Download Hints

Get quick and convenient access to just the hints you need for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, without staying on our website. Just download a free trial version of our UHS Reader software and a copy of these hints. You will get the same gradual hints you see here -- unlike ordinary cheats or a walkthrough that can spoil your game.

You can also buy the full version of the UHS Reader for Windows or macOS. For just $14.95, you get full access to hints for hundreds of games and 1 year of free updates. You can also search, decode, or print an entire game's worth of hints at once.

Ask the Author

If you have questions about a puzzle that aren't answered anywhere in these hints, you may contact the author.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Hints

How can I open the gate in that room's NW corner?

  • 1 of 12: Look a bit south of the gate for a pedestal with a lever on top of it.
  • 2 of 12: The lever doesn't do anything yet, so look around for other interactive gimmicks.
  • 3 of 12: Near the lever pedestal are three pillars that you can activate to rotate. This must be another "make the right carving face the right way" puzzle.
  • 4 of 12: Each pillar has symbols for a whale, a falcon, and a snake. Look around the chamber for other instances of those same symbols.
  • 5 of 12: Look near the left and right pillars to find two of those symbols on stone braziers right across from them.
  • 6 of 12: Maybe you should rotate each of those pillars so that the side that faces the nearby brazier has the same symbol on it.
  • 7 of 12: Rotate the left (western) pillar until its snake symbol is facing the brazier with the snake symbol on it, then rotate the right (eastern) pillar so that its whale symbol is facing the brazier with the whale symbol on it.
  • 8 of 12: If you try the lever after doing that, you'll find that it still doesn't do anything. Maybe that has something to do with the other (central) pillar.
  • 9 of 12: Look above the two gates at the north end of the room to see that each one of them has an animal symbol over it.
  • 10 of 12: Perhaps the central pillar is used to select which gate to open.
  • 11 of 12: Since the snake symbol is over the gate in the NW corner, rotate the central pillar until its snake design is facing the lever pedestal.
  • 12 of 12: Hit the lever to find that it now opens the NW gate. (If you want to open the other gate to get at some treasure, rotate the central column accordingly.)