The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Hints

Alftand Cathedral

  • 1 of 6: Turn right and step carefully around the pressure plates, then kill the falmer who's near the next set of golden doors.
  • 2 of 6: Past those doors, go up some stairs and kill a couple more falmer, then find a way to open the gate that's directly ahead.
  • 3 of 6: Go up the stairs past the gate to get a huge and powerful dwarven centurion to activate. Instead of trying to fight it, sprint up the ramp and open the gate.
  • 4 of 6: Go through the gate and either close it behind you to keep the centurion from following you, or leave it open and sneak around in an effort to get the two nearby thieves to attack the centurion.
  • 5 of 6: Or activate the large dwarven mechanism that's past the gate as soon as you go through it, then go down the stairs after they lower. You can hide down there while the thieves fight the centurion, or you can use the door to enter Blackreach without waiting.
  • 6 of 6: NOTE: If you go to the trouble of killing the centurion, you can loot its body to get a key to the gate that's at the back of the room. Past it is a lift you can use to get back outside, where you can use a lever on the wall to open up a gate to allow quick access to and from the cathedral area. There are a couple of other quick exits coming up soon that will do just as well, though.