As most players know, there's plenty to do in Skyrim outside the main story and even the guild questlines. NPCs across the land are all too eager to ask for the Dragonborn's help, or outright order them around. From miscellaneous objectives to mysterious Daedric quests, each of them helps build an immersive experience for players, and some have significant rewards.
While some of these side quests are rewarding in more ways than one, others are annoying or just plain frustrating. Whether it's a seemingly unwinnable boss battle or a scavenger hunt with no hints, here are a few quests that leave Skyrim players frustrated.
Updated November 2021 by Demaris Oxman: With Skyrim: Anniversary Edition now available to play, tons of players are returning to the game or perhaps even picking it up for the first time.
While there's a huge amount of new content added, players will no doubt revisit old quests and storylines, whether to experience old favorites again or by stumbling into them accidentally. These quests, though, don't ignite the same feelings of excitement in players. From unfulfilled potential to dying repeatedly, these quests cause frustration for a number of reasons.
12 The Only Cure
Peryite isn't the strongest of the Daedric Princes, and his quest certainly reflects that. It starts as a simple fetch quest, followed by the typical formula of "walk into an area, fight some enemies, and eventually battle a boss."
In addition to its disappointing formula, the items required for the first stage of the quest can be surprisingly difficult and frustrating to gather. Communing with Peryite requires a flawless ruby, a deathbell flower, vampire dust, and a silver ingot. Some of these can be purchased from merchants around the land, but the flawless ruby in particular can take awhile to stumble across. After waiting a long time to begin the quest proper, many players were frustrated with its unimaginative structure.
11 Destroy The Dark Brotherhood!
This quest isn't frustrating because of difficult enemies or tedious item-hunting; rather, it irritates gamers because of its unfulfilled potential. Kill Astrid, raid the Falkreath sanctuary — and that's it, the quest is done.
"Destroy The Dark Brotherhood!" would have been much more satisfying if it had led to an alternate questline, perhaps allowing the Dragonborn to work for the Penitus Oculatus and perform missions on their behalf. Instead, many players were upset and felt let down by its frustratingly short playtime and disappointing end. It turns out that becoming an assassin is the more fulfilling option in this situation.
10 The Wolf Queen Awakened
After completing "The Man Who Cried Wolf," the player is summoned to Solitude to delve into the Hall of the Dead's catacombs and prevent Potema's resurrection. The area is riddled with powerful undead, but it's the dozens of deadly traps that make this quest infuriating. From revolving doors to fire-spitting soul gems, no player makes it through unscathed.
Despite the difficulty, this quest's fascinating story helps mitigate some of the frustration. However, most players aren't thinking about lore when a booby trap kills them for the fifth time. The Become Ethereal shout can help alleviate this a bit, as it renders players temporarily immune to damage.
9 The Bards' College Quests
New players are often excited upon starting the Bards' College; however, most find it disappointing. The four College quests aren't much more than glorified errands. Though the rewards are all useful skill boosts, it's frustrating that so little content exists in what could have been a great guild.
Once the quests are finished, the Dragonborn supposedly earns the title of Bard; however, nothing changes to reflect this. Unlocking new effects or gaining instrumental abilities would have been a fantastic way to close these quests, but the player receives no such reward.
8 The Break Of Dawn
Starting at level 12, the player has a chance to come across Meridia's Beacon in a variety of random locations, prompting her to speak to the Dragonborn and insist that they undertake her mission. However, if players attempt to do so at this humble level, this means certain death. Meridia demands the death of the necromancer Malkoran, residing at Mount Kilkreath. He's a formidable opponent, and has at least eight of his corrupted shades aiding him in battle.
In addition to the notoriously difficult final fight, guiding Meridia's light through the Kilkreath temple ruins adds an extra level of hardship. Though it makes sense thematically, trying to puzzle out where to direct Meridia's beacon can be annoying, especially when being attacked by undead.
7 Discerning The Transmundane
No Elder Scrolls player expected Hermaeus Mora's quest to be easy on the mind. After surviving Alftand and Blackreach, the Dragonborn must solve an inscrutable Dwemer puzzle to transcribe the lexicon and reach the Elder Scroll within the mechanism. Many players have found themselves gritting their teeth in frustration as they rotated the lenses in their attempt to get the ancient contraption to open.
But it's not over there. Septimus Signus then asks the player to harvest blood from all five living races of elves. This task requires a great deal of time, patience, and luck, and often drives players to madness wondering where they can find what they need without committing murder. Often, the Dragonborn will have to bloody their hands, and risk putting a bounty on their head.
6 Lost To The Ages
Upon first entering Arkngthamz, the player speaks with the ghost of a scholar named Katria, who tells them of her search for the Aetherium Forge. She accompanies the Dragonborn as they dive through the ruins, fighting an impossible number of Dwarven constructs in their search for Aetherium.
After they complete this dungeon, the quest still isn't done. The player must clear three other Dwemer ruins — Deep Folk Crossing, Raldbthar, and Mzulft — to retrieve aetherium shards, braving waves of Falmer and Centurions in the process. Only then can they make their way to the Aetherium Forge. This quest ultimately yields an incredible reward in the form of the Aetherial Crown, Shield, or Staff; however, getting to the end is a convoluted path that takes a lot of time and effort.
5 A Return To Your Roots
After coming upon the corpse and journal of famed alchemist Sinderion (whom Oblivion players may remember from their adventure) in his lab in Blackreach, this quest will begin, tasking the player with gathering a unique variant of Nirnroot. Though Crimson Nirnroot are abundant in Blackreach, it's surprisingly difficult to find 30. Attempting to do so is an exasperating detour from the quest that brought the Dragonborn to this location in the first place. Furthermore, players cannot grow Crimson Nirnroot in a garden or greenhouse, making the objective that much harder.
However, for players looking to build their Alchemy skill, this quest is worth the effort. Bringing the roots to Avrusa Sarethi rewards the player with Sinderion's Serendipity. This effect provides a 25% chance to produce a duplicate when crafting potions.
4 Impatience of a Saint
In the vast expanse of the Soul Cairn, players may run across Saint Jiub (a familiar figure to Morrowind players). Similar to "A Return To Your Roots," this quest asks the player to track down several items in a discrete area. In this case, it's the pages of Saint Jiub's Opus, lost within the Soul Cairn.
Armed with no quest markers or hints whatsoever as to their locations, the Dragonborn must wander this hellish wasteland fighting bizarre undead in search of these pages. When the quest is finished, Saint Jiub rewards the Dragonborn with a disappointing amulet for their trouble.
3 Lost Legacy
On Solstheim, a scholar named Tharstan asks the Dragonborn to accompany him into a Vahlok's Tomb. Though Tharstan provides hints to the puzzles within, these clues are rather cryptic, and the puzzles are still a pain to figure out.
The magical bridges, though, are possibly the most irritating aspect of this dungeon. Each of these bridges are made up of disappearing panels that appear and then disappear, forcing players to move rapidly to avoid falling. Each moves faster and has a less predictable pattern than the last. Players must go through several iterations of trial, error, and falling off the bridge for corrupted shades to attack them below. At the end, they're rewarded for their cleverness and bravery with a nigh impossible Dragon Priest fight.
2 Forbidden Legend
Like "Lost to the Ages," this quest requires the player to run around fighting enemies to find pieces of a whole. However, the reward is far less powerful. Mikrul Gauldurson in Folgunthur isn't too tough of a battle, but Jyrik and Sigdis (found in Sarthaal and Geirmund's Hall, respectively) are maddening to fight.
That difficulty makes the payoff even more of a letdown. The fully restored Gauldur Amulet increases health, magicka, and stamina, far from a unique effect. Even the unique Gauldur weapons aren't particularly impressive; they all bear weak iterations of common enchantments. Though the lore of this quest is interesting, it's a frustrating journey for a disappointing reward.
1 No Stone Unturned
Tracking down every single Stone of Barenziah is a nightmare. Like the other quests that involve retrieving a number of objects, there are no clues to these stones' locations. All of Skyrim is fair game, and there's no way to narrow it down.
Furthermore, all the Dragonborn receives for their trouble is the buff Prowler's Profit. This passive effect makes it easier to find gemstones. However, since gems aren't too uncommon to begin with, this lackluster payoff is a punch in the gut after completing this long and infuriating task. For those dead set on completing this task, visit the wiki for a list of locations.