What is the max level in Skyrim? Explained

Skyrim is one of the most open RPGs ever made. You can tackle any quest at any moment and easily get overpowered before even having a dent in the main storyline. The main question is, what is the max level in Skyrim?

Well, it is a bit complicated to explain and depends on the version of Skyrim you’re playing. However, we’ll tackle everything you need to know about the max level in Skyrim.

What is the level cap in Skyrim?

Image via Bethesda Game Studios

“Vanilla” Skyrim (pre-patch 1.9) only allows the player to climb to level 81. This means you can’t get all of the perks in the tree. With the introduction of Legendary Skills, however, players now have the option to level up infinitely. To truly max out your character, you need to get your character to level 252 — achieving every perk in the game.

Regarding subsequent iterations of the game, there is no max level, as you can keep resetting your skills to level up indefinitely. Don’t worry: Skyrim has a system that scales enemy levels as you get more powerful, so there is still a challenge even if you are “over-leveled.”

How do skill resets work in Skyrim?

Image via Bethesda Game Studios

Resetting your skill from level 100 back to 15 (making them Legendary) allows you to gain more experience and pass through the level cap of 81. Eventually, you will gain enough points to have all perks active simultaneously. Although this is a tedious process and can take up to hundreds of hours, it is the perfect way to play more Skyrim or even Skyrim VR for completionists.

You can still use high-end skills even if you decide to reset your skill as long as you have enough resources, mainly Magicka. It works differently for smithing, as you can’t upgrade your future weapons until you get the proper smithing perks back.