The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is filled to the brim with many different types of weapons that you can wield during your adventure across the open-world video game tundra. There are both one-handed and two-handed types of melee weapons, and inside of these weapon types, there are unique weapons that you can only acquire once.

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Maces are a type of one-handed weapon that is common throughout Tamriel, and they have many different variants that you can obtain through crafting, purchasing from a merchant, and adventuring inside of the dungeons in Skyrim. There are many powerful variants of maces and even a few unique weapons of this type that either have a special effect, a unique appearance, or both.

Updated September 11th, 2021 by Michael Caruso: Although the original ten maces we included are some of the best weapons Skyrim has to offer, there are still a few more things you should learn about maces if you plan to create a character build with this weapon type. Below you'll find out about the best enchantments you can equip on a mace and which mace you should use if you've just started a brand new playthrough of Skyrim.

The Best Enchantment For A Mace

skyrim enchanting table inside building

Enchantments are available for every type of weapon in Skyrim, and there is a wide variety of them for you to choose from.

However, some enchantments are better than others, which is the case for the Absorb Health enchantment. Absorb Health is an effect that heals you for every point of damage you deal to an enemy, and luckily, maces can be enchanted with it. There are a few other enchantments worth considering as well, including elemental damage enchantments and soul trap to collect spirits for soul gems.

The Best Mace For A Beginner

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The easiest unique mace to obtain immediately after leaving Helgen is the Lunar Steel Mace, which is detailed in the following entry.

The Lunar Steel Mace isn't only easy to obtain because its location is right next to Whiterun city, but it also has a unique effect. And when you eventually outgrow the Lunar Steel Mace, you can disenchant it and apply its effect to your stronger weapons. Read more about this one-of-a-kind weapon below.

10 Lunar Steel Mace

lunar mace in skyrim
  • Damage: 10
  • Effect: Deals Fire Damage To Enemies During The Night
  • Location: Silent Moons Camp

Steel weapons aren't particularly powerful in Skyrim, but the lunar version of this weapon has a unique effect that every Skyrim adventurer should collect if they get the chance. This enchantment adds an effect that deals extra fire damage to enemies, but only during the night.

A weapon like this is perfect for a vampire hunter build since vampires are weak against the sun. However, it's also perfect for every other type of build as well — regardless of what type of character you have, fire damage is always a powerful effect. The lunar weapons are found at the Silent Moons Camp in the fields near the city of Whiterun.

9 Dwarven Mace

dwarven mace in skyrim
  • Damage: 12
  • Effect: None
  • Location: Crafted At A Forge

The dwarven mace is one of the best-looking maces in Skyrim because it was forged using a unique technique that was originally created by the Dwarven race, which disappeared from Tamriel long ago. Not much is known about the Dwarves. However, they left behind many different artifacts, including battle equipment such as weapons and armor.

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The beautiful design of Dwarven weapons and armor is simply breathtaking, and you won't find any other style like it in Skyrim.

8 Elven Mace

two elven maces in skyrim
  • Damage: 13
  • Effect: None
  • Location: Crafted At A Forge

Similar to the dwarven mace, the elven mace is a type of weapon that is created using a distinct style that the Elves created long before the events of Skyrim.

Although this mace isn't quite as powerful as a Daedric or ebony mace in terms of damage, its physical design is elegant. If you want a mace that isn't very rugged, then you should either smith or buy one of these weapons.

7 Glass Mace

glass mace in skyrim
  • Damage: 14
  • Effect: None
  • Location: Crafted At A Forge

Although the glass mace may sound like a fragile weapon, it's actually one of the strongest types of maces in Skyrim. On top of its strength, the glass mace is also very fun to use because it has a design that looks just like glass, but it doesn't even get a scratch when it hits an enemy.

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The glass mace is also one of the rarer maces to find throughout Skyrim and its expansions, and it can be costly to craft. But it's well worth the effort.

6 Horksbane

horksbane unique weapon in skyrim
  • Damage: 10
  • Effect: Deals Extra Damage To Horkers
  • Location: Horker Island

Horksbane is a weapon that was added in the Dragonborn DLC, and it's one of the only maces in Skyrim that has a unique effect and name. It may only be a steel weapon, but it has an effect that grants it extra damage against horkers. This effect comes in handy while fighting the horkers that reside on Solstheim.

5 Ebony Mace

ebony mace in skyrim
  • Damage: 15
  • Effect: None
  • Location: Crafted At A Forge

The ebony mace is an interesting weapon because although it isn't the strongest mace in Skyrim, it's common enough at high levels in Skyrim that most fans have used an ebony weapon at least a few times during their adventures.

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The ebony mace can be found in dungeons throughout Skyrim and Solstheim. You should look out for enchanted versions of this weapon since they are common at high levels.

4 Stalhrim Mace

stalhrim mace in skyrim
  • Damage: 16
  • Effect: None
  • Location: Crafted At A Forge

The stalhrim mace was added into the game with the Dragonborn DLC. This weapon isn't much more powerful than an ebony mace. However, its appearance is much more unique because it's made out of a special type of ore that is only found on Solstheim.

The stalhrim mace can be hard to obtain because it requires a smithing level of 80, which takes a very long time to reach. Even so, it is worth leveling your smithing skill for this beautiful mace.

3 Daedric Mace

daedric mace in skyrim
  • Damage: 16
  • Effect: None
  • Location: Crafted At A Forge

Daedric weapons are incredibly rare in the Elder Scrolls franchise, and this is because they are one of the strongest weapon types in Tamriel. Along with their powerful stats, Daedric weapons also have unique appearances that are favorable to most Elder Scrolls fans.

The Daedric mace has a high base damage and a demonic appearance. Although obtaining one of these weapons requires either a high level or a high smithing skill, it's worth all the effort to have one of the best maces in Skyrim.

2 Dragonbone Mace

dragonbone mace in skyrim
  • Damage: 17
  • Effect: None
  • Location: Crafted At A Forge

Crafting one of the dragonbone weapons requires you to have a smithing skill of 100, which is a very high requirement considering how long it takes to level up the smithing skill in Skyrim. But it's worth noting that it also boasts the highest base damage out of any unenchanted mace in the entirety of Skyrim. This stat alone makes obtaining one of these weapons completely worth it.

1 Mace Of Molag Bal

the mace of molag bal in skyrim
  • Damage: 16
  • Effect: Deals 25 Stamina And Magicka Damage, Fills A Soul Gem
  • Location: Complete the quest "The House Of Horrors" In Markarth

The Mace Of Molag Bal is a Daedric weapon acquired during the quest "The House Of Horrors," and is one of the only maces in Skyrim with a completely unique appearance.

Although this mace has a weaker base damage stat than the dragonbone mace, it deals 25 points of magicka and stamina damage to the enemy and fills a soul gem if the target dies within three seconds. These two effects make the Mace Of Molag Bal the strongest maces in Skyrim — the fact that it's one of the coolest looking weapons in the game doesn't hurt matters, either.

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