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About this mod
Lore-friendly crafting recipes to upgrade leveled items to the next tier.
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Immersive Upgrade Leveled Items
Lore-friendly crafting recipes to upgrade leveled items to the next tier
Some unique items in the game exist in multiple versions. Most of these are quest rewards, and which version you get depends on your level at the time you complete the quest. If you complete the quest early in the game, the item will be balanced for low-level characters and quickly become useless. This is pretty annoying because it encourages you to wait with those quests until you have reached a high enough level to get the best version of the reward. Sorry, poor people of Solitude, you need to live with the vampire menace a little longer.
There are some mods that address this issue: Some automatically upgrade all leveled items in your inventory when you level up, others give you a spell to do that, and some change the quests to always give you the highest possible reward, regardless of your level. The first two approaches are super immer-breaking in my opinion. It makes absolutely no sense that my sword changes its stats just because I got better at lockpicking. A spell that automatically upgrades all items in my inventory feels less like a magic ritual and more like a lazy cheat. And the last approach completely breaks the game balancing at early levels and means that all other items you will find in the first 40 levels of your character's life will be garbage in comparison.
This mod adds 58 new crafting recipes that allow you upgrade each of the 16 leveled items in the game from one tier to the next. All ingredients are hand-picked for lore-friendliness and maximum immersion.
How To Upgrade Items
You need to have the low-level version of the item in your inventory, and your level needs to be high enough for the upgraded version. Go to the Skyforge in Whiterun. Find the item in the smithing menu (see the list below for the categories). The smithing menu will show you what other items you need to perform the upgrade. Once you have everything, you can craft the higher-tier version like any other item in the forge. No smithing skill required, this is purely a ritual to bind more mystical energies in the item and ask a blessing from the divines or deadra.
Items and Categories
FAQ
Will this clutter my smithing menu?
No. The recipes only show up in the menu when you actually have the item and your level is high enough to upgrade them.
I don't see any upgrade recipes!
The upgrade rituals can only be performed at the Skyforge, not at a makeshift forge in some bandits' backyard. Also be sure that you have the correct level and that the item is actually in your inventory. The recipes are hidden unless both of those conditions are met.
Is this mod compatible with [insert mod here]?
This mod only adds crafting recipes. It doesn't change any existing content and it doesn't use any scripts. It should be compatible with any other mod, and load order shouldn't matter.
What is the upgrade recipe for [insert item here]?
I won't write down all recipes in detail here, because finding out what's the recipe once you've reached the required level is half the fun! Also, I'm too lazy to type down 54 recipes. But there are some general rules: The ingredients for the lower tiers are always just one or two items, common and low-value. These are more like a friendly gesture to the higher powers and are not supposed to be an actual obstacle in your way. The second-to-last usually contains one slightly more valuable / rare item. The final tier contains at least one rare / valuable item and around 10 of a creature part or plant. This one is supposed to feel like a holy quest, a pilgrimage to prove yourself worthy of wielding the full power of the artifact.
Why not Miraak Staff / Robes?
These are technically leveled items, but they have the same stats at each level and differ only in gold value.
Why not [insert item here]?
As far as I can tell, I've included all leveled items that can be acquired legitimately in the game and actually have different stats. Most daedric artifacts are not leveled, for example.
Where do I find firewood?
You can chop it from wood piles using a woodcutter's axe.
Where do I find a Torchbug in a Jar?
In the Frostflow Lighthouse on the road between Dawnstar and Winterhold. If you already picked it up and sold / lost it, just wait for 30 in-game days and it will respawn.
Isn't the final tier of the Amulet of Articulation a little expensive?
This amulet is the insignia of a master thief. To earn it, you have to prove yourself. If you can't even steal a few precious gems, you're not worthy of Nocturnal's attention.
What are the level tiers for the Amulet of Articulation? I thought it was buggy and always spawns a random version.
The USSEP fixes that and I used their level ranges: 1/8/15/22/29/36/43
Why do I need Amulets of Dibella for the Amulet of Articulation?
Nocturnal demands proof that you are truly devoted to her and will not turn towards the divine for a blessing of persuasion. The ritual demands that you give those amulets to the fire of the Skyforge. For maximum immersion, they should of course be stolen from sleeping priestesses.
I have the right type of Soul Gem, but it's still greyed out!
This is an engine limitation. The UI can't distinguish between filled and empty soul gems, but behind the scenes, the crafting system still does. Most of the recipes require filled soul gems. This means in particular that the Gauldur weapons demand a human sacrifice. The only recipe that requires an empty soul gem is the nightingale blade. Murder is not the way of the thief, so you will sacrifice an empty black soul gem as a pledge of a non-violent stealthy criminal lifestyle.
I have a paralysis poison, but it's still greyed out!
The recipe only works with poisons that you found or bought, not with home-brewed ones. Nocturnal feels offended if you try to offer that cheap self-made brew that you mixed up in an old wine bottle, with a hand-written note on it that says "Do Not Drink". Also, this is another engine limitation.
Installation
Nothing fancy required. Just use NMM and enable the esp. Should work out of the box.
Uninstallation
Deactivate/Remove the esp. The mod doesn't add any items or scripts, so there won't be any leftovers to worry about.
Lore-friendly crafting recipes to upgrade leveled items to the next tier
Some unique items in the game exist in multiple versions. Most of these are quest rewards, and which version you get depends on your level at the time you complete the quest. If you complete the quest early in the game, the item will be balanced for low-level characters and quickly become useless. This is pretty annoying because it encourages you to wait with those quests until you have reached a high enough level to get the best version of the reward. Sorry, poor people of Solitude, you need to live with the vampire menace a little longer.
There are some mods that address this issue: Some automatically upgrade all leveled items in your inventory when you level up, others give you a spell to do that, and some change the quests to always give you the highest possible reward, regardless of your level. The first two approaches are super immer-breaking in my opinion. It makes absolutely no sense that my sword changes its stats just because I got better at lockpicking. A spell that automatically upgrades all items in my inventory feels less like a magic ritual and more like a lazy cheat. And the last approach completely breaks the game balancing at early levels and means that all other items you will find in the first 40 levels of your character's life will be garbage in comparison.
This mod adds 58 new crafting recipes that allow you upgrade each of the 16 leveled items in the game from one tier to the next. All ingredients are hand-picked for lore-friendliness and maximum immersion.
How To Upgrade Items
You need to have the low-level version of the item in your inventory, and your level needs to be high enough for the upgraded version. Go to the Skyforge in Whiterun. Find the item in the smithing menu (see the list below for the categories). The smithing menu will show you what other items you need to perform the upgrade. Once you have everything, you can craft the higher-tier version like any other item in the forge. No smithing skill required, this is purely a ritual to bind more mystical energies in the item and ask a blessing from the divines or deadra.
Items and Categories
- Dragonbane (Steel)
- Gauldur Blackblade (Draugr)
- Gauldur Blackbow (Draugr)
- The Pale Blade (Draugr)
- Shield of Solitude (Iron)
- Mage's Circlet (Jewelry)
- Amulet of Articulation (Jewelry)
- Chillrend (Glass)
- Nightingale Blade (Daedric)
- Nightingale Bow (Daedric)
- Nightingale Armor (Daedric)
- Nightingale Gloves (Daedric)
- Nightingale Boots (Daedric)
- Nightingale Hood (Daedric)
- Miraak Sword (Draugr)
- Miraak Mask (Daedric)
FAQ
Will this clutter my smithing menu?
No. The recipes only show up in the menu when you actually have the item and your level is high enough to upgrade them.
I don't see any upgrade recipes!
The upgrade rituals can only be performed at the Skyforge, not at a makeshift forge in some bandits' backyard. Also be sure that you have the correct level and that the item is actually in your inventory. The recipes are hidden unless both of those conditions are met.
Is this mod compatible with [insert mod here]?
This mod only adds crafting recipes. It doesn't change any existing content and it doesn't use any scripts. It should be compatible with any other mod, and load order shouldn't matter.
What is the upgrade recipe for [insert item here]?
I won't write down all recipes in detail here, because finding out what's the recipe once you've reached the required level is half the fun! Also, I'm too lazy to type down 54 recipes. But there are some general rules: The ingredients for the lower tiers are always just one or two items, common and low-value. These are more like a friendly gesture to the higher powers and are not supposed to be an actual obstacle in your way. The second-to-last usually contains one slightly more valuable / rare item. The final tier contains at least one rare / valuable item and around 10 of a creature part or plant. This one is supposed to feel like a holy quest, a pilgrimage to prove yourself worthy of wielding the full power of the artifact.
Why not Miraak Staff / Robes?
These are technically leveled items, but they have the same stats at each level and differ only in gold value.
Why not [insert item here]?
As far as I can tell, I've included all leveled items that can be acquired legitimately in the game and actually have different stats. Most daedric artifacts are not leveled, for example.
Where do I find firewood?
You can chop it from wood piles using a woodcutter's axe.
Where do I find a Torchbug in a Jar?
In the Frostflow Lighthouse on the road between Dawnstar and Winterhold. If you already picked it up and sold / lost it, just wait for 30 in-game days and it will respawn.
Isn't the final tier of the Amulet of Articulation a little expensive?
This amulet is the insignia of a master thief. To earn it, you have to prove yourself. If you can't even steal a few precious gems, you're not worthy of Nocturnal's attention.
What are the level tiers for the Amulet of Articulation? I thought it was buggy and always spawns a random version.
The USSEP fixes that and I used their level ranges: 1/8/15/22/29/36/43
Why do I need Amulets of Dibella for the Amulet of Articulation?
Nocturnal demands proof that you are truly devoted to her and will not turn towards the divine for a blessing of persuasion. The ritual demands that you give those amulets to the fire of the Skyforge. For maximum immersion, they should of course be stolen from sleeping priestesses.
I have the right type of Soul Gem, but it's still greyed out!
This is an engine limitation. The UI can't distinguish between filled and empty soul gems, but behind the scenes, the crafting system still does. Most of the recipes require filled soul gems. This means in particular that the Gauldur weapons demand a human sacrifice. The only recipe that requires an empty soul gem is the nightingale blade. Murder is not the way of the thief, so you will sacrifice an empty black soul gem as a pledge of a non-violent stealthy criminal lifestyle.
I have a paralysis poison, but it's still greyed out!
The recipe only works with poisons that you found or bought, not with home-brewed ones. Nocturnal feels offended if you try to offer that cheap self-made brew that you mixed up in an old wine bottle, with a hand-written note on it that says "Do Not Drink". Also, this is another engine limitation.
Installation
Nothing fancy required. Just use NMM and enable the esp. Should work out of the box.
Uninstallation
Deactivate/Remove the esp. The mod doesn't add any items or scripts, so there won't be any leftovers to worry about.