If you’re going to be using a lot of enchanted weapons and armor in Skyrim, you’re going to find that you’ll need Souls Gems. In this guide, we’ll run you through how to fill Soul Gems in Skyrim, as well as what they do, so you know why you’d want them in the first place.
As we eluded to above, Soul Gems are used for enchanting weapons and armor or recharging previously enchanted weapons. Soul Gems come in six different variants. The variant of Soul Gem you have will determine what souls can be trapped inside it. We’ve noted these next to the variants below:
- Petty – Holds creature souls below level 4.
- Lesser – Holds souls below level 16.
- Common – Holds creature souls below level 28.
- Greater – Holds souls below level 38.
- Grand – Holds any soul, excluding humanoids.
- Black – Holds any soul, including humanoids.
Getting Soul Gems in Skyrim
There are a few ways you can get Soul Gems. The first is to kill mages and other enemy types that commonly use magic, and looting their corpses.
You can also get them by simply purchasing them from magic shops, court wizards, and members of the College of Winterhold. They can also just be randomized loot in containers you find scattered throughout the world.
Soul Gems obtained this way can be empty or full, meaning you may be able to use them immediately. You can check if they’re full or empty by checking it in your inventory.
Finally, it’s possible to mine Soul Gems in Blackreach’s Dwemer underground realm. To do this, you’ll need to find a Geode Deposit and interact with it. Any Soul Gems you acquire this way will be empty, so you’ll need to fill them before they can be used.
You can’t use a Soul Gem when its empty, though. You’ll need to trap souls within the gem itself in order to use it for enchanting or recharging your weapons and armor.
Filling Soul Gems in Skyrim
To fill Soul Gems in Skyrim, you’ll need to use the Soul Trap spell. This is an Apprentice level spell in the Conjuration school of magicka.
Once you’ve unlocked this spell, all you need to do is use it on an enemy, and then defeat it with an empty Soul Gem in your inventory. You can also enchant a weapon with the Soul Trap spell to save you having to use the spell separately.
As long as the enemy defeated grants a soul that fits within the Soul Gem, it’ll fill it. Down below, you’ll find a list of all creatures that give souls, and which type of Soul Gem they’ll fill.
Black Soul Gems can be filled with any of the above souls, alongside the following:
- Any character from the 10 playable races
- Dremora
- Forsworn Briarheart
- Soul Fissures
- Vampire
That’s everything you need to know on filling Soul Gems in Skyrim. For more tips, tricks, and guides on the game, be sure to check out more of our coverage below.
