I hope you have adjusted your time-table and canceled some of the routine activities for Elder Scrolls V Skyrim. The stunning visuals along with engaging gameplay will keep you busy for a long time. You can never say, “I am done with Skyrim” as the game is quite big and diverse. But if you truly want to be done and finish the game quickly, we have made an Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Walkthrough for you.
Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Walkthrough
After the death of the king of Skyrim, things started to fell apart and the civil war broke among the locals. You will start as a prisoner, on your way to the execution but just in time, a dragon arrives to save the day.
Your goal will be to follow your destiny and defeat the dark lord, “Alduin” who is prophesied to consume the world using the power of a dragon. How will you stop him? You will have to play the game to find the answer.
Now, there are chances that you might get stuck at some point during the game especially during the main quests. If it happens, you can check out our Skyrim walkthrough for tips and tricks.
Unbound
You will start as a prisoner destined to be executed for the crime to cross the border illegally. Before you head for the execution platform, you will be asked to build your character. If you don’t have any clue about it then you can check out our Character Creation guide. You can either choose to be a male or a female in each class.
After the character customization is complete, the dragon will arrive to save the day. After the cutscene, head to the building quickly. After you meet Hadvar outside, follow him till you get to the keep. You have to choose now whether you want to follow Hadvar or Ralof. I chose the former one. There will be small difference but since its the start of the game, you will be fine regardless of your choice.
Keep on following the lead and soon you will reach a room where you can find some equipment and your first weapon. It’s better that you take some time to familiarize yourself with the inventory.
After you have grabbed the weapon, you will see the stamina gauge at the bottom left of your screen. Acts like swinging weapon and sprinting will consume stamina.
Whenever the stamina bar depletes, it will be restored but it will take a few seconds. If you swing your weapon too much without hitting any target then there is a probability that you will run out of stamina during the fight which can be troublesome. Then there is the health bar which is also restored but takes more time than stamina to recover.
It’s very important that you explore each section in Skyrim for useful items like potions, weapons, armor and other useful items that you be sold to earn more gold. You can’t have every thing though as your storage inventory has certain limit so make sure that you don’t carry things that you don’t need.
In the next section, after a couple of kills, you will learn the art of lock picking in Skyrim. It’s easy, you need to rotate the two pins in such a way that the lock breaks open. More Humanoids are waiting for you in the next area. Deal with them and then head further to face the poisonous spiders. Don’t give them much time or they will spit venom at you. A couple of swings of your weapon will be sufficient to take them out.
Further deeper into the cave, you will be given a choice; either move away silently without disturbing the bear or shoot it with your bow. Go for the bow. You will have to shoot it 3 or 4 times to knock it out. Gather the loot and it’s time to head for Risky.
Before the Storm
This quest will start just after the conclusion of Unbound. After you are outside the cave, you need to head to the town in Riverwood. What will you do there? You need to talk to Gerdur there. It’s time that you analyze your world map. Open it and you will be able to see different locations marked on it already.
You can also mark a custom location by pressing the concerned button. The world map can be further be zoomed to see a particular section. Talk to Gerdur and he will offer you some items for free. Then he will ask you to go see Jarl in Whiterun.
Leave the house and follow the map to the desired location. It’s above on the mountain so you will to move around to reach there. Or you can also decide to stay in Riverwood for some side quests. When you reach the entrance of Whiterun, a guard will stop you. Reply him positively and he will let you in.
Your next destination is Dragonsearch which is in a building above there. Follow the objective marker to reach its gate and then talk to Jarl who will agree to send troops to Riverwood. This will be the final act of this quest.
Bleak Falls Barrow
In this quest, you basically need to collect Dragonstone and return it to Farengar. If you have completed the “The Golden Claw” quest earlier, you will already have the stone and all you need to do is show it to him to conclude things.
Otherwise, head to the temple and enter the gate for some challenges. You will encounter archers and Bandits you need to take care of. Don’t hesitate to retreat when you are taking more hits. This can give you tactical advantages. As you move along the path, don’t forget to gather the loot. Now pull the lever and the door will open.
Before you can enter the temple, there will be a couple of enemies to deal with. After entering the tower, you will have to face a couple of more enemies. Like always, don’t forget to grab any loot you find in the section.
Time to meet Arvil the Swift. Finish off the weakened arachnid and then talk to Arvel. He won’t hand over the claw to you and try to run away. Kill him and then loot the claw. As you move into the crypt, you will be attacked by dragurs. They are the better variants of bandits so make sure that you don’t take on them in a group.
As you move through the corridor and then reach the narrow section, more draugrs will appear to attack. You can set oil on fire either using the fire magic or shooting the lantern. After you have taken care of the draugr that comes out of the coffin, you will find a chest nearby which you can loot for different items.
If you pull the chain in this section,you can access the other part of the temple which is famous for its glowing mushrooms. Follow the path that will lead you to a waterfall where you can gather some more loot. A tougher draugr variant will appear here. Use the basic tactics to remove the threats.
When you reach Bleak falls Sanctum, you will have to deal with more of those draugrs. You can again use the oil to remove them quickly. When you reach a hall with a stone door ahead, there is another puzzle to solve. This time you need to rotate the rings to match the pattern engraved on the Golden Claw. Owl, hummingbird and bear is the correct sequence from bottom to top. Adjust the Golden Claw afterwards to open the way for yourself.
In the next section, a draugr beast will arrive. You should alter your position on varied height to be at the safe side. You can shoot arrows at him if you are not engaging directly. You will have the Dragonstone from its dead body.
Dragon Rising
You can start this quest after you deliver the Dragonstone to Farengar. Your first task will be to talk with Jarl along with Irileth and Farengar. After getting the equipment from Jarl, you need to head outside the town to meet up with Irileth.
You will find Irileth and company just beside the tower. A dragon will appear on the scene. Your bow and arrow skills will be tested in this battle. Since the dragon is just a weakling, your arrows will be sufficient to inflict considerate amount of damage. If you don’t have a bow, you still can win the battle but that will be slightly trickier.
You will have to use magic against it after the dragon lands on the ground and spill fire from her mouth. After you have taken care of the dragon, loot the bod for some useful items along with your first dragon soul. You can now try Shout from your magic options to see its effects.
After killing the dragon, head back to Whiterun and report to Jarl. He will tell you about Greybeard’s summon. He will also award you the title of “Thane of Whiterun” and you will also win his friendship. Don’t abuse your power too much if you don’t want to get into trouble.
The Way of the Voice
You can reach High Hrotghar through Ivarstead which is the place where you will find Greybeard. Move through the bridge and then follow the path through the mountains to reach your destination. It’s a long journey with a couple of hindrances but there is nothing serious to be worried about.
Once inside, meet Arngeir. You need to give another demonstration of your shout sound to get more info about the Greybeard. You will come to know that you have only learnt one out of three words for a shout. After you learn the second word from Einarth, use it to dispel the appearing targets. This will also convince the Greybeards.
Greybeards then will teach you the third Shout word. This word will let you sprint at quite a fast rate. Use your ability to move past the gate and conclude this quest.
The Horn Of Jurgen Windcaller
You will have to go deep into Ustengarv to get the horn. The journey is not straightforward anymore as you will be facing plenty of draugrs, cave minions and the spellcasters. After you pass through the vegetation area, you will require to use the Sprint shout to move through the gates.
The trick here is to use the Sprint shout twice; first activate the three stones then use the second one to get through quickly before the gate closes again. Yes, it’s a bit annoying when you won’t find the horn there but you will find a note there from a friend asking you to spend the night in the “Giant Inn” at Riverwood. Delphine will wake you up and render you with the horn.
After taking the horn, you can head back to High Hrotghar and give the horn to Arngeir. There is another word for shot power to learn i.e “Push”. After this word, your training to use full Shout will be completed.
A Blade in the Dark
After taking rest in the Riverwood (in the inn,as suggested earlier), Your friend will ask you meet her in private. She wants to prove that are actually associated with the dragons. You will have to prove it though. For that, you need to head to Kynesgrove near Windhelm.
After meeting up with Delphine, a dragon will appear. I will recommend that you have a fire resist potion with you in this battle. Wait for the opportunity and then execute your attacks. Don’t stand in front of him for too long as you will be burnt by dragon’s wrath.
After you have taken out the dragon (second one),gather the loot from its body and then talk to Delphine again to conclude the quest.
Diplomatic Immunity
This quest will start right after “A Blade in the Dark”. Delphine will leave for the Riverwood. You need to meet her there. Your next plan will be to make some distraction at Thalmor Embassy. After talking to Delphine, talk to Malborn and then give him the equipment.
Create a distraction in the party and then move to search for the clues about dragons. Escape the Embassy when you are done and then talk to Delphine to wrap up the quest.
A cornered Rat
You need to head to Riften. Your goal here is to find a guy named Esbern. For lead, you should talk to Brynjolf who can be found outside the market during the day time. And if it’s night, you should look for him in the tavern.
You will come to know about the thieves hideout where you Esbern is probably hiding. When you move through the underground channels, there will be enemies to interfere your path. First, a couple of bandits and then a low life in the next section. Watch out for that door trap. Stand behind a bit to open it. There is also a lab you can visit after killing the low life for potion mixing.
Talk to Vekel and he won’t tell you anything straight away. You will have to fight. After the duel, get ready for a tough fight. Either your or your follower should take the vintage point and snipe the Thalmor Wizard and Thalmar Soldiers. Then follow the marker to talk to Esber. Convey him the message and tell him that your are Dragonborn. He will join your side.
Esbern will accompany to deal with upcoming soldiers. In the next section, he will start fighting with your companion. Exit the room quickly and all will be fine. Head back to Riverwood now to see Esbern.
Alduin’s Wall
Travel to Haven temple. It’s better that you grab a horse and start the long journey. When you are near to your location you will face a couple of groups of enemies. If you are cautious enough, you can avoid these fruitless encounters. If you are are looking for some loot then killing them can be an option.
Before you can get to the Sky Haven temple proper, you will have to fight against Karthspire and the barbarian soldiers. The later group won’t cause any major trouble. By now you would have an idea about which loot you should gather. Don’t full your inventory space with crap.
In the next section, there will be some fire traps you should look out and some symbols. If you follow the dragon reborn symbols then you will be fine. You need to pull the chain ahead to disable the trap and to lower the bridge. When Esbern is finished talking near the stone head, you can interact and activate the blood seal near it. Follow the path then after another dialogue( Delphine tells you that you are going to need Greybeard’s help), time to return to High Hrothgar.
The Throat of the World
Things are getting interesting now. After you move to High Hrothgar, talk to Arngeir to reveal the mystery of Alduin’s defeat. It’s important that if you still haven’t handed over Greybeard the Horn of Jurgen, you do that first. Then he will tell you about Paarthuranx and will teach you Clear skies shout. You can use this skill to resist the icy storms you will stuck in during your journey to Throat of the World.
Now start moving towards your next destination (further climb up the mountain). Don’t forget to use your newly acquired ability. Against the ice Wraiths, you should use your fire attacks to remove them quickly. Talk to Paarthurnax and he will tell you about the Elder Scroll. He will also teach you the Fire Breath and if you talk to him again, he will also upgrade your sword.
Now head back to Arngeir down the mountain and he will ask you to pay a visit to Mage’s College in Winterhold. You can’t enter the Winterhold until you are a legitimate member. You should talk to Faralada to join the guild officially. She will ask you to cast the Firebolt. If you don’t have it yet then you can purchase it from here. After signing in, head inside and move towards Arcanaeum in the halls.
If you talk to Urag gro-Shub, he will give you a book on Elder Scrolls. The book is written by Septimus Signus and it’s time to find this author. I will suggest that instead of further going upwards, it will be easy to move around and then head north. Signus will tell you the location of the Scrolls and also a magic cube sphere.
Elder Knowledge
The Elder Scrolls is in Altfand. You can first fast travel to Winterhold and then move towards the destination. There will be small resistance but nothing to be bothered about. Move through the entrance and follow the objective marker. Collect anything useful you find and head north. You will find the passage blocked up ahead. Head west.
After you deal with the robot spiders, you will face off a Khajiit. He is motivated to kill you but not much of a threat. Kill him and gather the loot. As you move forward, you will face Dwarven Spheres. They are fast and to stay safe, you should equip your shield and use the magic spells. You can use the ice attacks to slow them down first and then attack. You can grab some treasure if you jump across the raising platforms after killing the spheres.
Head back and start following your actual path down the halls. You can take the stairs either to east or west. The west side has some spiders and you can gather some potions. Move east to enter the Animonculory. Keep on following the path till you reach the area with oil spilled all over. You know what to do, use the fire spell to ignite it. There is a trap you can dodge by jumping over its pressure points.
As you head north, there will be a chest you can open to gain the ring of the Minor Knight. The ring is useful for some heavy armor skills. Head back and now follow the curved path. There is plenty of loot around this area so grab what you like. Further along the path, you will battle with some Flamer dudes. Try using your ranged attacks at them or they can trouble you with their speed.
Next, you will find an alchemy lab which you should use alteast to use the materials you have been gathering till now. Move down further and you will face more Falmer. You can use fire jets to your advantage if you adjust your position tactically. Move east and there will be more enemies to deal with. Engage them one at a time and then in the next room, there will be a couple more to deal with. Move up the stairs to reach the switch that will open the door.
After the gate, a tough brute is waiting for you. The Centurion is a bad ass specially with his steam blasts. You should check your healing potions are you are going to need them. There is no other way of inflicting any damage without loosing some health. You can block the regular attacks but the steam blasts will do damage anyways. So attack and then retreat fast to save your health as much as you can and then charge again. Don’t forget to collect the loot after taking the Centurion down.
After you have dealt with two more enemies in the next room, move to the center of the room and activate the assembly to connect the staircase leading to Blackreach. In the next section, you should let Dwarven spheres fight with the Falmers to reduce the opponent load. Take care of the archers at the top of the building in the southwest direction. Then make your way to the Tower of Mzark.
Open the lexcicon by tapping buttons and collect the Elder Scrolls and the Runed Lexicon. You have the Scrolls now, time to head back to High Hrothgar to meet Paarthurnax.
Alduin’s Bane
If you use the Scroll you acquired before, standing in the central section of Throat of the World, you will learn the Dragonrend shout. After listening to the shout, you will be attacked by Alduin. You can use the skill you just learnt and keep the dragon at bay. Paarthurnax will be of great help here. After you have brought down the dragon, talk to Paarthurnax. He will tell you that the Dragonreach can be used to catch a dragon.
Now move to Whiterun to talk to Jarl Balgruuf. If you help him to resolve some war issues then he might agree to help you out. Convince the two opposing parties and arrange negotiations. Things can turn out very differently here so decide what you think is best. It will also depend on your previous actions whether you have joined the war effort before or you are wanted in the city etc.
After the political things are over, Esbern will let you know about another dragon shout. She will request you to Slay Paarthurnax first. To me it was unacceptable but if you decide to kill him, he is not a difficult foe to deal with. You can use your Dragonrend to keep him down and slowly bring him close to death.
The World-Eater’s Eyrie
Meet Jarl and tell him that you are ready to catch the dragon. Use the dragon shot you learned to trap the dragon. The Odahviing will arrive. After some confrontation, you will have to lure him back towards the door you came through. Jarl’s guards will be there for support and they will capture the dragon.
Your next decision is critical. Before you free the dragon and make the trip to Skuldafn, you should make sure that you are skillful enough and you have plenty of gears and potions as once you leave, you won’t be able to come back. So if there is something you want to collect or complete, do it before you leave.
When you reach the destination, you will be attacked soon by a dragon and a Draugr. Since you are going to be under attack for some time now and you have no follower, it’s better that you devise a strategy for survival. Always remove the weak threats first and then turn to the stronger enemies. Archers can be annoying so remove them as soon as you can. For the dragons, your dragonrend shout and fire resistance will be of great help.
Now move inside the tower. Collect the loot and follow the objective marker. Watch out for the the arrows trap to the left side. You will have to sprint across to survive. There will be more draugrs to deal with before you solve another puzzle. Make them three birds to open the door to your right and gather the loot. For your passage, make them bird,snake and bird. Grab the loot from the chest down there and then head back and move through the other opening.
Keep on following the objective marker and there will be small resistance now and then along your way. There will be another stone puzzle and the right sequence for that is snake and then bird. After you move across the bridge on the second floor, be careful about the oil on the floor this time as enemies are going to toss flame pots down there.
After triggering the fire, make sure that you retreat fast. Next, you can pull the lever to the right side to open the door ahead. A Draugr overlord is ready to destroy you in the next section. You are going to need your shield and magic tricks to take him out. After you have taken him out, you will have the next puzzle sequence that is wolf,butterfly and then dragon.
In the next chamber, you can learn the Storm call shout. There are also plenty of potions in here. A door in here will lead you to the roof. A couple of enemies will interfere along your way. Deal with the caster first and then the other swordsmen. Deal with Nahkriin quickly and let him reach the portal and the staff. If he does getthere, he will be difficult to take down. Dodge his magical attacks as much as you can attack on counter. Make sure that you utilize any potions you have whenever you get the chance. After defeating Nahkriin, gather the loot and you are good to head for Sovngarde.
Sovngarde
The spirit will guide you to the hall of Valor. Watch out for Alduin as he is lurking around and you can be attacked if you are not cautious. Next, you will need to pass Tsun’s strength test if you want to be get through. Head inside the hall and talk to Ysgramor. He will give you some info and as you move out after that, your final dragon battle with Alduin will start.
Hakon and Felldir will help you in the fight. You need to use Dragonrend to bring down the dragon so that your partners can attack. When the dragon is busy with other heroes, you should grab the opportunity and attack from its back. If you want to stay alive, you are going to need plenty of health potions and resistance. It’s the final battle after all. Anyways, after you are done with the dragon, it’s time to head back to Skyrim. You can use the call Valor (taught by Tsun) to summon the heroes.
Return to Skyrim and the game is…Over? Well, there is nothing like “over” in Skyrim. There is still plenty to explore. You can do side quests and plenty of other activities for more fun and adventure. As far as the main story is concerned, it will end after you defeat Alduin.
