.
If players are looking to level up quickly to gain those stat increases and perk points, these strategies should help. Though all leveling tricks involve some grinding, most can be incorporated into regular gameplay, keeping things from getting too tedious. As long as players don’t mind breaking the game a bit to make the Dragonborn extremely adept and powerful in no time, they’ll love checking out the many ways players have used Skyrim’s systems to make their version of this hero as powerful as possible.
Updated on July 27, 2025, by Aldous Foster:With so many quests to complete and places to explore, players may not want to spend too long sitting around grinding a skill. However, there are many ways to improve a few skills simultaneously, allowing the player to get back to exploring as soon as possible while still benefitting from a shiny, newly crafted axe or enchanted armor. Alternatively, players attempting to play the game on higher difficulties or trying to complete challenge runs will want to know how to boost their offensive abilities right from the start. Either way, some of these tips can greatly improve anyone’s enjoyment of this RPG classic.
21Disenchant Items All The Time
Skills Targeted: Enchanting
Most people who attempt to level up as many skills as possible end up completely forgetting about Enchanting. With the sheer amount of quality loot that players can obtain, it’s easy to see why Enchanting isn’t the most appealing skill. However, players may not be aware that leveling up this skill is as easy as can be. With access to an Enchanting Table, players can take useless loot with enchantments they aren’t familiar with. They can use the Arcane Enchanter to disenchant that item to level up their skill and learn another enchantment. It takes care of two birds with one stone and takes very little time, making it a great task that players can accomplish from time to time.
Alternatively, once players have built up some gold, they can head to the College of Winterhold to collect and buy as many low-level Soul Gems as they can get their hands on. They can then buy or craft loads of simple weapons and armor and enchant them all. This will quickly level up their enchantment and get their money back, giving them some Speech experience too.
20Make The Most Of The Invulnerability Of Essential NPCs
Skills Targeted: All Combat And Offensive Magic Skills
Some companions, along with a few NPCs relevant toSkyrim’s quests, cannot be killed no matter how hard players try. While regular NPCs can still turn hostile and throw a wedge into the player’s story, companions are so obedient that they have no problems turning into a punching bag for the Dragonborn no matter how much they wail on them.
This can be exploited to level up the Dragonborn’s combat skills, as long as players don’t mind pulverizing their friends over and over again. Keep in mind that skills don’t level up when attacking companions who are downed, so players need to wait for a while until their companion’s HP is full before wailing on them again. They can always use the Healing Hands spell instead, healing their companions back up and improving their restoration skill at the same time.
19An Exploit In The “Recipe For Disaster” Quest
Skills Targeted: Speech
Sometimes, players just want to level up a skill as much as possible without worrying about breaking immersion. One such exploit for the Speech skill can be used if the player is a member of the Dark Brotherhood. One of the quests from this guild is “Recipe for Disaster,” which has a rather amusing exploit that players can abuse for their benefit.
This quest entails players going to Markarth and questioning a man called Anton Virane. There’s a part in the conversation where players can Intimidate him to get some information. Doing this and exiting out of the conversation quickly will let players repeat this action, and bring their Speech skill up to 100 in no time.
18Find As Many Skill Books As Possible
Skills Targeted: All
Skill Books are always great to find, especially since they let players enjoy a free point in a random skill at no cost. This makes it essential to leap at any chance to acquire a skill book in the game by hook or by crook. For players wanting to make this easier, they should bear in mind that any book with a value of more than 50 is likely to be a skill book or quest item. This saves them from having to open every book they come across.
If players want, they can follow guides to find out the location of pre-placed skill books in the game, which can make the leveling process easier.Multiple playthroughs ofSkyrimcan make the early game a bit grating to deal with, making it easy to see why players would prefer to just do everything in their power to level up and gain access to better weapons, items, spells, armor, and anything else along the same lines.
17Employ The Benefit Of Certain Standing Stones
The Standing Stones scattered all across Skyrim offer different benefits to the player whenever they interact with them. However, three of these in particular are perfect for players who wish to hasten the process of leveling up the Dragonborn.
The Lover Stone, Mage Stone, Thief Stone, and Warrior Stone all play their part in helping out the Dragonborn. If players are lucky enough to stumble upon one of these Standing Stones, then they should make a note of its location while also making the most of the skill buffs it provides. Their benefits can also be stacked with the Well-Rested bonus granted by sleeping in a bed. With this combination, their skill growth is massively improved.
16Spam The Transmute Mineral Ore Spell
Skills Targeted: Alteration
Many spells inSkyrimcan be spammed to increase the values ofthat particular skill tree. Such is the case with the Transmute Mineral Ore spell, which is about as effective as most people would expect. The book that teaches this spell can be found in Halted Stream Camp, along with a lot of iron ore to get the player started.
Using this spell helps players convert the ore in their inventory into something of higher value. If players have the Magicka to spare, then this spell will let them earn a quick buck and level up their Alteration skill in the process, too. To make the most of this, players can either find items that reduce the Magicka cost of Alteration spells or can use the wait mechanic after each cast. They can then cast the spell repeatedly to grant them massive amounts of Alteration experience in a short amount of time.
15Sneak Attack Hadvar Or Ralof Over And Over
Skills Targeted: One-Handed, Sneak
When Alduin attacks Helgen, players have the choice of going with either Hadvar or Ralof in a bid to escape this monstrosity. This ends up being a way to startthe tutorial ofSkyrim,where players learn the ropes, and includes a moment where they need to sneak around a bear.
During this instance, players can sneak attack one of these two characters time and time again to improve both Sneak and One-Handed. Patient players can gain many levels before they are even let loose into the vast world ofSkyrimin the first place. As these characters cannot be killed or become hostile, players can sit there hitting them with their weapon of choice until they reach their desired skill level. For higher-difficulty playthroughs of the game, this exploit can become invaluable as it lets players enter the world ofSkyrimwith extremely high combat skills. Players can also use a similar trick at any point in the game by heading to High Hrothgar and sneaking up behind one of the Greybeards while they are praying. Sneak attacking them with a low-level weapon such as an iron dagger will barely deal any damage but will quickly level up Sneak and One-Handed. Be careful not to deal too much damage at once as going too far is an easy way to end up getting ragdolled across the room.
14Combine Telekinesis And Fast Traveling
Players who want to dabble in Alteration and want to level up quickly should make it a point to unlock Telekinesis as quickly as possible. Doing so allows them to exploit one of the most famous leveling cheats in the game.
Players need to cast this spell on an object, then open the world map and fast-travel while Telekinesis is still active. If done correctly, players will gain a ton of points in Alteration and level-up bucketloads. As the player only needs to lift the item for a split second, they do not even need to have much Magicka. To unlock the Telekinesis spell players will want to head to Redwater Den, or purchase it through an appropriate vendor.
13Spam Soul Trap
Skills Targeted: Conjuration
Conjuration is another great skill tree that players can focus on if they want to summon deadly monsters in combat. It also has a simple yet useful spell called Soul Trap that is unlocked pretty early on and can be spammed on corpses to level up Conjuration.
Doing so on every dead body in the game can lead to Conjuration leveling up in no time at all. Not only will players gain valuable levels by doing this, but they can also unlock more powerful spells in no time at all.
12Get Circle Of Protection As Soon As Possible
Skills Targeted: Restoration
Another magic tree that is worth investing in is Restoration. Players who don’t want to carry too many potions can simply rely on the spells in this tree toheal themselves and their allies instead. One of the best spells to take in Restoration is Circle of Protection, which can be cast over and over again to raise this stat without too many issues.
This spell can be purchased from Colette Marence once the player reaches level 75 Restoration and causes nearby undead to flee. As it does not deal any damage, the player can simply enter any crypt or catacomb and cast this as the Draugr horde approaches. They can then simply cast it again once it wears off and the undead start returning towards the player. Level grinding becomes a breeze once the Dragonborn has access to this spell.
