You're wandering through the tundra near Whiterun and you see them. Three warriors hacking away at a giant. If you help them out, or even if you just stand there looking confused, a woman named Aela will probably insult your fighting skills. That’s your invitation. Honestly, becoming a beast in this game isn't just about getting a cool power; it’s about joining a family of dysfunctional, mead-loving mercs who happen to have a furry little secret.
Learning how to turn into a werewolf Skyrim style isn't something you can just do by getting bitten by a random enemy in the woods. This isn't Oblivion or Morrowind where you catch a disease and wake up with a snout. It’s a deliberate choice tied to a specific questline. You have to want it. You have to prove you’re worth the blood.
Finding the Companions in Whiterun
First things first: get to Whiterun. Look for Jorrvaskr. It’s that massive upside-down boat building sitting right next to the Skyforge. Inside, you’ll find the Companions. They’re basically the Fighters Guild of Skyrim, but with more shouting and better hair. You need to talk to Kodlak Whitemane. He’s the old guy downstairs who looks like he’s seen too many winters.
He’ll send you on a few "prove yourself" errands. You’ll spar with Vilkas—don't use magic or he’ll get annoyed—and you’ll fetch a sword from Eorlund Gray-Mane. It feels like busywork. It kind of is. But you have to play the game. Eventually, after you retrieve a fragment of Wuuthrad from Dustman’s Cairn (where you first see Farkas "wolf out" to save your skin), the real initiation begins.
The Underforge and the Blood Ritual
Once you’re officially a member, you’ll be told to meet Skjor near the Underforge at night. This is the secret cave tucked under the Skyforge.
Inside, it’s dark. It smells like wet dog. Aela is there. Skjor will explain that to become one of them, you have to drink the blood. He’ll slice Aela’s arm, fill the fountain, and then it’s your turn.
You drink.
The screen goes black. You wake up outside as a werewolf. This is your first transformation, and it’s a freebie. You can run around Whiterun and terrorize the guards, but honestly, just wait it out. You’ll eventually pass out and wake up naked in the middle of nowhere with Aela staring at you. It’s a bit awkward, but hey, you’re a werewolf now.
Why bother with Lycanthropy anyway?
Being a wolf is a trade-off. You get 100% resistance to all diseases. No more Rattles or Witbane ruining your day. You also get a massive boost to stamina and carrying capacity while transformed.
The downside? No "Well Rested" bonus. You can sleep in the finest bed in Solitude and you’ll still wake up feeling like garbage because your beast blood is restless. If you’re a min-maxer trying to level up skills quickly, this might actually be a dealbreaker for you.
Mastering the Beast Form
In the base game, being a werewolf was a bit of a gimmick. But if you have the Dawnguard DLC—which, let’s be real, everyone does in 2026—you get a dedicated perk tree.
✨ Don't miss: How Blogmybrain Words with Friends Solvers Actually Change the Way You Play
You don’t level this up by gaining XP the normal way. You level it up by eating people. Specifically, their hearts.
- Bestial Strength: This is your bread and butter. It makes you hit harder. Rank it up four times.
- Totem of Ice Brothers: Lets you summon pack members. Very handy when a dragon lands on your head.
- Savage Feeding: This is the most important perk. It lets you eat animals to gain perk points. Without this, you're stuck hunting NPCs, which gets the guards on your case way too fast.
When you're in beast mode, you’re fast. Really fast. You can outrun a horse. Your power attack is a literal swipe that sends most enemies flying across the room. It’s satisfying. It makes you feel like the apex predator the game keeps telling you that you are.
The Quests That Make You Stronger
Don't just stop once you have the blood. Aela the Huntress will give you side quests to find the "Totems of Hircine." These are ancient artifacts that change what your "Howl" does.
One totem lets you see through walls (basically Detect Life). Another makes enemies run away in fear. The third, as mentioned, summons fellow wolves. If you’re serious about the build, you need these. Aela only gives these quests periodically between other radiant jobs, so you might have to clear out a few bandit camps for her before the dialogue option pops up.
Can You Cure It?
Maybe you're tired of the fur. Maybe you want to get a good night's sleep for once. You can cure lycanthropy, but it's a one-way street for a long time.
During the end of the Companions questline ("Glory of the Dead"), you’ll go to Yngol Barrow to help Kodlak's soul. You’ll have Glenmoril Witch heads in your inventory—hopefully, you took more than one when you were at their coven. You toss a head into the blue Flame of Harbinger, fight your inner wolf spirit, and boom: human again.
In the original game, once you cured it, that was it. No more wolf. However, the Dawnguard DLC changed this. You can go back to Aela and ask her to turn you again. She’ll do it, but only once. If you cure it a second time, you’re done for good. Hircine doesn't like indecisive hunters.
Living with the Beast
The guards will start making comments. "Is that fur coming out of your ears?" or "You smell like a wet dog." It’s annoying, but they won't arrest you unless they actually see you transform.
✨ Don't miss: Free Spider Solitaire Online: Why You Keep Losing and How to Actually Win
Pro tip: Don't transform in the middle of a city. The transformation animation takes a few seconds, leaving you vulnerable, and once you’re a wolf, every single person in Skyrim will try to kill you on sight. Well, except your fellow Companions. They’ve got your back.
Actionable Next Steps for Aspiring Alphas:
- Head to Whiterun immediately: Don't get distracted by the main quest. Go straight to Jorrvaskr.
- Stock up on Glenmoril Witch Heads: When you do the quest "Blood's Honor," kill all the witches and take all five heads. You’ll need them for yourself and for other members of the Circle later.
- Get the Ring of Hircine: Head to Falkreath and start the quest "Ill Met by Moonlight." Side with the werewolf (Sinding) at the end. This ring allows you unlimited transformations per day, which bypasses the standard "once per day" limit.
- Prioritize the Savage Feeding perk: It makes the grind for werewolf mastery significantly less tedious since you can just snack on deer and wolves instead of raiding villages.
Being a werewolf in Skyrim is about raw power. It’s about ignoring the rules of civilized society and sprinting through the woods at 40 miles per hour. Just remember to put your clothes back on when you're done.