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Elder Scrolls

For other uses, see Ebony Mail.
Not to be confused with Ebony Armor (Skyrim).

Ebony Mail is a unique piece of heavy armor found in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It is the artifact of the Daedric Prince Boethiah.

Acquisition[]

Ebony Mail can be looted from the body of the Champion of Boethiah at Knifepoint Ridge during the quest "Boethiah's Calling." If Knifepoint Ridge is visited before the quest, the armor cannot be obtained, as the passage leading to the Champion is blocked with boulders.

Smithing[]

Ebony Mail can be upgraded at a workbench with an Ebony Ingot and the Arcane Blacksmith perk, and benefits from the Ebony Smithing perk, which doubles its improvement.

Enchantment[]

Wearing this piece of armor grants the following skill bonuses:

The poison ability has a few considerations:

  • This effect is only active while crouching or during combat.
  • Once activated, the user is shrouded in darkness, simulating the effect of hiding in the shadows.
  • Brawling while wearing the Ebony Mail will cause the opponent to become poisoned. This will count as a "non-brawl" attack, causing guards and other bystanders to become hostile as well.
  • The poison appears to be considered an "effect" rather than a "poison", so practically every enemy in the game is affected by it, even enemies that are originally "immune" to regular poisons, such as Dwarven automatons, draugr and vampires.
  • Although the armor itself has a muffle, wearing the Ebony Mail while stealth attacking could cause an issue: closer targets may be informed of the player-character's presence, due to the poisoning effect. A very high Sneak skill can avoid detection, and thus be used to kill enemies whilst sitting still.

This is a unique enchantment, thus it cannot be disenchanted.

Trivia[]

  • The Ebony Mail is the only non-footwear piece of apparel with the muffle effect.
  • If the Dragonborn is a vampire, their eyes will glow through the black smoke effect while wearing the armor (Only if Dawnguard is installed). Elven, Khajiit, and Argonian eyes will also be visible, along with any scars.
  • Using the Ebony Mail while attempting to sneak-snipe with a bow can cause some difficulty, as the smoky shadow effect blocks the vision, even if one zooms in.
  • The Ebony Mail is one of few pieces of Heavy Armor that may significantly assist in stealth, despite its weight; its high armor rating and enchantments are very useful in close combat if detected.
  • The enchantment will activate when nearing a hostile target (by making a particular sound effect), acting like an alarm system to signify a hostile enemy is near. The same sound effect also plays when entering sneak with the armor equipped.
  • The Ebony Mail was formerly unaffected by the Matching Set perk, but this was fixed in Patch 1.9.
  • While active, this effect will appear in the Active Effects list as Ebony Mail Muffle, while the poison effect is listed as Boethiah's Embrace.
  • This is the lightest heavy armor with the highest defense-to-weight ratio in the game. Only three materials can rival it in basic armor value (Daedric, Dragon and Stalhrim), but these are even heavier. The latter two have one more point in armor value, while the former has 3. Furthermore, they are 14, 12 and 22 units heavier in weight respectively. Selecting Ebony Mail rather than these three bestows a minor defense loss (the maximum possible limit without the best armor) but a relatively reasonable quantity of carry weight.

Bugs[]

This section contains bugs related to Ebony Mail (Skyrim). Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:

  1. Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening.
  2. If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template  360  /  XB1  ,  PS3  /  PS4  ,  PC  /  MAC  ,  NX  /  PS5  ,  XS  , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on.
  3. Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.
  •  PC   360   PS3   When attacking dragons, sometimes their soul cannot be absorbed while wearing the Ebony Mail. It also sometimes continues to emit the poison aura even when there are no enemies around.
  •  PS3   It is possible for Boethiah's Embrace to remain active after switching armor.
  •  360   PS3   XB1   NX   Multiple copies of Ebony Mail may be obtained by looting all the armor off the body of Boethiah's Champion and raising his body with the Dead Thrall spell. His armor will respawn upon fast traveling or entering a new cell.
  •  PC   360   PS3   XB1   NX   It can be duplicated by the Mannequin glitch, but it will lose all upgrades done to the armor.
  • If dropped, it may show up as "stealing" it when it is picked up again.
  •  360   With Hearthfire installed, the player will often have "unshrouded" eyes and scars that display through the dark silhouette generated by this armor. Without the affliction of Vampirism or Lycanthropy.
  •  PC   360   PS3   The Ebony Mail can disappear if given to Malborn in the quest "Diplomatic Immunity." It may not be in the chest at the Thalmor Embassy upon arrival.
  • If the Masque of Clavicus Vile is equipped alongside the Ebony Mail, the Dragonborn's head may disappear.
  •  360   Hairstyles may not be shrouded with the Ebony Mail's effect, though this has no negative effects on sneaking.
  •  360   If a follower carries it while the Wabbajack is used on them to make them transform, it will disappear when they transform back.
  • Drawn weapons will sometimes visibly blink in and out of the ebony mail shroud when it is active instead of remaining constant during the duration.

Appearances[]

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