Skyrim- On Enchanting Effectively (Part Four)

The reason that a soul gem whose soul doesn't match the gem's type is wasteful is that, with the only two exceptions being Azura’s Star and the Black Star, using the soul trapped in a soul gem for an enchantment destroys the gem itself, meaning that these highly expensive items and their unique charge are consumable.  While this is not a trait you really want in something that rare which costs that much gold, it is a simple fact of the way things are, so you will want to learn to keep an eye on your soul gem stock and ensure you have an alternative weapon which lacks the Soul Trap enchantment.

In addition to all of this are the quirks of enchanting.  While an enchanted item that is worn, such as a robe, circlet, or pair of gauntlets, will remain enchanted and have its effect forever (why this specifically includes shields I am not certain, but it does make some sense since they share many enchantment possibilities with the worn items).  Enchanted weapons, however, have a limited number of ‘charges’, one of which is consumed with each attack, whether that attack hits or misses.  When you enchant a weapon, you will get the option to adjust a sliding scale for the enchantment- sliding the marker on the bar further left will increase the number of charges the weapon holds at any given time, at the expense of the power of the enchantment.  In most cases, such as the elemental enchantments, this reduces the damage or strength of the effect, while in others, such as Soul Trap, it will reduce the duration.  A few enchantments alter on both counts, such as Fear or Frenzy, which will gain or lose both duration and capacity to affect higher level targets at the same time.

Thankfully, you can make decisions that will alter the durability of weapon enchantments, and you can recharge them.  The more powerful the soul used in a weapon enchantment, the larger the minimum number of charges it can hold for its enchantment (although the greater expense you are pumping into it).  Reducing the effect can turn a weapon whose enchantment lasts seven or nine strikes into one with a lesser power that will function for an impractically high number of hits (I personally have seen the scale reach nearly eleven hundred charges, though more are doubtless possible).  Recharging is equally important.