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In Skyrim, marriage gives you access to a daily Home Cooked Meal, a spouse-run shop with collectible proceeds, and Lover’s Comfort under the right sleeping conditions. Your spouse may also travel with you or provide training, but only if that NPC already has the relevant follower or trainer role.
What does your spouse do in Skyrim?
Marriage’s shared benefits are the meal, shop proceeds, and Lover’s Comfort. The details of the last perk depend on where and how you sleep; follower and trainer services depend on the spouse you choose.
Home Cooked Meal
You can ask your spouse for a Home Cooked Meal once every 24 hours, according to the Prima Games guide. Digital Trends reports that the meal boosts Health, Stamina, and Magicka regeneration by 25% for ten minutes. Those figures are guide-reported game effects, not independently tested here.
Shop proceeds
Your spouse sets up an in-game shop, and you can collect its proceeds. The goods may reflect the spouse’s existing merchant role, so the shop benefit’s practical usefulness can vary by NPC. The Gamer Guides marriage overview also summarizes the shop benefit.
#1 Best Overall
- Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year Awards, Skyrim Special Edition brings the epic fantasy to life in stunning detail.
- The Special Edition includes the critically acclaimed game and add-ons with all-new features.
- All-new features include remastered art and effects, volumetric god rays, dynamic depth of field, screen-space reflections, and more.
- Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) Content Description: Blood and gore, intense violence, sexual themes, use of alcohol
Lover’s Comfort
Guides describe Lover’s Comfort as a 15% increase to skill-learning speed lasting eight hours. Digital Trends reports that having the Lover Stone active prevents the effect. Guides differ in their wording of the sleep requirement: one describes sleeping near your spouse in the same house, while another describes sleeping in a bed with your partner. Because those descriptions are not identical, use the shared home and bed with your spouse if you want to meet the stricter stated condition. These effects are guide-reported, not independently tested.
Which benefits depend on who you marry?
The meal, shop, and Lover’s Comfort are presented as common marriage benefits. Extra services are specific to the NPC’s other roles:
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- BATTLE DRAGONS - Battle ancient dragons like you’ve never seen. As Dragonborn, learn their secrets and harness their power for yourself.
- INCLUDED CONTENT - The Anniversary Edition includes the core game, pre-existing and new Creation Club content, plus all three official add-ons: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn.
- Follower spouse: If the person you marry is also a follower, they can accompany you on adventures.
- Trainer spouse: A spouse who is a trainer may still provide training. Prima Games says training is available at the marital home, or anywhere if the spouse is both a follower and a trainer.
- Merchant spouse: A spouse’s existing merchant role can affect what goods are associated with the shop.
How to compare spouse candidates
If you are choosing between candidates, consider which role would be most useful alongside marriage’s shared perks. A follower can join your travels; a trainer can offer training under the conditions above; and a merchant’s ordinary role may make the shop more relevant to your needs. These extras are not guaranteed for every spouse, so compare the NPC’s role rather than assuming marriage grants the same services from everyone.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Live Another Life, In Another World: Play any type of character you can imagine, and do whatever you want; the freedom of choice, storytelling, and adventure of The Elder Scrolls comes to life in one legendary experience from all three official add-ons.
- Dawnguard: The Vampire Lord Harkon has returned to power. By using the Elder Scrolls, he seeks to do the unthinkable - to end the sun itself. Will you join the ancient order of the Dawnguard and stop him? Or will you become a Vampire Lord?
- Hearthfire: Purchase land and build your own home from the ground up - from a simple one-room cottage to a sprawling compound complete with an armory, alchemy laboratory, and more.
- Dragonborn: Journey off the coast of Morrowind, to the vast island of Solstheim. Traverse the ash wastes and glacial valleys of this new land as you become more powerful with shouts that bend the will of your enemies and even tame dragons.
Rank #4
- Winner of more than 200 game of the year awards, Skyrim special edition brings the epic fantasy to life in stunning detail
- The special edition includes the critically acclaimed game and add-ons with all-new features
- All-new features include remastered art and effects, volumetric god rays, dynamic depth of field, screen-space reflections, and more
- Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) Content Description: Blood and gore, intense violence, sexual themes, use of alcohol
Rank #3
- ANNIVERSARY EDITION CONTENT — Includes the base game, Dawnguard, Hearthfire, Dragonborn, and hundreds of Creation Club items such as quests, weapons, armor, spells, and dungeons.
- SWITCH 2 ENHANCEMENTS — Explore Skyrim with updated visuals, improved load times, and optimized performance for Nintendo Switch 2.
- SHAPE YOUR ADVENTURE — Choose your character and decide how to play in an open world that responds to your actions.
- BUILD YOUR CHARACTER — Choose from hundreds of weapons, spells, and abilities to define your play style.
- BATTLE DRAGONS — Face ancient dragons as the Dragonborn, learn their secrets, and harness their power.
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