Daedric Princes are icons of power in The Elder Scrolls universe. They toy with mortals for their own enjoyment or to gain in power. Players can assist these Princes in each of The Elder Scrolls titles to obtain powerful Daedric Artifacts. Just like Daedric Artifacts, not all Daedric Princes are created equal.
While it’s hard to list the Daedric Princes as objectively weaker or stronger than others, players can view their actions and Artifacts to determine which Daedric Princes are more influential than others. Based during the events of Skyrim, here are all 17 Daedric Princes ranked from weakest to strongest.
17 Jyggalag
There was a time in the Elder Scrolls timeline where Jyggalag was unquestionably the strongest Daedric Prince in the franchise. His power was so vast that the other Daedra conspired against him, cursing him with his alter ego Sheogorath.
Of course, fans that completed Oblivion’s Shivering Isles DLC know that Jyggalag’s curse has been broken. Even with his curse broken, the Prince still needs to regain his power. Based on his complete absence in Skyrim, it’s safe to say that Jyggalag’s power is still in its infancy.
16 Clavicus Vile
Few mortals worship Clavicus Vile, he is represented as two beings instead of one, and his influence is rather lacking in most Elder Scrolls titles. Clavicus Vile certainly has plenty of Daedric Artifacts under his name, but that is all this Prince has accomplished during Skyrim.
15 Peryite
Skyrim’s loading screen tips and various books mention how weak Peryite is when compared to other Princes. He is known for pestilence, disease, and order—not to be confused with Jyggalag’s complete order—which makes him sound weak on paper. He has done little to prove this false, although some fans theorize Peryite is biding his time to show his true power.
14 Namira
Namira is the Daedric Prince of darkness. She oversees all taboo acts such as cannibalism and vile creatures. Few know of her plane of Oblivion and the full strength of Namira, making her feared by most mortals. Similar to Sanguine, so little has been done by Namira on the mortal plane that she doesn’t have the same strength as other Princes during the Fourth Era.
13 Sanguine
Sanguine is the Daedric Prince of dark desire. Gluttony and sin are the two pillars of this Daedric Prince, which is mainly why so many mortals worship him. Worship directly leads to power since he has more mortals to influence, meaning that Sanguine is likely much stronger than he lets on. Still, he has done little with that power for mortals to witness.
12 Meridia
Meridia is a great example of a powerful being that has lost their way. Meridia was originally a Magna Ge, one of the older species that fled when reality or “Mundus” was created. Through a series of unclear events, Meridia went from a Magna Ge to a Daedric Prince.
Her powers are definitely high with her ability to bend light to smite undead. Unfortunately, she can only act through her agents. Yelling at people to place Meridia’s Beacon can only do so much.
11 Mephala
Mephala is the Daedric Prince of secrets and lies. She is known as a Webspinner for her meddling with the Chimer, guiding them to Morrowind and helping the Dunmer devise their clans or Houses. She is also responsible for the Morag Tong’s inception.
Without her, the Dark Brotherhood wouldn’t exist and many of the franchise’s most iconic moments would have never occurred. Despite this, the fall of the Morag Tong has made her much less powerful in the mortal realm.
10 Vaermina
Harnessing the power of dreams, Vaermina is a deceptively strong Daedric Prince. She visits mortals in their dreams and turns their humble slumber into a nightmare. Some mages believe that Vaermina’s influence on dreams is tied directly to the source of magic itself. Furthermore, Vaermina also appears to know how to cure vampirism based on dialogue in Morrowind.
9 Nocturnal
Nocturnal is a strange Deadric Prince in that certain games and books refer to her as an Ur-Dra, meaning she was the first of her kind. In this case, it refers to being the void itself before Mundus and Oblivion were created. Should this be taken at face value, she should be considered the strongest Daedric Princes hands-down.
That said, there is no hard evidence that supports these claims besides her dialogue in The Elder Scrolls Online. Disregarding this fact, she is still a powerful Prince that holds much power thanks to her skilled thieves and Nightingales that worship her.
8 Hircine
Hunting is Hircine’s purpose. Every one thousand years, this Daedric Prince will commence a “Great Hunt” that involves spawning his creations into Tamriel to hunt down “prey.” The purpose of each Great Hunt can vary wildly, but it is known how devastating these can be as seen in Morrowind’s Bloodmoon expansion.
Hircine also birthed Lycanthropy, the disease that causes mortals to turn into beasts. His Artifacts are also something to behold with the likes of Savior’s Hide and the Spear of Bitter Mercy belonging to him.
7 Malacath
What better way to display a Daedric Prince’s power than to have an entire people worship them? Despite the distrust Orcs have towards Daedra, most Orcs worship Malacath, the Exiled One. Originally the Aedra Trinimac, he was fooled by Boethiah and turned into an Orc alongside his followers. Most Daedra don’t accept him as a true Prince.
He doesn’t need their acceptance. Should he need a region of Tamriel to be taken, he would only need to ask his people.
6 Boethiah
Despite how little players interact with Boethiah, the Prince of Plots is surprisingly powerful. It is thanks to Boethiah that Trinimac became Malacath, the Aldmer became the Chimer, and why the Dunmer have a strange religion. Dark Elves revere Boethiah despite their philosophy being focused on suffering. Boethiah is definitely one of the stronger Princes.
5 Hermaeus Mora
Said to be the amalgamation of all the Aedra’s lost ideas, Hermaeus Mora is the Daedric Prince of knowledge. He is ever-knowing thanks to his realm of Apocrypha having every book that has and ever will be written.
Despite the Prince’s endless knowledge, he is unable to act on his own. Artifacts such as the powerful Oghma Infinium required mortals to create as Hermaeus Mora could not make them himself.
4 Molag Bal
The Prince of Domination has had his fair share of influence on the mortal realm. He has tried to invade Tamriel with his Dark Anchors from Coldharbour. While he was defeated, Molag Bal never gave up on his quest for total domination over mortals. As the father of vampires, his reign of terror has never truly ended.
3 Azura
Calling Azura powerful would be a major understatement. She is responsible for the Nerevar’s reincarnation in Morrowind, the curse that turned the Chimer into the Dunmer, and is responsible for the existence of the Khajiit. Her influence over mortal society is immediately apparent with her various shrines that dot Tamriel. She has many followers, has some of the strongest Artifacts in The Elder Scrolls lore, and will not hesitate to curse an entire race of people for breaking an oath.
2 Mehrunes Dagon
Mehrunes Dagon should need no introduction for Elder Scrolls fans. This Daedric Prince of destruction is so focused on killing mortals that he has invaded Tamriel not once but three times! He attacked Mournhold in the First Era, attacked the Imperial Battlespire, and went as far as to invade the entire continent in the Third Era. This particular invasion was so severe that Akatosh, God of Time itself, needed to be summoned to end the Oblivion Crisis. Mehrunes Dagon is power incarnate.
1 Sheogorath
Sheogorath can be considered the strongest Daedric Prince in The Elder Scrolls due to his insanity. His out-of-the-box thinking has allowed Sheogorath to best the likes of Hircine, Malacath, and Vaermina with ease. He has also influenced Mundus in ways that shouldn’t be possible such as throwing a moon at Vivec City just because the Dunmer disliked him. He’s unpredictable, cunning, and able to break laws most Daedra need to abide by. That is a recipe for untold power.
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