Dragonscale Armor Crafting Guide

Dragonscale Armor Set - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Wearing a full set of Dragonscale Armor

This crafting guide covers the Dragonscale Light Armor pieces that can be made utilizing the Dragon armor perk as part of the Smithing skill with your character in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Within this guide you will find pertinent details including the ingredients, stats of crafted items, profit margins, and other relative information for you to know just how to make the armor and how much you can make in septums by doing so. Each item below includes tables for reference.

Dragonscale Armor is the light armor counterpart to the Dragonplate Armor, both of which are part of the Dragon crafting group of Smithing. Unlike the heavy armor plate variant, which is second to Daedra Armor, Dragonscale is the strongest possible light armor you can potentially craft in the game, making the Dragon group of crafting items worth far more to the light armor wearers than those looking to specialize in heavy. Like its companion, this armor set takes the bone and scale ingredients found from slaying Skyrim’s many Dragons, turning them into relatively valuable pieces of armor. Unfortunately, they offer nothing in the way of weapons to craft, thus still giving a value to the Daedric crafting group since its weapons are the most powerful craftable ones in the game.

The Dragonscale set pieces depict an overall darker tone of color than the heavy armor pieces do, also being primarily made out of scales versus bone, this fact shows in the look of the pieces. In my personal opinion, the light armor also has an overall more menacing and bad-ass tone to it, particularly the shield piece. Dark blues and purples are often present as opposed to the bleached bone look.

The Dragon Scale ingredient is used to upgrade all pieces of this armor set at a Workbench to increase their overall protection and value, requiring a single scale for each piece upgraded in this manner.

Protip: Like its companion heavy armor, the Dragonscale pieces have little in the way of profit to be made, with the margin being low at best and considerably more items made at a loss than other sets.

Dragonscale Armor

Chest Piece Light Armor

A definitely sick looking piece of chest armor, the Dragonscale Armor possess many spikes on the shoulder, which sure to strike fear in your foes. A scale-like texture makes up the collar and waist portions of this piece with a leather strap that circles the bottom. Be careful not to look down to fast lest the collar spikes impale your chin.

Armor Stats

  • Weight: 10
  • Gold Value: 1500
  • Gold per pound: 150
  • Base Armor Rating: 41
  • Form ID: 0001393e

Dragonscale Armor Ingredients List:

  • Dragon Scales x4
  • Leather Strips x3
  • Leather x1
  • Iron Ingot x2

Value of Crafting Materials: 1033 Gold
Profit Margin: +467 Gold (+45%)

*The chest piece is the only part of this set worth crafting in order to make a profit, however the heavy armor variant is far better for this. Refer the Dragonplate guide linked above.

Dragonscale Boots

Foot Piece Light Armor

The Dragonscale Boots are made up of Iron shoes with a leather heel that lend themselves to scaled shingles at the lower leg portion and additional iron affixing the boots scales to the main structure of the boot. They are lined with leather pieces on the inside to maximize comfort. Not just practical, but snug and guaranteed to give you less chaffing.

Armor Stats

  • Weight: 3
  • Gold Value: 300
  • Gold per pound: 100
  • Base Armor Rating: 12
  • Form ID: 0001393d

Dragonscale Boots Ingredients List:

  • Dragon Scales x2
  • Leather Strips x2
  • Leather x1
  • Iron Ingot x1

Value of Crafting Materials: 523 Gold
Profit Margin: -223 Gold (-42%)

Both the Dragonscale Boots and the Dragonscale Gauntlets are tied here for the most lost in terms of value of ingredients versus the value of the finished product, which is somewhat uncommon when compared to other sets where the boots are usually the biggest drain overall.

Dragonscale Gauntlets

Hand Piece Light Armor

Leather portions of the Dragonscale Gauntlets make up the hands and finger tips of this armor piece with bumpy scaled bits on the wrist, transforming into sheaths of scales that cover the forearm, attached together with iron overlays in four separate shingle-like portions. If you wish to high five your buddy, please try not to miss.

Armor Stats

  • Weight: 3
  • Gold Value: 300
  • Gold per pound: 100
  • Base Armor Rating: 12
  • Form ID: 0001393f

* The Dragonscale Gauntlets are very similar to the boots in terms of most of their base stats, ingredients needed, and profit margin.

Dragonscale Gauntlets Ingredients List:

  • Leather Strips x2
  • Dragon Scales x2
  • Leather x1
  • Iron Ingot x1

Value of Crafting Materials: 523 Gold
Profit Margin: -223 Gold (-42%)

Dragonscale Helmet

Head Piece Light Armor

The Dragonscale Helmet has a far more open face portion of the equipment than its counterpart. However, it looks particularly more menacing giving the way it shrouds the user’s face in darkness much like the Daedra helmet. Six spikes of varying sizes make their way out of the temple portion before sweeping back. Anybody say metal?

Armor Stats

  • Weight: 4
  • Gold Value: 750
  • Gold per pound: 187.5
  • Base Armor Rating: 17
  • Form ID: 00013940

Dragonscale Helmet Ingredients List:

  • Dragon Scales x2
  • Leather Strips x1
  • Leather x1
  • Iron Ingot x1

Value of Crafting Materials: 520 Gold
Profit Margin: +230 Gold (+44%)

Dragonscale Shield

More spikes and bony bits decorate this shield with a metal overlay going across the central portion, presumably made up of the iron used in crafting this piece which are nailed down with studs at the edges. Some more scaled portions of the shield exist to the lower region. One of the few shields that in a practical sense, should function equally well as a weapon, even though it doesn’t actually do so in the game.

Armor Stats

  • Weight: 6
  • Gold Value: 750
  • Gold per pound: 125
  • Base Armor Rating: 29
  • Form ID: 00013941

Dragonscale Shield Ingredients List:

  • Dragon Scales x4
  • Leather Strips x2
  • Iron Ingot x2

Value of Crafting Materials: 1020 Gold
Profit Margin: -270 Gold (-26%)

* Keep in mind that shield armor rating is determined by the related armor skill, in this case Light Armor. Blocking skill only takes effect when actively using the shield to block attacks.

Last Updated on October 4, 2020 by Standard of Entertainment