Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim How to Upgrade Crossbows

The Crossbow is a new addition to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim game that you can obtain through the Dawnguard DLC. The new crossbow fires bolts instead of arrows and can launch off a powerful bolt quicker than a regular bow. The plain Jane version of the crossbow is not very powerful especially if you have upgraded a regular bow to legendary. However if you can get the upgraded crossbow, and upgrade that to legendary, you will have a weapon that ignores half of armor and can devastate even the strongest of Master Vampires.

After returning to Dawnguard and talking to Serana there will be a couple of side quests that you can complete. One of the side quests that you can complete allows players to upgrade crossbows in Skyrim. This guide is here to help players upgrade crossbows and act as a Ancient Technology Quest Guide at the same time.

Ancient Technology Quest Guide

“Sarine Jurard has sent me to retrieve the Enhanced Crossbow Schematic from Embershard. She will be able to use it to master new technology to provide to the Dawnguard members.”

• Retrieve the Enhanced Crossbow Schematic from Embershard

The schematics for the upgraded crossbow is located in the Embershard Mine. For me the closest warp point was The Guardian Stones. Fast travel there and head East. The mine is a small insert in the wall of a big hill. There was one lonely bandit outside waiting for me. Kill the bandit and head into what looks like a spider infested mine.

Walk down the right side of the mine when you first get in because there is a trap that will release rocks on the left. Continue down the shaft and it will open up into a room. Directly to your right a couple of bandits that will be chatting about how it’s hard to get into the mine. I guess the bandit was right to question the security. Take them out and move straight across the catwalk. You can pick up a couple things off their dead body but most of it is trash so we might as well get going.

You will come to a fork in the mine. To the right there is a little note about the mines not being stable. To the left is the path to continue the quest. After going left there will be a room and a lever to lower a bridge from the first room where you encountered two guards. Two more guards will walk across the bridge and talk about how they thought the bridge is not supposed to be lowered. Take out the two guards and cross the bridge.

In the next room you will see a treasure chest that is marked with a quest marker through a hole in the wall. Rounding the corner there will be a bandit guard waiting outside the door. Take out the guard and loot his pockets to pick up the key for the room. Unlock the door, grab the schematics and then you will have a choice. You can just leave the cave, but why waste all the good bandits in here?

I decided to move forward into the next room. There is three bandits hanging around in different areas of this waterfall ridden room. There is also a treasure chest as you are leaving. You can either jump down or go inside the room on the West part of the catwalk overlooking the waterfall. Pick up some goodies and you can leave Embershard Mine.

Leaving that room will take you back into Skyrim. From here you can fast travel back to Fort Dawnguard to return back to Sarine Jurard. She will look at the schematic and will tell you that she can improve the crossbows. You can either buy one from here, or head over to the forge and make one for yourself.

Happy crossbow vampire hunting!