How To Defeat The Ebony Warrior In Skyrim?

How To Defeat The Ebony Warrior In Skyrim?

Quick Links

  • Encountering the Ebony Warrior
  • Send The Ebony Warrior Back To Sovngarde
  • The Ebony Warrior’s Loot

As a seasoned adventurer who’s battled my fair share of dragons and daedra, let me tell you, the Ebony Warrior’s gear is nothing short of impressive. While their weapons are certainly formidable, by the time we’re talking about artifacts or self-forged weapons, they’re just not in the same league.


You’ve scaled the zenith of Skyrim. You’ve vanquished Alduin, bested Lord Harkon, and outshone Miraak, a Dragonborn extraordinary.

Then, that man in black armor showed up and challenged you to a duel. And by Talos, he’s

With a little assistance, the chance for victory is still yours. Let’s analyze the capabilities of the Ebony Warrior and provide you with strategies to vanquish him, ensuring his passage to Sovngarde. Overcome, and you’ll be richly compensated with your foe’s gear.

Encountering the Ebony Warrior

The Ebony Warrior will engage you in battle once your character has advanced to level 80. After this milestone, explore any one of the five significant cities found within Skyrim.

  • Whiterun
  • Windhelm
  • Solitude
  • Markarth
  • Riften

As you go about your daily tasks, the Ebony Warrior appears and issues a challenge for a duel at Last Vigil. You can find him camping in the mountains northeast of Riften.

As a dedicated fan, I find myself standing before an intriguing new challenge marked on my map – the epic showdown titled “The Ebony Warrior.” My journal now holds this quest, and it’s refreshingly straightforward: all I need to do is journey to Last Vigil for the upcoming battle.

The Ebony Warrior’s Abilities

How To Defeat The Ebony Warrior In Skyrim?

As a fellow enthusiast, let me share my perspective: The Ebony Warrior isn’t exactly someone you’d want to face until you’ve mastered the vast world of Skyrim and its additional content. Equipped with elite gear and almost invulnerable to Skyrim’s common debuffs, this warrior is an unyielding force to be reckoned with.

Oh, and he’s also a Dragonborn. So be ready to get knocked flying by Unrelenting Force .

HealthMagickaStaminaSpellsDragon Shouts
2,071250364Close Wounds, Command Daedra, Conjure Storm Atronach, Frost Cloak, IronfleshDisarm, Unrelenting Force

This fearless Redguard is geared up to endure agony, swipe your summoned comrades, and snatch your weapons away. In hand-to-hand combat, resistance might be futile since his Ebony Vampire Sword restores his health whenever it drains yours.

Engaging the Ebony Warrior from a distance isn’t necessarily simpler due to his Winter Ebony Bow, which can hinder your progress, making it tougher to deplete this boss’s health through skirmishes. This tactic gives him the opportunity to push you into close combat, where he becomes significantly more formidable.

In addition, the Ebony Warrior’s skills and perks rival your own. Be especially watchful for:

  • Reflect Blows: 10% chance melee damage is reflected into your face.
  • Paralyzing Strike: 25% chance of paralysis on power attacks.
  • Critical Charge: Huge damage when sprinting up to stab you.

On the protective front, the Ebony Warrior benefits significantly from his Magic Resistance and Elemental Protection abilities, along with his magical equipment. This setup makes him exceptionally tough against harm caused by elemental spells.

The Ebony Warrior is not affected by abilities such as Paralysis, Vampiric Grasp, Disarm, or being transformed into a chicken using the Wabbajack.

Send The Ebony Warrior Back To Sovngarde

How To Defeat The Ebony Warrior In Skyrim?
Right in the kidneys.

So how in the world do you vanquish this guy?

You can defeat the Ebony Warrior using any character build, but it doesn’t imply that every build offers an equal level of ease. Specifically, the Ebony Warrior’s most challenging trait is the Reflect Blows. This perk, when equipped by characters with Heavy Armor at 100, gives him a 10% chance to retaliate against you by reflecting damage back towards you.

Stealth Strategies

How To Defeat The Ebony Warrior In Skyrim?

Regardless of his defiance and might, the Ebony Warrior is typically the one who initiates the battle. Make use of this opportunity for an honorable duel, as it may not last long.

Take advantage of the Ebony Warrior’s long-suffering nature by launching a surprise attack from behind, as his limited capacity to detect covert opponents or deflect sneak assaults offers a significant strategic edge in combat.

A backstab will work best when you’re using the “stealth assassin” character setup, which includes the Sneak skill’s Backstab and Assassin’s Blade abilities. Without these perks, a sneak attack can still initiate a fight, but it won’t significantly alter the outcome of the battle.

To maximize your advantage when using Assassin’s Blade, don’t forget to save your progress frequently. The +15 damage boost it offers is simply fantastic, but beware that the Reflect Blows perk can still harm you after death if you manage to one-shot the Ebony Warrior in a single strike.

If you’ve attained Sneak level 100 and chosen the Shadow Warrior perk, consistently lowering yourself into a crouch before sneaking could be an effective strategy. Essentially, it’s one of the few methods to engage with the Ebony Warrior without getting into close combat.

Instead of continuously engaging, take advantage of the Deadly Aim perk by intermittently retreating to launch surprise attacks with your arrows. This approach may require some time due to the Ebony Warrior’s Close Wounds spell and his stockpile of 5 Potions of Vigorous Healing. However, if you remain patient, he will eventually succumb.

Even though the Ebony Warrior is immune to Wabbajack, it can still fall victim to the deadly instant-kill effect of Mehrunes’ Razor. However, the Reflect Blows skill provides no protection against this rare occurrence.

Close Combat Strategies

How To Defeat The Ebony Warrior In Skyrim?

If you decide to challenge the Ebony Warrior head-on, make sure you have plenty of health restorative items at hand. Given that there’s no apparent weakness in his armor, this battle turns into a test of stamina rather than strategy.

By the time you finish playing Skyrim, it’s highly likely that you’ll have amassed quite a collection of items to spend. You don’t need to save these for potential battles ahead; feel free to carry your preferred consumables with you and get ready to utilize them whenever needed.

As a fellow enthusiast, I recommend minimizing the repercussions of this effect by eschewing powerful strikes and instead opting for swift individual attacks. Simultaneously, dodge or block with your shield to evade incoming blows as much as possible. Although Reflect Blows might still activate, you’ll avoid unintentionally dealing a lethal blow to yourself following a power attack.

Using Alchemy

How To Defeat The Ebony Warrior In Skyrim?
Already use your stockpile? Better get crafting.

Regardless of your skill level, experimenting with Alchemy to brew some poisons can gradually decrease the health of this boss. As a Redguard, the Ebony Warrior boasts a 50% resistance to poison, though it’s not enhanced by any of his perks or gear.

Instead of being a weakness per se, coating your melee weapons with poison can significantly reduce the duration you have to endure his attacks. However, it’s important to note that Reflect Blows won’t return any poison damage inflicted.

In simpler terms, poisons like Paralyze typically don’t affect him, but they can cause damage to his health. Moreover, the Ravage Health ability significantly decreases his total health points, which cannot be restored by healing!

Not all ingredients are equal, so make sure you’re using the best options available.

IngredientEffectEasy Sources
River BettyDamage HealthFishing in any river or lake.
Crimson NirnrootDamage HealthOnly in the Blackreach (make sure you’ve first delivered 30 for the quest A Return To Your Roots).
DeathbellDamage HealthSwampy areas like the Hjaalmarch.
ScathecrawRavage HealthForaging on Solstheim, especially near Raven Rock.
Skeever TailRavage HealthSkeevers can be found all over Skyrim. Also sold by Apothecaries.
Giant LichenRavage HealthSwampy areas, including both the Hjaallmarch and the marshes east of Solitude.

If you’ve managed to keep the unique Jarrin Root from the Dark Brotherhood mission named “To Kill An Empire”, you have the ability to craft a Poison that deals 100 times more health damage than any other poison available in the game.

Magical Strategies

How To Defeat The Ebony Warrior In Skyrim?

Because the Ebony Warrior has strong resistance to elemental damages, it can be challenging to defeat him using magical attacks. Instead, consider bringing a companion who can engage him in close combat, allowing your magical attacks to gradually chip away at his health bar.

If you heavily depend on Destruction magic, seek out spells with extra effects. For instance, Chain Lightning causes enemies to stagger, thereby helping you dodge the Ebony Warrior’s assaults.

Regardless of your actions, avoid summoning Daedra when facing the Ebony Warrior. Instead, he’ll use Command Daedra to turn them against you. To distract this boss, consider using non-Daedric Conjuration spells such as raising a Dead Thrall and conjuring a Dragon Priest.

Ultimately, the Ash Rune charm doesn’t inflict elemental harm; instead, it enables you to effectively shatter the Ebony Warrior. Fortunately, he won’t succumb to the spell’s paralyzing influence, but you’ll largely bypass his resistances in the process.

The Ebony Warrior’s Loot

How To Defeat The Ebony Warrior In Skyrim?

Overcoming this final obstacle will yield all the items on its damaged form. The upside? That’s quite a substantial find.

ArmorArmorWeightValueEffects
Ebony Helmet of Waterbreathing21101,415gCan swim underwater without drowning.
Ebony Armor of Regeneration43362,657gHealth regenerates 40% faster.
Ebony Gauntlets of Extreme Wielding1671,347gOne-handed attacks do 35% more damage.
Ebony Boots of Frost Suppression167977gIncreases Frost Resistance by 50%.
Ebony Shield of Fire Suppression32141,415gIncreases Fire Resistance by 50%.

It’s no surprise that basic elemental spells seem ineffective; the Ebony Warrior’s equipment significantly enhances his resistance to those elements.

WeaponDamageWeightValueEffects
Ebony Sword of the Vampire13151,956gAbsorb 25 points of health.
Ebony Bow of Winter17161,234gTarget takes 30 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina, and moves at 50% speed for 3 seconds.

By now in the game, it’s likely that you are using artifacts, possibly crafted by your own hand, which surpass the quality of the Ebony Warrior’s weapons.

Other BelongingsWeightValueEffects
Ebony Arrows07gDeal 20 damage. Carries 13.
Ring of Peerless Wielding0.31,373gOne-handed attacks do 40% more damage.
Necklace of Shock Suppression0.5989gIncreases Shock Resistance by 50%.
Black Soul Gem1750gAlready filled-up with a Grand soul.
Daedra Heart0.5250gUsed in Alchemy.
Human Heart10gUsed in Alchemy.
Potion of Vigorous Healing0.579gRestores 100 points of Health. Carries 5.
Flawless Gems0.62,930gUsed in crafting. Carries 1 of each type (Amethyst, Diamond, Emerald, Garnet, Ruby, and Sapphire).

Here, you’ll discover some truly useful and precious items. Potions and soul gems are handy in many situations, but the Ring of Exceptional Mastery enhances one-handed weapon damage, which is hard to surpass unless you’ve put points into the enchanting skill.

As a gamer, I’ve gotta admit that the Ebony Warrior’s gear, enchanted with Elemental Suppression, isn’t exactly top-tier. But here’s a tip: don’t wear them separately, instead, suit up with all three at once to gain substantial resistance against three of the most prevalent damage types in this game.

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2024-09-23 17:39