Bound Weapons (Skyrim) (2025)

For other uses, see Bound Items.

Bound weapons are conjured weapons used in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Summoned through the use of Conjuration magic. All bound weapons are weightless versions of non-upgraded Daedric weapons. The bound bow is the strongest bound weapon. When conjured, 100 bound arrows accompany it.

Usefulness[]

Casting bound weapons spells in the presence of an aware enemy increases the Conjuration skill each time the spell is cast. If used after the weapon appears, the skill relevant to the weapon type increases instead of Conjuration. For example, conjuring a bound sword raises Conjuration when cast, but only raises One-Handed when enemies are successfully struck with it.

Pros[]

Poisons such as Paralysis can be used on bound weapons. If the poisoned weapon is sheathed or the conjuration ends without the weapon being used, the poison is lost.

Bound weapons can also be used to execute Kill Cameras. If a bound weapon is used for the latter, its blue glow will be seen during the killcam cutscene.

Bound weapons can be used to increase the Dragonborn's Block skill. If the Sword or Dagger are equipped in the right hand, they can be used in conjunction with a shield in the left hand.

Sneak attacks can be performed with bound weapons, and depending on the weapon used, the damage multiplier can be increased, provided that the relevant perks are selected.

Bound weapons can be smuggled into places where the Dragonborn's weapons are not supposed to be available, such as jail, Cidhna Mine, and the Thalmor Embassy.

Unlike physical weapons, bound weapons weigh nothing.

Unlike physical weapons, bound weapons will not be removed from the Dragonborn's grasp via the Disarm shout.

Cons[]

Casting bound weapons while sneaking can alert enemies to the Dragonborn's presence, especially if their Sneak skill is low.

Bound crossbows, greatswords, maces, war axes, and warhammers do not exist.

The sneak attack damage multiplier for the Battleaxe is fixed at 2x damage due to the fact that there are no Perks in the Sneak skill tree that increase it for two-handed weapons.

Bound weapons cannot be used while riding a horse. If one is drawn, it will be sheathed before the Dragonborn gets on, and spells cannot be cast on horseback.

Bound weapons cannot be improved at a Grindstone due to the fact that they are spell-based weapons, not physical ones.

Bound weapons cannot be used in conjunction with Elemental Fury due to their perk enchantments.

Types[]

• Bound Bow
• Bound Sword
• Bound Battleaxe
• Bound Dagger ^DR

Perks[]

• Soul Stealer: All bound weapons Soul Trap enemies killed with them, if the Dragonborn has a large enough Soul Gem.
• Oblivion Binding: banishes any summoned creature and turns any raised ones.
• Mystic Binding increases the damage of all bound weapons.
• Perks unlocked in One-Handed, Two-Handed, and Archery affect the bound weapon of that type.
• Casting Bound weapons creates noise, which may cause the detection of the player while Sneaking. This can be resolved by learning the "Quiet Casting" perk.
• The "Backstab" perk will increase sneak attacks with the sword and dagger to 6x damage, "Deadly Aim" will increase sneak attacks with the Bow to 3x damage, and "Assassin's Blade" will increase sneak attacks with the Dagger to 15x damage.

Appearances[]

• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim