While many dedicated fans would vehemently disagree with the assertion that Skyrim is the best out of all the Elder Scrolls games, even they’d agree that it has been the most influential of them all. Released a little more than seven years ago, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim was the first TES game that truly showed us the scope of what all could be done in a modern RPG if we had the technology to back it up.
It was also one of the first of many truly open-world games we have been bombarded with since its release, and even though similar concepts had existed before, Skyrim was probably the first game that let you do anything you set your eyes on. Don’t want to do the main quest (which was quite boring anyway)? You don't have to. You can climb that mountain at the distance, spend all of your time buying a house and gardening, take sides in a civil war and change the political landscape, a guild and become its leader, or anything else you set your eyes on.
The biggest strength of Skyrim, and the reason it’s still one of the most played RPGs, is exploration. You never knew what you would find on one of your distracted walks around the vast world, which often included powerful, undefeatable foes.
In the spirit of revisiting the best-kept secrets from one of our favourite games of all times, here are the 15 Hidden Bosses Players Need To Find In Skyrim (And 5 That Aren’t Worth It).
Not Worth It: Anise
If you walk about in the region immediately south-west of Riverwood, you may encounter an old woman just sitting outside her house. You can make banter with her and just try to get to know her and leave, and nothing will happen. If you venture into the house, though, you’d find an Arcane Enchanter and other things related to witchcraft, proving that Anise is secretly a witch. Go out of the house, and she’ll attack, as she doesn’t want anyone finding her secret.
She’s not very difficult to fight, and having to attack an old woman actually makes us feel bad about the whole situation. She does have a few spells up her sleeves, but unless you find her immediately after launching the game for the first time, it shouldn’t be a problem at all.
Need To Find: Zahkriisos
In the lore of Skyrim, Dragon Priests were once powerful rulers of the land, largely due to the power wielded by their dragon masters. Even though times and political landscape changed overtime, they remain some of the most overpowered enemies you’d encounter in the game. Zahkriisos (who is only available with the Dragonborn DLC) is no exception, though he isn’t as accessible as others, and would require some finding to get to him.
His level is capped to 60, making him the only leveled Dragon Priest around. That may help if you seek him out after that point, though he’s still quite a difficult foe to finish due to his powerful kit. To fight him, find the quest called "The Final Descent", and head to the last area in Bloodskal Barrow via Raven Rock Mine.
Need To Find: The Reaper
One of the biggest reasons Skyrim still remains relevant and widely-played is all of the DLCs that came after it, even though Bethesda itself has been in news for all of the wrong reasons recently. The Reaper is a hidden enemy available through Skyrim’s first DLC Dawnguard, and – true to his name – he remains one of the most powerful enemies you’d be fighting in the game.
We don’t really know where he comes from or exactly who he is, but because of the Daedric Heart he drops once you do defeat him, fans have speculated that he may be Daedric in origin. To find him, you’ll have to enter a plane of Oblivion through a portal in Castle Volkihar, and find the area called Reaper’s Lair.
Need To Find: Uderfrykte
For the fans of the earlier games, you might that creatures with names starting with Uderfrykte also show up in previous iterations, and this one can be seen as a throwback to those.
With a name made up for words from Norway for "beast" and "fear," Uderfrykte is a powerful troll (much like his previous versions) you may have a hard time beating if you don’t level up enough before encountering him. He differs from other trolls with his green, shining eyes and dark green hair, instead of the usual black. To find him, you’ll have to trigger the Dark Brotherhood quest called "The Cure for Madness", head to Dawnstar sanctuary, and find his ice cave.
Not Worth It: Velehk Sain
Also known as the "Pirate King of the Abecean," Velehk Sain is a Dremora pirate trapped in the Midden Dark, a dungeon below the College of Winterhold. Velehk -- along with his crew -- is said to be a frightening foe in Skyrim lore, but he is now trapped due to an experiment gone wrong involving some students. He is also not really a pain to get rid of, as long as you find him at the right level.
To go to him, find the dungeon and trigger the quest called "Forgotten Names". At some point in the quest, you’ll be tasked with summoning him back to the dungeon, and you can choose to either free him or fight him depending on how you're feeling that day.
Need To Find: Yngol's Shade
One of the best parts of Skyrim is its ridiculously detailed and spread out lore. There is so much that gamers are still finding previously undiscovered parts of it even after seven years of its release. One of the most interesting parts of it is the historic period called The Return, when Men came back to resettle Tamriel after the previous events.
Yngol was the son of the legendary leader of that army – Ysgramor – and his ghost still remains as one of the hardest enemies you’ll encounter in the game. Known as Yngol’s Shade (basically Yngol’s ghost), this Draugr is especially difficult because he’s always many levels higher than you are whenever you encounter him. You can find him at Yngol Barrow, an ice tomb located north-east of Windhelm.
Need To Find: Taron Dreth
Taron Dreth is a Dunmer (also known as Dark Elves) mage who can be randomly encountered at many locations in Skyrim. While mages could be easy to fight depending on the level you’re at and the mage you’re fighting, the encounter with Taron Derth can be difficult, as he attacks with a group of three mercenaries.
While it’s not confirmed in the Skyrim lore, Taron Derth is supposedly the author of the book The Aetherium Wars, and you could hear Katria – an NPC central to the quest "Lost to the Ages" – accuse him of plagiarizing her research during the quest. Once you complete the quest, Taron Derth can be found on the road pretty much anywhere in Skyrim, though players have also reported encountering him at the Silver-Blood Inn in Markarth.
Need To Find: Arondil
Just like the real world, the world of Skyrim also consists of mad geniuses carrying out questionable experiments on innocent civilians. One of them is Arondil, an Altmeric necromancer, Ice Mage, Conjurer, and an all-around creepy guy obsessed with reanimating the deceased, especially women. He used to operate with impunity in Dawnstar at some point in the lore’s history, but as the villagers found out about his experiments, he was promptly exiled.
To encounter him, you’ll have to take a boat and head to an island east of Dawnstar once you trigger the quest called "Toying with the Dead". After that, head to the ice cave of Yngvild, where he has taken refuge since the banishment, with his own army of zombie bodyguards.
Need To Find: Bashnag
Spellswords are a special class of mages in the game who may be particularly difficult to deal with, as they wield weapons along with their own specific brand of magic. They featured in earlier games, too, and the difficulty of the fight depends on when you encounter them in the game.
However, that’s not true for their leader, Bashnag, who would always be a difficult foe to defeat no matter when you fight him, due to his advanced Frost and Shock attacks. He also summons multiple Frost Atronachs during the fight, so be prepared before taking this one on. Bashnag, along with his rest of Spellsword followers, can be found in Southfringe Sanctum, a cave found southeast of Helgen.
Not Worth It: Drelas
Drelas is a Dunmer necromancer who could be found working on his Arcane Enchanter in his house in the northern part of the Hold of Whiterun. If you find him hunched over, which you will if you visit during the day, you can easily finish him off with a few sneak attacks and be on your way, though he doesn't pose much of a problem if you make him aware of your presence and duel him either.
While he does have some useful spells to make it difficult for you (like healing), you can easily stop him from doing that by taking him down quickly. You can seek him out if you’re really bored and want to pick a fight.
