The Elder Scrolls games are some of the largest RPGs ever made. Hundreds of quests and locations make it easy to get immersed for hours at a time. While the overall immersion factor of each mainline title is top-notch, each game’s balance has been hit-and-miss.
Some consider Morrowind’s leveling experience to be insufferable, Oblivion’s scaling system to be too punishing, and Skyrim to be the easiest game of the bunch. Most would agree that Skyrim certainly leans towards being easy rather than hard, but there are a few cases of the quests being either a large challenge or easier than expected. Here are ten quests in Skyrim that prove either too easy or a massive challenge. Story spoilers ahead.
10 Hard: Lost To The Ages
Dawnguard’s “Lost to the Ages” quest tasks the player with uncovering an ancient Aetherium forge long forgotten. With the help of a ghost named Katria, players will delve into various Dwarven ruins throughout Skyrim to obtain the fragments needed to unlock the forge.
Trouble is, there are four fragments that players must uncover from Dwarven ruins, which are some of Skyrim’s harder dungeons thanks to traps and dozens of Falmer. Puzzles will also get in the way of one of the fragments that can trip a few players up. What really makes this quest tough is the final boss. Upon reaching the forge, players will have to fight waves of Dwarven automatons before facing the Forgemaster itself, a powerful Dwemer centurion that can spit fire at the player instead of steam.
9 Easy: Dragon Rising
Assuming the player hasn’t veered off and completed dozens of side quests, “Dragon Rising” is a quest that is obtained early into Skyrim’s story. After obtaining the Dragon Stone from Bleak Falls Barrow, Irilith will state that a dragon is heading straight for Whiterun.
Defeating this creature of legend is much easier than one would expect. A level one player could take this dragon down with a few dozen arrows and persistent sword swings. For mythical creatures in Elder Scrolls lore, it sure is strange that this dragon is easier to defeat than the frost troll patrolling the mountain of High Hrothgar.
8 Hard: The Black Star
Visiting the Shrine of Azura south of Winterhold will begin “The Black Star” questline. The entire quest revolves around Azura’s Star and a potential alternative named the Black Star. It’s rather easy until players reach the end of the quest where they must fight various Dremora inside of the artifact.
These enemies are a death sentence for any low-level player that wishes to embark on this quest, hence why it’s best to leave “The Black Star” alone until players have good gear and a few levels under their belt.
7 Easy: Thane Of Winterhold
Nearly every Hold in Skyrim follows the same three-step quest for granting players the Thane title: complete a faction-specific quest, assist three to five NPCs, and purchase property related to the Hold.
Winterhold is an exception to this rule. All players need to do is find a helmet for the Jarl and help three NPCs to become Thane. No property needs to be purchased nor do players need to complete the College of Winterhold’s questline. “Thane of Winterhold” can be finished in a few minutes if players know which NPCs to help, easily making this the easiest Hold to become Thane for in the game.
6 Hard: The Ebony Warrior
Some will call the Ebony Warrior a pushover while others swear that this is the hardest opponent in Skyrim. It mainly depends on a player’s build, but there is no denying that the Ebony Warrior is one of Skyrim’s strongest enemies.
“The Ebony Warrior” is also tough to receive, requiring players to reach level 80 before he will challenge the player to combat. While the player is undeniably powerful at this stage in the game, unoptimized characters will need to down a character with over 2,000 health and 50% damage resistance against all magic. He can also reflect attacks at the player and use Shouts of his own to even the odds.
5 Easy: The Eye Of Magnus
The Altmer get a bad rap in Skyrim. Nearly every Nord hates the Aldmeri Dominion, the Empire dislikes the Thalmor, and now the College of Winterhold gets to explain how a power-hungry High Elf almost obliterated Tamriel itself.
If it wasn’t clear, players save Skyrim from obliteration by defeating Arcano in the final College of Winterhold quest named “The Eye of Magnus.” For as intense as those stakes seem, this quest boils down to shooting a staff at a floating ball then hitting a mid-level Altmer a few times. Besides the fantastic spectacle of this fight, most fans agree that this final confrontation is wholly underwhelming.
4 Hard: Summoning Karstaag
Morrowind fans might remember Karstaag from the Bloodmoon expansion. This formidable enemy returns in Dragonborn as a spirit that can be summoned in an unmarked quest most call “Summoning Karstaag.”
Completing this unmarked quest will require players to find Karstaag’s skull in Glacial Cave on Solstheim. Once obtained, head to Castle Karstaag and place the giant’s head on a throne. It will summon Karstaag’s spirit, revealing one of the toughest foes in the game. He has 4,000 health, is immune to frost and disease, takes 75% less damage from shock damage, and is immune to paralysis and ragdolls. Making matters worse, Karstaag also regenerates his health at a rapid pace during combat. This final fight makes this one of the hardest quests in the game to finish.
3 Easy: Hail Sithis!
Assassinating the Emperor is the final contract given to players during the Dark Brotherhood questline. “Hail Sithis!” is when players finally get to fulfill this contract.
Sadly, the quest is laughably easy due to how few guards there are to face. The Emperor himself accepts his death when confronted, putting up no fight whatsoever. While a satisfying contract, it seems anti-climatic considering the carnage previous quests put players through.
2 Hard: No Stone Unturned
“No Stone Unturned” is difficult due to how tedious the quest is. This quest doesn’t test player skill or require a good build.
Instead, this quest is a massive scavenger hunt that spans 24 locations, 25 if players include the Crown of Barenziah. Since the game doesn’t list which stones have been obtained, this quest becomes quite tedious if done without an external guide. It’s no surprise that so few Skyrim players complete this quest.
1 Easy: Dragonslayer
Alduin goes by many names such as the World Eater and Twilight God. Rumored to be a fragment of Akatosh himself, Alduin should prove to be the strongest foe in The Elder Scrolls video games by a long shot.
That isn’t the case. Despite having impressive damage resistance and scaling health, players have the assistance of three NPCs that are all proficient with the Thu’um. Couple this with the Dragon Rend Shout that forces dragons to land and it’s quite clear that the “Dragonslayer” quest is too heavily biased in the player’s favor.
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