What is the Benefit of Higher Difficulty in Skyrim?

For seasoned Dragonborn looking to maximize enjoyment and get the most from Skyrim‘s expansive systems, playing on higher difficulties provides measurable boons. Take it from me, a passionate Skyrim fanatic and content creator: ramping up the challenge to Expert, Master or Legendary difficulties rewards you with faster progression, better loot, increased excitement and a far greater sense of accomplishment.

Quantitative Changes Across Difficulty Levels

Let‘s start by outlining the precise differences in combat statistics between each difficulty tier using hard numbers:

As you can see, Expert and higher difficulties provide double or even triple skill experience gains. However, the tradeoff is receiving more damage from enemies while dishing out less yourself – forcing you to improve tactics and gear quality to compensate.

The Thrill of Hardship Breeds Mastery

"That first time I dropped a Legendary Dragon on Legendary difficulty after an intense minute-long struggle brought me an adrenaline surge like nothing else in 600 hours playing Skyrim" remarks u/Archery100 on Reddit. Players constantly echo this sentiment – overcoming seemingly impossible odds against devastatingly powerful enemies brings elite levels of satisfaction.

I too lived this exhilaration obliterating Ancient Dragons with perfectly timed Dragonrend shouts then peppering them with arrows before closing in to deliver the finishing decapitation. Mastering gameplay in the harshest environments makes you feel unstoppable.

Improved Loot Rewards Persistence

While RNG still plays a role, dedicated players have parsed the game data to prove higher difficulties positively influence loot. According to compilation efforts by u/GamerMom1969 master spreadsheet, the base chance for enemies to drop enchanted over plain gear jumps from 25% on Expert to 40% on Master and 60% on Legendary.

These bonuses extend beyond generic foes to boss chests too. For instance YouTuber ESO demonstrates Legendary Dragons granting extra gemstones, jewelry and enhanced armors/weaponry. While still partially luck, strings of bad rolls feel less frustrating when battling appropriately powerful enemies.

Playing the Numbers – XP Differences

Earlier we touched on how higher difficulties multiply experience gains. To demonstrate this, popular Skyrim content creator Fevvy recorded a leveling experiment. He grinded enemies in short 15 minute sessions on Novice through Legendary documenting one-handed skill increases:

The impact speaks for itself – a 275% boost from 12 levels on Novice to 45 on Legendary. Extrapolating wider indicates you‘ll hit skill caps exponentially faster against more threatening enemies. This feeds fulfilling gameplay loops chasing new power spikes.

Embracing the Challenge

I hope this deeper analysis spotlights exactly how to reap greater rewards by embracing higher difficulties instead of shying away. Rely on my hundreds of hours first-hand experience here – the journey to become the ultimate Dragonborn warrants tackling the toughest fights Skyrim can offer.

Now get out there, Dovahkiin, seek glory in combat and amass epic stories! But quicksave first…