Skyrim player creates literal cursed ring that grants 'infinite' health but instantly kills them if they take it off

Skyrim
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Skyrim has a plentiful supply of rings to make you a more formidable Dragonborn, but one fan eager to cheat death entirely opted to craft their own and found themselves in a rather tricky pickle as a result.

Over on the Skyrim subreddit, user AnkokunoMasaki explained that they'd managed to create a ring that provides infinite health. The downside? Well, it turns out that having that tiny piece of metal on their finger is, in fact, now the only thing keeping them alive, as once they remove it, their character immediately kicks the bucket.

I literally created a cursed ring, it gives me infinite health but whenever I remove it I die. Anyway to fix this? from r/skyrim

Faced with the prospect of wearing their Silver Amethyst Ring for all eternity AnkokunoMasaki asked fellow players for advice on how to safely take it off. "Removing infinite health removes health infinitely," user EldrinJak replied, which is certainly poetic but not all that helpful.

Another suggested that they become Ethereal and then try unequipping it. Having put this to the test, the unfortunate Skyrim player replied, "Nope, still died." Of course, there were more than a few references to another cursed ring. "You have to drop it into the lava," commented one fan while another said, "Keep it secret. Keep it safe."

The real reason for this cursed ring seems to stem from the player overcooking things when it comes to the game's Enchantment skill. One user reminds them that heading into minus numbers to glitch out the game's maths is dangerous enough that they're lucky their game hasn't crashed. Another suggests that Skyrim was never built to deal with numbers that big at all, while another still said that the only real way to fix this situation was to load a save from before the character ever put on the ring.

Though it can often lead to ridiculous situations like this one, all the weird and wonderful ways players can make the game their own is one of the reasons Skyrim is still so popular after all these years. Last month, game director Todd Howard revealed that the mammoth RPG has now sold more than 60 million copies, making it the seventh best-selling video game of all time.

Looking for another epic role-playing adventure? Check out these games like Skyrim.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.

With contributions from