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What does your spouse do in Skyrim?
Marriage’s shared benefits are the meal, shop proceeds, and Lover’s Comfort. A spouse’s existing role can add a practical extra, such as accompanying you as a follower or providing training.
Home Cooked Meal
You can ask your spouse for one Home Cooked Meal once every 24 hours, according to Prima Games. Digital Trends reports that eating it increases Health, Stamina, and Magicka regeneration by 25% for ten minutes. These figures are guide-reported game effects, not independently tested here.
Spouse-run shop
Your spouse sets up a shop, and you can collect its proceeds. The goods may depend on whether that character was already a merchant; this is an in-game shop benefit, not a reason to assume every spouse offers the same inventory. Gamer Guides also summarizes the marriage 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 for eight hours after sleeping under the relevant conditions. The descriptions differ slightly: Prima Games says to sleep near your spouse in the same house, while Digital Trends describes sleeping in a bed with your partner. The guides do not establish a single more precise condition. Digital Trends also reports that having the Lover Stone prevents the effect.
Which marriage perks depend on your spouse?
Follower
If the person you marry is also a follower, they can accompany you on your travels. This is a character-specific extra, not a benefit every spouse provides.
Rank #2
- EPIC FANTASY REBORN - Skyrim reimagines and revolutionizes the open-world fantasy epic, bringing to life a complete virtual world open for you to explore any way you choose.
- LIVE ANOTHER LIFE, IN ANOTHER WORLD - Play any type of character you can imagine, and do whatever you want; the legendary freedom of choice, storytelling, and adventure of The Elder Scrolls is realized like never before.
- YOU ARE WHAT YOU PLAY - Choose from hundreds of weapons, spells, and abilities. The new character system allows you to play any way you want and define yourself through your actions.
- 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.
Trainer
A spouse who is a trainer may be able to train you. Prima Games says training is available at the marital home, or anywhere if your spouse is both a follower and a trainer. Check the particular character’s roles rather than assuming marriage alone grants training.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to choose a spouse for your play style
The shared marriage benefits are broadly the same in the guides, so choose based on the extra utility you value:
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- 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.
- Want a companion? Look for someone who is already a follower.
- Want training? Check whether the character is a trainer, and note the location conditions described above.
- Care about shop goods? Consider whether the character was already a merchant, since that can affect what the shop offers.
Those distinctions matter more than expecting a unique meal or Lover’s Comfort effect from each spouse: the guides present those as shared marriage benefits.
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
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