Umbra is a level 50 Bosmer warrior located in the Ayleid ruin of Vindasel, southwest of the Imperial City. She wields the Umbra Sword, a one-handed longsword with high base damage and a 120-second Soul Trap enchantment, and wears Umbra's Ebony Armor, a powerful heavy armor set. Both are among the best gear in the game, but her armor scales with your level (weaker below level 15, equivalent to Orcish armor).

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The sword is not leveled, making it exceptionally strong at any level. Defeating her at level 1 is challenging due to her high health, fast attacks, and self-healing ability (2 health per second). This guide provides two reliable methods to cheese the fight and claim her gear early.

Preparation

  • Starting Point: Finish the tutorial, get out of the sewers, and you’re ready to roll.
  • Stuff You’ll Need:
    • A bow with at least 100 iron arrows (check The Archer’s Paradox in Bravil or loot some from enemies).
    • A few healing potions or a basic Restoration spell like Heal Minor Wounds.
    • A horse (optional, for Method 2, to stay ahead of Umbra; you can borrow one from the Imperial City stables).
    • Save your game a lot to avoid starting over.
  • Difficulty: Crank the difficulty down to Novice in the settings to make Umbra less of a headache.
  • Note: Don’t touch the Clavicus Vile quest until after you’ve grabbed Umbra’s gear to keep the sword as a zero-weight quest item.

Find Umbra

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  1. Get to Vindasel: From the Imperial City Waterfront (unlocked post-tutorial), swim southwest across the lake to Vindasel. Or walk the shoreline south from the main bridge.
  2. Enter the Ruin: Deal with or dodge the two Conjurers outside. Inside, you’ll run into weak enemies like rats or mudcrabs and a couple traps:
    • Watch out for a floor trap with spikes early on (key for Method 1).
    • Hug the walls in one hallway to avoid a poison gas trap.
  3. Locate Umbra: She’s in the final room, not hostile at first. Save before you mess with her.

Method 1: Spike Trap Trick (Safe, Inside Vindasel)

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This one uses the ruin’s spike trap to take Umbra out without fighting her head-on.
  1. Piss Her Off: Shoot her with an arrow or hit her with a weak spell like Flare to get her chasing you.
  2. Lead Her to the Trap: Run back to the room with the spike trap (it’s got a big pressure plate). Keep moving so your Fatigue doesn’t tank, or you’ll be too slow.
  3. Trap Loop:
    • Circle the pressure plate. Umbra will step on it, fall into the spikes, and take a big hit.
    • Hop over the plate if you need to so you don’t trigger it yourself.
    • Keep going until she’s down (might take a few drops since she’s tanky and heals).
  4. Tips:
    • If she catches you, pop a potion or spell to stay alive.
    • Save after each trap hit to avoid redoing it.
    • On higher difficulties, it’ll take longer, so make sure you can keep running.

Method 2: Imperial Guard Plan (Quicker, Bit Risky)

This one gets the Imperial City guards to do the dirty work for you.
  1. Get Her Mad: Hit Umbra with an arrow or spell to make her chase you.
  2. Get Out of Vindasel: Bolt out of the ruin and head for the Imperial City. A horse (left outside) helps you stay ahead since she’s fast. Make sure she follows you out; if you’re too quick, she might stay behind.
  3. Bring Her to the City:
    • Run north to the Temple District or Market District in the Imperial City.
    • Once you’re there, get the Imperial Guards to spot her. They’ll jump her since she’s hostile.
    • Stay clear so the guards don’t turn on you (hitting her in the city might count as assault if you’re not careful).
  4. Let the Guards Handle It: Umbra might take out a guard or two, but they’ll swarm her eventually. When she’s dead, you can loot her body.