The main sources, though, are high level Falmer and Draugr, can't remember exactly which ones, but basically the scarier they are, the bigger their soul (plain draugr are 'petty', I think). It could be seen as a cheat, but personally I don't really find it is, I don't end up with massively better enchanting because of it, just a lot less irritation ) Some people just drop the under-filled gems on the floor and pick them up, which apparently 'empties' them, I've never tried it myself, though.Īs far as what has what kind of soul, I think giants have Greater and mammoths have Grand. This does mean you waste some souls, but personally I prefer that to wasting gems. Either way, you still have to have a good idea of a/ what empty gems you have and b/ what kind of soul the thing you're killing has.Īnother possibility is a mod such as Acquisitive Soul Gems (available both here and the Nexus, I think) which limits the gems to the appropriate sized soul.

An alternative is to have a second weapon (not enchanted, or with a different enchantment such as fire) for when you've used up all your low-quality soul gems. Well, the advantage of using the soul trap spell is you can make sure you only use it on things that have the right kind of souls for your larger gems, the disadvantage (for me) is that you have to remember to use it at the right time (I think it works for a few seconds, but I usually either forget, or cast it right when I'm attacking, and sometimes it wears off before they die).

Skyrim creatures with grand souls