Skyrim: What’s the Max Level? How to Level Up Quickly

Skyrim was the quintessential open-world RPG for a long time. And some may argue that it still is. As you explore, complete quests, and beef up your skills, your overall player level will increase. With it being such a massive game with so many choices and decisions, you may be wondering about the max level in Skyrim, and how to level up quickly.

What’s the Max Level in Skyrim? How to Level Up Quickly

Skyrim Max Level Details

In most RPGs, the leveling system usually hard caps at Level 99 or Level 100. However, Skyrim is a bit special. There are technically two different answers to this question, depending on the version you’re playing.

• If you’re playing vanilla Skyrim (any version before 1.9), then the max Level is 81.
• If you’re playing the 1.9 patch or anything after, the max level goes all the way to Level 252. 

The 1.9 patch allows you to hone all of the skills and truly max out your character. However, you can actually reset all of your skills to technically level up infinitely. While this may seem overpowered, the enemies scale with you to keep it balanced. So, yes: your level is basically infinite, but you only need to reach Level 252 to obtain every skill. 

Easy Ways to Get More XP and Level Up Fast 

There are multiple ways to level up quickly in Skyrim, but we’ll only go over a few of the easiest ones here.

Kill Hadvar and Ralof in the Tutorial

One of the easiest ways to level up fast can be found in the tutorial. Sneaking and attacking an NPC will improve your Stealth and One-Handed skills. Hadvar and Ralof are a part of the tutorial and necessary to the plot. Because of this, you can sneak up and attack them without them dying, since they are marked as unkillable. You can do so for as long as you want and reach super high levels before you even finish the starting area. 

Forge Iron Daggers

Another easy and fast way to level up quickly is by forging iron daggers. This will increase your Smithing skill. Iron ingots can be found all over the world, and you’ll often find yourself with more than you know what to do with. To craft an iron dagger, you only need one iron ingot and one leather strip. Keep doing this until you’re at a high enough level to work with other metals. 

Telekinesis and Fast Traveling

Another level-up-fast trick involves using Telekinesis while fast-traveling. Using this spell will increase your Alteration magic skill when carrying objects around. However, you can cheat the system and gain a massive amount of experience. If you fast-travel while using Telekinesis, the game thinks that you walked that entire distance while using the spell and gives you that amount of experience.

That answers the question: What’s the max level in Skyrim and gives you tips on how to level up quickly. Depending on what version of Elder Scrolls 5 you’re playing, the max level is either 81 (pre-1.9) or 251 (1.9 and after). Although, you can technically level up infinitely since you can reset your skills. If you want to level up fast, you can attack Hadvar or Ralof in the tutorial, craft loads of iron daggers, or fast-travel while using Telekinesis. If you want more tips or tricks check out our other Skyrim guides.