Skyrim:Ebony

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Ebony Ingot
Ebony Ore vein

Ebony is a hard, durable, black glass-like substance that can be forged into high-quality armor and weapons. The primary ebony mine in Skyrim is Gloombound Mine, in the Orc Stronghold of Narzulbur, while the primary ebony mine in SolstheimDB is Raven Rock Mine. See the lore article for general information.

Overview[edit]

Name ID Weight Value
SR-icon-ore-Ebony Ore.png Ebony Ore 0005acdc 1 60
SR-icon-ingot-Ebony Ingot.png Ebony Ingot 0005ad9d 1 150
  • Three ebony ores are obtained by mining ebony ore veins.
  • One ebony ingot is obtained by smelting two ebony ores.
  • Ebony Smithing requires 80 Smithing skill.
  • Ebony armor is level 32 heavy armor, made from ebony ingots and leather strips.
  • Ebony weapons are level 36 weapons, made from ebony ingots and leather strips.

Mineral Sources[edit]

In addition to the following guaranteed sources, the best random locations are:

  • Ebony ingots may be sold by blacksmiths starting at level 27 and general goods merchants starting at level 14.
  • Ebony ore may be randomly found in Falmer loot starting at level 13.
  • Ebony ore may sometimes be found in the ash pile remains of ash spawnDB or gargoyleDG corpses.
  • Ebony ingots can rarely be found in chests.

These ore vein locations are also listed in the Ebony Veins category, and the exterior ore veins are shown on (map).

Region Location Veins Ores Ingots Details
Eastmarch Gloombound Mine 16 16 1 Mine is located inside the Orc stronghold of Narzulbur.
SolstheimDB Raven Rock Mine 9 Mine is located inside the city of Raven Rock. Requires beginning The Final Descent to gain access.
Winterhold Blackreach 6 Near the waterfalls to the south.
The Rift Redbelly Mine 3 3 Mine is located outside Shor's Stone. The ores are outside the mine, next to the smelter. (With USLEEP, these will all be changed to iron, swapped with Northwind Mine.)
Whiterun Hold Throat of the World 2 Very top of the mountain (map).
The Reach ArkngthamzDG 1
SolstheimDB Northshore Landing 1
SolstheimDB Horker Island 1
Hjaalmarch Labyrinthian 1 3 Ore is in Labyrinthian Chasm; ingots are in Labyrinthian, Tribune.
The Pale Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon 3 Found within the shrine. Must complete the quest Pieces of the Past.
Falkreath Hold Pinewatch 1 Ore is in Pinewatch Bandit's Sanctuary.
The Pale Wreck Of The Brinehammer 1 Ore is in The Brinehammer Below Deck.
The Pale Raldbthar 1 Ore is in Raldbthar Deep Market.
The Rift Dead Drop FallsDG 2 Ore is at the end of the puzzle, on the hay with pickaxes.

Ebony Smithing[edit]

Ebony Smithing is the third perk in the heavy armor branch of the Smithing skill's perk tree. Unlocking it requires a minimum Smithing skill of 80, and the Orcish Smithing perk must have already been unlocked. It allows both ebony armor and ebony weapons to be crafted.

The Ebony Smithing perk also causes tempering of ebony weapons and armor to be twice as effective. This perk applies to both unenchanted ebony gear and enchanted gear (generic armor, generic weapons, or custom), as long as the Arcane Blacksmith perk has been unlocked. Tempering of the Savior's Hide is also improved by Ebony Smithing, even though it does not use an ebony ingot.

With the addition of the Dragonborn add-on, Ebony Smithing is required in order to craft stalhrim weapons and armor.

Ebony Armor[edit]

Ebony armor is the high-quality heavy armor. It appears in leveled lists starting at level 32 (enchanted varieties at level 33). All items can be tempered using one ebony ingot, and having the Ebony Smithing perk doubles the quality improvement.

The Fearsome Fists Creation adds the Brawler's ebony gauntlets, a new gauntlet variant. The base pair can be crafted and differ only in appearance, while a pair with a 16 point Fortify Unarmed enchantment can be bought from vendors and found in random loot.

A male Nord wearing ebony Armor
Name (ID) Weight Value Armor Rating Raw Materials Delta Ratio
SR-icon-ingot-Ebony Ingot.png Ebony SR-icon-misc-LeatherStrips.png Strips Weight Value Weight Value
SR-icon-armor-EbonyArmor.png Ebony Armor
(00013961)
38 1500 43 5 3 32.7 741 7.17 1.98
SR-icon-armor-EbonyBoots.png Ebony Boots
(00013960)
7 275 16 3 2 3.8 -181 2.19 0.60
SR-icon-armor-EbonyGauntlets.png Ebony Gauntlets
(00013962)
7 275 16 2 2 4.8 -31 3.18 0.90
SR-icon-armor-Brawler's Ebony Gauntlets.png Brawler's Ebony GauntletsCC
(FExxx858)
7 275 16 2 2 4.8 -31 3.18 0.90
SR-icon-armor-EbonyHelmet.png Ebony Helmet
(00013963)
10 750 21 3 2 6.8 294 3.12 1.64
SR-icon-armor-EbonyShield.png Ebony Shield
(00013964)
14 750 32 4 1 9.9 147 3.41 1.24
Totals (with shield): 76 3550 128 19 10
Totals (without shield): 62 2800 96 17 9

Bugs[edit]

  • Ebony armor is unaffected by the Heavy Armor perk Matching Set.
  • In third person view, a male wearing ebony armor has an uncovered gap with visible skin around the neck area.
  • In third person view, the head of a male wearing an ebony helmet will not cast a shadow.
  • An ebony shield will be invisible if the person wearing it is a vampire.
Appears only with Alternative Armors - Ebony Plate

Ebony Plate ArmorCC[edit]

Ebony Plate is a variant added by the Alternative Armors - Ebony Plate creation. It can be crafted after completing Heart of CrimsonCC, while also appearing in random loot.

Its armor rating is slightly better than the regular versions and it has a higher value, though no shield variant exists.

A female Imperial wearing ebony plate armor
Name (ID) Weight Value Armor Rating Raw Materials Delta Ratio
SR-icon-ingot-Ebony Ingot.png Ebony SR-icon-misc-LeatherStrips.png Strips Weight Value Weight Value
SR-icon-armor-Ebony Plate Armor.png Ebony Plate Armor
(FExxx801)
38 1600 44 5 3 32.7 841 7.17 2.11
SR-icon-armor-Ebony Plate Boots.png Ebony Plate Boots
(FExxx800)
7 350 17 3 2 3.8 -106 2.19 0.77
SR-icon-armor-Ebony Plate Gauntlets.png Ebony Plate Gauntlets
(FExxx802)
7 350 17 2 2 4.8 44 3.18 1.14
SR-icon-armor-Ebony Plate Helmet.png Ebony Plate Helmet
(FExxx803)
10 850 22 3 2 6.8 394 3.12 1.86
Totals (with regular shield): 76 3900 132 17 10
Totals: 62 3150 100 13 9

Ebony Weapons[edit]

Ebony weapons are generally the second-best standard weapons in the original version of the game, behind only Daedric weapons. However, the ebony mace and ebony war axe are actually slightly better than their Daedric equivalents. These two weapons have identical damage statistics to the Daedric versions, but weigh less and do not require the use of a valuable Daedra Heart to create, making them somewhat better overall, something changed by the Unofficial Skyrim Patch. The Dawnguard add-on introduces dragonbone weapons, making ebony the third-best standard of weapon.

Ebony weapons appear in leveled lists starting at level 36 (enchanted varieties at level 37). All items except ammunition can be tempered using one ebony ingot, and having the Ebony Smithing perk doubles the quality improvement. Arrows can only be smithed if the Dawnguard add-on has been installed. Ebony Crossbows are only available with the Elite Crossbows creation installed.

The Ghosts of the Tribunal Creation adds two new ebony weapons which can be crafted once you've killed the heretic during the related quest.

Name (ID) Weight Value Damage Crit.
Damage
Speed Reach Raw Materials Delta Ratio
SR-icon-ingot-Ebony Ingot.png Ebony SR-icon-misc-LeatherStrips.png Strips Other Weight Value Weight Value
SR-icon-weapon-EbonyDagger.png Ebony Dagger
(000139ae)
5 290 10 5 1.3 0.7 1 1 3.9 137 4.55 1.90
SR-icon-weapon-EbonySword.png Ebony Sword
(000139b1)
15 720 13 6 1 1 2 1 12.9 417 7.14 2.38
SR-icon-weapon-Ebony Scimitar.png Ebony ScimitarCC
(xx000E38)
14 800 15 6 1 1 2 1 11.9 497 6.67 2.64
SR-icon-weapon-EbonyWarAxe.png Ebony War Axe
(000139ab)
17 865 15 7 0.9 1 2 2 14.8 559 7.73 2.83
SR-icon-weapon-EbonyMace.png Ebony Mace
(000139b0)
19 1000 16†† 8†† 0.8 1 3 1 15.9 547 6.13 2.21
SR-icon-weapon-Ebony Mace 02.png Ebony MaceCC
(xx000E37)
19 1000 17 8 0.8 1 3 1 15.9 547 6.13 2.21
SR-icon-weapon-EbonyGreatsword.png Ebony Greatsword
(000139af)
22 1440 22 11 0.7 1.3 5 3 16.7 681 4.15 1.90
SR-icon-weapon-EbonyBattleaxe.png Ebony Battleaxe
(000139ac)
26 1585 23 11 0.7 1.3 5 2 20.8 829 5.00 2.10
SR-icon-weapon-EbonyWarhammer.png Ebony Warhammer
(000139b2)
30 1725 25 12 0.6 1.3 5 3 24.7 966 5.66 2.27
SR-icon-weapon-EbonyBow.png Ebony Bow
(000139ad)
16 1440 17 8 0.56 1 3 0 13 990 5.33 3.20
SR-icon-weapon-EbonyArrows.png Ebony Arrow
(000139bf)
0 7 20 N/A 1 0 1 Firewood
Makes 24 arrowsDG
-6 13 0.00 1.08
SR-icon-weapon-Ebony Crossbow.png Ebony CrossbowCC ‡‡
(FExxx8A6)
23 613 25 11 1 1 5 0 18 -137 (?) (?)
SR-icon-weapon-Ebony Crossbow.png Enhanced Ebony CrossbowCC ‡‡ ¥
(FExxx8AE)
24 871 25 11 1 1 2 0 1 Ebony Crossbow -1 -142 (?) (?)
In earlier versions of the game, the speed of an ebony dagger is 1 instead of 1.3. This bug also applies to all generic enchanted ebony daggers.
The Ebony War Axe has an incorrect damage value of 15, the same as Daedric War Axe. It should be 14.
††The Ebony Mace has an incorrect damage of 16 when it should be 15. Also, critical damage is 8 when it should be 7.
‡‡This item can only be crafted after completing the quest Night Hunter
¥The Enhanced Crossbow has an additional property: Attacks with this crossbow ignore 50% of armor.

Notes[edit]

  • Ebony ore can be sold to Dushnamub for the quest Mine Ore.
  • Ebony ingots are needed to create and temper Daedric armor and weapons, and to create a random enchanted armor or weapon at the Atronach Forge.
  • The Daedric artifact Ebony Mail Is considered part of the Ebony set after patch 1.9 with matching set perk working on it.
  • Several artifacts and unique weapons are tempered using ebony ingots.
  • Ore veins (all types) sometimes do not respawn normally. See Mining (Bugs) and elsewhere on that article and its talk page.