Bethesda shipped Skyrim on 11 November 2011, and app 72850 is that original 32-bit release rather than Special Edition or Anniversary Edition. The last official patch was 1.9.32.0.8 in March 2013, which added Legendary skills and then stopped; Creation Club, Survival Mode and the later fishing content never touched this build. Mods here run on the 32-bit Skyrim Script Extender and inherit the memory ceiling a 32-bit process carries, so advice written for Special Edition does not transfer file for file. What you do get is a finished, heavily patched 2011 game with Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn sold as separate add-ons.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. The nine holds are Whiterun, Eastmarch, The Rift, Haafingar, The Reach, Falkreath, Hjaalmarch, The Pale and Winterhold, and every one of them has a Jarl who becomes a housecarl and a house sale once you complete a favour chain
The nine holds are Whiterun, Eastmarch, The Rift, Haafingar, The Reach, Falkreath, Hjaalmarch, The Pale and Winterhold, and every one of them has a Jarl who becomes a housecarl and a house sale once you complete a favour chain. Doing the Whiterun and Riften favours early gives you two storage points before you own a horse.
2. Smithing levels on the value of the item you create, not the number of items
Smithing levels on the value of the item you create, not the number of items. Smelting Dwemer scrap metal from any Dwemer ruin into ingots and crafting Dwarven bows is the cheapest ratio in the 2011 build, because scrap is free, heavy and everywhere in Markarth's ruins.
3. Armour rating caps at 567 for the maximum 80 percent physical damage reduction, and magic resistance caps at 85 percent
Armour rating caps at 567 for the maximum 80 percent physical damage reduction, and magic resistance caps at 85 percent. Anything past those numbers is wasted enchanting slots, so check your rating before you stack a fourth Fortify Heavy Armor effect.
4. The Atronach Stone's 50 percent spell absorption also absorbs your own area spells and your own Restoration healing in some cases, which is why melee characters take it and Restoration mages do not
The Atronach Stone's 50 percent spell absorption also absorbs your own area spells and your own Restoration healing in some cases, which is why melee characters take it and Restoration mages do not.
5. Vampirism plus the Necromage perk in Restoration applies a 25 percent boost to every enchantment and blessing on you, because the game treats the player as undead
Vampirism plus the Necromage perk in Restoration applies a 25 percent boost to every enchantment and blessing on you, because the game treats the player as undead. It is the single largest stat swing available in this version and it costs one perk point.
6. Word walls do not need the associated dragon soul to be read
Word walls do not need the associated dragon soul to be read. Walk into every Nordic ruin, read the wall, and bank the words; you can spend souls later when you know which shout you actually use.
7. Enemy levels lock when a dungeon is first loaded, not when you enter
Enemy levels lock when a dungeon is first loaded, not when you enter. Clearing Bleak Falls Barrow at level 4 means it stays a level 4 dungeon forever, which is fine, but it also means high-value locations like Labyrinthian reward waiting.
8. Legendary skills refund perks but do not refund the levels they gave you
Legendary skills refund perks but do not refund the levels they gave you. If you make Smithing Legendary at level 40 you keep level 40, keep the perk points, and start climbing Smithing again from 15 with the same enemies scaled to you.
9. The 2011 build is 32-bit, so heavy texture mods will crash it long before your GPU is the problem
The 2011 build is 32-bit, so heavy texture mods will crash it long before your GPU is the problem. Keep the total memory footprint modest and use the Skyrim Script Extender memory patch rather than assuming Special Edition rules apply.
10. Buy a house before you buy a horse
Buy a house before you buy a horse. Breezehome at 5,000 gold gives you a safe container in the city you will return to most, and horses in this version cost 1,000 gold and die to the first frost troll you pass on the road to Ivarstead.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Stealth Archer (S-Tier):
- The build the whole community jokes about, and it is a joke because it works. Sneak attacks with a bow deal triple damage at Deadly Aim, and enemy detection in the 2011 build is generous enough that you can fire, break line of sight and re-enter sneak inside the same room.
- Core gear: Dragonbone Bow with Dragonbone arrows, the Ancient Shrouded Armor set from Hag's End for its bow damage bonus, and a Daedric Dagger for finishing patrols
- Stat priority: Sneak to 100 first, then Archery, then Smithing and Enchanting; put roughly two level ups into Stamina for every one into Health
For Two-Handed Berserker (A-Tier):
- Heavy Armor plus Two-Handed is the most direct build in the game and the one that benefits most from the crafting loop. Armour rating caps at 567 for 80 percent damage reduction, which is reachable in Daedric plate at Smithing 90 without any potion tricks.
- Core gear: Daedric Greatsword or Volendrung, full Daedric armour, and the Ring of Namira if you took Namira's quest
- Stat priority: Two-Handed and Heavy Armor to 100, Smithing to 90 for Daedric, then Health heavily with Stamina for power attacks
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Skill use levelling across 18 skills + Dragon Shouts and Words of Power: There is no class system in Skyrim. Combined with Dragon Shouts and Words of Power, twenty shouts exist in the 2011 base game, each assembled from three words of power carved onto word walls.
The thirteen Standing Stones + The Smithing, Enchanting and Alchemy loop: Thirteen stones sit across the map and you may carry exactly one blessing at a time. When paired with The Smithing, Enchanting and Alchemy loop, fortify alchemy fits on four gear slots only: head, hands, ring and amulet.
Legendary skills and endless scaling scaling: Patch 1.9 lets you reset any skill sitting at 100 back to 15 and refund every perk spent in that tree, which removed the old level 81 ceiling this version originally shipped with. The catch is that the skill also stops contributing to your level total, so re-grinding a Legendary skill levels you again and drags enemy scaling up behind you.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Daedric Greatsword | Two-Handed builds that have already taken Daedric Smithing and want raw damage per swing | The heaviest base damage two-handed weapon in the 2011 game, craftable at Smithing 90 with the Daedric Smithing perk from ebony ingots and a daedra heart. |
| Dragonbone Bow | Archers past Smithing 100 who open every fight from stealth rather than trading shots | Added by Dawnguard and craftable at Smithing 100 with the Dragon Armor perk. |
| Mehrunes' Razor | Dagger assassins who want a lottery ticket on every hit against high health targets | Reward for Pieces of the Past, reassembled at the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon. |
| Dawnbreaker | One-Handed characters clearing Nordic barrows and anyone doing the Dawnguard vampire content | Meridia's reward from The Break of Dawn at Kilkreath Ruins. |
| Chillrend | Thieves Guild players who delay Mercer Frey's house until they are high level | A glass sword found in Riftweald Manor during the Thieves Guild questline, and one of the few artefacts whose stats lock to your level when you first see it. |
Location Efficiency
Whiterun (Levels 1 to 10): Capital of Whiterun Hold and the hub the main quest pushes you toward from Riverwood. Dragonsreach holds Jarl Balgruuf the Greater, Jorrvaskr holds the Companions, and Warmaiden's plus Arcadia's Cauldron cover smithing and alchemy supplies within thirty seconds of each other.
Solitude (Levels 15 to 30): Capital of Haafingar and seat of Jarl Elisif the Fair in the Blue Palace, with Castle Dour housing the Imperial Legion. The Bards College is here, and so is the East Empire Company warehouse the Thieves Guild eventually sends you into.
Markarth (Levels 12 to 25): Capital of The Reach, built inside a Dwemer ruin and the most hostile city in the game. The Forsworn Conspiracy starts within a minute of walking through the gate and ends with you in Cidhna Mine, which is the only prison in Skyrim you cannot simply serve time in.
Riften (Levels 8 to 20): Capital of The Rift and the least law-abiding city on the map. The Ratway under the canal holds the Ragged Flagon and the Thieves Guild, Maven Black-Briar runs the meadery and most of the Jarl's decisions, and the Temple of Mara handles every marriage in the game.
Windhelm (Levels 10 to 22): Capital of Eastmarch and Ulfric Stormcloak's base in the Palace of the Kings. The Gray Quarter houses the city's Dunmer population and the Blood on the Ice murder mystery only triggers after you have entered the city several times, which is why many players miss it entirely.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Treating Skyrim like it has classes and refusing to use skills outside a self-imposed archetype. The game levels you off whatever you touch, so a pure mage who never picks a lock is simply levelling slower than a character who does everything.
- Spending dragon souls on shouts you will never cast. Storm Call and Call Dragon look impressive and see almost no use; Whirlwind Sprint, Become Ethereal and Marked for Death earn their souls every dungeon.
- Levelling Speech, Lockpicking and Pickpocket early. They raise your character level, which raises enemy scaling, without giving you any combat power in return, so a level 20 character built on Speech fights like a level 5.
- Selling Dwemer scrap metal to merchants instead of smelting it. Scrap sells for very little and smelts into ingots worth far more as Dwarven bows, which is both money and Smithing levels from the same pile of junk.
- Installing Special Edition mods on app 72850. The 32-bit and 64-bit versions use different script extenders and different plugin formats, and an SE-only mod will either refuse to load or corrupt the save it is attached to.
Pro Quick Tips
- The nine holds are Whiterun, Eastmarch, The Rift, Haafingar, The Reach, Falkreath, Hjaalmarch, The Pale and Winterhold, and every one of them has a Jarl who becomes a housecarl and a house sale once you complete a favour chain. Doing the Whiterun and Riften favours early gives you two storage points before you own a horse.
- Smithing levels on the value of the item you create, not the number of items. Smelting Dwemer scrap metal from any Dwemer ruin into ingots and crafting Dwarven bows is the cheapest ratio in the 2011 build, because scrap is free, heavy and everywhere in Markarth's ruins.
- Armour rating caps at 567 for the maximum 80 percent physical damage reduction, and magic resistance caps at 85 percent. Anything past those numbers is wasted enchanting slots, so check your rating before you stack a fourth Fortify Heavy Armor effect.
- Start with Two-Handed Berserker, switch to Stealth Archer when ready
- Invest in Daedric Greatsword above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Whiterun → Solitude → Markarth → Riften → Windhelm. See our maps guide
- Skill use levelling across 18 skills + Dragon Shouts and Words of Power together are stronger than either alone
More The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Guides
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Overview
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Best Builds
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Tier List
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Walkthrough
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Beginner's Guide
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Weapons Guide
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Combat Guide
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Boss Guide
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Maps & Locations
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Crafting Guide
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Classes & Characters
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