Skyrim:Cold

Cold is a rating enabled by the Creation Club addition Survival Mode. Increasing levels of cold result in health penalties, reduced lockpick and pickpocket chances, slower movement, chance of frostbite, and eventually death.

Cold

Cold decreases your total available health, represented as a dark region inside the health bar. As you become colder, your movement speed and ability to pick locks and pick pockets will begin to suffer. If you reach the highest level of Cold, your health will be reduced to zero and you will die from exposure to the elements. You can warm up by standing near a fire, eating hot soup, or moving to a warmer location. A sun or snowflake icon will appear near the compass to note whether you are currently getting warmer or colder.

If you swim in a freezing area, you will immediately become colder and begin taking health damage. Once you exit the water, you begin to warm up and stop the loss of health. Using a Flame Cloak spell or the Dunmer Ancestor's Wrath ability can make you temporarily immune to the effects of freezing water.

Argonians become cold 25% faster due to being cold-blooded.

Khajiit become cold 15% slower.

Orcs become cold 10% slower.^{[verification needed]}

Nords become cold 25% slower.

Warmth

The higher your Warmth rating, the more slowly you will feel the effects of cold environments. Most clothing and armor provide warmth, displayed on the item's description. Some armor is exceptionally warm, while others are ill-suited to protect their wearer from harsh climates. You can also temporarily increase your warmth rating by standing near a fire, eating hot soup, or holding a torch.

Effects of Cold

Cold Value	Level	Effect
0-49	Warm	Picking locks and picking pockets is 10% easier. You are 10% more resistant to Frost.
50-119	Comfortable	No effect.
120-299	Chilly	Total health is reduced. You move 10% slower. Lockpicking and pickpocketing are 30% harder.
300-499	Very Cold	Total health is reduced. You move 20% slower. Lockpicking and pickpocketing are 50% harder.
500-799	Freezing	Total health is reduced. You move 30% slower. Lockpicking and pickpocketing are 70% harder.
800-1000	Numb	Total health is reduced. You move 40% slower. Lockpicking and pickpocketing are 90% harder.

Notes

• Moving near a fire will negate the warmth effect, even if you're effectively staying still.
• At high levels of cold, the massive reduction to Lockpicking can make it impossible to pick locks as the correct location for the pick becomes so small that it no longer exists.

Bugs

• If playing on Nintendo Switch, the game will sometimes crash when you reach freezing status.
  • This bug is fixed by version 1.1.177.3285177 of the game on Nintendo Switch.

See Also

• Fortify Warmth
• Restore Cold