How to Get Dragonbone Armor in Skyrim: Dragon Armor Perk, Materials and Recipes

Every Dragonborn eventually wants to wear the creatures they hunt. What players call "dragonbone armor" in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is really two sets: the heavy Dragonplate Armor and the light Dragonscale Armor. Both come from the same place, the very top of the Smithing tree, and both are built from the remains of the dragons you kill.

This guide covers the perk path, the exact materials for every piece, where the materials come from and how to get there faster. It applies to the current Special Edition and Anniversary Edition on all platforms, including the Switch 2 version. Recent updates have focused on performance and controls and haven't touched these recipes.

Quick answer

Step 1: Work your way up the Smithing tree

The Dragon Armor perk sits at the end of the tree and needs Smithing 100. It also needs one of two capstone perks below it, so pick a branch and follow it all the way:

1. Steel Smithing – the starting perk, no level requirement.
2. Light branch: Elven Smithing (30) → Advanced Armors (50) → Glass Smithing (70).
3. Heavy branch: Dwarven Smithing (30) → Orcish Smithing (50) → Ebony Smithing (80) → Daedric Smithing (90).
4. At 100 Smithing, take Dragon Armor. Either Glass Smithing or Daedric Smithing unlocks it.

The light branch is the cheaper route in perk points: five perks to reach Dragon Armor instead of six. Your branch choice doesn't lock you out of anything, since the one perk unlocks both the heavy and light dragon sets.

Step 2: Collect dragon bones and scales

Dragons are the main and most dependable source. Every regular dragon you kill leaves a skeleton you can loot for 1–3 dragon bones and a few dragon scales. In practice, the only way to build up a real stockpile is to hunt.

Loot every skeleton you come across, even long before you're close to the perk. Both materials are heavy, so stash them in a chest at home instead of hauling them around.

Step 3: Gather the other materials

Leather strips (made from leather at a tanning rack) go into every piece. The light set also needs leather and iron ingots, both easy to buy or make at any town with a smith.

Dragonplate Armor (heavy)

Dragonscale Armor (light)

For a full four-piece Dragonplate set you need 10 scales, 5 bones and 9 leather strips; the shield adds 3 scales, 1 bone and 1 strip. The four-piece Dragonscale set takes 10 scales, 5 iron ingots, 4 leather and 8 strips.

Step 4: Forge and improve it

1. Head to any forge and look for the Dragon category.
2. Craft your pieces.
3. Improve them at a workbench (armor) or grindstone (weapons). Tempering dragon gear uses dragon materials, so keep a few spare bones and scales in reserve instead of crafting every last one into new pieces.

The Dragon Armor perk also makes dragon gear improve twice as effectively, which makes a well-tempered set even stronger.

Dragonbone weapons

The same perk lets you forge Dragonbone weapons from the Dawnguard add-on, which is part of every Special and Anniversary Edition copy. Unlike the armor, most of them use ebony ingots alongside dragon bones and leather strips, so if you're planning a full kit of dragon gear, stock up on ebony as well. The big two-handers are the most bone-hungry recipes of all.

Dragonbone arrows take one dragon bone plus one firewood.

Can you just find it?

Yes, but don't count on it. Dragonplate can start showing up in random loot from character level 40, and Dragonscale from level 46. Even then it's a rare find, so crafting is by far the dependable route.

Tips for leveling Smithing fast

• Craft lots of cheap items. Every crafted item gives a flat chunk of experience on top of a bonus based on its value, so many cheap items beat a few expensive ones. Iron daggers are the classic choice.
• Make jewelry. Gold rings and necklaces are worth a lot for the ore they use and level Smithing quickly.
• Improve gear too. Tempering weapons and armor also gives experience, so don't skip the workbench.
• Use trainers when you have the gold to skip a few levels.

Common mistakes

• Buying ebony ingots for the armor. Neither dragon set uses ebony. Only the Dragonbone weapons need it.
• Selling dragon bones early. They're valuable, which makes them tempting to sell, but you'll need at least 5 for a full heavy set and more for weapons and tempering.
• Forgetting to loot the skeleton. After absorbing a dragon's soul, walk over and search the remains before moving on.
• Taking both branches. You only need Glass Smithing or Daedric Smithing to unlock Dragon Armor.