Most Frustrating Side Quests In Elder Scrolls Games

The Elder Scrolls franchise is often measured by the quality of the activities that sit on the margins. Unfortunately, for every epic Daedric quest, there are two or three thankless fetch quests, bug-ridden errands, or soul-crushingly tedious tasks designed to test the limits of the player’s patience.

Whatever their cause, they stick in players’ memories like an arrow to the knee, making them seriously question why they became the hero of Tamriel in the first place. These examples are some of the most irritating side quests in Elder Scrolls games, the ones that drive completionists to existential despair.

A Return To Your Roots (Skyrim)

The Chiming Never Stops

Skyrim is the patron saint of RPG fetch quests, and the premise of “A Return To Your Roots” is simple enough – harvest thirty Crimson Nirnroot scattered throughout the fungal-covered Blackreach, a multi-level maze populated with Falmer, chaurus, and even a hidden dragon named Vulthuryol.

Although not nearly as annoying as its counterpart in Oblivion, unmarked collect-a-thons in Bethesda games are rarely worth the time investment. For their substantial trouble gallivanting across Blackreach, players receive an ability (Sinderion’s Serendipity) that grants a 25% chance to duplicate a created potion, something that has limited use to a non-Alchemy build. Not a very good reward for an unsuspecting warrior or barbarian!

Seeking Your Roots (Oblivion)

So Much Nirnroot…

Before “A Return To Your Roots” made players dread the sound of Nirnroot, Oblivion’s “Seeking Your Roots” primed the pump with a similar flavor of botanical hell. The task is to gather and deliver Nirnroot samples to the alchemist Sinderion, who incidentally is just as annoying in life as he is in death. Nirnroot are rare, non-respawning, and blend into the scenery so well that finding them without a guide is tedious in the extreme. In all, 100 must be collected.

The reward, the Elixir of Exploration at its max level, will rarely be used in a game that is already overflowing with better potions. For better or worse, the Nirnroot’s calming chime has lived rent-free in the minds of thousands of players for the rest of their lives, all because of this quest.

Viatrix, The Annoying Pilgrim (Morrowind)

This Pilgrim Isn’t Worth The Trouble

This side quest has “annoying” built right into the title, so players know what they’re in for. “Viatrix, the Annoying Pilgrim” in Morrowind involves escorting Viatrix Petilia to the Shrine of Pride. Like with all escort missions, what the game fails to tell players is that Viatrix is seemingly coded to get stuck on even the tiniest rock or root. The route itself is a gauntlet of hostile territory, cliff racers, and terrain that challenges even the most seasoned Nerevarine.

Despite the player’s best efforts, Viatrix is guaranteed to pick a fight, get lost, or simply die to the nearest creature. The entire affair plays out like a test of the player’s willingness to endure pain for the sake of a quest marker and a paltry gold reward. Oh, and players only have two days to finish it…

The Forsworn Conspiracy/No One Escapes Cidhna Mine (Skyrim)

Keep Your Saves Handy

In a notoriously buggy game, these two Skyrim side quests are among the buggiest. “The Forsworn Conspiracy” starts with a murder in Markarth and rapidly spirals into an unavoidable jail sentence in the titular prison, Cidhna Mine. What follows is a minefield of broken code.

Crucial dialogue options frequently disappear, NPCs get stuck in walls, quest markers point to nowhere, and the escape sequence can trigger without giving players back their equipment after they lose it at the start of “No One Escapes Cidhna Mine.” And those are just a few of the bugs that can occur! Frequent reloads become a fact of life with these two quests, erasing progress at a moment’s notice if players aren’t liberal about saving in multiple slots.

The Wayward Knight (Oblivion)

“Wayward” Isn’t The Half Of It

Escort/protection missions in Oblivion are no laughing matter. The job in “The Wayward Knight” is to escort Farwil Indarys, the leader of the Knights of the Thorn, and his compatriot Bremman Senyan through a dungeon and ensure their survival. The catch is that Farwil is both suicidal and fragile, charging headlong into every fight like a lemming. No matter how much players try to corral or heal him, odds are he will die repeatedly, forcing them to reload ad infinitum.

The rewards for keeping Farwil alive aren’t worth the save-scumming the task likely entailed. Knights of the Thorn membership, a place to sleep, a medallion, and a leveled weapon await players who choose not to sink their blades into Farwil’s back themselves.

Pilgrimages Of The Seven Graces (Morrowind)

Unsuspecting Players Are In For A Ride

For new players, especially, Morrowind’s “Pilgrimages of the Seven Graces” can be a frustrating experience due to the sheer amount of travel involved, along with the requisite danger that accompanies it for low-level characters. While some of the shrine offerings are relatively simple affairs, others aren’t so clear-cut and can lead to some head-scratching.

A prime example is the Shrine of Courtesy, the solution of which involves nearly drowning oneself. The Shrine of Pride will take one of each type of soul gem in a player’s inventory, even though only one is required to progress, forcing them to drop all but the cheapest to save their hoard. Players better hope they saved somewhat recently to avoid that little (annoying) surprise!

No Stone Unturned (Skyrim)

A Lot Of Hunting For Little Reward

Skyrim’s “No Stone Unturned” is a perfect example of delayed gratification gone sadly wrong. During their travels, players will inevitably come across an Unusual Gem, which snowballs into a quest to collect all twenty-four Stones of Barenziah (that are spread across the furthest reaches of Skyrim). Many are locked behind lengthy questlines, deep within dungeons, or in obscure locations that a player might miss altogether.

The kicker is that the gems themselves are unmarked, so unless players are actively using a guide, they stand a fair chance of going unnoticed. Nothing quite matches the frustrating gut punch of realizing that a stone was overlooked in a previously visited location. Or worse, bugged beyond repair. The ultimate reward, the Crown of Barenziah, provides a passive bonus to gem-finding, a boon so comically niche that it’s hard not to laugh, considering how easy it is to amass large sums of gold already in the land of the Nords.