Summary
- The Masque of Clavicus Vile may offer a boost to the Personality skill, but it is not very useful in combat situations.
- The Sanguine Rose is a staff that summons a random Daedric creature, but its use in fights is limited and it has only 10 charges.
- While the Mace of Molag Bal has some useful enchantments, it is not the strongest weapon and its Absorb Strength enchantment does not work properly.
Praying to the Daedric shrines across Cyrodiil in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, providing all requirements are met, will result in a quest that offers a rare reward upon completion. In total, there are 15 different Daedric artifacts to acquire in the base game (barring DLCs and quests that don’t involve visiting Daedric lords’ statues).
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While each of these artifacts is a one-of-a-kind item in-game, it begs the question: which are the best things to acquire? Be it based on raw power, beneficial effects, or unique abilities that no other spell or weapon possesses, these weapons, rings, armor, staffs, and the like range from half-decent to brilliant.
15 Masque Of Clavicus Vile
Fortifies Personality By 20 Points
Clavicus Vile
- Clavicus Vile’s shrine is located southwest of Lake Rumare (near the Imperial City).
- He will require 500 gold as an offering at level 20 or higher.
- Clavicus Vile will demand the player retrieve a powerful sword, Umbra, and exchange it for a mask.
As a Daedric god of trickery and bargaining, it’s no wonder Clavicus Vile offers such a terrible deal: acquire and exchange one of the most powerful swords in the game, Umbra, for a mask with a glum face on it. The Masque of Clavicus Vile offers 20 points to the Personality skill which, as many players know, is the least useful skill in the game.
While it also serves as a decent enough helmet, again, Personality never really comes into play in combat all that often. Though it’s handy for bartering with merchants and casting Illusion spells, Speechcraft is borderline useless in this game. It’s better to keep Umbra and tell Clavicus Vile to keep his “prize.”
14 Sanguine Rose
Summons A Random Daedra For 20 Seconds
Sanguine
- Sanguine’s shrine is located roughly northwest of Skingrad.
- He will require a bottle of Cyrodilic Brandy as an offering at level 8 or higher.
- Sanguine grants a spell that must be cast on those in attendance at Castle Leyawiin’s dinner party.
Sanguine, lord of wild parties, offers a fairly disappointing reward for stripping party-goers at Castle Leyawiin with his clothes-removing spell: the Sanguine Rose, a staff that summons a random Daedric creature upon hitting a target.
Not only does it only hold 10 charges, but the Daedric monster summoned is not friendly to anyone. A pesky Clannfear, a meaty Daedroth, or a frightening Xivilai may end up being summoned, though it’ll fight whoever it feels like. While the spawned monster may prove to be a potentially effective distraction, it will rarely help turn the tide in a fight. Plus, it’s best not used in the realm of Oblivion itself - there’s enough Daedra lurking around!
13 Mace Of Molag Bal
Absorbs 5 Points Of Magicka
Molag Bal
- Molag Bal’s shrine is located west of Lake Rumare (under the "T" on the font spelling "The Great Forest").
- He will require a Lion Pelt as an offering at level 17 or higher.
- Molag Bal tasks the player with convincing a widow, Melus Petilius, to beat them to death with a Cursed Mace.
The Mace of Molag Bal is a bugged weapon, hence why it ranks so low. While absorbing a portion of Magicka from an enemy is useful, the Absorb Strength enchantment does not work, likely because it has no coding as to how long it should last. That’s how other Absorb Skill enchantments and spells work, after all. At least mods fixed this.
On its own, it’s an okay weapon, being slightly stronger and faster to swing than a Glass Mace, but weaker than Ebony. Being a one-handed blunt weapon, it’ll prove to be effective enough in a fight. Just don’t expect it to save the day.
12 Wabbajack
Transforms A Creature Into Another Random Creature
Sheogorath
- Sheogorath’s shrine is located south of Bravil and north of Leyawiin (in parallel to the "Elsweyr’ font" on the map).
- He will require a Lesser Soul Gem, Lettuce, and some Yarn as an offering at level 2 or higher.
- Sheogorath will tell the player to make the "K'Sharra prophecy" come true at Border Watch to “make their lives interesting.”
Arguably one of the more memorable and recognizable Daedric rewards, the Wabbajack is a gamble to use, but it can produce some amusing results. If used on a creature or monster, it will transform into another. So, a mighty Minotaur may be transformed into a sheep, or a weedy rat may become a hardy skeleton. It lasts for 20 seconds, and, upon reverting to their original form, they’ll regain any lost health.
Ideally, it’s best used against stronger creatures in hopes of turning them into something much weaker, and zapping an animal or creature in a fight may help cause a distraction. Still, it only has 10 uses before it needs a full recharge, and does not affect humanoid NPCs. As a result, it’s a situational sort of staff.
11 Volendrung
Paralyze For 3 Seconds, Drain 5 Points Of Health For 3 Seconds
Malacath
- Malacath’s shrine is located northeast of Anvil (above the "T" in the "The Gold Coast" font).
- Players must offer Troll Fat at level 10 or higher.
- Malacath demands that the Ogres be freed from Bleak Mine.
No other weapon offers such a hefty enchantment as Volendrung, which is paired up with Paralysis and Drain Health. The latter isn’t very helpful, being only 5 points for 20 seconds, but stunning enemies for 3 seconds upon each hit is excellent for putting a foe in their place while they’re helpless to defend themselves.
Being a warhammer, it’s the heaviest Daedric artifact in the game, so it’s best to make sure there’s plenty of space on-hand. It has roughly the same strength as a Dwarven warhammer, so it’s not the strongest of all, and it only has 16 uses before draining. It’s best paired up with spells so that it doesn’t get depleted in a single fight. Otherwise, it’s not going to prove all that useful.
10 Ring Of Namira
Reflect Damage 12%, Reflect Spell 10%
Namira
- Namira’s shrine is located east of Bruma (to the left of the "B" in the "County Bruma" font).
- Players must have a Personality of 20 or lower at level 5 or higher.
- Namira wishes for the Priests of Arkay to be removed from Anga by casting a spell to extinguish their torches and allow her followers to kill them.
The Ring of Namira may not have too much pep to its stats - 12% Reflect Spell and 10% Reflect Damage - yet it can be equipped in tandem with other pieces of clothing that offer similar abilities. For example, a Mundane Ring from random loot can offer a 35% Reflect Spell enchantment alongside it.
Characters that have magic-resisting abilities will find it even more useful. Even then, being able to bounce back a fraction of damage from spell-casters and attackers will prove beneficial in almost any scenario, and since there are almost no other rings that combine these two abilities on a single piece of enchanted jewelry, it’s still rather helpful to have.
9 Skull Of Corruption
Summons Clone Of A Humanoid For 30 Seconds
Vaermina
- Vaermina’s shrine is located on the edge of Lake Poppad (next to the "P" on the map), south of Cheydinhal.
- Players must offer a Black Soul Gem at level 5 or higher.
- The Orb of Vaermina must be acquired from Arkved’s tower and returned to her shrine.
Arguably the most useful staff that the Daedric lords offer as rewards, the Skull of Corruption will create an evil clone of a humanoid target who will fight them for 30 seconds. Their weapons and armor will be cloned, too. It won’t work on animals and monsters, though.
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It’s excellent against tough humanoid enemies, as they’ll be dishing out the same punishment they’ve been using against the player. Hilariously, if a fight breaks out with guards nearby, they’ll attack both in confusion! 20 uses isn’t too bad, given the nature of the staff, so it can help out in a pinch.
8 Spell Breaker
Reflect Spell 30%
Peryite
- Peryite’s shrine is located by the Silverfish River (on the "R" on the map), roughly west of Bravil.
- No offering is required, but the player must be level 10 or higher.
- Peryite will send the player to a plane of Oblivion to return the souls of each of his followers.
Being on par with an Orcish shield in terms of protection and weight, Spell Breaker proves to be an effective shield that has notably more hit points. Alongside this, it comes with an ace up its sleeve: a 30% Reflect Spell enchantment.
Whipping this out in a fight against necromancers, bandit mages and other sorts of spell-casters will prove to be a fiendish move. Paired up with the Ring of Namira, it’ll offer excellent protection in just about every encounter. While it may be outshone by regular shields when one progresses, it’ll prove to be a very nice item to have in one’s arsenal.
7 Skeleton Key
Fortifies Security By 40 Points
Nocturnal
- Nocturnal’s shrine is located north-northeast of Leyawiin (to the left of "County Leyawiin" on the map).
- No offering is required, but players must be level 10 or higher.
- The Eye of Nocturnal must be returned to finish the quest; a pair of Argonian thieves know of its location.
The lock-picking minigame in Oblivion may have been frustrating, but it was clever and well-thought-out. Nevertheless, the Skeleton Key will completely bypass it entirely as it is an unbreakable lockpick that offers a permanent Fortify Security skill by 40 points. It’s a little buggy, and won’t let players train more if their actual skill is at 60, though.
While it can’t be brought with the player when arrested, having a reusable lockpick is perfect for breaking open containers with potential rare loot inside, not to mention bypassing locked doors and gates for assassinations and thievery. So long as the player doesn’t have a high enough Alteration skill to open locked doors, it’s beneficial to any build or type.
6 Ring Of Khajiiti
Chameleon 35%, Fortifies Speed By 10 Points
Meridia
- Meridia’s shrine is located west of Skingrad.
- Players must offer Ectoplasm, Mort Flesh, or Bonemeal at level 10 or higher.
- A group of necromancers in Howling Cave must be killed.
Thieves and assassins will adore the Ring of Khajiiti; 35% Chameleon and 10 points of Fortify Speed are hardly anything to scoff at. Considering how unbalanced Chameleon can be, paired up with any other enchantments, it can make stealth a cakewalk. After all, 100% Chameleon will render a person completely undetectable!
Naturally, it’s not particularly useful in combat. Even then, the boost of speed is a welcome addition for hasty getaways, not to mention general exploration. Slipping into restricted areas faster and being partially unseeable will make this particular piece of jewelry an excellent choice for looting and covertly killing anyone.