Lost my enchanted gear in a house and the container despawned

[TamrielTactician]

I'm an idiot. I stored a full set of enchanted daedric armor in a barrel at Lakeview Manor like three in-game months ago and just went back for it. The barrel's still there but it's empty. I've checked every container in the house, my storage chest, even looked around outside thinking maybe it clipped through the floor or something.

This is on Switch so I can't just console command it back. Has anyone else had this happen? I'm assuming the game just cleared the container at some point but I thought Hearthfire houses were supposed to be safe storage. Now I'm stuck with a half-finished daedric set and I'm genuinely not sure if I should just restart or try to farm the materials to remake it.

What actually counts as "safe" storage in player homes? Is it just the official storage chest or can you use any container without risk?

 

[RiftenWanderer]

Yeah that's rough. Honestly the safest bet is always the official storage chest - the one that's explicitly labeled for storage when you build it. I've heard too many stories about random barrels and baskets despawning their contents, even in player homes. It's supposed to be safe but the game can be finicky about what it considers "persistent" storage vs just a regular container that might reset.

Since you're on Switch and can't reload a save, I'd say farming the materials isn't the worst option if you're still enjoying the playthrough. Daedric smithing is expensive but doable if you've got the perks leveled up. How far along are you with the set? If it's just a few pieces you're missing it might be worth it rather than starting over.

For future runs, stick to that one designated storage chest and maybe keep backups of your really important gear in multiple locations just in case. I know that sounds paranoid but after hearing enough despawn horror stories I've gotten weird about it lol.