Skyrim:Trainers

Amren, a trainer

Trainers can provide lessons that increase your skill level in their area of expertise in exchange for gold. You may train up to five times per level. Trainers cannot raise skills past 90 -- you must earn the last ten points by using the skill, reading skill books, or obtaining quest rewards.

Unfortunately, you cannot save these "trainer points". If you didn't use a trainer in previous levels, you missed those opportunities. After leveling up, you'll get five new "training points", but "training points" from previous level will be gone if not used. This is problematic at lower levels or for new players, who lack the gold to train or can't access the locations of the trainers they desire. Thus, before leveling up, you should consider training with a trainer to use up the remaining "training points" for the current level. Alternatively, remind yourself to train right after leveling up.

Trainers

- Common (0-50), - Expert (0-75), - Master (0-90)

Lvl	Trainer	Location	Other Services
Alchemy Training
	Lami	Morthal	Merchant (Apothecary)
	Arcadia	Arcadia's Cauldron in Whiterun	Merchant (Apothecary)
	Milore Ienth(DB)	Raven Rock(DB)	Merchant (Apothecary)
	Babette	The Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary; you must join the Dark Brotherhood to use her services	Merchant (Apothecary)
Alteration Training
	Dravynea the Stoneweaver	Kynesgrove
	Tolfdir	College of Winterhold; you must be a member of the College of Winterhold to receive training from him	Spell Merchant (Alteration)
Archery Training
	Faendal	Riverwood	Follower
	Aela the Huntress	Jorrvaskr in Whiterun; you must be a member of the Companions to receive training from her	Follower
	Niruin	Thieves Guild; you must be a member of the Thieves Guild to receive training from him
	Sorine Jurard(DG)	Fort Dawnguard(DG)	Merchant (General)
Block Training
	Njada Stonearm	Jorrvaskr in Whiterun; you must be a member of the Companions to receive training from her	Follower
	Chief Larak	Mor Khazgur; you must be Blood-Kin to receive training from him
Conjuration Training
	Runil	Falkreath
	Phinis Gestor	College of Winterhold; you must be a member of the College of Winterhold to receive training from him	Spell Merchant (Conjuration)
	Falion	Morthal, inside his house	Spell Merchant (General)
	Talvas Fathryon(DB)	Tel Mithryn(DB)	Spell Merchant (General) / Follower
Destruction Training
	Wuunferth the Unliving	Windhelm, Palace of the Kings Upstairs	Spell Merchant (General)
	Sybille Stentor	The Blue Palace in Solitude	Spell Merchant (General)
	Faralda	The College of Winterhold, usually in the Hall of Countenance; you must be a member of the College of Winterhold to receive training from her	Spell Merchant (Destruction)
Enchanting Training
	Sergius Turrianus	College of Winterhold, within the Hall of the Elements or the Hall of Countenance; you must be a member of the College of Winterhold to receive training from him
	Hamal	Markarth, usually found in the Temple of Dibella; you must complete The Heart of Dibella to receive training from her
	Neloth(DB)	Tel Mithryn(DB)	Spell Merchant (General)
Heavy Armor Training
	Gharol	Dushnikh Yal; you must be Blood-Kin to receive training from her	Merchant (Blacksmith)
	Farkas	Jorrvaskr in Whiterun; you must be a member of the Companions to receive training from him	Follower
	Isran(DG)	Inside Fort Dawnguard(DG)
	Kuvar(DB)	Bujold's Retreat(DB) or Thirsk Mead Hall(DB)
Illusion Training
	Atub	Largashbur; you must complete The Cursed Tribe to receive training from her
	Drevis Neloren	College of Winterhold, within the Hall of Countenance; you must be a member of the College of Winterhold to receive training from him	Spell Merchant (Illusion)
Light Armor Training
	Scouts-Many-Marshes	The docks outside of Windhelm
	Grelka	Riften Market from 8am to 8pm, stays at Haelga's Bunkhouse at night	Merchant (General)
	Nazir	The Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary; you must be a member of the Dark Brotherhood to receive training from him
Lockpicking Training
	Ma'jhad	Ma'dran's Khajiit caravan—travels between Solitude and Windhelm	Merchant (Fence)
	Vex	Ragged Flagon
One-handed Training
	Amren	Wanders inner Whiterun during the day, near the market at 6pm
	Athis	Jorrvaskr in Whiterun; you must be a member of the Companions to receive training from him	Follower
	Chief Burguk	Dushnikh Yal; you must be Blood-Kin to receive training from him
Pickpocket Training
	Silda the Unseen	Windhelm, outside of Candlehearth Hall or Blacksmith Quarters	Beggar (Blessing of Charity)
	Vipir the Fleet	Thieves Guild; you must be a member of the Thieves Guild to receive training from him
Restoration Training
	Aphia Velothi(DB)	Raven Rock(DB)
	Colette Marence	College of Winterhold, inside The Arcanaeum; you must be a member of the College of Winterhold to receive training from her	Spell Merchant (Restoration)
	Keeper Carcette	The Hall of the Vigilant within The Pale: if you have Dawnguard installed, she will be killed when the hall is destroyed by vampires, probably before you ever visit the hall since it happens at level 9.
	Danica Pure-Spring	Whiterun, Temple of Kynareth; you must complete The Blessings of Nature to receive training from her
	Florentius Baenius(DG)	Fort Dawnguard(DG)	Merchant (Apothecary)
Smithing Training
	Ghorza	Markarth	Merchant (Blacksmith)
	Balimund	Riften, just outside The Scorched Hammer	Merchant (Blacksmith)
	Eorlund Gray-Mane	Whiterun, at the Skyforge; you must be a member of the Companions to receive training from him	Merchant (Blacksmith)
	Gunmar(DG)	Fort Dawnguard(DG)	Merchant (Blacksmith)
Sneak Training
	Khayla	Ri'saad's Khajiit caravan—travels between Markarth and Whiterun
	Garvey	Markarth
	Delvin Mallory	Ragged Flagon
Speech Training
	Dro'marash	Ahkari's Khajiit caravan—travels between Dawnstar and Riften
	Revyn Sadri	Windhelm, Sadri's Used Wares	Merchant (General)
	Ogmund the Skald	Markarth
	Ronthil(DG)	Volkihar Keep(DG)	Merchant
	Giraud Gemane	The Bards College in Solitude
Two-handed Training
	Torbjorn Shatter-Shield	Windhelm
	Fura Bloodmouth (DG)	Volkihar Keep(DG)
	Vilkas	Jorrvaskr in Whiterun; you must be a member of the Companions to receive training from him	Follower
	Wulf Wild-Blood(DB)	Skaal Village(DB)

Notes

• Sometimes it is beneficial to use only part of the total training allotment for each level. Because training counts towards the next level progression, training too much may cause the player to skip one or more levels, essentially wasting those training sessions. Saving the game before training can allow the player to train the maximum number of times without going over.
• The best time to train a skill, to provide the maximum increase to your overall character level, is when you have levelled up to the next level.
• Angi will offer you free practice at her home. You can increase your Archery skill by up to six levels if you accept. It is possible to max out Archery to 100 if you accept the quest with an archery level of 94.
• The list of trainers in the Prima Official Game Guide incorrectly identifies several people as trainers: Ahkari (Pickpocket), Hermir Strong-Heart (Heavy Armor), and Melaran (Alteration) do not provide training. Given that these skills do not have a common level trainer, it is possible they were meant to be trainers at one point.
  • The factions and class of Ra'zhinda imply that she was at one point meant to be an Expert Lockpicking trainer, but she does not offer any training in the final game.
• The cost for having a skill trained is calculated using the below formulas, based on your current skill level (not the level you are going to). Price adjustment effects, such as speechcraft level, persuasion level, and enhancements such as Fortify Persuasion and Fortify Barter, do not affect trainers' rates.
  • For advancement of skills less than or equal to 50:
    • n(10b + 5n + 45)
  • For advancement of skills greater than 50:
    • n(30b + 15n + 35)
  • For advancement of skills greater than 75:
    • n(50b + 25n + 25)
  • Where n is the number of times you wish to train and b is the current level of the skill. E.g.: If you wish to train a particular skill from level 20 to 50 (b = 20 and n = 50-20 = 30) the combined cost (250+260+270+...+540) would be 30(10*20 + 5*30 + 45) = 11850.
• Training benefits from Sleeping and Standing Stone bonuses, though the XP so acquired will never result in advancing more than one level. Leveling a skill naturally when the XP bar is full allows for the most efficient use of XP bonuses.
• If you are ready to level up, but do not do so, the "Times Trained This Level" stat, accessible through the Journal, will not reset.
• Trainers that double as followers can train you for "free". They will still charge you, but you can get back the gold you spent by checking their inventory.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.2.6, addresses this issue. The patch makes the exploit no longer possible.
• All trainers put the gold you pay them into their personal inventory. If they are also merchants, then the gold in their personal inventory is added to the gold they use to barter with. However, most merchants have a cap on their personal gold which is put into effect when you enter their stores, so if you leave the store and come back later, the gold will have disappeared. Notable exceptions to this are the merchant trainers added by the Dawnguard add-on.
• The Pickpocket skill can be abused to obtain virtually free training from any Trainer in the game. Simply take one level of training and then steal the gold back for a "free" level of training. Note that this will increase the Pickpocket skill extremely quickly, causing the player to potentially over-level and miss some levels of training. At higher levels and with the Cutpurse perk, 2-3 levels worth of gold can be stolen back at a time. Though keep in mind that the cost of training a skill above level 50 and 75 thresholds greatly increases, making it severely harder to steal back the gold. Since Pickpocket is completely based on chance with little to no interaction between the player and target, it is advised to save before each attempt at pickpocketing. Even a Master Pickpocket always has at least a 10% chance of being caught.
• Some trainers will continue to offer the dialogue option to train even if you've passed the skill level at which they can train you. Choosing this dialogue option in this circumstance will cause them to say things such as "You already know all that I know."

Bugs

• If you have an active Fortify Skill effect, the cost of training will appear to be for the increased skill. However, the trainer will only take the price for training at your actual skill level.
• If a skill has some progress toward its next level, the training progress bar will fill and then empty. However, checking the Skills menu shows the initial progress was not lost.
• If a skill is at 0% progress to its next level before you start training it, a purchased level may fail to actually increase the skill even though you paid for it and it used up one of your five training opportunities This appears to be because training does not add all of the experience needed to fill up the bar completely, so the bar will not fill up sufficiently to trigger a skill increase in one training session if it is completely empty.
  • You can use, for example, advskill block 1 to get your proper Block level.
• If you load a character which has used trainers since last leveling, and then quit to the main menu and start a new game, the game does not clear your new character's training stat and if you seek to use a trainer at level 1, you will be told that you have used however many training sessions the previously loaded character had used.