How to Sprint in Skyrim? Guide to Sprinting

Are you wondering how to sprint in Skyrim? We’ve got you covered! Here’s our complete guide to running faster in the game!

The Elder Scrolls is a series known for its innovative mechanics and a large open world. This is especially true when it comes to Skyrim. To travel in this massive world, you need to be prepared to travel long distances and fight tons of enemies along the way. While you can use a horse, for the most part, there are areas where your horse cannot enter or isn’t allowed. If you encounter any enemies there, you might need to run to avoid them. That is why this guide will show you how to sprint in Skyrim.

Guide Contents

How to Sprint in Skyrim?

To sprint in Skyrim, you need to press the sprint button. This varies from platform to platform. Most commonly, the sprint button is L2 on the PS3, LB on Xbox 360, Alt on PC, and L1 on PS4. Holding the appropriate button will consume stamina but make your character run faster.

If you are still confused or have any questions regarding sprinting, worry not because we will answer all of that in the next section below. Without wasting any time, let’s dive right in and take a look at how to sprint in Skyrim.

Skyrim is an extremely popular and successful game. Due to that, the developers have released it on every major platform after its initial release on the PS3 and the Xbox 360. Due to that, the button to sprint will vary depending on which platform you are playing on.

Let’s start with the platforms that Skyrim was released on. If you want to sprint on the PS3, you will have to press and hold and L2 button. If you are on the Xbox 360, you will want to press and hold the LB button. This is the same sprinting button on the Xbox One. However, if you have the Special Edition of Skyrim on the PS4, you will need to press L1 to sprint.

Players that are playing Skyrim on PC will have to press the Alt key to sprint. This is a weird choice for a sprint key since the majority of games use Shift to run. While you can rebind your keys from the menu, players often have a difficult time getting used to pressing and holding Alt to run.

Finally, if you are playing Skyrim on the Nintendo Switch you will need to press and hold the L button, which is located above the ZL. While you might think that the Switch game isn’t that good, it runs absolutely great. The graphics are quite nice as well. They are similar to the PS3/Xbox 360 version of the game with slight improvements. Plus, you get the complete edition of the game on the Switch, which means that you will have all the DLCs as well.

What Happens When You Sprint?

Now that you know how to sprint in Skyrim let’s find out what happens when you do use it. Firstly, you will notice that your character moves faster than walking normally. This is a great way to either run towards enemies or run away from them to dodge their attacks. Since Skyrim doesn’t have a dodge mechanic, you will need to either use the shields or sprint to avoid incoming attacks.

While sprinting, you will also notice that your stamina bar is constantly depleting. Your stamina bar is required to use actions such as running or attacking. It also gets low when you attack, so make sure that you have some stamina left to either sprint or attack. Managing your stamina is quite important. Otherwise, you will not be able to attack after sprinting if you do not keep track of it.

If you are having trouble with your stamina meter, you can level it up to gain more buffs. Plus, every time you level up, your stats also go up. This means that you get 10 extra points in HP, stamina, and Magicka.

Another thing to remember is that your character’s speed depends on what type of armor you are wearing. If you have heavy armor equipped, your character will sprint at 50% speed. Whereas, if you use light armor, your character will run at 60% speed. Also, your stamina runs out faster if you are wearing heavy armor. You can put points in various perks that allow you to run for a longer duration and have fewer drawbacks as well.

Looking for more Skyrim content? Check out these guides:

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is available to play on Steam.