In the fantasy RPG The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim there are several different methods for players to complete the same task, such as leveling up Smithing or earning gold. However, some of these methods, such as crafting iron daggers, can require large amounts of grinding for the needed materials. Additionally, iron daggers do not sell for a large sum of gold and as the smithing level increases, the number of daggers that need to be crafted to gain a level also increases.
Instead, the early game option of using the Alteration spell, Transmute, on iron ore to transform it into silver and then gold ore provides both a more efficient way to level up smithing and a lucrative source of income from selling the jewelry made from it. There is more initial legwork to attain the Transmute spell than to begin crafting daggers upon arriving in Whiterun, however, both the spell and more iron ore are close by. Plus, by using the spell Transmute, players will raise their level of Alteration in Skyrim.
To find the spell tome for Transmute in Skyrim, players can ask the barkeep at The Bannered Mare Inn about potential jobs and rumors to receive the notice of the bounty for the Bandit Chief located at Halted Stream Camp. This will automatically pin the camp’s location to the map which players can place a marker on so it shows up on their compass. To find it on the map, it is northwest of the marker for Dragonsreach in Whiterun.
How to Find the Transmute Spell Tome
The exterior of Skyrim's Halted Stream Camp will be guarded by a number of low-level bandits along with some that can cast magic. Inside the mine in the camp, there will be traps along with more bandits, with the first one holding the key to the back of the mine that can be attained by looting him. There will also be an abundance of iron ore veins throughout the mine and players can find a pickaxe in the area with the first bandit to mine it after clearing out the rest of the bandits.
For the Bandit Chief, players should clear out the lower-level bandits that surround him first and bring plenty of potions or food if they are at a lower level. He will attack with a two-handed weapon at close range while some of the bandits will attack with magic or arrows at a distance. Once the Bandit Chief is defeated, players can find the spell tome on a table near the back of the cave, which will go into the Books section of their inventory where they can select to read it to learn the spell and consume the tome.
After mining all of the iron ore veins, players can begin transmuting it by equipping the spell under Alteration in the Magic menu and then cast the spell. It will always transform silver ore into gold ore first if players have silver ore in their inventory, before transforming the next iron ore into silver ore. As it is an Adept level spell it uses a fair amount of magic at 85 units for each charge, so it is recommended to equip armor or jewelry that speeds up magic recovery or increases the maximum amount of magic.
To create the gold ingots needed to make jewelry in Skyrim, players can go to Warmaiden’s by the entrance to Whiterun and use the Smelter there. It requires two gold ores to create one gold ingot in the smelter, but if players are over-encumbered, this will halve the weight from carrying multiple gold ores. From here, players can walk over to the forge, also at Warmaiden’s, and begin smithing Skyrim's gold ingots into gold rings or necklaces to sell to merchants.
By using this method, the smithing skill will level up faster, as jewelry provides more experience for smithing and doesn’t devalue as quickly as iron items do. It also has a better return on costs, as players can purchase iron ores cheaply, find iron veins more commonly than silver or gold veins, and add gems or enchantments to jewelry to increase its value even more. Additionally, jewelry weighs far less than weapons or armor, so players can keep their wares on them to sell without worrying about becoming over-encumbered as they adventure about the open-world of Skyrim.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is available on Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and will release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 11, 2021.