Where to Find a Daedra Heart in Skyrim (Every Reliable Method)

Daedra Hearts are one of Skyrim's most sought-after crafting ingredients — and also one of the most frustrating to track down consistently. Whether you need them to craft Daedric armor, complete an alchemy recipe, or finish a quest, knowing where to look makes all the difference between hours of wandering and a quick, targeted run.

What Is a Daedra Heart and Why Do You Need One?

A Daedra Heart is a rare ingredient dropped by Daedra enemies in Skyrim. It serves two major purposes:

• Smithing: Required to craft Daedric armor and weapons at a forge (alongside Ebony Ingots). This is the highest-tier heavy armor set in the base game.
• Alchemy: Used in potions — most notably for Restore Health, Damage Stamina Regen, Fear, and Ravage Stamina effects.

Because Daedra are relatively rare enemies and respawn slowly, players who need multiple hearts quickly often find themselves hunting across several locations or using merchant restocks.

The Most Reliable Sources for Daedra Hearts

1. Enthir at the College of Winterhold 🧙

Enthir is one of the best early-game sources. He's a shady mage found in the Hall of Attainment at the College of Winterhold and functions as a merchant. He restocks two Daedra Hearts every two in-game days (48 real-time hours, or you can simply wait and sleep to skip time).

This makes him arguably the most consistent repeatable source in the game, especially if you're not yet powerful enough to take on Daedra directly.

2. Alaric at the Nightcaller Temple

During and after the quest "Waking Nightmare" in Dawnstar, you can find Daedra Hearts in this location. There's also a merchant nearby who occasionally stocks them.

3. Killing Dremora

Dremora — the humanoid Daedra — drop Daedra Hearts on death. The key locations where you'll encounter them:

• Mehrunes' Razor shrine (southwest of Morthal): After completing the Daedric quest "Pieces of the Past," Dremora respawn at this location. This is arguably the best farming location in the game for Daedra Hearts once the quest is complete.
• Atronach Forge (The Midden beneath the College of Winterhold): You can summon and kill a Dremora here using the right materials.
• Conjuration Ritual Spell quest: Part of the College of Winterhold quest line — involves defeating Dremora repeatedly.

4. Azura's Star / The Black Star Quest

During the quest "The Black Star," you'll fight multiple Dremora inside Azura's Star. Each one drops a Daedra Heart, giving you a small cluster of them in one go.

5. Atronach Forge — Summoning and Looting

The Atronach Forge in the Midden can be used to summon a Dremora with the right sigil stone (obtainable later in the game). You kill the Dremora, loot the heart, and repeat. It's slower than other methods but doesn't require travel.

6. General Goods Merchants and Apothecaries

Some merchants across Skyrim carry Daedra Hearts as part of their random rotating inventory:

• Arcadia's Cauldron in Whiterun occasionally stocks them.
• Elgrim's Elixirs in Riften is another occasional source.

The catch: availability is random and not guaranteed. If you need hearts reliably and quickly, merchants with fixed restocks (like Enthir) are more dependable.

7. Dwarven Automatons and Specific Dungeons

A small number of dungeons tied to Daedric quests or Oblivion gate-style encounters contain Daedra enemies. Locations include:

• Labyrinthian (contains some Daedric elements)
• Areas unlocked during Daedric Prince quests such as Boethiah's, Molag Bal's, and Namira's

Comparing the Main Farming Methods

Variables That Affect How Easy This Is for You 🎮

How quickly you can gather Daedra Hearts depends on several factors specific to your playthrough:

• Character level and combat build: Mehrunes' Razor Dremora and other Daedra scale with your level but can still be brutal at lower levels. A combat-heavy or magic-specialized build handles them very differently.
• Quest progression: The best farming spots (Mehrunes' Razor, Atronach Forge sigil stone) are locked behind quests. Where you are in the story determines what's accessible.
• Gold availability: If you're flush with septims, buying from Enthir repeatedly and waiting is essentially zero-risk. If gold is tight, you'll need to farm enemies.
• Platform and mods: PC players on the Steam version have access to mods that can adjust spawn rates or merchant inventories. Console players are limited to vanilla methods.
• Time investment: Waiting 48 in-game hours repeatedly at Enthir is fast but tedious. Running Mehrunes' Razor is more engaging but less frequent.

One Underused Trick Worth Knowing

If you have the Spell Tome: Conjure Dremora Lord and a way to kill it quickly (a follower, powerful shout, or high-level destruction magic), you can summon and kill your own Dremora in relatively safe areas, though this doesn't always guarantee a heart drop — it's based on the standard loot table.

The guaranteed drop methods all point back to physical Dremora enemies at set locations, which is why Mehrunes' Razor and Enthir remain the two anchors most experienced players return to.

Where those methods fit into your current playthrough — your level, your quest status, your build — is what determines which one actually works best for where you are right now.