Smithing weapons and armor at a traditional forge is nothing unfamiliar for the hardened residents ofSkyrim.However, for the magically inclined, there’s a much more interesting type of forge available to play with. Hidden beneath the College, players can find the Atronach Forge, a magical contraption of unknown origins and immense power.
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This mysterious magical contraption appears to be a powerful conduit for Conjuration magic, allowing the Dragonborn to call forth Daedra, create magical gear, and transmute mundane items into powerful arcane ingredients. Here’s everything thatSkyrimplayers should know about this mysterious setup, and what it can do.
How To Access The Atronach Forge
The Atronach Forge is locatedin the Midden, beneaththe College of Winterhold.Once the Dragonborn becomes a member and is admitted to the College, they can find entrances to the Midden in the courtyard north of the Hall of Elements, or in the Hall of Countenance under the stairs.
The Atronach Forge lies in the northeast of the Midden, but use caution when venturing there. Draugr, ice wraiths, and frostbite spiders make the Midden their home, so players should make sure to prepare as necessary. At high levels, these creatures shouldn’t pose too much challenge, but lower-level Dragonborn may find themselves at a disadvantage if they go in unprepared.
Recipes
At the Atronach Forge, the player can craft magical items and summon creatures. The place is a conjurer’s dream — but unfortunately, there is no in-game system for keeping track of recipes as there is for alchemy or smithing. With that in mind, a guide is provided below to all the recipes players can use to create items in the Forge.
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Most recipes simply require the Dragonborn to place the necessary ingredients in the offering box and pull the lever. A few, however, require aSigil Stone,which must be placed in the pedestal before activating the lever. Unlike ingredients placed in the offering box, the Sigil Stone will not be consumed, and can be reused as many times as the player likes. This item can be obtained during the quest"Conjuration Ritual Spell,“which is activated by speaking to Phinis Gestor afterreaching Conjuration Level 90.
Summoned Creatures
Mages should use caution when conjuring daedra at the Atronach Forge — unlike those summoned by spells or scrolls,Forge-created atronachsand dremora will be unbound, and will thus be hostile towards the player. Players should be ready either to defend themselves, or use the Command or Expel Daedra spells.
The recipes for summoning atronachs are fairly simple, though their ingredients can be somewhat expensive or hard to track down. Note that for the gemstones, any quality will suffice.
To summon aDremora,the Dragonborn will need aSigil Stoneas discussed above. Once activated, the following ingredients must then be placed in the offering box:
Spell Tomes
In keeping with the theme of the Atronach Forge, players can create a few different Conjuration spell tomes to take their skills on the road. All spell tome recipes require aRuined Book, which are commonly found on bookshelves in ruins around Skyrim. The other ingredients all vary, as listed below:
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Scrolls
Unlike spellbooks, Scrolls do not teach the Dragonborn a spell, but instead allow them to use it a single time. At the Forge, the player may craft such items to summon different types of atronachs. As players might expect, all scrolls require aRoll of PaperandCharcoal.Each one then takes a different type of magical salt, depending on the desired element of the atronach.
Staves
Staves are specialized weaponsinSkyrim, which have a number of charges of a spell imbued into them. For players who wish toconserve their Magickawhile summoning Atronachs, the Forge allows them to create a staff to call their summons. Each one requires aBroom, presumably to serve as the physical staff itself, and aSoul Gemof Greater size or larger. The other ingredients, as usual, vary by the atronach’s element.
Potions & Ingredients
The elemental salts are used in several Atronach Forge spells, and in even more alchemical mixtures. They can be a little hard to come by, but luckily, players can craft them at the Atronach Forge as well. Each type requiresa salt pile anda soul gem of any size, as well as a specific gemstone that varies by salt type:
Another rare ingredient can also be crafted here: theDaedra Heart. Like certain other Daedric recipes, this one requires the use ofa Sigil Stone, in addition to the following ingredients:
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Finally, as yet another blessing to the Conjuration mages who use the Forge,players can craft a potioncalled the Conjurer’s Elixir, which will greatly boost the drinker’s Conjuration skill. The ingredients include:
Daedric Gear
It’s not often that mage builds have room to spec into smithing, but the Atronach Forge can help compensate for that by offering the player the chance to mystically craft their own gear. To create a piece ofunenchanted Daedric gear, the Dragonborn will need to use aSigil Stoneas described above. They must then place the following items in the offering box:
This process will essentially transform the Ebony item into a Daedric one; i.e., using an Ebony Sword will result in a Daedric Sword, an Ebony Helmet will result in a Daedric Helmet, etc. Players can improve andenchant these Daedric items as they so choose.
Alternatively, there is a separate recipe that players can use to createa random Daedric item imbued with a random enchantment.Again, these require the use of a Sigil Stone, as well as the following ingredients:
The final ingredient will depend onwhether the player wishes to obtain a weapon or a piece of armor:
