There are only fifteen shrines, which means that you can't miss any, unless you employ a tactic listed under "The Ring of Hirscine." This is the only missable achievement in the game but it's also one of the most fun. You'll get a lot of awesome gear (specifically the Ebony Mail), have a few good laughs, and also get extremely frustrated (if you don't follow this guide  ).
The list is in alphabetical order by the name of the artifact. Mission names are provided, level Requirement, whether they're missable or not, and glitches.
If there are some glitches you came across and I do not have them listed, please post them in the comments and I'll add them in.
The amount of information provided on how to do the missions will vary from mission to mission, depending on if I find it necessary or not. Things that have minimal descriptions are either easy or are too simple and not worth describing, i.e. Dawnbreaker has you retrieve a beacon, return it, then go through a dungeon. Simple.
Note #1: Skeleton Key does NOT count for this achievement. If you obtain the Skeleton Key before any other artifact, you do not unlock
.
Note #2: You do not need to have every artifact in your inventory at the same time to unlock them.
Note #3: I apologize that the picture quality isn't perfect but it's also better than nothing. Also, there is a way to get this achievement by doing only fourteen of the fifteen quests. Go to "The Ring of Hirscine" to see how.
Tip: Save often. Even if I haven’t listed any glitches, the game itself can be awfully glitchy. You never know when you could accidentally die or glitch after having gone through an excessive amount of work. Again, SAVE OFTEN!
The Black Star or Azura's Star
Mission Name: The Black Star
Missable: No
Level Requirement: None
Glitches: None
To start this quest, head over to Azura's Shrine, which is directly south of Winterhold on top of a mountain. Click here for a picture of the location. You can, by the end of the quest, get one of two possible items (Black Star or Azura’s Star), either of which is fine for the achievement.
Dawnbreaker
Mission Name: The Break of Dawn
Missable: No
Level Requirement: Level 12 or higher
Glitches: None
To start this quest, head over to the Statute of Merida, which is west of Solitude. Click here for a picture of the location.
Ebony Blade
Mission Name: The Whispering Door
Missable: No
Level Requirement: Level 20 or higher
Glitches: None
Once you hit level 20, head over to the Bannered Mare (the Inn) in Whiterun and talk to the Innkeeper about rumours until the Innkeeper mentions the Jarl’s trouble with his son, Nelkir. Eventually, you’ll need to obtain a key, which you can pickpocket from the Jarl or Forengar (mage).
A side note: Choosing the Stormcloaks in the civil war quest line does not effect this quest.
Ebony Mail
Mission Name: Boethiah’s Calling
Missable: No
Level Requirement: Level 30 or higher
Glitches: Yes
Once you hit level 30, you can seek out the Boethiah cult. You can find this quest by randomly finding a book called Boethiah’s Proving or finding it on the body of a Boethiah cultist and reading it. There’s also the option of finding the shrine (Sacellum of Boethiah), which can be found in this picture by clicking here.
In this quest, you’re required to sacrifice someone. The easiest way, I found, is to hire a companion (The Bee and Barb in Riften, for example) and take them to the shrine.
There is a very immense glitch with this mission that has been brought to my attention. If you sacrifice your person, the reincarnation of the Boethiah may not take place, making it impossible to finish the quest. Make sure you save before beginning this! Currently, there is no solution or fix for this glitch.
Mace of Molag Bal
Mission Name: House of Horrors
Missable: No
Level Requirement: None
Glitches: Yes
You need to have left Markarth and return for a second time to activate this quest. When you return the second time and pass the Abandoned House in Markarth, a gentleman named Vigilant Tyranus will be talking with a Nord named Yngvar. When Tyranus is done, he will ask you some questions and eventually you’ll help him through the house. Make sure you save before entering the house as many people have got stuck in the house and not able to leave.
There is also another possible glitch where Vigilant does not show up in front of the house. If you have this problem then go out the main door of Markarth and Vigilant should be on the stairs or at the bottom of them. If he isn’t there then check around the stables.
Masque of Clavicus Vile
Mission Name: A Daedra’s Best Friend
Missable: Yes
Level Requirement: Level 10 or higher
Glitches: None
Once you reach level 10, head over to Falkreath and the Imperial Soldier at the entrance will ask you about a dog. Once you’re done speaking with him, he’ll send you over to Lod, the Blacksmith. You’ll eventually find a dog named Barbas and you’ll have to follow him around.
Eventually, once you’ve done the entire quest, you’ll come to a decision: kill Barbas and keep the axe or return the axe and receive the Masque of Clavicus Vile. Take the latter option or you will not get the masque and, by extension, miss the Oblivion Walker achievement. So make sure you do not kill Barbas.
As a side note, you have to follow Barbas to find the daedric shrine. Barbas has awful path finding, so you can just meet him at Haemer’s Shrine, which is south of High Hrothgar’s mountain.
Mehrunes’ Razor
Mission Name: Pieces of the Past
Missable: Yes
Level Requirement: Level 20 or higher
Glitches: None
When you hit level 20, visit a city and a courier will approach you with a message telling you of a new museum opening in Dawnstar. Follow the quest marker and you’ll eventually come to Silus Vesuius’ house, you will see him arguing with a woman. Once that’s finished, go talk to Silus and go see his museum. Eventually, Silus will offer you the quest for the dagger.
Please note that this artifact is MISSABLE. By doing this incorrectly, you will miss the Oblivion Walker achievement. When you get to the end of the quest, you will have the option of killing Silus. Make sure that you kill him or you will not be able to create Mehrunes’ Dagger, which in turn prevents you from earning the Oblivion Walker achievement.
Oghma Infinium
Mission Name: Discerning the Transmundane
Missable: No
Level Requirement: Level 15 or higher
Glitches: None
Try and start this quest early so that you do not have to go out of your way to find the blood of specific races.
While doing the main storyline in Skyrim, you will eventually meet a mage named Septimus Signus, who is located at "Septimus Signus's Outpost." Alternatively, you can find this Outpost without doing the main story. The Outpost is located directly north from the College of Winterhold.
who will give you a quest called “Discerning the Transmundane” that has a “Blood Harvest” requirement. You must harvest the blood of a High Elf, Wood Elf, Dark Elf, Falmer, and Orc. You harvest blood by interacting with the body. When doing so, it will give you the option of harvesting blood from the body.
If you play through the game normally and try to get the rest of Skyrim’s achievements then you will, without a doubt, come across all of these.
As a side note, this is probably the best daedric artifact. Upon reading the book, you have the option of increasing all skills by five levels. What these skills are depends on the path you chose, which are might (one hand, two hand, heavy armour, smithing, and blocking), shadows (alchemy, lock picking, pickpocketing, sneaking and speech), and magic (alteration, conjuration, destruction, enchanting, illusion, and restoration). My personal advice is to wait to use this on skills that are all very high.
Sanguine’s Rose
Mission Name: Night to Remember
Missable: No
Level Requirement: Level 14 or higher
Glitches: Yes
The location of this quest is random. Some other people put specific locations (i.e. Whiterun) but this does not always hold true. Who you’re looking for is a man named Sam Guevenne, who will challenge you to a drinking contest. When you find him and he challenges you, simply participate and the mission goes from there.
As a note, Whiterun is the most common location he is found at. He can be, and has been, found at other Inn locations throughout the other eight major Holds. So if you don’t find Sam at the Bannered Mare in Whiterun then check other inns. Remember, you have to be level 14.
Make sure you save before drinking with Sam, as it is possible that you won't get transported to the temple. Also, do not return to Misty Grove after leaving. Doing so may cause you to be stuck there forever.
Skull of Corruption
Mission Name: Waking Nightmare
Missable: Yes
Level Requirement: None
Glitches: Yes, very glitchy
To begin this quest, go to Windpeak Inn in Dawnstar. Once there, speak with Erandur.
This quest can prevent you from earning the Oblivion Walker achievement. At the end of the quest, you have the option of killing Erandur or not. Kill Erandur or he destroys the Skull of Corruption.
This quest is also very glitchy! Save often. The most common glitch is the disappearance of Erandur when entering the Nightcaller Temple. From my experience, this happens when you skip through his speech to quickly. Let him finish everything he has to say before entering the temple. There are a variety of other errors, so I recommend that you save often throughout the quest just incase.
Spellbreaker
Mission Name: The Only Cure
Missable: No
Level Requirement: Level 10 or higher
Glitches: None
To start this quest, head to the Shrine to Peryite, which is located above Karthwastern in the mountains. Click here for a picture of the location. Once arriving there, you’ll see a Khajit named Kesh. Once you’ve talked to him, he’ll ask you to collect the following: Vampire Dust, Deathbell Flower, Silver Ingot, and Flawless Ruby.
These ingredients, minus flawless ruby, are extremely easy to find. Just head over to your resident alchemy store and they’ll sell the Deathbell Flower and Vampire Dust. For the Vampire Dust, you can also get it by upgrading your alchemy lab for your house.
For the Silver Ingot, head over to a blacksmith, who will sell it. If he/she only has silver ore then buy that and take it to a smelter and smelt it into a silver ingot. The hard one to find is the flawless ruby, which can give some people a headache. Here are some options. Please note there are some spoilers and I will label it as so:
(1) (SPOILER) Hail Sithis! – The last mission of the Dark Brotherhood has you assassinating the Emperor. After you assassinate him, head into his bedroom and check at the foot of the bed. There is a flawless ruby there.
(2) Mining – This is completely random but if you head over to an orc camp called Narzulbur, you’ll find a mine that has a ton of ebony ore. You should invest time to mine all the ebony ore here as you can have over ten Ebony ingots. From mining the Ebony, you will (hopefully) mine a flawless ruby. Mining is the least reliable option.
(3) Delvin Mallroy’s Fishing Job – If you go to the Ragged Flagon, the door over from the Thieves’ Guild, there’s a Breton named Delvin Mallroy, who gives you jobs to bring the Thieves’ Guild back to its former glory. One of the side quests is called a “Fishing Job.” This particular job has you snagging a particular item from a person’s pocket. You’ll eventually come upon a job where you have to steal a flawless ruby. Once you steal this, you can turn in the Daedra quest then complete the Fishing Job afterward.
(4) Treasure Chests – Another random one, similar to mining. If you regularly play the game, you will easily find flawless rubies. I found six by regularly checking treasure chests.
(5) Harrald's Quest - "If you go to the Mistveil Keep in Riften and find a guy named Harrald and do his quest (which takes about 30 seconds) he gives you different gems and they change every time, so make a save before you hand the quest into him and then keep re-loading the save until he gives you a flawless ruby." (credit Bashford)
Also, this artifact is a shield. You may not get a notification that you have received this artifact, so check your inventory once you have completed the quest.
The Ring of Hirscine or Savior’s Hide
Mission Name: Ill Met by Moonlight
Missable: No
Level Requirement: None
Glitches: Yes
To begin this quest, head to Falkreath and talk to Sinding, a man who is jailed up in the Falkreath Jail, which is located downstairs in the Falkreath Barracks. If you have a hard time finding this then there is a way to have a quest marker on the location.
Upon arriving into Falkreath, there will be a funeral. Go ahead and speak to Indara or Mathies. If the funeral is not happening when you enter Falkreath, you can look for them and they will tell you the location of Sinding.
You will come to a point where you either have to kill Sinding or kill the hunters. Either choice will still net you a daedric artifact as killing the hunters will give you Hircine’s blessing and makes the ring uncursed. If you kill Sinding then you get the Hide.
There is a glitch in this quest. You will come to a point where you have to hunt a Great White Stag. If you don’t kill it and let it run away, then it’s entirely possible that the Stag will glitch on top of an unreachable mountaintop. Make sure you kill the Stag the first time you see it!
There is a way to get both artifacts, which will allow you to avoid doing one of the thirteen available daedric artifacts:
"It is entirely possible to obtain both the Ring of Hircine as well as the Savior's Hide. In order to do so, first you must help Sinding eliminate the remaining hunters. After doing so, speak with Sinding to complete his quest objective, then kill him. When you remove his skin, immediately avoid contact with the spirit of the white stag and exit the cave, leading you to Hircine's spectral avatar, which will then reward you with the uncursed Ring of Hircine. Now re-enter the cave and speak with the other spectral stag to receive the Savior's Hide." (uesp.net)
Elestian notes the following: "I, however, failed to avoid the spirit immediately after killing Sinding and instead simply backed out of the dialogue menu and walked away."
Ring of Namira
Mission Name: The Taste of Death
Missable: Yes
Level Requirement: None
Glitches: None
Enter Markarth and go to the Understone Keep. Once there, you can speak to a man named Verulus, which will start you on a miscellaneous quest that has you investigating the Hall. When you’re investigating, a woman named Eola will talk to you. If you do not help Eola then you will miss the Oblivion Walker achievement. DO NOT refuse help to Eola.
Wabbajack
Mission Name: The Mind of Madness
Missable: No
Level Requirement: None
Glitches: None
To start this quest, head over to Solitude and look for a man named Dervenin, who should be near the graveyard. You’ll know who Dervenin is as he has no eyes. From there, just follow the instructions and do the quest.
When you go inside Pelagius’ mind, you have to use the Wabbajack to help make Pelagius sane again. This is how you solve the puzzle:
(1) Dream phase: You’ll know you’re in the dream portion of Pelagius when you see him laying on a wooden bed with a green blanket. Once you’ve found this, it’s time to begin. You will want to shoot everything in this exact order: Pelagius – Wolf – Pelagius – Bandit – Pelagius – Hagraven – Pelagius – Flame Atronach – Pelagius – Dragon Priest. You’re done. Time to move on to the next phase.
(2) Confidence Phase: You’ll come upon Pelagius (named Confidence), who is extremely small and being beat up by a bandit named Anger. Using your Wabbajack, hit Confidence twice and Anger once. This should solve this portion of the puzzle, which leaves you with one more.
(3) Arena Phase: In this part, you will see two Storm Atronachs fighting in an arena. Above the arena is three chairs, one big one in the middle (the throne) that is empty and two other chairs on either side with identical guards in it. Behind or beside the middle throne (this changes) is another person, which is the king. You will want to shoot either guard. It seems that it does not make a difference if you shoot the guard on the right or on the left. In the end, wolves will appear and begin attacking the king then everything disappears, signaling that you have solved it.
Volendrung
Mission Name: The Cursed Tribe
Missable: Yes
Level Requirement: None
Glitches: Yes
This quest will be initiated when you locate Largashbur, an orc encampment located far, far west of Riften and slightly south. Click here for a picture of its location. When you find Largashbur, you will see a giant attacking the orcs. Go ahead and kill the giant and the quest takes off from there. This is another fetching quest, so you’ll need to gather a daedra heart (Shrine of Mehrune from Mehrunes’ Razor quest or near Jorrvaskr in Companion’s Hall in Whiterun) and troll fat (shelf near alchemy set in Hall of Countenance in College of Winterhold). After collecting this stuff, you’ll need to retrieve a giant’s club, so you’ll be fighting a lot of giants. Make sure that you can defeat them or this quest will be a headache.
There is a glitch for this mission. Make sure that you don't allow the giant to kill everyone or else you won't be able to activate the quest. If this does happen, either load up a save before it or follow this solution: "Walk right along the fence till you get to where the rock and the fence meet and jump over the fence there and go talk to the Orc next to the gate" (credit Dustifus).
This quest is also missable if you decide to kill the entire orc encampment. Do not kill everyone or else you cannot get the quest. Also, do not hit an orc with your weapon as this will cause hostility. I am unsure of how to get rid of this hostility. If you know, please post it in the comments. |