Skyrim: Here’s Where To Find Mzulft Key In Revealing the Unseen
Dwemer Ruins in Skyrim are often expansive and large underground complexes that are time-consuming to navigate with lots of traps and enemies, but likewise, they promise rich loot for anybody who dares to explore them. Almost every faction storyline in the game sends you to explore at least one Dwemer Ruin, and College of Winterhold is no exception to that rule. During the quest, Revealing the Unseen, you are sent to Mzulft to uncover the location of Staff of Magnus, and before you can reach Dwarven Oculory, you need to unlock certain doors. But the key to entering through these doors is not in plain sight and requires a significant detour. This is why we’ve decided to bring you a full guide on where to find the Mzulft Key in Revealing the Unseen.
Reaching Mzulft is not difficult, as there is a path through the mountain leading to it
Once you’ve dealt with Savos Aren and he gives you a possible idea of where to find Synod and perhaps even Staff of Magnus, your map marker will point you in the direction of Mzulft, a large and extensive Dwemer ruin situated in the eastern mountains hugging the edge of Eastmarch Hold.
A good place to start is Steamcrag Giant Camp. From there, there’s an easy path leading into the mountains, and you should soon see remnants of Dwemer architecture that signal that you are on the right path.
Entering Mzulft
The first area in Mzulft is simply called “Mzulft.” Although the area is big and will take some time to navigate, it’s a pretty straightforward path from one point to another, with the only side passages being dead ends containing various leveled treasures.
Right after you enter the Ruin, you will find yourself in the small antechamber where Gavros Plinius is dying. Forget about holding a lengthy dialogue with him since he is scripted to die after telling you to find a crystal and another Synod researcher in ruins. Please note that as long as you keep seeing the dead Synod as you travel through the complex, you are on a good path.
The first Mzulft area holds plenty of Dwemer scrap metal, and enemies primarily comprise leveled Dwemer constructs. Traps guard one door, the trap can be lockpicked, and you will find a small quantity of leveled treasure behind it. The straight path through the first area will soon turn from ordered Dwemer ruin into a natural cavern. Here you will encounter various leveled chaurus enemies and take note of several Moonstone veins you can mine. Mzulft Ruin is among the best sources of Moonstone in the game due to the large number of available veins.
Arriving at Mzulft Boilery
Mzulft Boilery is the second area in the Ruin, where you will encounter Falmers and Dwemer constructs. The area is pretty expansive, but just like with the first area, the path is straightforward, and it’s impossible to miss where you need to go. Most “dead-end” passages lead to treasure instead of some alternative route you need to take.
Soon after entering the Boilery, you will pass through the corridor leading you to a fork. Whichever path you choose, you will end up in the same room shortly. You will arrive at a small one that has several gates on the side. Only one gate leads to where you need to go. A leveled lock locks the west gate, and if you’re not a smithing-oriented character, I advise you to ignore both the lock and the treasure since the treasure is mostly comprised of dead Dwemer constructs you can loot for parts.
The east gate is where you need to go. Follow the path until you arrive near the tunnel broken through the wall. The tunnel will lead you into one more natural cavern infested by Falmers and Chaurus.
The path twists west, north, and east, and follow the eastern path through the natural cavern until you return to the area with Dwemer architecture once again. Once there, head west until you reach a room filled with a shallow pool. The right doors to go through that lead to Mzuflt Aedrome are the northwestern doors.
The Key to Mzulft Observatory is in Mzulft Aedrome
Once you reach Mzulft Aedrome, you will have to climb a ramp. At the top of the ramp, the path branches left and right. No matter which path you decide to take, you will find yourself in a large room containing four leveled Falmers. To get the key, follow these steps:
- Eliminate all Falmers in the large room and make sure to loot all of them since one of the Falmers has a focus crystal that you will need to finish the quest.
- Position yourself so that the map marker points straight ahead, now turn around and head through the door in the opposite direction.
- The path in front of you is straightforward and leads to a single small room that contains a chest guarded by a leveled Dwemer automaton. Deal with the automaton and loot the chest. The chest will contain the key to the Mzulft Observatory.
- Once you’ve returned to the large room, follow the map marker until you reach the locked door.
- Behind the door, you will be greeted by a Synod researcher who will guide you through the rest of the path.
For additional help, you can consult the map posted below, the circled marker points to the location where the chest holding the key is.
Solving the Mzulft Puzzle
Synod research will bring you to a room with a large Dwemer construct in the middle of it. Climb the steps until you reach pedestals equipped with buttons and pick up the Frostbite and Flames spell. If you’re not familiar with the Frostbite spell, learn it since it’s crucial to solving the puzzle.
Return to the center of Dwemer Oculory and place the focus crystal where the map marker is pointing. Now you will need to focus the Oculory, and to do that. You will need to use the Frostbite spell. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE ANY OTHER SPELL since it won’t work. The Frostbite spell moves the crystals one step ahead while Flames spell moves them backward. You only need to cast Frostbite three times in order to focus Oculory.
Once you’ve cast Frostbite three times, return to the pedestal and start pressing the buttons until you’ve aligned the circular area on the ceiling with the beams of light. Repeat the same steps three times to align all three ceiling rings with all three beams of light.
Once you’ve done everything right, your quest will update, and Synod researcher will explain that the lit-up area on the wall points in the direction of Labyrinthian, where Staff of Magnus is hidden. Your quest marker will now point to the College of Winterhold, which is under attack by Ancano.
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