How to Do the Oghma Infinium Glitch in Skyrim

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: December 4, 2020 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to obtain infinite XP in the original version of Skyrim using the Oghma Infinium glitch. The glitch was removed in the 1.9 patch, so any post-1.8 version of Skyrim—including the Special Edition of Skyrim that was released in 2017—does not support the Oghma Infinium glitch.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Retrieving the Oghma Infinium

1
Meet the prerequisites. In order to obtain the Oghma Infinium—a book that allows you to level up a set of skills by 5 all at once—you must be at least level 15, and you must have completed the "Throat of the World" quest which is part of the main storyline.^{[1]
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- After completing the conversation with Paarthurnax in High Hrothgar, the quests "Discerning the Transmundane" and "Elder Knowledge" become available.
2
Travel to Septimus Signus' Outpost. Septimus Signus lives in the upper-left (north-east) corner of the map, north of the College of Winterhold.^{[2]
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3
Speak to Septimus Signus. Septimus will assign to you the quest "Discerning the Transmundane", though the path to reach the Oghma Infinium is identical to the quest "Elder Knowledge" as well.
4
Proceed through the initial parts of the quest. With "Discerning the Transmundane" (or "Elder Knowledge") selected in your quest log, follow the quest prompts until you've received and filled the runed lexicon.
- You can actually start this quest as a sub-level 15 character, but you'll need to be level 15 by the time you return to speak to Septimus Signus.
5
Return the lexicon to Septimus. As long as you're level 15 (or up), returning to Septimus and speaking with him will allow the quest to proceed.
6
Allow the cutscene to play. Septimus will tell you that you need several different races' blood to open the lockbox, after which point you can proceed with the quest.
7
Collect the blood of each race mentioned by Septimus. You will need to kill at least one of each race and then select the "Harvest" option when looting the body.
- The races that you must kill include Orsimer (orc), Falmer, Dunmer (dark elf), Bosmer (wood elf), and Altmer (high elf).
- You can find all but the Altmer in Liar's Retreat, which is located to the southwest of Solitude. The closest Altmer can then be found in a trap pit in the Halted Stream Camp, which is just northwest of the Whitewatch tower.
8
Return to Septimus and converse with him. As long as you have all five blood types, doing so will prompt him to open the lock box, inside of which you'll find the Oghma Infinium.
9
Pick up the Oghma Infinium. Now that you have this book, you can proceed to using it to level up indefinitely.
- Do not read the Oghma Infinium.
- You can accept or decline the daedra's offer here—it makes no difference on the bearing of the story itself.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Glitching with the Oghma Infinium

1
Find a bookshelf. Most houses and dwellings throughout Skyrim have at least one bookshelf, so just fast-travel to the nearest town in which you can access homes or a palace.
- If you own a home that has a bookshelf, fast-travel there instead.
2
Clear the bookshelf. Open the bookshelf, then remove any books that are currently on the bookshelf. Doing so will minimize the chances of breaking the Oghma Infinium glitch.
3
Quick-save your game. You can do this by opening the "Wait" menu, selecting 1 hour, and confirming the wait period. With the quick-save in place, you can reload the save in case you accidentally read the Oghma Infinium incorrectly.
4
Open the bookshelf. Selecting the empty bookshelf will prompt your inventory to open.
5
Scroll down to select Books. This tab is near the bottom of your inventory's list.
6
Select the Oghma Infinium. It should be in the Books section of the inventory. Doing so opens the Oghma Infinium.
7
Select an upgrade path. You can choose one of the following paths:
- The Path of Might - Grants a +5 level bonus to Heavy Armor, One-Handed, Smithing, Two-Handed, Archery, and Block skills.
- The Path of Shadow - Grants a +5 level bonus to Light Armor, Speech, Pickpocket, Alchemy, Sneak, and Lockpicking skills.
- The Path of Magic - Grants a +5 level bonus to Destruction, Restoration, Conjuration, Illusion, Alteration, and Enchanting skills.
8
Place the book on the bookshelf. Without closing the bookshelf menu, press the "Store" button or key to place the Oghma Infinium on the bookshelf. After you see the Oghma Infinium appear on the bookshelf, you can close the bookshelf menu.
9
Open the Oghma Infinium. Select the Oghma Infinium on the bookshelf to open it.
10
Place the Oghma Infinium back in your inventory. Press the "Take" key or button to remove the Oghma Infinium back in your inventory.
11
Repeat the level-up process. To repeat the glitch, you'll open the bookshelf menu, open the Oghma Infinium and select an upgrade path, store the Oghma Infinium on the shelf, and repeat until you've maxed out your character.
- Be sure to quick-save intermittently so that you don't have to redo all of your progress if you accidentally break the glitch.

Community Q&A

Question

Does it work in Skyrim Special Edition?

Community Answer

It does not work in Skyrim Special Edition for PS4, Xbox One, or PC. It was patched during development.
Question

I have the PS3 Edition, does this still work in 2016?

Community Answer

It has been patched so it's not infinite, but if you spam the bookshelf, you can get it up to 6 or 7 times.
Question

Do I exit the bookshelf and then reactivate it?

Community Answer

No. You read the book while it's in the bookshelf -- not on it -- then, store the book, grab it from the shelf. Then, once it's back in your inventory, read it and repeat all those steps. This glitch will only be infinite on the Xbox 360 edition.