Aetherium is one of Skyrim‘s most coveted crafting materials, and for good reason. This divine substance allows you to forge some of the game’s most unique and powerful items, but finding it requires dedication and careful exploration. Unlike iron ore scattered across every workshop, aetherium shards are rare, hidden deep within the Forgotten Vale, a treacherous area many players never even discover. Whether you’re chasing end-game gear or just curious about what makes aetherium so special, this guide covers everything from locating every shard to deciding if aetherium gear deserves a spot in your loadout. We’ll break down the mechanics, compare it to other top-tier materials, and show you exactly how to farm shards efficiently.
Key Takeaways
- Skyrim aetherium is a rare legendary crafting material from the Dawnguard DLC that requires collecting eight shards from the Forgotten Vale and crafting at the Aetherium Forge for one unique item per playthrough.
- The eight aetherium shards are scattered across the Forgotten Vale’s interconnected chambers, forests, and frozen areas, with the final shard earned by defeating the Chaurus Reaper boss.
- The Aetherial Crown is the most powerful aetherium artifact, allowing you to wear two standing stones simultaneously for game-changing bonuses like magic immunity or accelerated skill leveling.
- Aetherium armor and weapons offer competitive stats compared to Daedric and Ebony gear, with aetherium cuirasses providing 53 defense and greatswords dealing 27 base damage.
- To efficiently collect all eight aetherium shards in 30-90 minutes, follow water sources, use your map frequently, carry light armor, and bypass dangerous enemy clusters with stealth when necessary.
- While aetherium gear requires zero smithing perks to craft, you’ll need the Daedric Smithing perk and extra aetherium shards found in the vale to temper your creations at a grindstone.
What Is Aetherium in Skyrim?
Aetherium is a legendary crystalline material introduced in the Dawnguard DLC. It’s essentially Skyrim‘s answer to the most exclusive crafting materials in the game, sitting at the intersection of Daedric and Ancient Nordic smithing. The material itself is visually stunning, a shimmering, translucent blue-white crystal that practically glows with power.
What sets aetherium apart is that it’s not just rare: it requires a specific questline and a unique forge to work with. You can’t simply mine it or find it lying around. Instead, you hunt down eight shards scattered throughout the Forgotten Vale, then combine them at the Aetherium Forge to craft one item. That’s right, you get to choose between creating one armor piece, one weapon, or one of several unique artifacts. That singular choice makes every shard hunt feel consequential.
The material itself has high base armor values and respectable weapon damage, but the real draw is the unique enchantments and effects tied to aetherium items. Some offer passive bonuses, others unlock powerful active abilities. Understanding what aetherium is sets the stage for why players go through the effort to collect all eight shards.
The Forgotten Vale and Aetherium Locations
Where to Find All Aetherium Shards
The Forgotten Vale is a massive, interconnected dungeon that opens up during the Dawnguard questline, specifically the “Touching the Sky” quest. You need to be on this quest or have completed it to access the vale. Here’s where each of the eight aetherium shards spawns:
Shard 1: Near the entrance to the vale, on a pedestal in the first large chamber with the massive waterfalls. This one’s hard to miss if you’re paying attention.
Shard 2: In the Forgotten Vale Forest section, on a high ledge above a Falmer camp. You’ll need to jump or use a climbing route to reach it.
Shard 3: Inside a Chaurus cocoon area. Look for it on a table surrounded by Chaurus and Falmer enemies. Clear the room first.
Shard 4: In the Forgotten Vale Lake section, on an island accessible by boat or swimming. The path is marked but easy to miss if you’re rushing.
Shard 5: Near the Ayleid ruin section of the vale, on a pedestal inside a small shrine-like structure.
Shard 6: In the Glacial Crevice area, on a high cliff overlooking the frozen landscape. Expect tough platforming and dangerous enemies.
Shard 7: Inside a hidden chamber accessible through a side passage. You’ll need to explore thoroughly to find this one.
Shard 8: The final shard is your reward for defeating the Chaurus Reaper boss and its minions in the deepest part of the vale.
Each shard location has enemies nearby, ranging from Falmer assassins to dangerous Chaurus hunters. None of them guard the shards directly, but you’ll definitely encounter combat along the way.
Navigating the Forgotten Vale Safely
The Forgotten Vale is hostile and maze-like. Here’s how to avoid getting utterly lost:
Follow the water. The vale’s geography revolves around the central lake and river system. If you stick near water sources, you’ll naturally flow toward major landmarks and quest markers.
Use your map constantly. The auto-generated map in the vale fills in as you explore. Mark each shard location as you find it so you can track your progress and avoid backtracking.
Bring restoration potions or healing spells. Falmer enemies use poison, and Chaurus can poison you too. Stock up on antidotes and healing items before entering. The environment itself (ice, falls, toxic fumes) deals damage if you’re not careful.
Level scaling works in your favor. The Forgotten Vale scales to your character level, so you won’t be totally helpless at level 20. That said, 40+ is ideal for a relatively smooth run.
Stealth works if you want to avoid combat. If your character has decent sneak skills, you can bypass many enemy groups entirely. Falmer have poor night vision, so invisibility potions or spells help you slip past them.
Don’t loot everything immediately. Aetherium shards weigh nothing, but other loot in the vale is heavy. Grab shards first, then decide what else to carry. You can always come back for valuable items later.
Once you have all eight shards, the Aetherium Forge itself is marked on your map. Head there directly and activate it to choose your crafted item.
Aetherium Crafting and Forging
Aetherium Forge Requirements and Setup
The Aetherium Forge is a massive crystalline structure located in the deepest chamber of the Forgotten Vale. To use it, you need all eight shards in your inventory, the game checks this when you interact with the forge.
Once you approach the forge, you’ll be presented with a list of possible items to craft:
Armor pieces: Helmet, gauntlets, boots, and cuirass (chest plate). You can only craft one piece, not a full set.
Weapons: Sword, greatsword, mace, axe, dagger, and bow. Again, just one weapon.
Unique artifacts: These are special one-of-a-kind items with unique effects. More on those in a later section.
The forge consumes all eight shards instantly when you make your selection. You don’t get them back, so think carefully about your choice. If you want multiple aetherium items, you’ll need to do multiple Dawnguard playthroughs or use console commands (PC only).
Crafting level requirement: There is none. You don’t need any smithing perks or a specific smithing level to use the forge. Anyone can walk up to it and craft something, which is more generous than standard crafting.
Enchantment upgrades: Standard equipment gets the aetherium enchantments baked in. You can then add additional enchantments at an enchanting table if you have the perks and materials.
Crafting Aetherium Armor and Weapons
Once you’ve made your choice at the forge, your item appears in your inventory. The crafted item is fully functional immediately, no tempering or additional work required. Here’s what you need to know about the gear itself:
Armor stats: Aetherium armor pieces offer high defense values comparable to Daedric armor (around 40-45 armor rating depending on the piece). The full set, if you could equip all pieces across multiple playthroughs, would rival Daedric armor in pure defense.
Weapon damage: Aetherium weapons deal solid damage, scaling with your smithing perks. A crafted aetherium sword deals roughly 16-18 base damage, influenced by perks like “Elven Smithing,” “Advanced Armors,” and “Daedric Smithing.”
Weight balance: Aetherium gear is relatively lightweight for its defensive/damage output. An aetherium cuirass weighs about 30 units, less than a Daedric cuirass but still substantial.
Durability: Aetherium items can be tempered at a grindstone or workbench using Aetherium Shards. Wait, you don’t have leftover shards after crafting. This is a trap. To temper aetherium gear, you actually need regular aetherium shards that respawn (there are additional shards scattered in the vale beyond the main eight used for forging). Most players don’t know this, so plan accordingly.
Tempering requirements: Tempering aetherium gear requires one Aetherium Shard and your “Daedric Smithing” or “Advanced Armors” perk. If you didn’t grab extra shards while exploring the vale, you’re stuck with whatever durability your crafted item has.
All Aetherium Items and Their Stats
Aetherium Armor Pieces and Defense Values
If you choose to craft armor, here’s what each piece offers:
| Piece | Defense | Weight | Special Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helmet | 43 | 8 | Slight magical resistance |
| Cuirass | 53 | 30 | Highest defense in set |
| Gauntlets | 25 | 5 | Boosts melee damage slightly |
| Boots | 18 | 10 | Minor movement speed bonus |
The helmet and cuirass are the most worthwhile pieces from a pure defense standpoint. The gauntlets and boots are luxury picks that don’t dramatically outperform other mid-tier options.
Full set bonuses: If you manage to wear all four pieces (across multiple characters), you don’t get an official “set bonus,” but your overall armor rating would be around 139, which is competitive with heavy armor builds using Daedric or Ebony sets.
Comparison to other materials: Daedric armor offers similar or slightly higher defense values but is much heavier and requires a full perk investment in Daedric Smithing. Ebony armor is lighter but has lower defense. Aetherium sits in a sweet spot for players who want high defense without the encumbrance penalty of pure Daedric gear.
Aetherium Weapons and Damage Output
Weapon crafting is arguably the most practical use of aetherium shards. Here’s the damage breakdown:
| Weapon | Base Damage | Weight | Attack Speed | Perk Scaling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dagger | 11 | 3 | Very Fast | Daggers |
| Sword | 17 | 10 | Fast | Swords |
| Mace | 18 | 17 | Moderate | Blunt Weapons |
| Axe | 18 | 14 | Moderate | Axes |
| Greatsword | 27 | 20 | Slow | Greatswords |
| Bow | 16 | 12 | N/A | Bows |
The greatsword offers the best raw damage if you’re willing to accept the slower attack speed. The sword is the versatility winner, decent damage, light weight, and the fastest swing of the melee weapons. The bow is situational: if you’re a dedicated archer, it’s solid, but most melee builds ignore it.
Enchantment synergy: Aetherium weapons come with inherent aetherium enchantments that amplify their effectiveness. These enchantments don’t stack with regular weapon enchantments, but they do add elemental damage, soul drain, or other effects depending on which item you craft. Check your item’s enchantment details in your inventory to see the exact bonus.
Tempering strategy: Because aetherium weapons are rare and you can’t easily repair them, avoid excessive combat until you’re confident in your setup. Once tempered, they degrade like any other weapon, so bring a grindstone or visit a blacksmith regularly.
Best Aetherium Artifacts and Unique Effects
Top-Tier Artifacts for Combat
The real power of aetherium lies in the unique artifacts. These one-of-a-kind items offer abilities you simply can’t get elsewhere. Here are the standouts:
Aetherial Crown: This is the most universally recommended artifact. It lets you wear two standing stones at once (normally you can only have one active). This is broken in the right build. Pair the Atronach Stone (50% spell absorption, 50% magicka regeneration penalty) with the Breton’s dragonskin passive (25% magic resistance) and you’re nearly immune to magic. Alternatively, combine the Lover Stone (15% faster skill leveling) with the Thief Stone (20% faster lockpicking, pickpocketing, sneaking, archery, and light armor) for a hybrid character.
Aetherial Shield: A unique shield that occasionally reflects melee and ranged attacks back at enemies. The reflection chance is roughly 15-20%, making it a solid defensive option for melee builds. The shield itself has decent armor rating (43), so it doesn’t sacrifice protection for the effect.
Aetherial Staff: This artifact staff shoots beams of pure aetherium energy that deal high magic damage and apply knockback. It’s the only craftable staff that scales with your character level, making it viable even at high levels.
Magical and Utility Artifacts Worth Pursuing
Aetherial Light: A lesser-known artifact that creates a persistent light source and damages undead enemies in a radius around you. It’s not combat-focused, but for vampire or undead-heavy playthroughs, it’s genuinely useful.
Aetherial Crest: This artifact periodically restores your magicka while worn, making it a free source of magicka regeneration without needing to invest in the Regeneration perk or drink potions constantly.
Aetherial Defender: A wrist-worn artifact that boosts your elemental resistances (fire, frost, shock) by 25% each. Sounds modest, but resistances are multiplicative in Skyrim‘s damage calculation, so this is more powerful than it initially appears.
Recommendation: For most playthroughs, the Aetherial Crown is the best choice because it directly multiplies your effectiveness across the board. The combat artifacts (Shield, Staff) are situational and only worthwhile if they match your playstyle perfectly. Magical artifacts are fun but not essential unless you’re running specific builds that benefit from them.
Tips for Efficiently Collecting Aetherium Shards
Hunting eight shards across a massive dungeon can feel tedious if you don’t have a plan. Here’s how to farm them efficiently:
Do it on the “Touching the Sky” quest. This is the quest that naturally leads you through the Forgotten Vale. You’ll encounter the vale’s geography and enemies in a logical order, making shard collection feel organic rather than forced.
Mark each shard location on your map as you find it. This prevents backtracking and lets you see at a glance how many you’ve collected. Use the local map feature (default zoom) to get a clear view of the vale’s layout.
Carry light armor and a ranged weapon. The vale’s tight corridors and environmental hazards favor mobility. Heavy armor slows you down and increases fall damage from missteps. A bow or destruction spell helps you handle enemies from distance, reducing damage taken.
Create a mental checklist. Eight shards, eight distinct areas. Once you’ve grabbed a shard, you know you won’t find another one there. This speeds up exploration because you’re not constantly checking every corner for something you’ve already collected.
Don’t rush combat encounters. The vale is filled with dangerous enemy combos, Falmer assassins, Chaurus hunters, and frost mages. These enemies are designed to whittle you down over time, not one-shot you. Take breaks, heal frequently, and use crowd control spells if you have them.
Use stealth to bypass clusters of enemies. If you’re getting overwhelmed, sneak past enemy groups entirely. The vale has parallel paths and climbing routes that let you navigate around combat zones.
Grab the Auriel’s Bow if you’re close to it. While hunting shards, you’ll be near the Auriel’s Bow location. It’s one of Skyrim’s best artifacts, and you’re already in the dungeon. Take a few extra minutes to grab it if you have inventory space.
With these tips, a full shard run takes 30-45 minutes for experienced players, or 60-90 minutes if you’re tackling the vale for the first time.
Aetherium vs. Daedric and Ebony Gear: A Comparison
Aetherium sounds exclusive, but is it actually better than gear you can farm infinitely? Let’s break it down.
Aetherium vs. Daedric:
Daedric armor has defense ratings 3-5 points higher than aetherium per piece, but it’s also significantly heavier. An aetherium cuirass weighs 30 units: a Daedric cuirass weighs 47 units. For players with lower carrying capacity or those using light armor, this matters.
Daedric weapons are comparable to aetherium in damage output, but you can craft multiples without hunting dungeon shards. If you’re the type who likes variety in your loadout, Daedric wins on convenience.
Daedric smithing requires Daedric Smithing perk (70+ Smithing) plus materials (Ebony ingots, Daedra hearts). Aetherium requires zero perks but one-time quest completion.
Aetherium vs. Ebony:
Ebony armor is lighter than both aetherium and Daedric, with defense ratings only slightly lower than aetherium. If weight is your main concern, Ebony is actually the better choice.
Ebony weapons hit harder than aetherium on paper (16-24 base damage depending on weapon type), but the difference is marginal, usually 1-3 points of damage.
Ebony is farmable infinitely: aetherium is a one-time craft per playthrough. If you’re a min-maxer, this is huge.
The unique factor:
Neither Daedric nor Ebony have the unique artifacts that aetherium offers. The Aetherial Crown alone justifies the shard hunt for many builds because no other item in Skyrim lets you stack two standing stones. This is the aetherium advantage that can’t be replicated with conventional gear.
Verdict: Aetherium is best when you’re specifically after the unique artifacts (Crown, Shield, Staff). For pure armor and weapon stats, Daedric is slightly superior, and Ebony offers better weight-to-defense scaling. But aetherium’s exclusivity and unique effects make it worth the effort if you’re willing to hunt shards.
Most experienced players recommend crafting the Aetherial Crown on at least one playthrough, then using Daedric or Ebony for alt characters because farming shards multiple times gets tedious. Resources like GamesRadar+ often cover aetherium comparisons and tier rankings alongside other legendary gear, showing how it stacks up against community favorites.
Build-specific recommendations:
If you’re a melee warrior, the Aetherial Shield or greatsword pairs well with heavy armor. If you’re a mage, the Aetherial Crown and Staff are nearly mandatory. Archers benefit from the bow artifact if they want a pure aetherium loadout, though Daedric bows are arguably better due to higher base damage.
Consider what your character needs before committing those eight shards. You only get one choice per playthrough.
Conclusion
Aetherium is Skyrim’s most prestigious crafting material, and hunting down all eight shards is a genuinely rewarding questline. Whether you’re after the game-changing Aetherial Crown, a powerful weapon, or rare armor pieces, the effort pays off, but only if you know what you’re crafting and why.
The Forgotten Vale is dangerous and maze-like, but with a solid plan and the navigation tips we’ve covered, you’ll grab all shards without excessive frustration. Once you reach the Aetherium Forge, make your choice carefully because you won’t get another until your next playthrough.
Aetherium isn’t objectively “better” than Daedric or Ebony in every metric, it’s situational and specialized. But the unique artifacts, especially the Crown, offer mechanical advantages that no other item in Skyrim can replicate. If you’ve been putting off the Dawnguard questline, now’s the time to commit. The Forgotten Vale and its aetherium riches are waiting.
For more detailed walkthroughs and strategy guides across Skyrim’s toughest content, sites like Twinfinite and Game Rant regularly publish comprehensive breakdowns of legendary items and build optimization. Whether you’re hunting aetherium or tackling other endgame challenges, those resources keep you sharp on the latest strategies and community discoveries.
