The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Walkthrough: Start to Endgame

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.

This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.

Quick Progression Summary

Phase	Area	Focus	Build	Duration
1. Start	Whiterun	Skill use levelling across 18 skills basics	Two-Handed Berserker	1-2 hours
2. Early	Solitude	Dragon Shouts and Words of Power mastery	Two-Handed Berserker	3-5 hours
3. Mid	Markarth	The thirteen Standing Stones + gear	Stealth Archer or Two-Handed Berserker	5-10 hours
4. Late	Riften	Build optimization	Stealth Archer	5-10 hours
5. Endgame	Windhelm	Min-max	Stealth Archer or Illusion Assassin	Ongoing

See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.

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Phase 1: Getting Started (Whiterun)

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.

Level/Difficulty: Levels 1 to 10 Key Rewards: Breezehome for 5,000 gold, the Companions questline and werewolf option, the Whiterun forge, and the Bannered Mare as a free fast travel anchor

What to Do in Whiterun

1. Learn Skill use levelling across 18 skills. There is no class system in Skyrim. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
2. Pick Two-Handed Berserker as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
3. 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.
4. Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Dragonbone Bow or whatever's available.
5. Clear all main content before moving on.

Phase 1 Checklist

• Understand Skill use levelling across 18 skills fundamentals
• Two-Handed Berserker selected and functional
• Whiterun main content cleared
• Ready for Solitude

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Phase 2: Early Game (Solitude)

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.

Level/Difficulty: Levels 15 to 30 Key Rewards: Proudspire Manor for 25,000 gold, the Bards College questline, Imperial Legion recruitment, and access to the Dark Brotherhood's final targets

What to Do in Solitude

1. Work on 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. This system becomes critical from here on.
2. Farm for Dragonbone Bow if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
3. 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.
4. Complete all objectives before pushing to Markarth.
5. Consider whether Stealth Archer might suit your playstyle better than Two-Handed Berserker.

Phase 2 Checklist

• Dragon Shouts and Words of Power integrated into gameplay
• Dragonbone Bow acquired
• Solitude fully cleared
• Ready for Markarth

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Phase 3: Mid Game (Markarth)

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.

Level/Difficulty: Levels 12 to 25 Key Rewards: Vlindrel Hall for 8,000 gold, the Dwemer Museum in Understone Keep, Nchuand-Zel below the city, and the Forsworn questline reward

What to Do in Markarth

1. Master The thirteen Standing Stones. Thirteen stones sit across the map and you may carry exactly one blessing at a time. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
2. Start working toward Daedric Greatsword. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
3. 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. This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
5. Start investing in The Smithing, Enchanting and Alchemy loop for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.

Phase 3 Checklist

• The thirteen Standing Stones mastered
• Daedric Greatsword acquired or in progress
• Markarth fully cleared
• Ready for Riften

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Phase 4: Late Game (Riften)

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.

Level/Difficulty: Levels 8 to 20 Key Rewards: Honeyside for 8,000 gold, the full Thieves Guild and Nightingale questlines, the Amulet of Mara, and Riften's fence for stolen goods

What to Do in Riften

1. Finalize your build. You should be running Stealth Archer or Two-Handed Berserker with optimized gear.
2. Daedric Greatsword should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
3. 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.
4. Legendary skills and endless scaling optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
5. Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Windhelm.

Phase 4 Checklist

• Build fully optimized
• Daedric Greatsword upgraded to max
• Riften fully cleared
• Ready for Windhelm

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Phase 5: Endgame (Windhelm)

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.

Level/Difficulty: Levels 10 to 22 Key Rewards: Hjerim for 12,000 gold, Stormcloak recruitment, the Blood on the Ice questline, and the boat to the Dragonborn content at Raven Rock

What to Do in Windhelm

1. Windhelm tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
2. 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.
3. The endgame loop: run Windhelm, optimize gear, push harder content.
4. Experiment with Illusion Assassin for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
5. This is where Legendary skills and endless scaling mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.

Phase 5 Checklist

• Endgame content on farm
• Best-in-slot gear acquired
• Windhelm fully cleared
• Ready for challenge content

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Common Progression Mistakes

• 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.

Key Tips for Smooth Progression

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. 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. 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. 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.
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. It is the single largest stat swing available in this version and it costs one perk point.

For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.

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 Beginner's Guide
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Tips & Tricks
• 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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