Forums » Elder Scrolls

Best way to make gold early without crafting?

    • 180 posts
    March 27, 2013 8:44 PM EDT

    I want to know the best methods of making money at a low level without using any crafting skills.

    • 409 posts
    March 27, 2013 8:48 PM EDT

    Dark Brotherhood.

    • 158 posts
    March 27, 2013 8:49 PM EDT

    The conjuration book glitch :P

    I do a lot of dungeon raiding at low levels

    • 29 posts
    March 27, 2013 8:52 PM EDT

    I was going to say that chest lol 

    • 291 posts
    March 27, 2013 8:53 PM EDT
    • Get married
    • Learn the transmute spell
    • Do bounty quests

    Maybe not the most efficient, but a combination of the three should net you a steady stream of gold without having to join any guilds.  It's especially nice with bounties as they usually send you to bandit camps or after dragons, which provide their own nice loot.

    • 89 posts
    March 27, 2013 8:57 PM EDT
    Go to inns and ask for bounties, you can make anywhere from 500 to 2000 from gold and loot.
    • 291 posts
    March 27, 2013 9:06 PM EDT

    Quite right!  And after level 20 or so, you start seeing a lot more gems, which are perhaps the best items you could possibly loot if you're looking to make gold.  They weigh almost nothing and are worth a ton.  In fact, it might be well worth doing the Barenziah quest for Prowler's Profit.

    • 131 posts
    March 27, 2013 9:19 PM EDT

    Hmm, I can think of a couple of things faction wise...

    • Dark Brotherhood - Doing contracts with Nazir
    • Thieves Guild - Doing jobs for Delvin/Vex
    • Companions - Doing work for the leaders
    • Asking the Jarls for work

    Of course then there's the Dawnstar chest Ben mentioned.

    • 180 posts
    March 27, 2013 9:22 PM EDT

    I've never really bothered collecting soul gems to sell, I only ever use them when crafting. Transmuting sounds like a good idea, so does bounties and dragon hunting. Thanks for all the replies guys.

    • 708 posts
    March 27, 2013 9:32 PM EDT

    Do dungeons - the magical equipment sell prices really add up

    Steal stuff - I easily got about 200 bottles of Black-Briar mead in Riften in a single night - that's about 5000 gold base value, not to mention the Reserve you manage to pick up along the way.

    Stealing stuff from well-equipped stores is good too, Radiant Raiment has plenty of valuables lying around.

    • 253 posts
    March 27, 2013 10:32 PM EDT

    Honestly just do a bunch of dungeons. Just in raiding bandit camps around Whiterun at low levels I can get 1k+ for each one (not including bounty rewards if I asked in an inn).

    • 3 posts
    March 28, 2013 8:20 AM EDT

    I believe it would be pickpocketing. Some citizens have jewels on them, and it levels up pretty quick if you're using the thief stone and is Well Rested (one or two levels per successful pickpocket in average). Problem is: I think you would need a fence to sell all this stuff...

    • 856 posts
    March 28, 2013 8:29 AM EDT

    One simple way is to do odd jobs (eg chopping wood, harvesting crops) for every you can and then take anything from their house that they let you.  (exploiting the game a bit here).

    Dwemer ruins have a lot of nice treasure - it is high risk at low level though.

    • 13 posts
    March 28, 2013 10:09 AM EDT

    Talking to the innkeepers for bounty to hunt .

    • 31 posts
    March 28, 2013 10:12 AM EDT

    Blood on the ice glitch.

    • 127 posts
    March 28, 2013 10:43 AM EDT

    Thievery. I made a thief character and pickpocketed everyone at Riverwood and Whiterun, it's easy to pickpocket after you get the first perk. When I went to Riften to sell my stuff, I gained 75K gold without any speech perks. I wasn't even using any perks that improves the chances of getting better loot.
    I suggest thievery and brawl missions if you have the heavy armor perk that increases unarmed damage.