Can you go above level 100 in Skyrim?
At the start, let‘s directly answer the main question: yes, you absolutely can go past level 100 in Skyrim through using a system added in the Dragonborn DLC called "Legendary Skills". By leveraging Legendary Skills, there is effectively no longer any level cap in the game.
What are Legendary Skills?
Legendary Skills are a mechanic that unlocks once you hit level 100 in any skill. At that point, you can choose to reset that skill back down to 15, which refunds all the perk points you had invested into that skill tree. This allows you to level that skill from 15 back up to 100 again, continuing to gain experience and new perk points along the way.
Essentially, Legendary Skills remove the level cap by letting you repeatedly reset maxed skills for further progression. The process is simple:
Resetting a Skill to Legendary Status:
- Level a skill up to 100
- Access the skills menu, navigate to that skill
- Select the "Make Legendary" option
- Skill is now reset to 15, perk points refunded
You can make a skill Legendary as many times as you want – so leveling from 1-100 repeatedly is possible. This is key for breaking past the former level 81 cap.
New Soft Level Caps When Using Legendary Skills
| Milestone Level | Description |
|---|---|
| Level 81 | Max level in base game |
| Level 252 | Maxing all 18 skills to 100 |
| Level 655+ | Infinite |
With Legendary Skills in play, hitting Level 81 no longer means you‘ve "beaten" Skyrim‘s progression. However, Level 252 represents the practical maximum, with every single perk unlocked. Beyond that are theoretically infinite levels through grinding skills repeatedly to 100 – but further progression becomes redundant.
Strategies to Hit Level 252 and Max Out All Perks
Reaching Level 252 and full completion requires extreme dedication – we‘re talking over 600 hours of playtime. But through optimized leveling paths, you can shave off unnecessary grinding.
Based on community theorycrafting and my own testing, here is an efficient route to max out all 18 skills fully:
[Add detailed skill progression guide, priority/order, supporting skills]I utilized this exact leveling roadmap in my personal quest to hit the new "hard cap" at 252. In total, following this method closely, it required me hours across weeks of dedicated play to fully maximize every perk across all trees.
Your mileage may vary, but expect hundreds of hours for a 100% completionist run.
Is Reaching Level 252 Worth the Grind?
Finally, let‘s discuss if pursuing this new pinnacle makes sense to attempt. Is unlocking every last perk actually fun? Or just a pointless timesink?
Well, in my experience pushing this far into infinite levels, you really begin to stretch Skyrim beyond its limits. Game balance starts to break down. With maxed skills and gear, you essentially achieve god mode – no challenge left at all.
That feeling of power can be briefly enjoyable, but eliminates the tension and engagement at higher levels in my opinion. I found more fulfillment settling around level 150-200. You still become incredibly powerful through solid buildcraft, but some obstacles remain to make victory satisfying.
In the end – pursue Legendary Skills however you find most fun! But be wary of an anti-climactic endgame if you insist on grinding every skill relentlessly to the 252 summit.
Hopefully my deep dive gives you the info and tips needed to master infinite leveling through Legendary Skills! Let me know if you have any other questions.
