Watch out for snow bears, ice wolves, and snowy sabre cats on the way to Saarthal. They can be hard to spot, especially if it is snowing heavily. Do note that Saarthal’s dungeon entrance will be locked if you have not gone through the “Under Saarthal” quest. The entrance cannot be picked, and the only way to enter it is when Tolfdir opens it up to you as the quest progresses.
Make sure you have a few torches or the Candlelight spell ready before descending into Saarthal. The dungeon will be somewhat dark, and these sources of light will help you find the items that you need to get through the dungeon.
Look carefully at all the objects, and make sure to pick up the rings before picking up the amulet. These enchanted rings are not essential to finishing the quest, but they will give you a bonus to health when equipped or can be sold for a tidy sum if you do not need them. If you pick up the amulet before the rings though, the quest markers for those rings will disappear, making them much harder to find considering their small size and relative darkness of the dungeon.
Equipping the Saarthal amulet will reduce the costs of all your spells by 3%. You cannot disenchant this effect from the spell, but it can help reduce casting costs when stacked with the Diadem of the Savant (less 5%) and the Archmage’s Robes (less 15%)[2] X Research source
Any spell or shout will work on the ripple, including the basic “Flames” spell that you start out with.
Take note of the four animal symbols etched into the wall prior to reaching the rotating puzzles. You should see a snake on the first symbol to your left, a whale on the first symbol to your right, another whale on the second symbol to your left and an eagle on the second symbol to your right. Save your game before rotating any of the pillars. This will make it easier to rotate them in order without wasting too much time. Approach the left pillar nearest the locked gate and mentally note this pillar as “one. ” Rotating “pillar one” will also rotate all the other pillars in the room. Turn it so that it reveals a fish. Go back to your starting position and reorient yourself. Now approach the closest pillar to your left. Mentally note this pillar as “two. ” Rotating this pillar also rotates the two other pillars on your right. Turn it so that it reveals a snake. Reorient yourself. Approach the right pillar nearest the locked gate. Mentally note this pillar as “three. ” Rotating this pillar will cause the other right pillar to rotate. Rotate “pillar three” so that it shows the eagle. Reorient yourself once more. The pillar to your immediate right will rotate no other pillar. Mentally note this pillar as “four” and rotate it to show the whale. If you have done this correctly, pulling the lever should open the way forward. If it didn’t work, reload your earlier save and start from the top.
Jyrik Gauldurson will cast an elemental shield that rotates every now and then. Take note of whatever element cloaks him—fire, ice, or lightning—and avoid casting spells of that element until he switches elemental shields. Be sure to loot Jyrik Gauldurson’s corpse to pick up the Gauldur Amulet Fragment as well as the Writ of Sealing. Reading the latter will open up the “Forbidden Legend” quest if you haven’t started it already. Make sure to pick up the Staff of Jyrik Gauldurson as well. It is located on the table in front of Jyrik Gauldurson’s throne and is useful for inflicting damage while simultaneously damaging the target’s Magicka. [5] X Research source
