24 Awesome Hidden Secrets Many Fans Still Haven t Found In Skyrim
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24 Awesome Hidden Secrets Many Fans Still Haven t Found In Skyrim
Skyrim is jam-packed with hidden secrets that true fans need to see. The game has so many areas and bosses to find. Skyrim has lasted far past its original release date in the year of 2011 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. And with its absolutely mammoth map filled with all manner of dungeons, caves, and cities it is no surprise that is still being played until this day. For fans of this type of open-world RPG, the replayability can be endless. But while it is obvious Bethesda have a big focus on the scale of the world creating a huge area for players to explore and fight in, they also have a good understanding of what makes these worlds actually feel alive; the details. You could make the biggest map ever seen in a game but it won't actually be fun to explore if it feels completely lifeless and simple. Skyrim does a great job of having every area peppered with little details, some easy to find, some others not so much. Among these details, there is a huge amount of hidden gems for the player to stumble upon within the game, ranging from small little nods to pop culture to lengthy questlines. The fact that these go amiss by many of the players within the game stands as a testament to just how much creativity and time Bethesda put into Skyrim, rewarding those with a keen eye. So here are twenty-five hidden secrets many fans still haven't found in Skyrim. THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY A Strange New Form Of Combat
via:tamrielvault.com (RaginCajun) When it comes to defeating all the things that want you very dead in Skyrim, players have quite a lot of options. You have swords, daggers, bows, hammers, and that's not even touching on the all the fun magic brings to the table. But with the Dragonborn DLC, players with a keen sense of exploration can find a wholly new way to battle their foes. By throwing magical spiders at them! Usually concepts as ridiculous as these are left to the modding community, but it seems this time Bethesda wanted to have their own go at creating a ridiculous system. Spiders can be imbued with various magical effects using the Imbuing Chamber, a crafting station found within the location of White Ridge Barrow. You can create all different flavors of magical spider, including jumping spiders that poison your enemies, spiders that upon biting mind control their victim to fight on your side, and spiders that are simply glorified grenades in the shape of an arachnid. I'm rather sad I completely missed this. It would have completely fit the cackling mad mage I was roleplaying as. No one would have messed with him knowing he has living magical spiders writhing in his pockets. An Equal Foe
via:youtube.com (Ray Dhimitri) Skyrim has a huge robust leveling system, complete with perks and as many stats as an RPG fan could ever want. With all that going on, it's no surprise that once you level starts to reach the higher numbers you begin to feel more like a god than a mere mortal, easily able to perform herculean tasks and defeat impossibly hard enemies with ease. It can begin to feel like you are definitely the most powerful living character within Skyrim. However, once players reach level eighty they may meet an NPC known as The Ebony Warrior who seeks to see if you can actually prove that sentiment. He, like you, has defeated many enemies in his time and seeks a worthy opponent to defeat him. Most players at this point would think it to be rather easy; nothing may have challenged them in the game for a while. But The Ebony Warrior is not to be messed around with, and could arguably be one of the toughest fights in the game. He has a full set of enchanted armor and a huge list of perks that make fighting him incredibly dangerous. Not to mention he can wield the Thu'um to shout the player across the map, which is always fun. If you do manage to defeat him you do get his armor which is very powerful, but I think the true reward lies in the bragging rights. The Reaper s Lair
via:elderscrolls.wikia.com For those of you who have played the Dawnguard expansion for Skyrim, you may know of an area called the Soul Cairn. This place isn't exactly a holiday resort sadly, it's a plane of Oblivion filled to the brim with souls and the undead, most of which are rather malevolent towards the player. It's a very cool area and also rather expansive, and it is great fun to explore. Though there are a few things that players can easily miss on their journey through this area. Most notable of which is a very angry secret boss. Finding him isn't easy, and requires quite a bit of legwork. If the player heads right along the stone wall and barrier within the Soul Cairn, they will come across the Reaper's Lair. Inside lies the Reaper Shard Receptacle; that's the ticket to the secret boss. However, to activate it you must first find three Reaper Gem Fragments and enter them into the device. They can be found underneath three of the giant floating soul gems within chests. Once you have found and inserted them into the device, the boss will spawn and with his glowing red eyes and large axe, he doesn't seem to want to engage in friendly banter. Good luck! The Loveable M aiq
via:youtube.com (StraightUpIrish) M'aiq the Liar. A staple character of the Elder Scrolls series. He first appeared in Morrowind and from there has appeared in every Elder Scrolls game since, including Skyrim of course. For those that do not know, he is a Khajit with some rather interesting and incisive comments to say about the world, some of which absolutely shatter the fourth wall. Within Skyrim, he is a random encounter that can be found on pretty much any road of the map, so tracking him down is quite the task. But if you do manage to, be sure to listen to what he has to say about the world and its inhabitants. He is used as an outlet for Bethesda to put in jokes and commentary about the game, so you can learn some interesting things from him. If he says something that makes sense that is. After a few comments, he will get tired and wander off. Being so self-aware and fourth wall breaking is quite intensive after all. Maybe that's why he carries Skooma with him, as a little pick-me-up. But it's always great with every iteration of an Elder Scrolls game to see what M'aiq has to say this time. Being A Little Too Good At Pickpocketing
via:rebrn.com The Forsworn within Skyrim is a particularly zealous tribe that lays claim to The Reach, believing it to be their ancestral land before the Nords came and took over. Which is fair enough to be angry about, but the Forsworn are known to take things a little too far. They use standard guerilla tactics such as ambushing trade routes or the Nords themselves to weaken their hold over the area, but the members themselves have been known to take part in strange behaviors or rituals to raise their battle prowess. Such as working with Hargravens to trade their heart for a Briarheart. This process makes them much stronger but also technically undead. And gives everyone a wicked view of their shiny new heart which is something to brag about I guess in their culture. But this opens them up to a huge weakness. The stealthy player can sneak up on one of these special Forsworn and pickpocket the Briarheart right out of the chest, which of as you can imagine, kinda defeats them right there and then. It makes them child's play to beat, but only if you have a significant amount of stats in your stealth; these enemies also got a big boost to their perception with the Briarheart transplant and are much harder to sneak up on than their normal Forsworn counterparts. One With The Wilds
via:tespostcards.wordpress.com Everyone remembers their first journey up The Throat Of The World to visit the Greybeards. It's quite a memorable part of the game and it's where you really first start to get a real sense of the scale of the world. The path up the mountain is long and winding, and isn't exactly safe, especially if you were unlucky enough to run into a frost troll. Those things hurt a lot when you are a low level just trying to get through the main quest, and they threw me off the mountain more than once which was fun. But despite the obvious dangers of scaling a fantastical mountain, there are also these etched tablets you can find on the path. Many players run past them without a thought, thinking they are just a part of the scenery. However, they are actually entities you can interact with, each one telling the story of High Hrothgar and how it was founded. Not only can you receive lore from these tablets, but if you find and interact with all ten of them you gain a passive power called Voice of the Sky. This has the impressive effect of causing all the wildlife in the world to be non-hostile to you (unless you attack them first). Which is quite the boon, especially for a low-level player. And it lasts for 24 hours realtime. That's going to last you for quite a lot of levels! Right Under Your Feet
via:elderscrolls.wikia.com The College of Winterhold is the closest thing the land of Skyrim has to a mages guild and its a place many players visit, even those with no interest in magic. The College functions as a guild for aspiring and seasoned mages alike, allowing those with the aptitude to practice and improve their craft. What's lesser known about the College is directly underneath it is a dungeon known as The Midden. However, one of the main quests for the College does take you down there but there is also another hidden quest down there that players can easily miss. Within one of the chambers is quite an imposing gauntlet standing atop of a pillar in the center of the room. It looks rather evil and Daedric, but that's never stopped a Skyrim player from getting involved before! On a nearby table, players can ascertain the gauntlet had something to do with the attacks agains the students at the college, and that it has had rings prised off it and kept in a safe location. Of course, you can go get those rings and put them back on to undo all this work. Upon doing so, this summons a Dremora pirate, who attempts to persuade the player into letting him escape with the promise of treasure. It's up to the Dragonborn how to proceed from here. None of this is actually formally shown as a quest within the journal, making it even more easy to miss. The Deepest Depths
via:youtube.com (cj donnelly) The northern border of Skyrim is absolutely littered with shipwrecks. It's no surprise, with the icebergs and rock jutting out above the surface. A lot of these shipwrecks have ended up landed on these rocks and can be explored for interesting loot and flavor on how the ship came to end up here. But there is one specific point called Pilgrim's Trench on the northern border, which is marked by a small island with a campsite on it. Pretty disappointing right? Most players would walk off to find a new area, thinking that campsite was the only thing interesting thing in that area. In truth, Pilgrims Trench actually refers to the surrounding waters. If the player takes the time to dive into the water surrounding the island, they will quickly dive upon multiple shipwrecks littering the ocean floor. Be mindful as they are very deep underwater so be sure to bring a way to breathe underwater, either by a potion, spell, or just by being an Argonian. If you can reach the submerged wrecks you will find some nice loot as a reward for your nautical adventures. Not to mention the coolness of just exploring this place in general, it's not very often you have to take to going underwater in the game and it's something rather fun and different. The Headless Horseman
via:elderscrolls.wikia.com Traveling through the darkened woods at night within Skyrim is already spooky enough at times. With the possibility of being pounced upon by ravenous wildlife, getting ambushed by a gang of greedy cutthroats or perhaps even running into some animated skeletons, you can kinda see why most NPCs tend to just stay in their towns or villages for the most part. But all that pales in comparison to this rather spectral horseman. The horseman can be found galloping the roads at night, without really interacting with anyone or anything on his journey. I mean, it might be a little bit hard for him to have a friendly conversation or go hunting without his head. It's quite a rare sight, as it can spawn literally anywhere on the map during the nighttime, so if you're (un)lucky enough to get spooked by his fearful visage you should feel honored! All he focuses on is reaching a certain destination, which the more brave and foolhardy players can actually follow him to if they so wish. At that destination is even more undead, but these ones seem to be more of the very dangerous type. Defeating them will get you some of that sweet loot though for your efforts on the more spooky side of Skyrim. Not The Best Vacation Spot
via:elderscrolls.wikia.com Speaking of the northern part of Skyrim, there is another pretty easily missed area that is completely unmarked on the map. And more than that, it's actually a jail for criminals that you yourself may end up in if you cause enough trouble. It is located to the north of Winterhold, so far north in fact that it's location is near off the map. It presents itself as a very unwelcoming cave mouth in the middle of an island, and if you cause enough trouble in the sleepy town of Winterhold and decide to go to jail, this lovely place will be where you will be serving your sentence. Because it is so far north and it's pretty much in the middle of the nowhere, another thing that makes this jail unique is that it's not exactly staffed with humanoid guards. Instead, the jail is guarded by fearsome Frost Atronachs conjured up by the talented mages of the College, making escape incredibly difficult. Even if one were to manage to sneak out of his cell past the Atronach guard, once they'd get outside they would find themselves beset by three more in very open ground in the middle of nowhere. So if you do find yourself with a bit of a bounty on your head within Winterhold, it might be a tad better to pay the fine or just run. A Leap Of Faith
via:rebrn.com Bard's Leap Summit is a cool area. A landmark high up in the mountains of The Reach right above a picturesque waterfall, it's definitely a nice place to take some screenshots of your character. Once you deal with the Forsworn camp up there of course, unless you can coax them into a group photo (good luck with that). But within this area, there is a very easy to overlook detail that you will definitely want to check out on your next journey around these parts. Once you have reached the very top, follow the stone bridge to the point where you are above the waterfall. There you will see a wooden platform jutting out of the rock. Now if you have played any of the Assassin's Creed games, you should know that making death-defying leaps off precarious areas is completely safe as long as you have something to break your fall! Luckily there is a pool of water at the very bottom of the waterfall that might do just that. If players manage to make the leap without snapping their legs in half on the many rocks below, they will be greeted by a ghost who tells the tale of how they once attempted the same leap only to meet their own demise. After the conversation is complete, your speech stat will go up two levels, so for the work done it is definitely worth it. An Obsession Gone Too Far
via:spartan2294.deviantart.com The events of Skyrim take place around two hundred years after the events of the previous game in the series Oblivion, but that doesn't mean certain characters haven't made their mark in this time period as well as their own. Take old Sinderion here; he's looking a little worse for wear sure, but he seemed to have still been doing what he loves. Which is collecting more and more Nirnroot, of course. Players of the previous game Oblivion will remember him as a master alchemist, with a certain interest in an odd plant known as the Nirnroot. It was a very easy quest to find; all one had to do was find a single Nirnroot then they will have started the quest to find him. From there they could begin supplying him with the plant in exchange for powerful concoctions. It was a quest almost every player picked up at some point. Coming across his skeleton within Skyrim, you will find a journal of his that states why he is here of all places. And that's to find samples of a Crimson Nirnroot that he was told about, with one able to be found right next to his body. Sadly he could never study it as the inhabitants of the Dwemer city where he was found didn't take kindly to his snooping around. But finding all this starts a quest to find Crimson Nirnroot for his apprentice, so if you loved the quest in Oblivion, you can do it in Skyrim too. A Memorable Assassin
via:elderscrolls.wikia.com Another character who returns from the days of Oblivion is Lucien Lachance, another well-known and memorable character from the game. Within Oblivion, he was the Speaker of the Dark Brotherhood, that fun old gang of assassins that featured some of the most fun missions within the game. As the Speaker, Lucien was the character who recruits you into the Dark Brotherhood and then serves as the person you receive missions from. He was arguably one of the most important characters within the guild for this reason, so it is no surprise Bethesda brought him back for Skyrim. Unlike Sinderion, Lucien within the time period of Skyrim is actually a ghost that can be summoned to be a follower who can interact with you and the world around him. And not only that, he can actually speak. He makes a lot of cool references to his past (actually reminiscing about what could easily be the Hero of Kvatch, the Oblivion protagonist) and also has a lot of things to say about the current situation of the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim. You get the ability to summon him from the Dark Brotherhood questline and I would heavily recommend keeping him around while you continue through the quests to hear what he has to say, some of it is rather interesting. Arrogance Through The Ages
via:twitter.com (UESP_net), nexusmods.com In the last of returning Oblivion characters, we have a character literally every Oblivion player should know and frankly, should despise. At the very start of the game just after you have finished creating your character, you will find yourself to be imprisoned. That already sucks a lot, but what makes it worse is the prisoner opposing your cell isn't the nicest person in the world. As soon as you start moving around in your cell, he will begin to insult the player on their choice of race before saying that they are going to not last very long in here. So yeah, not really the most pleasant character. Luckily, players could get their revenge on him much later in the game if they decided to join up with the Dark Brotherhood and progress through their quests. But as it turns out, a descendant of his is present in Skyrim. Within Riften, you can find a character called Romlyn Dreth who is usually loitering in the taverns of the town. He is a Dunmer and shares the same last name as our prisoner friend. But that's not all. If you eavesdrop on his conversations, you may hear a tale where he asserts his ancestor Valen attacked six imperial guards before finally being imprisoned, and that he saved the Emperor of the time from the Mythic Dawn. So it seems like being full of yourself runs in the Dreth family. A Blind Man s Troubles
via:imgur.com There are a lot of bandits throughout Skyrim's lands, all of them looking to swiftly rob and end those they come across, not even shying away from attempting to do the same to the mighty Dragonborn. They can be found all over, but many have set up camps within caves or ruins which sometimes works out for them. Other times the original inhabitants aren't so happy about the new guests. But a notable location that bandits have set up shop in is within the cave White River Watch. There's quite a large gang of them in here, who seemed to have been preying on the travelers around the town of Whiterun. But as you enter, you will notice they have picked a rather peculiar choice of person to guard the entrance; a completely blind man named Ulfr. As he is unfortunately blind, players can easily sneak past him if they wish. However, if the player actually makes themselves known to Ulfr you gain access to some interesting interactions. He will initially mistake you for another bandit named Rodulf, who you have most likely already defeated on the way in. You can trick him and pose as Rodulf, gaining free passage to the rest of the cave where you can ambush the rest of the gang with ease. It's a pretty cool flavoring of what otherwise would be just another generic bandit cave. It s The Little Things
via:reddit.com (TncTurtIJAH) As I said earlier in the list, it's the tiny little details that really bring a game world to life, and without them, the world will feel incredibly fake and hollow. But Bethesda always does a good job with this, which is what makes their games such a treat to explore while also making them some of the most replayable games of a generation. Some of these details are rather obvious, but many can go completely unnoticed for a long time. Take this one for example. In small waterways or rivers, if one is to cast fire magic on the water it will actually realistically bubble and steam. I actually had no idea this was a thing with all my hours on Skyrim until I researched ideas for this list, which is amazing. It's such a small detail that many aren't even aware of its existence until they notice it for themselves. Having more details such as these in future games by Bethesda will really turn up the immersion and how "alive" the world feels to the max. Imagine being able to trip up some bandit pursuers by freezing a puddle in their path for example. The more details that are added, the more possibilities players have to tackle any obstacles in their path, and I believe that progression in video games is truly what excites gamers the most. Playing Cupid
via:nexusmods.com There are a lot of interesting quests in Skyrim; ranging from something as simple as retrieving an item to saving the world from a dragon menace. Many are rather easy to find, with NPCs approaching the player themselves to give them. But there exist some more out of the way ones that are rather interesting and unique which are easily missed by players. One of these such quests can be found in Riften, within the holy place of the Temple of Mara. Many players know this place as the location where you learn about the marriage system within the game, and where you can actually be wed with a partner of your choice. But one of the priestesses found milling around the temple does actually send the player on a quest if they inquire about the Blessing of Mara. What follows is rather unique for a Skyrim quest: there is no fighting, stealing, or exploring. Instead, the player is required to visit various men and women within the world and bring them together as a couple in what could be the purest quest within the game. Once you have helped out the various people with their love affairs, you receive a permanent significant boost to your magic resist, so it is definitely worth doing. Arthurian Legend
via:elderscrolls.wikia.com Skyrim, if you didn't notice, is quite the high fantasy game. With the dragons, trolls, magic, and lizardfolk, it's not exactly real life. As much as that saddens me. But as it's a fantasy game, Bethesda seems to like to put some references to myths and legends we all know in the game. One that stands out, however, is this skeletal hand poking up through the ground in a lake near Whiterun. It's holding a sword for the player to take, and if you're trusting enough to not believe it is a trap (I mean, that skeleton could easily grab you and pull you under as soon as you got close if it wanted to) you can actually take the sword. Sadly, it is not Excalibur. This setup seems to be a reference to the tale of King Arthur, and more specifically, the Lady of the Lake. An alleged sorceress who gave Arthur his legendary sword, this scene is quite a close depiction of that event. Unfortunately, the sword gained from the skeletal hand is just a generic sword leveled to match the player's gear, but it is rather cool to find and could actually be quite useful if found at a low enough level. A Spell Gone Wrong
via:elderscrolls.wikia.com Magic is a great tool within Skyrim that allows for all new ways to approach a problem. You can trick and charm troublesome NPCs using underhanded Illusion magic, or if you're like me, shoot flames out of your hands at them until they go away. While nearly everyone can use some of the simplest spells, if you wish to learn more about higher tier magic you will quickly find that you require a lot of training and leveling to do so. The College of Winterhold is a place for all aspiring mages to do just that, and it's a place you should definitely check out if you are creating a magic build for your character. The quest for the most powerful magic can be quite frustrating at times, and you may find yourself wishing that you could attempt spells even without the stats. But there is nearby evidence that might not be the best idea. Along the shoreline far east of Dawnstar, one can find a campsite that seems to have recently exploded. On a body there you can find an item called Yisra's necklace, and a nearby spell tome for a spell called Fire Cloak. I think you can work out what happened here. Back at the College, there are murmurings of a mage who has gone missing when they left to try out just that spell. So maybe it's a good thing you can't attempt that gigantic fireball spell just yet. A Reference From A Galaxy Far Far Away
via:imgur.com (carizzma) Bethesda loves hiding little references to pop culture in their worlds, that can only be caught by keen-eyed fans. There are plenty within Skyrim, from little nods to myths and legends such as The Lady of The Lake mentioned above to children's fairy tales. One of the more notable ones that can be easily missed by a player is this little gem. Within Bleakcoast Cave which is near Winterhold is an icy cave, filled with some rather ravenous frost trolls who see you as their next meal, so be sure to come prepared with a decent level and some fire spells perhaps. Eventually, you will reach upon this scene; a skeleton seems to be hanging upside down from the ceiling in what seems to be quite the strange set of circumstances. Those of you who are huge Star Wars fans may already see the reference here. It is depicting the scene in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where Luke Skywalker is stuck in the ceiling of an ice cave within Hoth. There is even a glowing enchanted sword in the same general area where Luke's lightsaber lands within the film which is ripe for the taking.