Skyrim:Steel

Steel weapons and heavy armor are low-quality items that are made using steel, an alloy of iron and corundum.

right|thumb|A pile of Steel Ingots
Several higher quality items are also crafted out of steel, including scaled armor, steel plate armor, ancient Nord armor, Nord hero, and Skyforge steel weapons. These higher quality items are not unlocked by the Steel Smithing perk; details on how to craft them are provided on their separate pages.

Overview

1 steel ingot is obtained by smelting one corundum ore and one iron ore.
Steel Smithing is a Smithing perk that can be unlocked from the start of the game.
Steel Armor is level 6 heavy armor, made from steel ingots, iron ingots, and leather strips.
Steel weapons are level 2 weapons, made from steel ingots, iron ingots, and leather strips

Mineral Sources
In addition to the following guaranteed sources, the best random locations are:
Steel ingots may be sold by all blacksmith and general goods merchants starting at level 7.
There are a total of 44 steel ingots available in game, mostly at blacksmith shops. Only locations containing multiple steel ingots are included in the following list. Although most of these are owned, befriending the blacksmith may make it possible to freely take the ingots. The ore types necessary to make steel are also very common, with hundreds of ore veins for each; vein locations are detailed on the separate pages for iron ore and corundum ore.


Steel Smithing
Steel Smithing is the first perk in the Smithing skill's perk tree, and can be unlocked at the start of the game. It enables the crafting of two types of heavy armor, Imperial armor and steel armor, as well as steel weapons.

The Steel Smithing perk also causes tempering of steel weapons and armor to be twice as effective. This perk applies to both unenchanted steel gear and enchanted gear (generic armor, generic weapons, or custom), as long as the Arcane Blacksmith perk has been unlocked. Tempering of several other items is also improved by Steel Smithing, namely:


Light Armor
Imperial Light Armor
As of Patch Version 1.9, it is possible to craft Imperial light armor. The armor's rating is identical to fur armor. Imperial light armor does not appear in standard armor leveled lists, but is commonly used by soldiers. Tempering, however, requires one leather and it does not benefit from the Steel Smithing perk.
 

thumb|A male Skyrim:Nord|Nord wearing Imperial Light Armor

 

 
 

The Remnant shield is a medium quality light armor shield added by the Redguard Elite Armaments Creation. While it is visually part of the Remnant armor set, it is not of the scaled material type, but the steel material type. As such, the shield does not require the Advanced Armors perk. It is however tempered with a corundum ingot. Regardless, shields don't affect the Matching Set perks.

Of all the shields that weigh 4 (the lightest variety of shields available), it holds the highest armor rating score, which is just half a point shy of the chitin shield's  armor rating.

 

Heavy Armor
Imperial Armor
Imperial armor is the lowest-quality heavy armor in the game, with the armor rating of iron armor, but with the weight of steel, and only 80% of the base value of iron armor. Prior to Patch Version 1.9, only this version of Imperial armor could be crafted. Imperial armor does not appear in standard armor leveled lists, but is commonly used by soldiers.
 
A second (full-face) version of the Imperial helmet and the Imperial Officer's helmet are both considered part of the Imperial heavy armor set, and can be worn to get the Matching Set bonus. However, neither of these helmets can be crafted at forges.
All items (including the non-craftable Imperial helmets) can be tempered using one steel ingot, and having the Steel Smithing perk doubles the quality improvement.
thumb|right|A female Skyrim:Imperial|Imperial wearing Imperial armor

 

Steel Armor
Steel armor is another low-quality armor, but it is one notch better than iron armor and Imperial armor.
Each of the cuirass, boots, gauntlets, and helmet comes in two variants that have identical statistics, but differ in stylistic details.
Any combination of these items can be used interchangeably to create a set of armor that qualifies for the Matching Set bonus.
All items can be tempered using one steel ingot, and having the Steel Smithing perk doubles the quality improvement.

The Fearsome Fists Creation adds the Brawler's steel gauntlets, a new gauntlet variant. The base pair can be crafted and differ only in appearance, while a pair with a 12 point Fortify Unarmed enchantment can be bought from vendors and found in random loot.
thumb|right|A male Skyrim:Nord|Nord wearing steel armor

 

 
 


Steel Soldier is a variant added by the Alternative Armors - Steel Soldier creation. It can be crafted after completing Over the Edge , while also appearing in random loot.

Its armor rating is slightly better than the regular versions and it has a higher value, though no shield variant exists.
thumb|A female Skyrim:Imperial|Imperial wearing steel soldier armor

 

Steel Weapons
Steel weapons are low-quality weapons, better than only iron. They appear in leveled lists starting at level 2 (enchanted varieties at level 3). All items except ammunition can be tempered using one steel ingot, and having the Steel Smithing perk doubles the quality improvement. Ammunition can only be smithed if the Dawnguard add-on has been installed.

There is no "steel bow", only steel arrows. The bow found at similar levels is the hunting bow.  Although the hunting bow cannot be crafted, it is generally treated as a steel weapon; however, it isn't tempered by steel ingots - instead, it is tempered with leather strips. Its tempering is enhanced by the Steel Smithing perk, making it one of the best bows in the game - the Long Bow has no tempering perk, so it can't smith to nearly as high a damage level, but most bows that exist in the game are slower than the hunting bow.  See further discussion here.

The Dawnguard add-on adds a crossbow and an enhanced crossbow which are both treated as steel weapons. They can be smithed if you have the Steel Smithing perk, and tempering them is enhanced by the Steel Smithing perk. 

The Redguard Elite Armaments Creation adds the Remnant scimitar. The ability to craft it is obtained during Interception . A guaranteed sample is found in the caravan southwest of Sunderstone Gorge.


 
 
 

Notes
All of the generic enchanted steel gauntlets in the game are modeled on the steel Nordic gauntlets; there are no generic enchanted steel Imperial gauntlets.
All of the generic enchanted steel helmets in the game are modeled on the steel helmet; there are no generic enchanted steel horned helmets.
Imperial boots and Imperial gauntlets are identical in appearance to steel shin boots and steel Imperial gauntlets.
Keep in mind that one corundum ore costs the same as one steel ingot. When smelting for steel, you will also have to buy one iron ore and so buying ore will not save you money when creating steel ingots, as it will for other materials.