The Elder Scrolls V – Skyrim: How to Carry More Weight

In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, if you’re anything like me (a loot horder) then you’ll be pretty frustrated early in the game that you can’t carry very much weight in order to get all of the loot out of a dungeon that you conquer.

You’ll pout and moan every time you have to drop that Iron Sword because it puts you over the top, or every time you encounter that huge stash of Steel Armor at the end of a dungeon when you’re already at carrying capacity. Sure, you can come back, but who wants to do that?

Luckily there are several ways in the game to fix this problem, so let’s get started.

Get a Pack Mule

One of the best ways to increase your carrying capacity in the game is to have a companion follow you around. Unlike some of the previous versions, most of the companions in this game can actually hold their own and don’t die at the first signs of danger. Not only that, but they can carry just about as much as you can, so they can literally be your pack mules.

You can have a follower as early as Riverwood. Faendal and Sven will both proposition you to deliver a letter to Camilla Valerius in Riverwood Traders that will slander the other. Whichever you choose to help, either will follow you when the quest is complete. They are both trained archers, however Faendal seems to have a higher moral standing and will not like you breaking into houses.

There are also several followers in Whiterun. There is a Dark Elf mercenary named Jenassa in Whiterun that will follow you for 500 gold. There is also a Nord named Uthgerd the Unbroken in The Bannered Mare in Whiterun that will follow you for free if you beat her in a hand to hand brawl. There is another free follower named Lydia that you can gain access to once you complete the Dragonsreach quests in Whiterun up until the point where you kill your first dragon.

There are several Nords in The Companions area in Whiterun that will follow you once you start the quests for The Companions. They can be found through the building named Jorrvaskr building in Whiterun.

Carry More Weight with Perks, Stones, Stats, and Enchantments

There are various “permanent” solutions to your carrying capacity problems as well.

You can increase your carrying capacity by 100 in the Pickpocketing tree with the perk called Extra Pockets once you get Pickpocketing to level 50.

If you’re not into Pickpocketing, you can visit the Steed Stone to also increase your carrying capacity by 100, however you can only have one active stone at once.

Increasing the Stamina stat will also increase your carrying capacity, with the added bonus of being able to take more melee swings.

You can enchant your armor with the Fortify Carry Weight stat to increase your carrying capacity. Fortify Carry Weight can be added to Boots, Gloves, Amulets and Rings.

Carry More Weight with Potions

Unfortunately, there are no more Feather spells (booo!), so the only temporary solution to your weight limit is through potions. Creep Clusters, Giants Toes, Hawk Beaks, River Betty, Scaly Pholiota, and Wisp Wrappings all have the Fortify Carry Weight stat for potions.

Tricks to Carry More

You can’t fast travel being encumbered, but one trick to fix this is to get on your horse. Overload on loot, and as long as you can make it to your horse, you can fast travel to town and sell all of your goods.

Another trick is to load up all of your extra goods onto a dead body, reanimate the corpse, and then fast travel back to town. It will most likely die by the time you arrive, however the corpse will be there in town with all of your goods, so you can reanimate it again or just loot it and carry it to the store to sell.

Buy a House to Store Your Stuff

I also suggest purchasing the House in Whiterun as early as possible to store your extra loot you’re not always using so you can carry more. I always store the majority of my ingredients for potions at my house, as well as any extra potions, because they may be light, but they add up fast.