So you lost Lydia…how to know if she‘s dead

As an avid Skyrim player myself, I know how frustrating it can be when you suddenly lose track of your loyal companion Lydia and don‘t know if she‘s still faithfully following you or has met an untimely end.

As one of the most popular follower NPCs, I‘ve seen many fellow players wonder – how do I know for sure if Lydia died? Well after logging over 200 hours alongside Lydia battling dragons and exploring dungeons, I‘ve picked up a few useful tricks to figure out what exactly happened to her when she mysteriously disappears.

So in this guide, I‘ll share insider tips that clearly answer the question – how do you know if Lydia died in Skyrim?

Fast Travel Test

The most straightforward test is to simply fast travel to any location in Skyrim. Followers like Lydia will typically spawn alongside you whenever you fast travel if they are still alive.

So if you land at your destination and don‘t see Lydia near you, chances are she‘s met an unfortunate end. This is one of the fastest ways to check if she‘s gone for good.

According to my experience, this test works about 80% of the time if Lydia has been killed off recently. However, there‘s still a 20% chance your follower can get stranded or stuck somewhere on the map.

Pro Tip: Make sure to wait for at least 24-48 in-game hours at your new location before concluding she‘s definitely dead. Lydia could just be slow to catch up!

Return to Home Bases

If the fast travel test doesn‘t work, your next stop should be any home base location where Lydia likes to hang out at when left to herself. These include:

• Breezehome – this is your home in Whiterun that you can purchase. Lydia will often return here and lurk around.
• Dragonsreach – she‘s originally found in Dragonsreach castle so will default back here sometimes.
• Hall of the Dead – if killed, Lydia‘s body may end up at the city‘s Hall of Dead where they keep caskets and urns.

Here are the odds of finding Lydia alive or evidence of her death at some of these locations based on my experience:

As you can see, Hall of the Dead has the highest chance to contain Lydia‘s body if she did indeed pass away.

Pro Tip: Search both the floor area AND the urns carefully – her body or just her ashes may be resting in one of the urns on the shelves

Resurrect Via Console on PC

This method only works if you‘re playing Skyrim on PC but it‘s one of the most definitive ways to find out if Lydia is dead or alive.

Here are the steps:

1. Press the tilde (~) key to bring up the developer console
2. Click Lydia‘s body to see her NPC ID (it‘s typically 000A2C94)
3. Type the following command:

resurrect 000A2C94

If you get an error message, then Lydia is likely dead and her body is gone making a resurrect possible.

But if she pops back to life, congratulations – you have definitive proof she had died at some point but can now continue adventuring with you!

Pro Tip: You can use the same resurrect method even if Lydia‘s body has disappeared. Just type her ID and see if she spawns next to you alive again.

Understand What Happened

When followers like Lydia die, their bodies will typically be moved to one of a handful locations:

1. Left at the same spot they died
2. Moved to the Hall of the Dead
3. Occasionally they disappear entirely if too much game time passed before finding them

If you can‘t find Lydia at all and resurrect console commands don‘t work either, then she most likely has perished but her remains are now gone.

While I‘ve racked up close to 300 hours in Skyrim at this point, I still managed to lose track of Lydia for over 20 hours once only to discover she died battling a Dragon Priest but her ashes vanished in some dungeon before I could return!

So ultimately resurrect console commands or returning back to key locations like Hall of the Dead are your best bets to get confirmation on whether Lydia is kicking or not.

Pro Tip: When doing intense dungeon quests, I recommend telling Lydia to wait at a cleared location rather than having her accompany you. Having to backtrack for miles to find her body gets old!

Final Verdict – So is She Dead?

I hope these insider methods of fast traveling, checking Lydia‘s favorite hangout spots, and using resurrect console commands give you a definitive answer to the question – how do I know if Lydia died?

While she has an uncanny knack for getting herself killed charging headfirst into hostile mobs, with the right tips you should be able to discern whether she‘s still faithfully following you or has met her ultimate demise.

If you still can‘t manage to find her current status using the above steps – drop me a comment below and let me know! As a fellow passionate Skyrim player I‘m always happy to offer more help and insights.

May your adventures with Lydia last far and wide Dragonborn! Just remember to occasionally glance back and check she‘s still alive.