While the majority of weapons you find in Skyrim will increase in damage as you progress through the game, either due to your particular skill level increasing or by simply finding weapons with a higher base damage, there are several unique items like the Shield of Solitude and Nightingale Armor increase in power as you do.
Alongside these powerful armor pieces, there are many weapons, the majority of them One-Handed swords, that increase in power if you are at a higher level when you find them. With this in mind, many of them should be avoided until you have hit the prerequisite level to find the best version.
10 Lunar Iron Weapons
The Lunar Iron weapons found in Silent Moons Camp are easily the worst leveled weapons you can find in Skyrim. While the enchantment itself isn’t terribly being a good way to kill creatures that like to come out at night, the fact that it is on an Iron weapon with the weakest base damage in the game severely lets it down. Thankfully, the Silent Moons enchantment can be learned by breaking down Lunar Iron weapons so you can enchant better weapons with this power, but by the time you have a high enough Enchanting level for it to be worth the trouble, you will probably have better enchantments as well.
9 Lunar Steel Weapons
If you are at level 4 or higher, you will find Lunar Steel weapons at Silent Moons Camp rather than the Iron alternative. While this is only slightly better, Steel weapons do deal noticeably more damage than Iron weapons, though they can quickly become outclassed by better weapons, particularly if you join the Companions and gain access to Skyforge Steel weapons. The best Lunar Steel weapon you can obtain is the Lunar Steel Mace, the best version of which can be found after hitting level 8.
8 Gauldur Blackbow
One of three Gauldur weapons obtained through Forbidden Legend alongside the Staff of Jyrik Gauldurson, a very powerful Shock-based staff, and the Gauldur Blackblade, the Gauldur Blackbow isn’t a terrible weapon, though it is severely let down by the uselessness of its enchantment, which absorbs Magicka on hit.
Absorb Magicka enchantments are decent, but the only problem occurs when it is on a bow, as you will have to constantly switch between your spells and your bow to make the best use of it. The highest damage version can be obtained at level 36 or higher, with a base damage of 14 and the power to absorb 30 points of Magicka on hit.
7 The Pale Blade
Found during the quest The Pale Lady, this Ancient Nordic sword deals Frost and Stamina damage while also inflicting a Fear effect, which is a great combination of enchantments given that Frost also slows running speed. As your level increases to 27 or higher, not only does the Frost damage increase to 25 while dealing double to Stamina, but the level of the affected enemy also increases for the Fear effect to 16. While this isn’t that high in itself, it is useful against annoying, low-level enemies.
6 Gauldur Blackblade
Easily a contender for the best Gauldur weapon alongside the Staff of Jyrik Gauldurson, the Gaudlur Blackblade has a much better enchantment than the Gauldur Blackbow as it has a powerful Absorb Health enchantment on it. At level 36 or higher, the Gauldur Blackblade will have a base damage of 11, which isn’t particularly powerful, but its Absorb Health enchantment will steal 25 points of health on hit. With a base damage of 11, it is in the same class as an Elven Sword, which is fairly middle of the road in terms of damage, but with the right level in Smithing, you could easily make this a powerful main weapon for any character.
5 Nightingale Bow
The only other bow in Skyrim that increases in strength with your level, the Nightingale Bow is easily one of the best weapons in the game and is well worth putting off the completion of the Thieves Guild just to obtain it. If you wait until level 46 or higher to obtain the Nightingale Bow, it will have a base damage of 19, the same as a Daedric Bow, and deal 30 points of Frost damage with 15 points of Shock damage. This combination makes it great taking down just about everything, as the Frost damage will slow melee attackers while the Shock effect will deal damage to Magicka that prevents spells from being cast.
4 Nightingale Blade
Although the Nightingale Bow is great, the Nightingale Blade that is obtained in the same quest may be slightly better. Like the bow, the Nightingale Blade will have a base damage of 14, the same as a Daedric Sword, while absorbing 25 points of both Health and Stamina if obtained at level 46 or higher.
Absorb Health enchantments are easily some of the best you can get as they are an easy way of increase the damage of your weapon without resorting to Smithing or Alchemy loops. The Absorb Stamina enchantment also means that you can, theoretically, only use power attacks and deal even more damage with the Nightingale Blade.
3 Miraak’s Sword
Obtained after defeating Miraak in the Dragonborn DLC, alongside the Dragon Priest Mask of the same name and his unique robes, this weird looking sword will be at its most powerful if obtained at a whopping level 60 or higher, which is no easy feat and will take dozens of hours to reach. While it does have the highest base damage of any sword in the game at 16, higher than both Daedric and Dragonbone Swords, it is let down by its pitiful enchantment, which doesn’t scale with your level and will always Absorb 15 points of Stamina. This does mean that it is useful for spamming power attacks, the fact that you can’t give it a better enchantment definitely holds this weapon back, despite how powerful it is.
2 Dragonbane
Of all the unique enchantments in Skyrim, Dragonbane’s might be the most useful both for general gameplay and the main story. Found in the Skyhaven Temple to the left of Alduin’s Wall, along with a full set of Blades armor, this sword deals extra damage to dragons while dealing Shock damage to everything else, making it the best weapon for killing dragons if you are investing in the One-Handed skill. At level 46 or higher, Dragonbane will have a base damage of 14, deal 40 extra damage to dragons, and 10 points of Shock damage to everything else. While the Shock enchantment isn’t particularly strong, it can be increased by 25%wearing when wearing Zahkriisos, one of the dragon priest masks found in Raven Rock Mine alongside the Bloodskal Blade.
1 Chillrend
A unique, blue Glass sword, Chillrend does what it says on the box and deals Frost damage on hit, but it also has arguably the single best enchantment for any weapon in the game: Paralysis. Found in Mercer Fray’s manor, during the quest The Pursuit, if this sword is obtained after level 46, it will have a base damage of 15, deal 30 points of Frost damage and have a chance to Paralyse the enemy for 2 seconds. Considering how long the animation is to stand up once an enemy is Paralysed, this can mean a lot of free damage that doesn’t require blocking and makes for a great right-hand weapon for Dual Wield builds as a result.
