Dawnbreaker ( Skyrim ) Dawnbreaker is a unique one - handed sword found in . Acquisition . Dawnbreaker is a Daedric artifact given as a gift by the Daedric Prince Meridia upon completion of the quest " The Break of Dawn . " Enchantment . Dawnbreaker bears a unique enchantment called " " Meridia ' s Retribution " " that works similar to soul trap in that each hit infects the target for ten seconds . If the target is killed within that time , it may explode . Over the course of ten seconds , the chance to trigger an explosion is codice _ 1 , where x is the number of strikes . In other words , the more times the target is hit , the more likely the explosion is to happen . The explosion only happens if the target is undead . It is not actually necessary for the killing blow that triggers the explosion to be dealt with Dawnbreaker . A second enchantment deals ten to fifteen points of fire damage with each hit . The fire damage depends on the Augmented Flames perk , dealing 12 points of damage for the first rank and 15 points for the second . This blast will damage any nearby undead ( including turning undead followers such as Serana and dead thrall s , depending on level ) and can cause any survivors to flee for a short period of time . Undead killed in the blast will crumble into ash piles . The fiery explosion has the same visual effect and functions as the Bane of the Undead spell . If one is a vampire , and is quick enough when the blast goes into effect , they can see this unique version of Bane of the Undead , is in fact named " Meridia ' s light . " Note that this can affect Serana as she is a Vampire Lord . If the player is a Vampire or Vampire Lord , the explosion will damage and can kill the player if one is on low health , the same way it affects other undead . In addition , this weapon has a very high number of charges ; much higher than most enchanted weapons . Since soul gems restore a fixed number of charges , this weapon will require more than a single grand soul to recharge it fully . Smithing . The Dawnbreaker can be upgraded with an ebony ingot and the Arcane Blacksmith perk , however , it does not benefit from any Smithing perks . This means that the weapon cannot be improved past flawless quality without boosting the Smithing skill over 100 . This can be achieved by using enchanted apparel or blacksmithing potions to fortify Smithing . Usefulness . Despite other swords having higher damage , the special enchantment makes Dawnbreaker very useful for dealing with several draugr at once . High - level draugr , such as a Draugr Deathlords , almost always attack alongside several lower leveled ones that can be killed in a few hits . The resulting explosion instantly kills low level undead and causes the high - level draugr to flee . It is also an effective weapon against vampires . In addition to being very vulnerable to fire , they are also undead , therefore they are affected by the fiery explosion . However , if the Dragonborn is a vampire , the resulting explosion will affect them as well . Members of the Dawnguard may want to obtain it , as it will be helpful while fighting vampires , and especially helpful during the siege of Castle Volkihar . The blast will also trigger by , and affect , the ash spawns in the Dragonborn DLC location of Solstheim , making it useful against them as well . However , they will resist the fire enchantment , diminishing the weapon ' s damage potential to that of the actual physical damage it deals . Duplication exploit . Two copies of Dawnbreaker can be obtained . This is achieved by casting a spell or using a shout with significant kinetic force ( i . e . , Fire Storm , Fireball , Fire Rune , etc . ) beside the sword altar after defeating Malkoran and his shades . This will cause a copy of Dawnbreaker to fly across the room , while the original still stays where it is . Find and pick up the copy before obtaining the original from the altar , because doing so ends the quest and transports the Dragonborn outside the dungeon .