The Serpent Stone
Primary Location Guide
The Serpent Stone is one of the 13 Standing Stones located throughout the lands of Skyrim which each grant a specific bonus through the form of a blessing, received when the stone is activated. This particular stone’s blessing grants the player a once-per-day use of a paralyzing poison spell which can be used without magika cost or even a weapon to apply the poison to. Remember, only one stone’s blessing can be active on your character at any time, so it’s worth considering which blessing would be best suited for whatever task you are up against next.
Nearby Enemies:
- Ice Wraith
Nearby Items:
- Corundum Ore Vein
- Spiky Grass x2 (Grass Pod)
How to Find the Serpent Stone
The Serpent Stone can be found from traveling southeast out of Winterhold, then making your way to the icy waters found nearby. From the shoreline you can swim northeast, changing slightly in direction depending on which point of the shore you are traversing from. The stone is situated on its own island, quite larger than those around it.
It can be hard to see the island through the clouds of the world map, except for rare occasions when the cloud coverage moves away, so check the images below for additional details. If you have discovered the Wreck of the Pride of Tel Vos, then you can head almost directly northeast from there until the Serpent Stone icon appears on your compass. Alternatively, you can also do the same by traveling north from the Bleakcoast Cave location.
Upon reaching the island you will need to find one of the three paths that take you up from the water to the summit, which are found to the southeast, northeast, and northwest of the island.
The Serpent Stone’s Blessing
The Serpent Stone is one of 4 of the 13 Standing Stones in Skyrim that provides characters with a special power that can be used once every 24 in-game hours, just like the Shadow Stone (invisibility), Ritual Stone (AoE Raise Undead) and Tower Stone (instant lockpick). This stone, in particular, provides you with a special paralyze poison attack that can be cast as a direct fire spell, firing a green ball of energy that is capable of dropping your target to the ground, preventing any action for 5 seconds, while also causing 25 points of damage through poison.
The paralyzing power granted by the Serpent Stone’s blessing can be quite handy for those not looking for a stat or skill raise bonus, especially when used against strong, ranged enemy types. Typically best saved for the final, head enemy of a caster dungeon, you can hit a powerful spell user to drop him or her, then charge up close to follow up with strong melee attacks, since they won’t be able to raise any shield against you while down either.
There is no particular class that benefits more than others with this spell, except potentially those who have not already unlocked the actual paralyzing spells or characters whose alchemy is to low to create effective paralyzing potions to be applied to weapons.
The one potential major drawback—besides its limited use, is the fact that the Serpent Stone power is a direct attack, and gets used up whether your strike hits the target or not, thus extra care should be taken to make sure the hit lands. If the shot goes wide, you’ve probably screwed yourself since there is no way to wait 24 hours once already in combat. Also, make sure you don’t paralyze a target you cannot readily reach to follow up on as the duration is fairly limited at only five seconds. The damage effect is negligible and should just be considered the icing on the cake here.
Nearby Threats
Enemy-wise, there is only a single creature to watch out for when approaching the primary location of the stone. A single Ice Wraith typically guards the stone closely, so there is no real way to avoid combating it. If you find yourself taking heavy damage from this creature, consider bringing some frost resistance potions or equipment, or even arriving at the Serpent Stone with the blessing from either the Lady Stone or Lord Stone active, as both should help resist some of its frost damage.
Nearby Items
The Island which the Serpent Stone is situated on has limited resources available for harvesting. However, there is still some worth checking out. Alchemists will find a pair of Spiky Grass plants that provide the player with Grass Pods on the northeastern tip of the island that juts out into the water. Second is a Corundum Ore Vein located at the southeastern ramp entrance, right by the water which takes you up to the summit. Check the images to the right for more specifics.
Video Guide
Last Updated on October 4, 2020 by Standard of Entertainment