Skyrim Weapon Damage & Sneak Attack Calculator
Enter your weapon's base damage, skill level and perks to see the damage shown in your inventory, and how hard a sneak attack hits with Backstab, Deadly Aim or Assassin's Blade.
Weapon
Skill, perks & effects
Smithing
Sneak attacks
Where the damage comes from
How weapon damage is calculated
The damage number in your inventory starts from the weapon's base damage and is multiplied by your skill, your perks and any fortify effects:
Damage = (base + smithing) × (1 + skill ÷ 200) × (1 + 0.2 × perk rank) × (1 + fortify gear) × (1 + fortify potion)
- Skill adds 0.5% per level, so skill 100 adds 50%.
- Armsman (one-handed), Barbarian (two-handed) and Overdraw (archery) add 20% per rank, doubling damage at rank 5.
- Fortify One-handed, Two-handed or Archery enchantments and potions are percentages that multiply everything else.
- Smithing adds a flat bonus before the multipliers, from +1 at Fine quality up to +10 at Legendary. Having the matching smithing perk doubles how quickly you reach the higher tiers.
For bows and crossbows, the arrow or bolt adds its own damage to the base before the multipliers. The number in your inventory leaves the arrow out, which is why this calculator shows both.
Sneak attack multipliers
| Weapon | No perk | With perk | With Shrouded Gloves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dagger | 3x | 15x (Assassin's Blade) | 30x |
| Other one-handed | 3x | 6x (Backstab) | 12x |
| Bow or crossbow | 2x | 3x (Deadly Aim) | 3x |
| Two-handed | 2x | 2x | 2x |
The multiplier only applies to the weapon's physical damage. Enchantments, poisons and spells deal their normal amount, so a sneak build gets more from smithing and fortify effects than from enchanting fire damage on a dagger.
Worked examples
Assassin's dagger. A Legendary Daedric dagger has 11 + 10 = 21 base damage. At One-handed 100 with Armsman 5/5 that becomes 21 × 1.5 × 2 = 63 per hit. A sneak attack with Assassin's Blade multiplies that by 15 for 945, and the Shrouded Gloves double it to 1,890.
Stealth archer. A Legendary Daedric bow has 18 + 10 = 28 base damage. With Daedric arrows (24) the base becomes 52, and at Archery 100 with Overdraw 5/5 each arrow does 52 × 1.5 × 2 = 156, while the inventory shows 84. A sneak shot with Deadly Aim does 468.
How to use the calculator
- Pick the skill, the weapon type and the material. The base damage fills in, or you can type your own for unique weapons.
- Enter your skill, damage perk rank and any Fortify gear or potions.
- Set your smithing skill to see the quality the weapon reaches at a grindstone, or untick Improved if you have not tempered it.
- Tick the sneak perks you have to see your sneak attack damage.
Tips
- Smithing first, then fortify. The smithing bonus is added before the multipliers, so it grows with every perk and enchantment you add later.
- Daggers for one-shot kills. Nothing else comes close to 30x. Even an Iron dagger with Assassin's Blade and the gloves outdamages most two-handed weapons on a sneak attack.
- See the trees. Every damage perk is listed in the One-handed, Two-handed, Archery and Sneak perk trees.