The Skeleton Key is one of the most useful items in Skyrim, but it’s not easy to get. In fact, players have to break the game to keep it.
Nocturnal must really like meddling in the affairs of Mundus, as they have more Daedric artefacts in Skyrim than any of the other Daedric Princes (at least, with Skyrim Anniversary Edition content included in the mix). Among the artefacts of the Daedric Prince of Darkness is a deceptively powerful tool that can be used to unlock anything: the Skeleton Key.
The Skeleton Key is technically not an item that players are meant to have forever, though it’s so easily exploitable that it might as well be. It’s a relic protected by the Nightingales, a cult dedicated to Nocturnal, and the only way for the Dragonborn to get it for themselves is to become a full-fledged member.
What Does The Skeleton Key Do?
The Skeleton Key is essentially an unbreakable lockpick that players can use without maxing out Perks in the Lockpicking skill tree. Its blue swirling pattern on a spherical base is very befitting of the Daedric Prince of Night’s realm of the Evergloam, a shadowy plane of Oblivion seen in Elder Scrolls Online. In lore, the Skeleton Key can unlock a lot more than just entrances, as players see Nocturnal using it to access Sotha Sil’s mind during the final parts of ESO‘s Clockwork City DLC. In Skyrim, though, it’s just an improved lockpick.
Aside from this, though, there’s not much that’s special about the Skeleton Key. It’s an incredibly useful tool for non-thieves to have, as they won’t focus on levelling Lockpicking to get the “Unbreakable” Perk. However, it’s only acquirable at the end of the Thieves Guild questline, a faction that most non-stealth-based players avoid.
How To Get The Skeleton Key
To get the Skeleton Key players need to progress almost all the way through the Thieves Guild questline until they complete “Blindsighted”, which sees players recover the Skeleton Key from the Thieves Guild member who stole it. During the following quest “Darkness Returns” players are instructed to return the Skeleton Key to its rightful place in the Twilight Sepulcher.
The only way to have a functioning, unbreakable Skeleton Key is to recover it during “Blindsighted” and then refuse to return it. The Thieves Guild questline cannot be completed if the Skeleton Key is not returned, but that’s really the only downside. Once the Lockpicking Perk “Unbreakable” is unlocked the Skeleton Key is rendered useless, though it is worth keeping just to have something nicer to look at during Skyrim’s tedious Lockpicking segments.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is available on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our policy.
