Skyrim talk:Waterbreathing (effect)

Availability

Has anyone ever found an item "of waterbreathing"? My current character is level 60, 200 hours in, over 7000 barters, and no luck.Curundir 23:25, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

I found a helm as random boss chest loot around lvl 15. Then started seeing them semi-common in shops. Made a ring out of it instead. Haven't really used it much. I miss water-walking though. --LosTheFail 23:58, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

Level 42 and have never seen an item "of waterbreathing". I've been fast traveling to all the cities looking in all the shops and still no luck. I have learned almost every other enchantment but this one. 72.182.124.196 15:42, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

I've got an amulet of that by looting some boss' chest and I'm level 37. I think I got that while I'm at around 32. It's a matter of luck. --Joshua.yathin.yu 15:53, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

At lvl 58, I bought an Orcish helmet of Waterbreathing from the Khajiit traders outside Dawnstar. — Unsigned comment by 69.209.215.132 (talk) at 23:51 on 8 December 2012‎

The concept that the chance of waterbreathing items appearing in a vendor's stock drops to 0% beyond ~level 70 isn't correct. My character who has been at lvl 81 for a long time has still seen a couple appear at various vendors so I'm either incredibly lucky or the chance is higher than described. The Source (talk) 23:20, 19 March 2013 (GMT)

The part about it being 0 is gone from this page, and it is "effectively 0" anyway, not actually 0. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 02:53, 17 April 2013 (GMT)

I actually found a Necklace of Waterbreathing on one of the students of the Bards College... It had a very low chance to be pickpocketed, so I reloaded my game until I managed to snatch it. :) --Coxis (talk) 03:28, 8 December 2013 (GMT)

(←) Dawnguard adds a chance at a "Daedric Helmet of Waterbreathing" as loot from revered and legendary dragons. --Alfwyn (talk) 15:01, 9 January 2014 (GMT)

I did a preview list in the CK for the list VendorBlacksmithEnchArmor100 at preview level 80 for 1000 items, and it generated 5 waterbreathing helmets. That makes it 0.5%, which is kind of low, but not zero. --Alfwyn (talk) 15:22, 9 January 2014 (GMT)

Where to Find an Unenchantable Waterbreathing Item

Having tried to find an item for quite a while with no result, I eventually found one at Hamvir's Rest, west of Whiterun. There is a guaranteed enchanted helm there, easily and quickly reachable (outdoors, with just 3 skeletons and an avoidable levelled draugr in the way). Save before fast-travelling to Dustman's Cairn (as reached during the Proving Honor Companion quest). The run to the helm from there takes less than a minute. You can reload to before your fast-travel and try again until you get the Helm of Waterbreathing. It took me about 10 tries, although obviously that's completely random, with each attempt taking maybe 3 minutes. If you can't stand the boredom of the loading screen, the loot also resets, so just stopping by there to check occasionally as you play is also an option.— Unsigned comment by 78.168.199.215 (talk) at 16:39 on 30 March 2012

Another good place to farm a helmet of waterbreathing is the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon at the end of Pieces of the Past quest. There are two guaranteed random enchanted helmets inside. Kill the two Dremora outside, loot the key, save before entering the shrine and reload until you find a helmet of waterbreathing. Got one in 5 minutes after 4 o 5 attemps but it's random and it may take you more time. Defqon1 (talk) 05:10, 21 October 2018 (UTC)

If you're going to farm the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon for a helmet of waterbreathing, there's another spot with a guaranteed enchanted helmet very close by. There is an unmarked location a very short distance to the south of the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon, to the east of Skyborn Altar, and to the northeast of the three orichalcum veins. This site is up on the top of the mountain, so it has to be approached from a more southerly direction, but the site has a chest - usually with minor loot - and an immovable bowl as part of some toppled carving. That bowl respawns its contents which includes gemstones, potions, an enchanted weapon, and an enchanted helmet. Valeria (talk) 15:26, 19 June 2020 (UTC)

Possible guaranteed location

I've checked out every 'guaranteed' location in the game and I haven't been able to find one. I did buy one off a trader on my first character; I don't remember what level I was at that point but I was pretty low (say under ~20). On my second character I never found one. Now I'm on my third and yesterday I finished Touching the Sky. Level 79. I found a Circlet of Waterbreathing in the inner sanctum as you get to the end of the vale, attached to a frozen Shaman. My first and second times around I never really bothered to check each of the 'sculptures' after the first one I took something off of (a sword?) came alive. But this time for some reason I checked them all. And there it was. It seems unlikely that I would find it as random loot if the probability quoted in the article is so low after level ~60 or so. Maybe someone who hasn't done that quest yet can confirm if the item is indeed there. Kretik (talk) 18:49, 13 November 2012 (GMT)

I guess this is the location described under Notes. --Alfwyn (talk) 19:05, 13 November 2012 (GMT)

Aaah, I should have checked the article before posting this. Visited a while ago and figured it was still the same :) Kretik (talk) 20:56, 13 November 2012 (GMT)

Best Save/Reload Point for Guaranteeing Obtainment

Provided you aren't a "no reload purist" type of player, I've found that the best way to get the waterbreathing enchantment is from the reward from the Jarl Balgruuf for bringing the Dragonstone back to the court wizard:

If you break out of the last piece of dialog where Balgruuf requests you help battle that first dragon and rewards you with a piece from his personal armory then you will have a split second to save your game before you actually are given the loot. As a safety catch, you should probably make a save before he starts this dialog, so you can reload from THAT in case you miss the timing on the save at the end of the dialog.

When you reload from that point, then the loot will be different every time. If the loot is the same after 3 or 4 reload attempts, then go back to an older save and make a new attempt at saving.

It will literally be the first thing that happens each time you reload, meaning only a few seconds (plus however long your loading screen takes) is needed for each attempt.

It took me about 50 reloads the one time I did it, but I've consistently been able to get a Dwarven Helm of Water Breathing via this method. My most recent attempt was successful at level 15.

This has the extra bonus of being one of the first major quests that any player is likely to do, so the lower level their character would be at would allow a comparatively much higher chance of getting the waterbreathing item than later on in the game.

(for some reason, it seems like the wiki states that you get the Axe of Whiterun at this point, but I've only ever gotten the axe after I killed the Dragon; along with being granted the title of Thane) — Unsigned comment by 24.154.173.47 (talk) at 00:39 on 22 December 2013‎

I don't know where you're getting that impression about the Axe of Whiterun. Both articles clearly state what the rewards are, and the Axe is listed as one of the rewards for killing the dragon and completing Dragon Rising. --Xyzzy ^Talk 07:43, 11 January 2014 (GMT)

Circlet and Necklace of Waterbreathing

While there is a "Circlet of Waterbreathing" in the game data, I could not find it included in any leveled list. The only way to attain it (legitimately) is from the guaranteed placement in the Dawnguard DLC. Also, the "Necklace of Waterbreathing" is only referenced in the list "LItemEnchNecklaceMisc" with 1/5 chance. The Unofficial patch fixes that list so that it always gives a chance at the lower level items. In vanilla Skyrim, waterbreathing necklaces stop showing at level 5. That list is then referenced in LItemEnchNecklaceAll lists with 1/21 chance, which is further referenced in LItemEnchJewelryAll lists with 1/3 chance. All told, the best possible odds of receiving a Necklace of Waterbreathing from a single roll is .3% (1/5/21/3). General goods merchants appear to offer the highest chance at one since they can stock up to 4 pieces of enchanted jewelry (75% chance of each = .95% overall.) — Unsigned comment by 99.127.45.169 (talk) at 02:42 on 9 January 2014‎

Not sure what you mean by "Stop showing at level 5," but I just picked up a Necklace of Waterbreathing at level 28 inside Helgen. Do you mean in merchants only? If not, could it have something to do with Helgen first being entered at level 1? 68.190.14.102 17:29, 13 February 2014 (GMT)