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There are a lot of items you can acquire throughout the dungeons and cities of Skyrim; however, not every piece of equipment is fit for battle. If you want to survive the Giants and Dragons of Skyrim then you're going to need powerful equipment, which is why you may want to obtain a set of ebony armor or a powerful ebony weapon.
Ebony equipment comes in many varieties, including a full set of armor and every weapon type. If you want to get ebony equipment, then there are a few steps you need to follow. Here are the best ways to collect a single piece of ebony equipment or obtain an entire armor set all at once.
How Powerful Are Ebony Weapons And Armor?
Ebony equipment is famous for its unique appearance that resembles the type of armor and weapons a warrior would use. However, a unique appearance is not the only attribute that helps ir stand out from other types of equipment in Skyrim.
Ebony is one of the strongest ores in Skyrim, so it grants high damage resistance for the armor, and high damage dealt with weapons. If you're wearing a full set of ebony armor, then you'll receive 128 damage resistance at the base level. Ebony equipment is right below Daedric equipment in stats, so it's the third strongest type of equipment in the base game. Even though there are a few stronger types of equipment in Skyrim, you may prefer ebony equipment since it's easier to obtain or because of its design.
Find Ebony Equipment Inside Dungeons
If you don't want to craft ebony equipment, then you can find it inside dungeons and other locations as a reward. There are a few disadvantages to acquiring ebony items with this method, with the big one being that you can't choose which items appear in chests. Additionally, you need to reach level 32 to find standard ebony equipment inside chests and level 33 to find ebony equipment with enchantments. If you want a full set of ebony armor, then it's better to focus on your Smithing skill since the "Ebony Smithing" perk also allows you to improve your ebony equipment further.
Craft Ebony Equipment
Crafting Ebony equipment is the easiest way to get a full set; however, there are still some challenges you need to overcome before you can craft it. This includes leveling up your Smithing skill and obtaining ebony ore.
How To Craft Ebony Equipment
To craft ebony equipment, you need to reach level 80 in the Smithing skill and then unlock the "Ebony Smithing" perk. Leveling up the Smithing skill is difficult, and it takes a long time; however, you can use the Warrior Stone outside of Helgen to grant you a 20 percent bonus to leveling up the Smithing skill. You can only have one Standing Stone effect at a time, so you'll lose any other effects when you activate the Warrior Stone.
You can also obtain the Silver-Blood Family Ring by completing the "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine" quest, but only if Madanach dies. This ring allows you to improve items 15 percent more at a Workbench or Grindstone. After you get these bonuses, craft high-value items repeatedly at a Smithing Forge until you reach level 80. Crafting jewellery such as Gold Rings is a particularly quick way to level up in Smithing. Once you unlock the "Ebony Smithing" perk, you can craft ebony equipment at a Smithing Forge.
How To Get Ebony Ingots
The ingredients you need to craft ebony equipment are ebony ingots and leather strips, and how much you need of these items to craft each piece of equipment varies. You also need firewood to craft ebony arrows. Two ebony ore creates one ebony ingot, so you need to obtain a lot of ebony ore to craft ebony weapons and armor. There are a few locations you can find ebony ore, and you can also buy ebony ingots if a merchant happens to have them in stock. Blacksmiths sell ingots, so check near Smithing Forges to buy them.
The first location that has an abundance of ebony ore is Gloombound Mine, which is a mine that you encounter inside of the Narzulbur Orc Stronghold. You can find the exact location of Narzulbur on the above map. As such, you need to enter the stronghold before you can get to the mine, which means you either need to complete a randomly generated quest for the Orcs to obtain "The Forgemaster's Fingers," or you can kill them and enter the stronghold as quickly as possible. If you're an Orc, then you can enter the location peacefully without completing a quest. Once inside Gloombound Mine, you can use a pickaxe to mine 16 Ebony Ore Veins.
The second location with a lot of ebony ore is Raven Rock Mine on the Island of Solstheim. You can enter this mine for free and collect Nine Ebony Ore Veins, which you can then smelt into ebony ingots. You have to complete "The Final Descent" quest for the ebony ore veins to return to the mine. You can start this quest by talking to Crescius Caerellius inside of Raven Rock Mine. Raven Rock Mine is inside of Raven Rock, and you need to have the Dragonborn DLC to enter this city.
Defeat The Ebony Warrior
The Ebony Warrior is a boss fight that you can complete in the Dragonborn DLC. If you reach level 80 and enter a major city, including Whiterun, Riften, and Solitude, among others, then the Ebony Warrior will approach and speak to you. He will challenge you to a battle at the "Last Vigil" location. Travel to the location and fight the Ebony Warrior.
The Ebony Warrior is one of the strongest enemies in Skyrim. Not only does the Ebony Warrior have a full set of ebony equipment with powerful enchantments, but he can also use Shouts, including Unrelenting Force and Disarm. Since the Ebony Warriors has so many advantages, you should use stealth to deal extra damage if possible. However, if you aren't using a stealth build, you can also attack him regularly to deal damage. The Ebony Warrior has 75 percent resistance to elemental damage, so avoid magic and enchantments that focus on Fire, Frost, or Shock damage. You can use the Marked For Death shout to weaken the Ebony Warrior's armor.
Once you defeat the Ebony Warrior, you can loot all of his equipment and use it yourself. The rewards you earn include a full set of Ebony Armor, as well as an Ebony Sword, Ebony Bow, and Ebony Shield. The Ebony Warrior has enchantments on most of his equipment. He also carries other non-ebony items such as jewellery that you can loot once you win the fight.