In the vast world of Skyrim, soul gems play a crucial role for adventurers, especially those who dabble in enchanting. These mystical stones capture the souls of creatures, which can then be used to enchant weapons and armor or recharge enchanted items. Understanding how to fill soul gems efficiently can significantly enhance your gameplay experience.

Understanding Soul Gems

Soul gems come in various sizes, each capable of holding different soul strengths:

• Petty Soul Gem: Holds the souls of very weak creatures.
• Lesser Soul Gem: Suitable for slightly stronger creatures.
• Common Soul Gem: Contains average-strength souls.
• Greater Soul Gem: For powerful creatures.
• Grand Soul Gem: Holds the most potent non-humanoid souls.
• Black Soul Gem: Unique in that it can contain human souls, which are always of grand level.

Acquiring Soul Gems

You can find soul gems throughout Skyrim in dungeons, as loot, or by purchasing them from merchants, especially those specializing in magical items. Some soul gems are already filled, while others are empty, awaiting a soul.

Capturing Souls: The Soul Trap Spell

To fill an empty soul gem, you need to cast the Soul Trap spell on a creature before defeating it. The spell can be purchased from court wizards or found as loot. Once cast, you have a limited time to slay the creature; upon its death, its soul will automatically fill an appropriately sized empty soul gem in your inventory.

Using Enchanted Weapons with Soul Trap

Some weapons come with the Soul Trap enchantment, allowing you to bypass casting the spell manually. Each strike with such a weapon casts Soul Trap on the target. If you defeat the creature within the enchantment’s time frame, its soul is captured. You can also enchant your own weapons with the Soul Trap effect at an Arcane Enchanter, provided you have learned the enchantment by disenchanting a similar item.

Selecting the Right Soul Gem

It’s essential to match the soul’s strength to the appropriate gem size for efficiency:

• Petty souls fit into Petty Soul Gems.
• Lesser souls into Lesser Soul Gems.
• Common souls into Common Soul Gems.
• Greater souls into Greater Soul Gems.
• Grand souls into Grand or Black Soul Gems.

Capturing a lesser soul in a grand gem is inefficient, as it wastes the gem’s potential. To manage this, consider using the “Acquisitive Soul Gems Multithreaded” mod, which directs souls to the smallest available gem that can contain them, ensuring optimal use of your resources.

Filling Black Soul Gems

Black Soul Gems are special; they can capture humanoid (human, elf, etc.) souls, which are always of grand quality. To fill one, cast Soul Trap on a humanoid enemy and defeat them within the spell’s duration. Be cautious, as using Black Soul Gems can have ethical implications within the game world.

Alternative Methods: The Black Star

During the quest “The Black Star,” you can acquire a reusable soul gem known as The Black Star. Unlike standard Black Soul Gems, The Black Star can capture any soul, including those of humanoids, and doesn’t get destroyed upon use, making it a valuable tool for enchanters.

Recharging Enchanted Weapons

Once you have filled soul gems, you can use them to recharge your enchanted weapons:

1. Open your inventory and select the enchanted weapon.
2. Press the designated button to recharge (varies by platform).
3. A menu will appear displaying your filled soul gems.
4. Choose the gem you wish to use; larger souls provide more charge.

Remember, using a grand soul to recharge a weapon that only needs a small boost can be wasteful. Always match the soul gem size to the required recharge amount when possible.

Tips for Efficient Soul Capturing

• Preparation: Always carry a variety of empty soul gems to ensure you can capture any soul size you encounter.
• Weapon Enchantment: Enchant a weapon with Soul Trap to streamline the process, eliminating the need to cast the spell separately.
• Inventory Management: Regularly check your filled soul gems and use them appropriately to free up space for new captures.
• Ethical Considerations: Decide whether you want to use Black Soul Gems, as capturing humanoid souls can have moral implications in the game.

Common Issues and Bugs

Be aware of potential bugs to soul gems:

• Self-Filled Gems Not Stacking: Soul gems you’ve filled might not stack properly in your inventory.
• Emptying on Drop: Dropping a filled soul gem can sometimes empty it.
• Quest Items: Some quest- soul gems, like Wylandriah’s Soul Gem, can be used unintentionally, potentially disrupting the associated quest.

To mitigate these issues, consider installing the Unofficial Skyrim Patch, which addresses many of these bugs.