Let’s face it: whenever we are playing an RPG, one of our foremost tendencies is obtaining and storing loot. We keep collecting and collecting, ignoring the hoard of loot we already possess. While some games are cool with it, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is not.
In Skyrim, players can only carry up to a certain capacity. After that, they would achieve the over-encumbered status, losing their ability to travel fast, run, or sprint. Below, we will take a look at some of the proven ways to increase carry weight.
What is Carry Weight in Skyrim?
The carry weight in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the total carrying capacity of a player. In other words, it is the maximum allowed weight of carriable items for a player at a given time.
Going over this limit snatches away the character’s capability of running, sprinting, and fast-traveling, known as getting to the over-encumbered status.
What is the Default Carrying Limit?
At the beginning of the game, all players have a default carrying limit of 300 (150 during the Survival Mode).
Methods to Increase Your Carry Weight
There are multiple surefire ways to give your Skyrim character a carry-weight boost. Here are some of them:
➡️ Boosting Your Stamina Stats
Each time players level up in Skyrim, they get to choose where to put the point into – Magicka, Health, or Stamina. In case you were unaware, whenever you level up your Stamina, your carry weight goes up by 5 points.
Allocating level-up points to your Stamina is a steady method of boosting your carrying capacity. So, while you should not ignore the other two options, watch out for your over-encumbered status. If your character gets over-encumbered rather frequently, turn your attention towards your Stamina.
➡️ Drinking Potions
Drinking potions can give players a carry-weight boost. However, the effects last for a short while. The strength of the potion directly influences your bonus carry weight duration.
Provided that your character has obtained the Alchemist Perk (Rank 5) from the Alchemy skill tree, your potions will become 100% more powerful.
If you want to make a Fortify Carry Weight potion for a momentary boost in your carrying capacity, you have to blend any two ingredients that are capable of producing the intended effect, such as River Betty, Creep Cluster, Poison Bloom, Netch Jelly, etc.
➡️ Equipping Unique Armor
The game is scattered with many unique armor pieces that can help players increase the carry weight of their characters. To obtain these armor pieces, you need to finish certain quests and missions.
After equipping them, your carrying capacity is enhanced by some points. Some of these armor pieces are Volsung’s Mask, Thieves Guild Armor, Deathbrand Boots, Guild Master’s Armor, etc.
➡️ Wearing Enchanted Boots
Besides unique armor pieces, utilizing enchanted boots can give you a carrying capacity boost. When enchanted with Fortify Carry, such a boot will display a higher carry weight.
Although this type of enchantment comes in incredibly handy, you can apply it to boots only. It is inapplicable when it comes to other armor pieces.
For your information, the Fortify Carry enchantment has six different levels and gives players a carry weight boost according to its level. These are Of Lifting, Of the Ox, Of Brawn, Of Hauling, Of the Mammoth, and Of Strength.
In case you want to enchant your own boots, ensure that you have attained the maximum rank for the Enchanter Perk, the Seeker of Sorcery power, and the Insightful Enchanter Perk from the Enchanting skill tree.
➡️ Getting the Extra Pockets Perk
If you wish to boost your Skyrim character’s carrying capacity, you can do so by acquiring the Extra Pocket Perk from the Pickpocketing skill tree.
If you are in dire need of more space, the Extra Pockets Perk can give you a carry weight enhancement of 100 points. In Survival Mode, the boost is by 50 points.
Nonetheless, players have to elevate their Pickpocketing skills to level 50 if they want to utilize the perk. Also, they need to unlock two perks, namely Night Thief and Light Fingers, from the Pickpocketing skill tree before using Extra Pockets.
➡️ Utilizing Console Commands (PC Only)
While this method is a bit unorthodox, you can increase your carry weight through console commands. These commands help you enhance your carry weight limit with just a few clicks on your PC.
Simply hit the ‘tilde’ key on your keyboard and type “player.setav carryweight” and then your intended carrying capacity (For example, “600”). Once typed in, press the ‘Enter’ key to set that carry weight and quit the console menu by hitting the ‘tilde’ key again.
➡️ Acquiring the Steed Stone Bonus
Even though there are numerous ways to boost your Skyrim character’s carrying capacity, perhaps the fastest method to achieve it is via the Steed Stone.
The game contains numerous Standing Stones that grant different bonuses and powers to those who wield them. One such stone is the Steed Stone. The amazing powers of the Steed Stone can enhance your stats, including your carry weight.
You can find this stone between Fort Hraggstad and Solitude, right next to the Ravenscar Hollow Cave.
Not only does this stone increase your carry weight by 100 points, but it also prevents your current armor from hogging up your total carrying capacity, giving you more space.
Note: Remember that it is temporary, and altering your Standing Stone will end its effect.
Tips to Avoid the Over-Encumbered Status
Now, we will provide you with a few useful tips to evade getting into the over-encumbered status:
- Do not forget to eliminate any junk items you no longer need. Instead of being nostalgic about your collection, you should dispose of anything low in value yet high in carrying capacity, such as Troll Skull, Drum, Hammer, etc.
- Use horses for your travels. As horses have no carry weight limit, you can easily traverse from place to place while carrying a hoard of stuff.
- Transform into the Werewolf when you are away from the locality. Whenever you become the Werewolf, your carrying capacity will momentarily turn into 1900. This will aid in dodging the burdening effects of over-encumberment.
- Your followers are not just there to assist in your fights. They come with a carry weight of 290. Hence, if you are over-encumbered, make use of their inventory and let them carry some of your items.
- Loot a dead body and dump all your weighty items in their inventory. After that, utilize the Dead Thrall spell to bring them back to life. Get all your items back by simply getting rid of the thrall.
Conclusion
As you can see, regardless of race or gender, all Skyrim characters begin at a default carry weight of 300. The players, nonetheless, can enhance this limit and make their character carry more items hassle-free and not slow down because of over-encumberment.
In this post, we told you about a decent number of methods that will help you upgrade your carrying capacity. Besides, we provided some additional tips to prevent your character from getting into the over-encumbered status. Hope they will help you in your gameplay and give you a memorable Skyrim experience. Good luck, gamer!
Considering that you’re playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, you might want to read about how to get Madness Ore in Skyrim. It’s one of the rarest ores in the game and can help you get the Madness Armor!
