Skyrim talk:Gauldur Blackblade

leveling

This has been marked as a question that needs to be answered.

I'm level 41 and just received the level 12-18 version of the sword which only absorbs 10points of health. I presume therefore that the level of the sword is determined at the time you receive the quest rather than at the time at which you receive the sword. Annoying. — Unsigned comment by 94.3.6.40 (talk) at 12:43 on 10 May 2012

I've discovered the same bug. I went into Folgunthur at level 40 and found a peculiar fusion of properly-leveled loot and stuff that would have been pretty good at the level I must have read the book. I reloaded a save before the final zone and killed Mikrul (with depressing ease) 3 times. The only things consistent were a second to lowest level Gauldur Blackblade and it's wielder's strength. This is a bug that needs to be reported and fixed. If the other tombs/weapons in this quest are just as messed up then the quest becomes a near pointless endeavor for one consistently good reward. --75.205.188.93 05:32, 28 May 2012 (UTC)

Edit:Can anyone test when this things levels? Discussion on the Forbidden Legend page hints that the level is randomly determined, as someone didn't start the quest until level 37 and still didn't the 36+ version of either weapon from this quest. Upon reflection, I know I got the quest when I was below level 10. Half the loot in Folgunthur and at least some in Saarthal so far is leveled to someone below level 18, yet part of the loot in Saarthal and Folgunthur is also leveled to my current level. Or is Folgunthur always full of Orcish weapons?--75.205.196.205 05:57, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

I just got the blade, level 48, and it is the level 19 version. I specifically avoided going to any of the locations, or even reading the book, until after level 36. So I have no clue why this is happening.166.216.226.50 12:56, 8 September 2012 (EDT)

I guess the level of the sword is determined at the time when you read the book. I am level 40 and get the level 27-35 one, and I do read the book on a lower level. — Unsigned comment by 24.85.185.169 (talk) at 14:24 on 26 September 2012‎

This is an oddball to say the least. Using the console to test, here's what I got:

• I started the quest at level 1, teleported straight to Mikrul, and got the level 1-11 version of the blade.
• Starting the quest at level 1, advancing myself to level 31, then killing Mikrul, I got the level 12-18 version of the blade.
• Advancing myself to level 31, starting the quest, then killing Mikrul, I got the level 27-35 version of the blade.

By all the game mechanics I understand, those results shouldn't be possible. Either it should be leveled according to the start of the quest, or it should be leveled to you when you first enter the dungeon or some similar, obvious event. I don't at all understand what this half-way thing is about. – Robin Hood↝talk 21:12, 26 September 2012 (GMT)

This is something that needs to be figured out and noted in the article for this and the related bow. Both are very odd in their 'leveling'. I think I tried reloading a few times on my first play-through before entering the second area of the dungeon, and the Blade was always at a fairly low level (while I was 37 or higher before I ever set foot in the dungeon). On my second play-through, I got the 27-35 version even though I didn't start the quest at all until I was over level 40.--Playerseekingbugs (talk) 08:34, 8 December 2012 (GMT)

Two full start playthroughs, both, started Collage Quests early but let them wait at Saarthal while both leveled up. Finished Saarthal at level 39, Folgunther at level 42 and Reachwater at 43. Received the correct one on playthrough 1 but on playthrough 2 received the 12-18 level version. There is definitely something odd here. I don't believe I read the book on either playthrough but will test that later. - PS3 with latest patch. Philbert (talk) 05:16, 1 February 2013 (GMT)

UPDATE - Definitely did not read or even see the book. Started the quest at Level 52 through the College of Winterhold Saarthal track. Received the second lowest level version (12-18 / Absorb 10). Philbert (talk) 02:32, 11 September 2013 (GMT)

UPDATE (1+ year later) - I tried multiple ways to get any level other than the Absorb 15 version of the sword. Lower levels work fine and are attainable as per the table but it gets stuck at the 3rd tier (Absorb 15.) I tried incremental steps through each stage of the College questline at the same and different character levels as well as mixing it with different stages of the Main quest for each level of 27 thru 55 as well as ignoring the College method and getting it through the book in Windhelm (yes, a heck of a lot of playthroughs of this one quest.) I did receive the highest level once (level 45, Main quest thru Way of the Voice via College track) but was unable to repeat it using different character starts and did not keep track of other questline starts, stages, or finishes which is where I now think the bug is. This is going to take someone with a good understanding of the CK to dig through the scripts to answer. I though, after over 4 months of pretty much daily multiple tries and a huge spreadsheet that tells nothing, give up. (Platform=PS3) Philbert (talk) 22:25, 30 December 2014 (GMT)

UPDATE (2015) I went into Folgunthur at level 36 and found normal leveled items like ebony weapons, but the version of Blackblade was for levels 19-26. All latest official and unofficial patches are installed.

UPDATE (2016) GOT IT! (Not the problem, the correct sword at a high level.) Here's what I did: Avoided all locations the Forgotten Tales book appears until above character level 50 then read the book in Whiterun to start the quest (rather than through the "College - Saarthal" quest. Avoided anything north of a line from Windhelm west to the Dragons Bridge river but did go to Solitude (Yes, this meant stalling the main quest venture to Ustengrav until above level 50). Did not go anywhere near the College of Winterhold or do any part of the mage quest lines. Started Thieves Guild but still on hold for the first pickpocket. Dark Brotherhood not started at all. Companions started but still carrying Vilka's sword. Enchanting (+1), Smithing, Stealth all maxed most others between 50-75. Tons of unfinished side quests but I don't think these matter. I will take notes if anyone wants them posted later. I think the key is to avoid the Forgotten Tales book until your at a high level and start the quest via reading the book before interacting with the College. I'm also playing on the new PS4 version with all DLC's but only the mod's that came with the base game. Its entirely possible Bethesda fixed this just didn't feel it worth noting. Another thing I'll test later. Meanwhile I'm a very happy clam. I've done this quest so many times and ways its became boring while trying to figure out the key. I hope it was just a Bethesda fix. Much simpler that way. (Philbert) 65.25.169.116 04:02, 17 November 2016 (UTC)

(←) I have just encountered this. I'm way over the level (something like 56 now), but I still managed to get the 2nd weakest version on my Skyrim SE. First thing of course, I come to this page and didn't find the bug section. Perhaps the next step would be to just say that its level is not following the supposed table? I understand there isn't still anyone understands how it works, but I think we should at least give it a ticket number and document it on the main page. The Unofficial Patch team could then begin a fix or something. At the current stage, it has no mention of the status of the bug. -Joshua.yathin.yu (talk) 11:16, 3 January 2017 (UTC)

Given how impossible this seems to be to determine, perhaps we are interpreting the data wrongly. While it appears to be a normal leveled list, it might perhaps be a random-leveled list. In this case, at level 1 you will receive the lowest level, at level 12 you have a 50% chance of either sword up to that level, at level 19 a 33% chance of the first 3 swords, at level 27 its 25% chance of the first 4 swords, and at level 36 you have a 20% chance of getting any of the 5 swords. This means that no matter what your level you can get the lowest sword. Of course, the only way to test this is to discover at what point the sword spawns, whether that's when you enter the dungeon, or when the quest starts. This explains the apparent randomness of the sword and only leaves us to discover when it spawns. This is also unusual of leveled unique items, though the Amulet of Articulation uses this system. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 19:11, 3 January 2017 (UTC)

The behaviours of Amulet of Articulation has been defined as a bug. If you must continue with your edit, I think you may need to consider editing the amulet's page as well. So that it is consistent. Or, you may undo your edit so that it is written here as a bug, and should file a new incident to the team of Unofficial Patch for them to start working a fix. -Joshua.yathin.yu (talk) 01:07, 5 January 2017 (UTC)

Calling it a bug precludes the possibility it is actually meant to work this way, and, more importantly, until we nail down what exactly is happening, there is zero possibility of knowing if it is meant to be happening and therefore cannot be labeled a bug. The list for the Amulet is clearly bugged, as there is nothing else that allows the most powerful version to be available at level 1. I was wrong to say the Amulet uses the same system, as it isn't until level 36 that blade offers an equal chance of all possible versions. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 02:34, 5 January 2017 (UTC)

Based on what I've read above and my own experiences, I think what's most likely happening is that the level of this sword and the related bow are determined whenever the cell containing the entrance to their respective dungeons is loaded (you don't even have to discover the location, just be near enough for it to be loaded) In other words, if you want to obtain the highest level version, you have to avoid going anywhere remotely near the dungeons in the quest before level 36.Thevehicle (talk) 02:34, 26 February 2017 (UTC)

I think this is true. On my level 51 character, I got a high-tier blade. On my new level 19 character, I got a tier 3 (15 points) blade, though oddly the damage was a few points higher than normal. (Odd because I have only 1 pt. in one-armed perks.) In both cases I avoided getting or reading 'Lost Legends,' and avoiding the Mage's Guild quests. Emma of Falkreath (talk) 20:19, 3 December 2017 (UTC) Emma

(←) I just did some quick and simple tests on this issue with a new character that just made it to Riverwood, lvl 2. Unofficial Patch is the only mod installed. My test runs were the following:

• 1. Leveled my character to 38 in Riverwood > Teleported to Whiterun and read the book Lost Legends to start the quest > Teleported to Morthal and ran to Folgunthur > Received the highest tier blade.
• 2. Teleported to Morthal and ran to Folgunthur at level 2 without entering the dungeon > Leveled my character to 40 > Teleported to Whiterun and read the Book > Quick traveled back to Folgunthur and received a low tier blade.
• 3. Teleported to Whiterun and read the book at level 2 > Leveled to 40 > Teleported to Morthal and ran to Folgunthur > Low tier blade.
• 4. This one was because of a comment from another user in this discussion thread: Teleported to Whiterun and entered Dragonsreach at level 2 but did not read Lost Legends > Exited Dragonsreach > Leveled up to 42 and went back inside to read the book > Teleported to Morthal and ran to Folgunthur > Received the highest tier blade. So his suggestion that avoiding anywhere the book spawned before level 36+ was incorrect with this test run.

Results from these simple tests suggest there are 2 triggers that affect which leveled weapon you will receive: Reading the book to start the quest and moving into the cell that loads the dungeon entrance like Thevehicle reported. — Unsigned comment by 110.22.218.16 (talk) at 05:37 on 2 November 2020 (UTC)

Disenchantable?

Does anyone know if this weapon can be disenchanted? I'm having trouble finding the absorb health enchant. I've been standing here in Whiterun in front of the blacksmith shop dude for about 15 minutes checking his inventory, then hitting him and reloading to see if he will have it, but no luck. His inventory keeps changing, and I've managed to collect all of the weapon enchants now except for absorb health. I was going to go get this sword and disenchant it if it's possible, but there's nothing on the page saying if you can break it down or not. I guess I'll just have to use the console and gift myself an absorb health weapon even though I hate using the console for those types of things. --76.122.232.233 09:16, 13 July 2012 (UTC)

Hi, to answer your question; yes, the Gauldur Blackblade can be disenchanted for the absorb enchantment according to the Absorb Health article. Also, an item with this enchantment actually can be bought at blacksmith merchants (random leveled enchanted weapons are always generated in their inventory), although the chances of a weapon appearing with the enchantment you want is slim, so in your case you were just unlucky. But if you wish to obtain this enchantment with console commands, then by all means. ~ Psylocke 11:44, 13 July 2012 (UTC)

Which what when?

On the general info table on this blade it states the Dwarven perk is required but the text states Arcane perk and the Dwarven just improves things. So the table needs to be corrected, yes?

Also, I got the quest while at level 24 and first went in the dungeon at level 34. I got the correctly leveled version. Maybe patch 1.6+ corrected the incorrect version issue? Sniffles 02:08, 30 July 2012 (UTC)

The perk in the summary table is the for the one that benefits tempering. If you place your arrow over the word Perk in the table, a longer explaination should appear. The Silencer speaks^Talk 02:17, 30 July 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! Never knew that one! Sniffles 04:54, 30 July 2012 (UTC)