Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion: How to Get Daedric Artifacts

Daedric artifacts in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered come from fifteen shrines hidden across Cyrodiil, and each one hands you a quest once you reach its minimum level and place the right offering at the statue. Complete the quest, return to the shrine, and the Prince’s artifact is yours. This guide lists every shrine with its location, level, offering and reward, explains how to get the shrines marked on your map, recommends an order, and notes the fixes the post-launch patches made to these quests.

How the shrines work

Walk up to a shrine and a worshipper tells you what the Prince wants. Every quest has a level requirement, and most need an offering placed by activating the statue. The shrines are not on your map by default: reading the book Modern Heretics (a copy sits beside Martin at Cloud Ruler Temple during Blood of the Daedra; First Edition in the Market District sells others) unlocks a “Daedric shrines” topic with certain NPCs, each of whom marks a shrine for you. Failing that, they all share the same map icon, so exploring turns them up.

The main quest asks for one artifact during Blood of the Daedra. Martin points you at Azura, but any of the fifteen works, and per the community-maintained UESP reference you should not give him Azura’s Star. Umbra, covered in our Umbra guide, does not count for that step.

All fifteen shrines, levels, offerings and rewards

Locations and requirements below are the game’s long-documented values per UESP; the remaster did not change them.

1. Azura (level 2, Glow Dust, offered at dawn or dusk): north of Cheydinhal past Lake Arrius, high in the Jerall Mountains. Reward: Azura’s Star, a reusable Grand soul gem.
2. Boethia (level 20, Daedra Heart): in the Valus Mountains east of the Reed River. Reward: Goldbrand, a fire-enchanted katana.
3. Clavicus Vile (level 20, 500 gold): southwest of the Imperial City between Fort Virtue and Ceyatatar. Reward: the Masque of Clavicus Vile (Fortify Personality 20), or keep Umbra instead.
4. Hermaeus Mora (level 20, no offering, but all fourteen other shrine quests done and Blood of the Daedra started): due west of Cloud Ruler Temple. Reward: the Oghma Infinium, which permanently raises a set of attributes and skills along a path you choose.
5. Hircine (level 17, Bear Pelt or Wolf Pelt): southwest of the bridge over the Upper Niben, in the Nibenay Valley. Reward: the Saviour’s Hide, light armor with Resist Magic.
6. Malacath (level 10, Troll Fat): north-northwest of Anvil. Reward: Volendrung, a warhammer with a Paralyze effect.
7. Mephala (level 15, Nightshade): northeast of the Imperial City. Reward: the Ebony Blade, which absorbs health.
8. Meridia (level 10, Bonemeal, Ectoplasm or Mort Flesh): west of Skingrad. Reward: the Ring of Khajiiti, Chameleon plus Fortify Speed.
9. Molag Bal (level 17, Lion Pelt): west of the Imperial City. Reward: the Mace of Molag Bal, which absorbs Strength and Magicka; per UESP the remaster fixed its Absorb Strength duration, which was zero in the original.
10. Namira (level 5, Personality of 20 or lower when you approach): east-southeast of Bruma’s east gate. Drink cheap wine or use a Drain Personality spell to qualify. Reward: the Ring of Namira, Reflect Damage and Reflect Spell. The remaster also fixed this quest so it awards Fame like the others, per UESP.
11. Nocturnal (level 10, no offering): off the Yellow Road north of Leyawiin, past Blankenmarch. Reward: the Skeleton Key, an unbreakable lockpick with Fortify Security 40; see our lockpicking guide for how it changes the minigame.
12. Peryite (level 10, no offering): on the south bank of the Silverfish River where it bends toward Niben Bay. Reward: Spellbreaker, a shield with Reflect Spell.
13. Sanguine (level 8, Cyrodilic Brandy): north-northwest of Skingrad. Reward: the Sanguine Rose, a staff that summons a random Daedra beside your target.
14. Sheogorath (level 2, a Lesser Soul Gem, Lettuce and Yarn): north-northwest of Leyawiin. Reward: the Wabbajack, a staff that transforms its target into a random creature.
15. Vaermina (level 5, Black Soul Gem): southwest of Cheydinhal. Reward: the Skull of Corruption, a staff that creates a hostile clone of its target.

Mehrunes Dagon and Jyggalag, the villains of the main story and Shivering Isles, offer no artifact quest.

Which to do first

At level 2 you can already take Azura and Sheogorath. Azura’s Star is the most useful item on this list because it never breaks and refills endlessly, the backbone of our enchanting guide. Namira and Vaermina open at level 5, Sanguine at 8, and the level 10 tier brings the Skeleton Key, Spellbreaker, Volendrung and the Ring of Khajiiti in one sweep. Hold Boethia, Clavicus Vile and Hermaeus Mora for level 20; our level up fast guide covers the remaster’s changed leveling.

Save before each shrine. Several quests branch, a few ask for immoral acts that add Infamy, and offerings are consumed when placed.

What the patches fixed

Update 1.1 (June 2025), per the official notes, fixed Daedric shrines not showing subtitles and Peryite’s voiceover cutting off. Update 1.2 (July 2025), per its patch notes, fixed missing textures on the Daedric statues, misaligned food at the Castle Leyawiin dinner party during Sanguine’s quest, and duplicated pages between the Oghma Infinium and the Mysterium Xarxes. The Switch 2 day one patch in August 2026 fixed a crash when Melus Petilius kills you during Molag Bal’s quest. No patch changed a level requirement, an offering or a reward, so every entry above matches the current build. Everything else we cover for the game is on the Elder Scrolls hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Daedric artifacts are there? Fifteen, one per shrine quest. Umbra and the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal are Daedric in origin but are not counted among them.

Can I do every Daedric quest in one playthrough? Yes, and Hermaeus Mora requires it. The only exclusive choice is Clavicus Vile’s, where you keep either Umbra or the Masque.

Which artifact should I give Martin? Whichever you will use least. The Masque is a common pick; Azura’s Star, the Skeleton Key and the Oghma Infinium should stay with you.

Why will nobody tell me where a shrine is? Most NPCs only discuss Daedric shrines after you have read Modern Heretics or spoken to Ulene Hlervu in Castle Cheydinhal about the town. Do one of those first.

Do offerings have to be placed at a specific time? Only Azura’s, at dawn or dusk. The rest accept the offering whenever you activate the statue.