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It's effortless to naturally level up most skills in Skyrim by simply playing through the game. Still, most players want to max out some skills (such as those related to crafting) before anything else, as they allow them to play exactly the way they want for the longest period of time.
Skyrim presents power leveling opportunities for most skills, though some can be leveled much quicker than others. Some can even reach max level before you have escaped the Helgen keep; bet you weren't expecting that! So with such golden opportunities out there, let's take a look at the easiest ways to power-level skills in Skyrim.
Updated June 18, 2023, by Sean Murray: Power-leveling in Skyrim hasn't changed much over the years, but nobody wants to forget how to quickly get their Enchanting skills up to max level quickly. That's why we've updated this guide with fresh formatting for greater readability.
Pickpocket
The best method for power leveling the Pickpocket skill is to find a Pickpocket trainer, of which there are several. Some can even be found in Windhelm and Riften. Once the trainer is located, get them to teach you levels in the Pickpocket skill, then steal your money back from them.
Unfortunately, recovering your money only works until skills cost 1000 Septims or more per level, as you can't pickpocket more than that from an NPC without immobilizing them with either Unrelenting Force, a reverse pickpocketed Paralysis Poison, or a Paralysis spell.
However, you can easily level up the Pickpocket skill using other trainers as well, meaning it is a good skill to invest in generally.
Lockpicking
Lockpicking is one of the more difficult skills to level swiftly, but there is one surefire way to do it. Complete the Thieves Guild questline until you obtain the Skeleton Key stolen by Mercer Frey, then simply do not turn in this key to become the leader of the Thieves Guild.
Keeping the Skeleton Key allows you to open every lock in the game without worrying about lockpicks breaking.
This can also be used in tandem with the practice chests in the Thieves Guild, whose locks reset every few days.
Sneak
Sneak is by far one of the easiest skills to power level in Skyrim, as you can reach level 100 before leaving Helgen within around 30 minutes into a new playthrough. There are several points in the escape from Helgen where this can be done, but the best place is at the end, just before the bear, where Ralof or Hadvar will crouch down.
At this point, simply dual-wield daggers and perform a double backstab with both weapons at once. Neither Ralof nor Hadvar will become hostile to you unless you use the Fury spell that High Elves start with, so feel free to use them as punching bags with no repercussions.
Archery
The best way to power-level Archery is a little dangerous, but it can be made much easier with a very high Sneak skill. In High Hrothgar, summon a Bound Bow to ensure you have infinite arrows, then find a vantage point where you can shoot at one of the Greybeards without being seen.
For whatever reason, while the Greybeards are kneeling in prayer, they will need to take a lot of damage before they become hostile.
That said, saving every time you gain a level is recommended to ensure you don't get shouted from the mountain's peak.
Alchemy
Alchemy, like Sneak, is an elementary skill to power level, though it requires the use of the Restoration Potion glitch to perform properly. The best way is to simply increase your equipped Fortify Alchemy gear to the point that you are making potions with a 20000% increase, and you should be close to reaching the max level with just one more potion.
Enchanting
The same method can be used to increase the Enchanting skill quickly by crafting the Fortify Enchanting Potion. Drink the potion before enchanting something with a high re-sell value enchantment, such as Fortify Destruction or Muffle.
However, this Fortifying method is not as effective for Enchanting as it is for Alchemy or even Smithing, for that matter.
Smithing
That's right; the fortification method is a power-leveling trifecta. For Smithing, simply drink a Fortify Smithing Potion before tempering gear at either a grindstone or workbench, as the potion will increase how much the item is enhanced. Then, just start building and tempering as much as you can.
Speech
Speech isn't that useful of a skill to invest in unless you really want to roleplay as a merchant, and it's not all that easy to level up. You can level this skill in normal gameplay by simply selling all junk you find lying around in dungeons or choosing the Persuade or Intimidate dialogue options.
Unfortunately, aside from these standard methods, there are no good power-level tactics for enhancing the skill. That leaves the best way to level Speech to seek out a Speech skill trainer, such as Ogmund in Markarth's Silver-Blood Inn.
Learn what you can to level your Speech skill, then pickpocket the money back and repeat.
Light Armor
Like the Speech skill, the best way to level Light Armor is to find a corresponding trainer and steal back the money after gaining levels. The easiest of these trainers to find, Grelka, who peddles her wares and services at the Riften market.
As she is out in the open, a high Sneak skill may be needed to pickpocket the money back successfully.
If you're feeling particularly adventurous, you can also find some Mudcrabs in the waters around Whiterun. Let them attack you, then heal up using a Restoration spell and level two skills at once. This method takes a very long time once you hit higher levels and becomes a huge time-waster fairly early on.
Heavy Armor
There are several ways to easily power level the Heavy Armor skill. The easiest method is to complete the Companions questline, so you can take all the skill trainers as followers, allowing any money you spent on skills to be taken back.
If that does not sound appealing, you can also train with and then pickpocket a Heavy Armor trainer as we've instructed previously, increasing your Pickpocket skill while you're at it.
One-Handed & Two-Handed
Like the Sneak skill, the One-Handed and Two-Handed skills can be power-leveled just before encountering the bear in Helgen by using Ralof or Hadvar as a punching bag.
Without Standing Stones, however, this can be very slow once you reach level 50, and may take upwards of an hour to level up one skill to 100.
Another similar way to increase these melee skills is to buy or steal a horse and then assault the horse with one-handed and two-handed blows. The animal won't turn hostile no matter how much damage they take, and its health will regenerate after an hour.
Block
This skill can also be power-leveled by blocking or essentially shield-bashing non-hostile NPCs, much like using Sneak, One-Handed, and Two-Handed assaults on Hadvar or Ralof. However, Block suffers from a loss of Stamina, forcing the process to take much longer than even the weapon skills to level up.
However, there is an easier way that involves a horse and some soup. Find, steal, or buy a horse, then consume a Vegetable Soup and keep shield bashing while the food effect is active. The huge increase in Stamina regeneration means that you will always have enough to shield bash even if it seems like you have none.
Destruction
Destruction is easily one of the hardest Mage class skills to power level consistently, as you only gain experience by dealing damage to an enemy with a Destruction spell.
For the most part, the best way to power-level this skill is to wield a Destruction spell in one hand and a Healing Hands Restoration spell in the other, buy a horse, and use both spells simultaneously on the poor creature.
This method is still quite slow, however. That leaves the most efficient approach to again train with and pickpocket a Destruction skill trainer and then rinse and repeat.
Alteration
There are two great methods for power leveling Alteration, which is useful considering how slowly the skill levels under normal circumstances.
The first method is more of a hack. By casting the Water Breathing spell while standing in water, the game will recognize this as a correct use of the Alteration skill and give you experience.
The Telekinesis spell also functions the same way and is about the only real use for that spell. However, it is far less Magicka efficient and can result in accidentally losing items if you are not careful.
Conjuration
Conjuration is one of the easiest skills to power-level since it doesn't require you to actually summon anything to gain experience.
By far, the best way to level Conjuration is to cast Soul Trap on a corpse or horse repeatedly, as this somehow registers as proper use of the spell and, consequently, experience points are rewarded. This can allow you to reach level 100 very fast.
Illusion
Like Conjuration, the Illusion skill is very straightforward to power level and can be done very early in the game. To power level, repeatedly cast the conjuration spells "Calm" or "Courage" on an NPC, horse, or livestock.
Be wary of which spell you are using, as using Courage in the overworld can cause the NPC or horse to attack any hostile enemies by accident.
Restoration
Restoration, alongside Destruction, is among the hardest skills to power level in Skyrim, which is a shame considering how many good perks this tree has. You can use some aforementioned methods such as Healing Hands alongside a Destruction spell or training with and pickpocketing a skill trainer.
You can also heal yourself while using the Equilibrium spell from the Alteration skill tree. This spell, which converts Health into Magicka, allowing you to heal yourself nearly infinitely. However, healing spells will eventually heal more than Equilibrium will drain, so you will need to alternate between the two spells.