The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Standing Stones Guide

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Ariana loves playing immersive video games like Cyberpunk 2077, the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and any Assassin's Creed game. She hopes to share her love for games through her writing!

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Each of the Standing Stones in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim offers different boosts and upgrades to help you enhance your builds. Some stones help you level up, while others grant you new abilities. Unfortunately, there are plenty of stones and some of them can be a bit difficult to find. In this guide, we’re covering all of Skyrim’s Standing Stones’ locations, as well as discussing the powers they offer.

Let’s get started!

The Guardian Stones (The Thief, Warrior, and Mage Stones)

We’ll start with the Guardian Stones, which are likely to be the first Standing Stones you encounter in Skyrim. These Stones — the Thief, Warrior, and Mage Stones — grant relatively basic powers that can help you boost your builds in the early game.

The Thief Stone

The Thief Stone is perfect if you’re planning on pursuing a Thief build in Skyrim. With this Stone activated, all Thief skills are leveled 20% faster. This means you’ll learn Pickpocketing, Sneak, Lockpicking, Light Armor, Speech, Alchemy, and Archery at a faster rate. This is especially helpful at lower levels when beginning a new playthrough.

The Warrior Stone

Similar to the Thief Stone, the Warrior Stone proves to be especially useful for beginner players, as it allows you to learn Warrior skills 20% faster. This includes One-handed, Two-handed, Unarmed, and Block. If you choose a Warrior build for your playthrough, this stone is useful for advancing those skills.

The Mage Stone

The Mage Stone has the same effect as the Warrior Stone and the Thief Stone, but it focuses on leveling your Mage-related skills 20% faster. This buff These skills include Enchanting, Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Illusion, and Restoration. If you choose a Mage build for your playthrough, this effect can help you learn each of the Mage skills much faster.

The Guardian Stones Location

The Guardian Stones are located southwest of Riverwood and to the east of Lake Ilianalta. The stones are situated on the side of the road and have symbols that distinguish each one from one another.

The Apprentice Stone

The Apprentice Stone grants you +100% Magicka Regeneration. With this added buff, your Magicka will regenerate at a much faster rate and you don’t have to worry as much about running out of Magicka.

The downside is that it also gives +100% Weakness Magic when activated. That said, you can always find ways to avoid taking as much damage. There are plenty of magical wards, potions, armor, and jewelry you can use that can help you avoid taking extra damage to magic. The Apprentice Stone is a great choice for players who choose a Mage build and plan on using lots of Magicka.

Location

The Apprentice Stone is located in Hjaalmarch Marsh, on an island northwest of Morthal. The island is south of Solitude and close to Fort Snowhawk.

The Atronach Stone

The Atronach Stone fortifies Magicka by 50 points and gives you 50% spell absorption. This is great for Mage players, as you get 50 extra points of Magicka to use and can absorb some of the damage you’d otherwise take from spells. It does cause your Magicka Regeneration to decrease by 50%, but you can mitigate this with items that boost Magicka Regeneration, or with the Recovery Perk.

Morokei’s Mask or The Amulet of Akatosh are both great items that pair well with the Atronach Stone. The Stone also pairs well with the Atronach Perk, which also increases spell absorption.

Location

The Atronach Stone is located near the hot springs south of Windhelm, and northwest of Mistwatch and Shor’s Stone.

The Lord Stone

The Lord Stone gives you 50 extra points of Damage Resistance. You also gain 25% extra Magic Resistance, which can be very helpful if you are fighting enemies that are Mages. The Lord Stone is a fantastic choice for players looking to have a tank-like build that protects them from taking damage from magic attacks and regular attacks.

Location

The Lord Stone can be found east of Morthal near the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon. You can follow the path from the Hall of the Vigilant to the stone.

The Ritual Stone

The Ritual Stone grants you the ability to resurrect dead bodies within a 75-foot radius for 200 seconds. These resurrected enemies will fight for you for the allotted amount of time or until they are defeated. The Ritual Stone’s ability can only be used once a day, so choose when to use it wisely.

The ability to resurrect dead enemies can be really useful when fighting large groups, and especially in fights where bosses can summon lower-level enemies to fight for them. Dungeons are also good places to use this ability, as there are lots of enemies in the area.

Location

The Ritual Stone is located east of Whiterun on a nearby hill. It is located on the side of the road near the river.

The Serpent Stone

The Serpent Stone gives you the ability to deal 25 points of damage to an enemy and paralyze them for 5 seconds. This ability can only be used once a day, something to keep in mind when deciding when to use it.

The Serpent Stone’s ability is especially useful against enemies that have a lot of stamina and can move quickly in fights. The enemy will be paralyzed long enough for you to land some hits on them, and they will also take the extra 25 points of damage.

Location

The Serpent Stone is located east of the College of Winterhold in the Sea of Ghosts. The stones are located on an island northeast of the Wreck of The Pride of Tel Vos. The stone symbol should appear on your map once you get close enough to it.

The Lady Stone

The Lady Stone allows you to regenerate your Health and Stamina 25% faster. This buff is generally helpful in combat, when you want your resources to come back quickly.

Location

The Lady Stone is located north of Falkreath and west of Riverwood on an island in Lake Ilianalta. The Lady Stone is also located close to Half-Moon Mill. Lake Ilianalta does have slaughterfish living in it, so be cautious when swimming around in the area.

The Steed Stone

The Steed Stone grants you +100 carrying capacity, and any armor that you have equipped does not add any weight. The armor you have equipped also won’t cause a movement penalty. These buffs are perfect for players that want to be able to wear heavy armor and not have it affect their carry weight. The extra carrying capacity is ideal if you find yourself running out of room in your inventory often.

Location

The Steed Stone can be found north of the Statue of Meridia, near Ironback Hideout. Head northwest of Solitude to find the statue.

The Tower Stone

The Tower Stone grants you the ability to unlock up to the Expert level immediately. If you are having trouble with picking a lock, you can use this ability to help bypass the lockpicking process. You can use the Tower Stone’s ability once a day.

Location

The Tower Stone is located on a cliff near the coastline between Dawnstar and Winterhold. The stone can be found close to Hela’s Folly.

The Lover Stone

The Lover Stone allows you to learn every skill in Skyrim 15% faster. This stone’s ability can be helpful if you do not have a specific set of skills you want to focus on and want to level skills up at a faster rate — perfect for multiclassing or a non-traditional build.

Location

The Lover’s Stone can be found outside of Marakarth to the east. The Lover’s Stone is located close to Kolskeggr Mine and Left Hand Mine. Given how this is one of the most useful out of all the Standing Stones, you may want to make a beeline here in any new playthrough of Skyrim.

The Shadow Stone

The Shadow Stone allows you to turn invisible for 60 seconds, similar to the effects of the Invisibility potion. This effect can only be used once a day, but can be incredibly helpful for sneaking through areas or pickpocketing. The Shadow Stone is a great option if you need to use invisibility on a regular basis.

Location

The Shadow Stone can be found on a hill near Nightingale Hall. The Shadow Stone is located just outside of Riften to the south.

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Thank you for checking out our article on all the Skyrim Standing Stones and their locations. Let us know which Standing Stone is your favorite in the comments below. For more of the latest Skyrim content, gaming news, and reviews subscribe to our weekly newsletter here at High Ground Gaming.

Happy gaming!

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