GameBanshee Forums

please tell me where to get the grand soul jems i have 10 i think but only one has a golden saint or anything that good so i need to find the other ones i found most of them in shipwrecks and at tell fyr.

Sorry to disappoint you but most of the loot is generated randomly, but if you do the quest for Azura, you can get the best soul gem in the game, it's reusable and can trap any soul from cliff hangers to Lord Vivec himself if you want.

Soul gems

Probably the single best source for most soul gems is smuggler caverns. Seek them out, kill everyone and loot the crates. You will be guided to some smuggler caves via guild/faction quests but others you have to find for yourself. Coastal regions are good places to search but some are a bit more inland. Take some time off from questing and spend it exploring instead. Since they're random you just have to take your chances, but you should find lots. Sounds like you squandered your good soul gems on garbage souls. Learn what types of souls fit into the various gems before soul trapping a rat into grand soul gem. Here's a little help...

Petty Soul Gem: Holds rats, nix hound, alits, kagouti, scribs, cliff racers.

Lesser Soul Gem: Holds Bull Netch and anything a Petty gem will hold.

Common Soul Gem: Holds Betty Netch, Flame Atronachs and Scamps and anything a petty or lesser gem will hold.

Greater Soul Gem: Holds Ogrims, Storm/Frost Atronachs, etc.

Grand Soul Gem: Holds anything and are the only ones that can be used for enchanting items with Constant Effect (CE) enchantments - and only if they contain a Golden Saint or Ascended Sleeper Soul. Don't waste these on Dremora Lords, Winged Twighlights, Daedroth, etc. Though if you have they still make for a decent Cast on Strike weapons enchantment.

If you don't have the right sized gem when you try to soul trap a creature you will either fail (the gem won't hold the soul) or you will waste a gem as the soul will go into the next higher gem required that you have on you.