If you’ve spent dozens of hours playing Skyrim’s Thieves Guild quest line, you’ve definitely fallen for the sleek, raven-themed design of the Nightingale Armor. The only problem? The pre-enchanted version you get mid-quest has fixed effects that rarely line up perfectly with custom builds, especially if you’re mixing stealth with magic or two-handed combat. If you want the iconic look without being stuck with default enchantments, you’re in the right place to learn how to get unenchanted Nightingale Armor that you can tweak to your exact preferences. It works for every playstyle, from pure stealth thieves to hybrid stealth mages and even stealth archers.
Legitimate Step-by-Step: How to Get Unenchanted Nightingale Armor Without Glitches
This method works for every platform (PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch) and requires no mods or exploits, so you don’t have to worry about corrupting your save file or missing out on quest achievements. It does take a bit of extra work after you finish the core Thieves Guild story, but the payoff is a permanent, unenchanted set that you can upgrade as much as you want. Below is the exact order of steps you need to follow:
- First, complete the core Thieves Guild quest line up to and including the "Blindsighted" quest, where you first receive the enchanted Nightingale Armor set. You can’t skip this step, as the replica vendor only unlocks after you finish the main guild story.
- Next, complete all 12 regional Thieves Guild side jobs given by Delvin and Vex. These are the small jobs that send you to Markarth, Windhelm, Solitude, and Whiterun to steal items, break into safes, or plant evidence. You’ll need to finish 3 jobs per hold to unlock the special city quest for each region.
- Complete all four city special quests (Silver Lining, The Dainty Sload, Imitation Amnesty, and Summerset Shadows) to restore the Thieves Guild to its former glory. Once you finish the final city quest, you’ll get the "Guild Master" achievement and access to the Guild Master’s tribute chest.
- Head to the Ragged Flagon and talk to Tonilia, the guild’s fence. She will now sell unenchanted Nightingale Armor pieces individually for around 1500 gold each, depending on your speech skill level. You can buy the full set from her at any time, even if you lost or sold your original enchanted set.
You can buy multiple sets if you want to experiment with different enchantments for different builds, or keep a backup set in case you lose one during a tough dungeon run. Tonilia restocks her inventory every 48 in-game hours, so if she’s out of a specific piece, just wait two days and check back. This is the only 100% legitimate, no-glitch method that works for all platforms, so it’s our top recommendation for most players. If you run into a bug where Tonilia isn’t selling the unenchanted Nightingale Armor, try waiting 72 in-game hours and fast traveling away from the Ragged Flagon before coming back.
Console Command Method for PC Players (No Quest Required)
If you’re playing on PC and don’t want to spend 10+ hours completing all the Thieves Guild side content, you can use console commands to spawn the unenchanted Nightingale Armor set directly into your inventory. This method is instant, but it will disable achievements on your save file unless you have a mod that re-enables them, so keep that in mind before you use it. First, press the ~ key on your keyboard to open the console command menu. Make sure you don’t have any menus open when you do this, or the command won’t register.
You’ll use the player.additem command followed by the item ID for each piece of unenchanted Nightingale Armor. The item IDs are as follows: Armor body is 000FCC0C, Boots are 000FCC0D, Gloves are 000FCC0E, Hood is 000FCC0F. For example, to get the unenchanted Nightingale Armor body piece, you would type player.additem 000FCC0C 1 into the console and press enter. Repeat that for each piece you want, and you’ll have a full unenchanted set in seconds. We only recommend this method if you’ve already played through the Thieves Guild quest line on a previous save, or if you don’t care about earning achievements on your current run. It’s not ideal for first-time players, since you’ll miss out on a ton of great story content and unique rewards for completing the guild quests.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Farming Unenchanted Nightingale Armor
Even if you follow the steps perfectly, there are a few common errors that can make Tonilia not sell the unenchanted armor, or make you waste hours grinding unnecessary quests. The first mistake is only doing side jobs for one hold at a time. Delvin and Vex give jobs randomly, so if you keep getting jobs for holds you already completed, you can quit the job and talk to them again to get a new one for a different hold. That cuts down on grind time significantly.
Another mistake is selling your original enchanted Nightingale Armor before you unlock the unenchanted replicas. While you can still buy the unenchanted set without the original, the enchanted set has unique effects that are great for early-game thief builds, and you can’t get another enchanted copy if you sell it. If you accidentally sold yours, you can only get a new one via console commands on PC, so it’s better to store the original set in a safe chest before you sell anything. You also don’t need to complete the Dark Brotherhood quest line or any other side content to unlock the unenchanted armor. A lot of players falsely assume you need to be a Nightingale forever to access the replicas, but once you complete the Thieves Guild quest line, you keep access to Tonilia’s inventory even if you stop doing guild jobs or join a different faction like the Companions or College of Winterhold.
Best Enchantments to Add to Your Custom Unenchanted Nightingale Armor
Now that you have your unenchanted Nightingale Armor set, you can customize it to fit any build, not just standard stealth thief builds. The armor has a base armor rating that’s comparable to Elven armor, so it’s light enough for stealth builds but durable enough for combat-focused builds too. For a traditional stealth thief build, the best enchantments to add are fortify sneak enchantment on the boots and hood, fortify lockpicking on the gloves, and fortify carry weight on the body piece. This lets you move almost silently, pick locks faster, and carry more stolen goods without becoming overencumbered.
If you’re making a stealth archer build, swap the fortify lockpicking enchantment for fortify marksman on the gloves, and add fortify stamina to the body piece so you can draw your bow more times in a row without running out of stamina. For a stealth mage build, add fortify illusion on the hood, fortify magicka on the body piece, and fortify sneak on the boots and gloves. This lets you cast illusion spells like Muffle and Invisibility for less magicka, while still staying undetected when you sneak past enemies. Unlike the enchanted version, your unenchanted Nightingale Armor can be upgraded as many times as you want with void salts, no matter what enchantments you add to it. You can also mix and match enchantments if you’re playing a hybrid build, like a thief who uses one-handed weapons and illusion magic. The unenchanted set gives you full flexibility to make the armor work for you, instead of forcing you to build your character around the default enchantments.
Whether you’re a long-time Skyrim player who wants to freshen up your playthrough or a new player who wants the perfect thief build, knowing how to get unenchanted Nightingale Armor opens up a ton of customization options you won’t get with the default enchanted set. The legitimate method takes a bit of extra grind, but it’s worth it to earn the armor through gameplay and keep your achievements intact, while the console method is perfect for players who want to jump straight to building their dream character. No matter which method you choose, you’ll get the iconic Nightingale look with stats that fit your playstyle perfectly.
