Skyrim: How To Get A Daedra Heart (& What It’s For)
Daedra Hearts are a potent ingredient used in select high-tier potions, arms, and armor and are one of the rarer materials within Skyrim. Players often have to hope for RNG to be on their side to get a steady supply. But despite being a rare item, there are a few places where players can find guaranteed samples.
Daedra Hearts are often acquired from slaying Dremora, which are humanoid Daedra that are often noted to have a black skin tone and red markings on their face. Since Daedra are dangerous creatures best left to talented mages, that often means Daedra Hearts are sold by those of either arcane or necromantic affinity. Though it is possible for common merchants to have one spawn in their inventory. Below will be a general overview of how to obtain Daedra Hearts and what they are used for.
Aside from relying on RNG to randomly spawn it in a Skyrim's shopkeeper inventory, players interested in buying Daedra Hearts will need to have access to Babette from the Dark Brotherhood or Enthir from the College of Winterhold. These two merchants, in particular, have a high chance of having Daedra in their selling inventory, with Babette having roughly a 40% chance of 1-6 hearts. Enthir, however, is almost guaranteed to have 2 on his person. The base value for these hearts is 250 gold per heart, but this cost can easily be lessened if one has a high speechcraft skill.
If the player isn’t interested in buying the material, they can always try uncovering or stealing Daedra Hearts from a few guaranteed spawn points within Skyrim. There are two in Nightcaller Temple, one in Volkihair Ruins, one in Jorrvaskr Living Quarters, but the best place to get Daedra Hearts is the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon. With the inside inaccessible until the Daedric quest “Pieces of the Past” is completed, the shrine will reliably respawn up to four living Daedra every few days. This makes the shrine ideal for anyone who wants to farm Daedra Hearts by slaying enemies.
Daedra Hearts are a potent ingredient for alchemy in Skyrim, with the material having the alchemical effects of restore health, damage stamina regeneration, damage Magicka, and fear. This makes the ingredient ideal for anyone who wants to create an expensive potion or a way to quickly de-power a spellcaster.
But the best use, by far, is how they are used in making Skyrim's Daedric Armor. Daedra Hearts are a vital component for the high-tier armor, and often need to be combined with ebony and leather straps to make a single piece. Daedric equipment is one of the coolest-looking armor and weapon sets around, and in terms of sheer stats, it outclasses even dragon bone in terms of defense and attack power. When enhanced with enchantments, Daedric equipment can easily become overpowered.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC