Want to know how to beef up your hero in Skyrim quickly and easily?
David Hodgson, author of the 1,000+ page official Skyrim Legendary Game Guide, shares his tips with the Raptr community.
We asked Hodgson in the Q&A session: “What’s the easiest/fastest way to make your Skyrim character uber?”
He replied: “Focus on one or two ways to defeat foes. Up your Alchemy, Enchanting, and Smithing and craft for your combat skills. Repeat until uber.”
So there we have it. Try not to be a jack of all trades in terms of combat, just stick to magic or swords for example and focus all your efforts on those talents. If you need some tips when it comes to alchemy, check out our Skyrim Alchemy guide.
Hodgson – who has spent 2,000 hours playing Skyrim – also revealed other tips to gamers. Here are a selection of his insights:
“I topped out Archery, Stealth, Light Armor most of the time, before moving on to Enchanting, Alchemy, and Smithing. I actually spent most of my time as a Nord archer.
“Focus on a particular archetype and don’t be afraid to simply wander the world and try new elements out, like alchemy. Enchanting and Smithing your weapons, along with a single combat skill creates the most formidable of adventurers.
“If you grind enough, you can make items that slay with one hit.
“[My top three perks are] Green Thumb for when I’m collecting rare ingredients. Extra Effect when Enchanting, for obvious reasons. Backstab or Deadly Aim if I positively MUST drop a foe without raising the alarm.
“[I used] Double archers. Ghorbash takes the left flank, and I take the right. Goodbye, Bandits. Or [I use follower] Stenvar the “corpse creator” — he pummels the foes, and I enthrall them.
“A finely-crafted bow with just the right amount of poison on the arrow tip [is effective]. I could sneak through dungeons and slay at range, and bow bash if foes came too close. Sneak attack damage was nice too.”
“Bethesda is one of those companies that like their guides “complete”. So I had full knowledge of Easter Eggs. Well, aside from the one that nobody’s found yet. You have to [REDACTED]”
You can read the full Raptr Q&A here.
More Skyrim tips and guides
- Skyrim: How to be a master thief
- Skyrim’s biggest treasure stash located
- Skyrim skills and race guide
- Skyrim: Alchemy guide
- How to get infinite arrows in Skyrim
- Where to find the best swords and daggers in Skyrim
- Skyrim: Unarmed video guide
- How to steal almost anything in Skyrim
- Skyrim: How to get married

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.