The Staff of Magnus (Skyrim)

Labyrinthian
It is strongly recommended to get some shock-resistant armor before arriving as the boss uses very powerful shock magic and can summon a Storm Atronach. Note, in the Arch-Mage's quarters are a pair of boots with 40% shock resistance next to his bed, there's also a Draught of Resist Shock on the shelves with the alchemical ingredients, and you can make (around) four potions of resist shock yourself with the ingredients found in the room.

Upon arriving at the Labyrinthian, the staircase to the right leads to a large stone door. Opening this door requires the Torc of Labyrinthian obtained from Savos Aren's death. Be cautious when going near, as there may be an Elder and/or Blood dragon hanging around.

Here there are what appears to be a remnant memory of the place. The dragonborn can see the mages of the college all discussing entering the Labyrinthian. One of the mages is a young Savos Aren. Note, on the right side of the foyer inside the entrance, there is a randomly generated spell tome. The known Spell Tomes are: Detect Life, Ironflesh, Telekinesis, Waterbreathing and Equilibrium.

The next room after this initial memory contains a lever opening iron bars. On the other side are several skeletons and a Skeletal Dragon (which does not have a soul to absorb).
 * For an easy way to defeat the skeletons and the dragon, pick them off through the gate while kneeling with a destruction spell. When enough skeletons have been defeated to pass through with out much of a fight, use the unrelenting force shout to attract the dragon. It will approach the gate and try to shout, but it will not pass through the gate. Pick it off with a destruction spell or arrows.
 * If having trouble with this section, pull the lever, but do not go through to doorway. The fence will eventually close; cast a few spells before it does.
 * For Conjurers, the easiest way to finish this fight is to conjure an Atronach, pull the lever, and let it inside without actually going in, until it kills the skeletons. The dragon will only spawn when you enter. It is much easier to kill than regular dragons if you don't get too close to it. This is much easier and you will take no damage and when your conjured follower dies/expires, you can just re-cast another. Even at point blank range, the Skeletal Dragon's Breath does nothing. (However, if there are other attacking creatures, your follower will not kill it when it yields, so you must perform the final blow or it will regain full health.)
 * For Sneak/Archers, you can sneak to the rocks on the left side of the room and hide between stairs and a rock. If you have high skill/perks, you can 1 hit skeletons one by one and takes about 5 hits for the dragon without being detected.
 * Speak to J'zargo (a fellow apprentice mage) at Winterhold. He will give you 10 Flame-Cloak Scrolls (J'zargo's Experiment Quest) that can kill every skeleton and the Skeletal Dragon very easily. (Warning: If you use this, the cloak spell will not only harm the skeletons, but willl also harm you. Using this cloak spell will kill you, since there are so many skeletons)
 * Another easy way to defeat the dragon is to bring as many followers as possible that are unable to die (Such as J'zargo). You will have a bit of trouble getting them all into the cavern. Walk up to the gate then turn back towards the lever so all followers are behind you in the doorway. Simply pull the lever and use Unrelenting Force at them. This will cause every one of them to fly through the doorway and the gate will shut before they can get back to you. This will also nab the attention of all the skeletons in the next room causing them to attack. Naturally your followers will make short work of them. The dragon may not spawn right away so you may have to use some shout to get it to spawn. The dragon should be taken down very quickly as it should now be the only enemy in the room. After every enemy is down simply pull the lever again and continue on with your followers like nothing even happened.

After this room is another vision, describing their encounter with the dragon the first time around. Standing in the hall is an Etched Tablet which reads:

"Hail All - Brave City Bromjunaar Forever These Walls Shall Stand May Enemies See Her Majesty May all Quake to Behold Her"

After the ghostly tableau, walk down the stairs to the double wooden doors to enter the next area.

Labyrinthian Chasm
Walk down the right-hand stairs to enter a room that holds a frozen door and two guardians. A voice speaks to you before entering the room, which drains you of all your magicka, out of the frozen door comes a frost spirit that will attack you. To pass, you must melt the door with Flames. Despite all races starting with this spell, there is a book to teach you it in the same room.

Down the path a little ways is a room guarded by two Draugr Wights or a troll depending on your level. A Door sealed with a Lightning Rune lies behind them. This rune does approximately 100 points of lightning damage, and wards do not protect against any of it. However, an enemy can open the door from the other side and not set off the rune—shoot an arrow against the door and a Draugr will investigate causing the rune to activate, so stand back. You can also cast Fireball on the door which will also cause the rune to activate, so again stand back.

In this room is a spell book for Equilibrium which turns 25 points of life into magicka per second. There is also an Alchemy Lab and an Arcane Enchanter, along with some supplies.

At the bottom lies a river and a door to the next section, the Labyrinthian Thoroughfare.

Labyrinthian Thoroughfare
Bearing to your right, a short distance in you should find four malachite ores in a shallow pool (You may need to kick them around until they become accessible).

Continuing on, there is a vertical shaft with a waterfall, and a grate partway up that you can look down through. If you open the grate, you can fire arrows or spells at the two Draugr at the bottom. When you make your way to the bottom, there is small deep pool containing a gold ore and some malachite ore.

You will eventually come to a room which has grated windows along one side, and a chest at the other end of the room. A troll waits in ambush on the way out. You may stand up at the grates and shoot at some of the skeletons with a ranged attack of choice that are in the next room.

The next room has another spell-power reducing gate, which is opened with a lever. Below the windows you previously looked through is two gold ore veins, although one is placed incorrectly and is inaccessible. The bridge in the middle of the room leads to a small side-cave that is the lair for a few more trolls and a chest.

Through the gate, there is a pathway to the left which takes you above to the battlements of the gateway. There is a chest and a skull up there. Continuing along, three wisps float around a fire and stones. They are non-hostile until you run past them. After defeating the Wispmother, continue to a door which is on fire. Use frost magic on the door, which may summon a Fire Spirit for you to defeat, to be able to continue - there is a Frostbite Tome and Scroll of Ice Spike near the door.

Note: For lower leveled archers, it is possible to lure the wispmother out near the gate. Run back through the gate and close it. The gate will block her spells and you can still shoot her through the bars.

A small room here shows another vision of Savos Aren and his expedition. Ahead, a skeleton and some ghostly apparitions (a Draugr Wight and his pet Spectral Warhound) await you. Look carefully, as the Wight may drop Drainheart Sword or a similar item, as do most of the other spectral foes in this dungeon. Your magicka will be drained as you go through that hallway, so it may be best to wait back and let them come to you, provided you have suitable ranged offensive capabilities.

In the next room, you will find two spectral foes, and a skeletal compatriot below them. In this room note there is a Gold ingot on the shelf, and a soul gem above it. The next door will again drain your magicka, and two spectral foes lie in wait beyond it. Next you will find the door to the Labyrinthian Tribune.

Labyrinthian Tribune
The Tribune is a tomb, with more spectral foes to defeat. Almost immediately you will come across a spell tome of Steadfast Ward. The next hallway contains runes and fireball and ice storm traps. The traps can be deactivated with anything that dislodges the soul gems powering them (e.g., arrows or a Fireball spell), or one can simply run in and take the gem before it fires. Destruction magic can also be used to set off the runes. A strong mage character can use a ward. or you can use the "Become Ethereal" shout and pick up the soul gems one by one.

At the end of the hallway, you find yourself in a tower of sorts. There are some alchemical ingredients in the higher floor, reached by exiting through the door and turning left, along with two chests and a malachite ore in a broken vase. Below the tower, in the pool, is a gold ore and a malachite ore.

At the next intersection, behind a locked (Adept) gate, is an enchanted sword, some potions, and the Ancient Helmet of the Unburned.

To the right, the Word of Power for Slow Time can be found after defeating a Draugr Deathlord. There is also a chest hidden on the right hand side of the room. Another hallway contains a few foes, (A Draugr Scourge, a Draugr Wight and two other foes, which the Dragonborn can draw out of hiding by firing an arrow down the hallway.). In the alcove on the left side of the hallway are two ebony ingots; one more on the right, You are greeted at the far end with another vision of Savos and friends making a pact to stay until death... Seems like Savos chickened out!

At the end stands Morokei, the dragon priest, wielding The Staff of Magnus. To defeat him, you must first kill the enthralled Mages holding him in his bubble. Which, as you'll find out, are two colleagues of Savos Aren sacrificed to hold Morokei here. Then the fight against Morokei begins.

Fighting Morokei
This fight is not recommended for levels 20 and below. He uses wards, shouts, and shock spells, but also has a spell which may convert summons or zombies against you, although he doesn't use it if player character is on lower levels or summoned creatures stay away from him or the creature was summoned using a scroll. If he has a line of sight on you he will not move, so as long as he can not hit you because of cover you can easily shoot him with arrows. As he has very strong magicka, he will be a tough fight up close, and ranged attacks are effective. It is suggested that the player use shock resistant armor as it can be highly effective, especially if your shock resistance is over 80%, as it makes the player nearly invulnerable to his lightning attacks. Most of the Draugr in the cavers leading up to the fight carry draining weapons, including drainspell weapons. If you can loot a drainspell bow off of one of the Draugr before the fight, it will help to reduce Morokei's effectiveness.Another way to kill him is going to the door you came through and shoot him with arrows. He will not go away from the stairs


 * It is actually possible to sneak up on Morokei before he equips the staff. Once you reach Morokei without being spotted, hit him with the mace, if possible push him back into the pool of water using unrelenting force, he can't get out. Keep hitting him until you defeat him.
 * If you are a Warrior class character at level 25+, the easiest way to kill Morokei is to run at him with a two-handed weapon and make sure you have about 3 or 4 potions of both Vigorous Healing and Vigorous Stamina.


 * If you sneak attack the two mages keeping Morokei prisoner, but do not kill them, remaining hidden, they will stop imprisoning Morokei. This may seem like more competition, or danger, but it actually allows the player to attack Morokei without being attacked themselves. Morokei will face the player, but not attack. You can then use any ranged equipment (bows, magic, etc.) to attack Morokei until his death.


 * When entering the room, with a high enough sneak skill it is entirely possible to kill the two wizard thralls with one hit stealth attacks or bow, allowing you to remain hidden. If you do so, Morokei will not be aware of you. If you time it right, it is possible to not only kill him in 1, 2, or 3 hits (depending on weapon and skill), but it is also easy to go through the entire section without getting hit once. To do this, all you have to do is equip the Drainspell Bow, sneak under the bridge, and keep shooting him. This is time consuming, but this method will allow you to completely deplete his life while remaining hidden. (Confirmed) Stealth attacks can easily be performed from the staircase near the entrance to the room. Also, if you do not have any arrows you can go to the area on top and use the Ice Spike spell to kill him. They do a decent amount of damage each time if you use it on both hands at the same time. It is advised to save before attempting, as with all boss fights.


 * If you are a Breton, and/or have the Atronach perk from Alteration, this fight is much easier; Morokei relies entirely on spellcasting, and the magicka gained from his attacks is more than enough to keep your magicka bar full for self healing, as well as any follower you may be using.


 * It is possible to kill Morokei by trapping him in the large dip in the wall to the right of the door and repeatedly hit him with a two handed weapon, a Warhammer does this best. He will not be able to use his magic and can be finished relatively quickly.


 * Upon entry, proceed up the steps where the first enthralled wizard will be. Kill him first, then proceed up to the second wizard, and then kill him. Morokei will now be free, but if you stay at the top, he should just stand there and shoot spells at you. Now, simply use long range attacks to finish him off.

Leaving Labyrinthian
After killing Morokei, search the chamber. There is a chest at the bottom of the pool of water. Note that a slaughterfish is in the pool. There are deathbells near the pool. Behind where the lower of the two mages was standing, there's a staircase to exit and, before the doors, another chest with good loot. You will also find a chest out of sight to the left of the staircase.

Upon leaving, you will see a memory of Savos Aren, despairing about sacrificing his friends to contain Morokei, and says he will seal the place away.

Finally, Estormo, a Thalmor mage, attempts to kill you to retrieve the Staff of Magnus from you for Ancano. Kill Estormo (or hide and sneak past him, if your sneaking is high enough).

Return to the College of Winterhold and talk to Tolfdir.

Bugs

 * When beginning The Staff of Magnus quest, it is possible that the entire faculty of Winterhold will be stuck discussing The Eye of Magnus and it's adverse effects on the college, and you will not be able to complete any other quests until you complete The Staff of Magnus (Thieves' Guild quests are NOT an exception).
 * When entering the Labyrinthian Thoroughfare, the game will crash upon hearing the ominous voice talk to you, after walking past the Novice-locked gate. Dropping all staff (except the Staff of Magnus) from your inventory seems to fix that bug.
 * Solution: The game will crash in same specific places of Labyrinthian Thoroughfare, just run through these places and fight the enemies in another room.
 * The staff may not work on the Eye of Magnus to lower Ancano's shield. No known fix.
 * Solution: Open console, select the door and type 'disable'.
 * Cutscenes including Savos, may not include other characters: "Savos: we should continue" (another character's line is missing) "Savos: agreed we'll all stick together".
 * The ominous voice will sometimes not occur, the visuals will occur, the voice won't. No known fix.
 * Sometimes the scenes involving Savos and his companions will cease working all together for the rest of the dungeon.
 * When fighting the skeletal dragon the subtitles show that the dragon uses the power-word "Yol" for fire, but the actual attack is an ice attack.
 * When crouching at the entrance of with Morokei, there may be a bug where he does not see you if you are hidden and then runs up to you.
 * When you approach the college after defeating Morokei, the mages may be on the bridge, battling another Anomaly, which may fall down the hill, where it won't move and their attacks can't reach it. The quest tells you to speak to one of the mages, however, he cannot be spoken to while in combat. This can be easily fixed by defeating the anomaly yourself.
 * It is possible that you receive two Staff of Magnus when you loot Morokei though this is probably extremely rare
 * It is also possible that you won't even be able to loot the Staff of Magnus at all. Sometimes only the Morokei mask is on Morokei but no Staff of Magnus.
 * After exiting the room with The Eye Of Magnus a dragon may appear, and while fighting, kill Savos (knocking him off grid through the floor).
 * It is entirely possible to skip the battle between Estormo, a Thalmor mage. The game continues as normal and you just saved some time.
 * The Word of Power may not be available when approaching you can hear the chant and the ominous wind but no glowing words.
 * Sometimes if you kill the lower mage containing Morokei, he will glitch out of his bubble and float around the room while the upper mage still is casting the bubble.
 * If you kill one of the mages holding Morokei, the beam he emits will disappear and the other mage will still encase him. If you leave and come back to Morokei, there will be two beams again: one from the mage you left alive and one from the spot you killed the other. When you kill the second mage this time around to engage Morokei, his beam will disappear, but the other one won't. This shouldn't affect gameplay however as Morokei should be free to move after you kill the second mage.
 * When dealing with the mages holding Morokei, I got curious and pickpocketed one. He had nothing useful but when I left he said something along the lines of "I sense a presence." He went looking for me but gave up. He didn't return to holding back Morokei and when I killed the other mage Morokei never attacked me back. This makes for an easy fight, obviously, but it also takes away from the mission's challenge, in my opinion.
 * After killing Estormo, Galmar Stone-Fist, the guy from "The Jagged Crown", can walk right past the player.
 * Before releasing Morokei, it is possible that visually he will be out of the containment field.