Dungeon Lock Outs are several dungeons in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that are not open to the Dragonborn to begin with. Some are heavily based in quests, and so to prevent the Dragonborn from breaking the quest, they need to have them active for the dungeon to be available.
Locked Dungeons[]
| List of Dungeon Lock-Outs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Hold/Region | Required Quest | Dungeon Type | Clearable | Respawn Time | Notes |
| Aetherium Forge DG | The Rift | Lost to the Ages DG | Dwemer Ruin | No | Never | The exterior Ruins of Bthalft location is accessible, but the Dwemer mechanism cannot be used until the Dragonborn acquires all 4 Aetherium Shards. The dungeon itself can be entered once the Aetherium Crest is retrieved. |
| Ashfallow Citadel DR | Solstheim | Served Cold DR | Fort Ruin | Yes | Never | The exterior and interior are accessible, but a wall will block access to the second room. |
| Avanchnzel | The Rift | Unfathomable Depths | Dwemer Ruin | No | Never | The opening in the cliff into the ruin is blocked by rubble. |
| Blackreach | Winterhold | Discerning the Transmundane | Dwemer Ruin | No | 10 Days | The Attunement Sphere is obtained when the quest is started (see note below). |
| Brinewater Grotto | Haafingar | Scoundrel's Folly | Cave | No | 10 Days | The dungeon is accessible, but only the lower waterlogged sections can be explored. |
| Bthardamz | The Reach | The Only Cure | Dwemer Ruin | No | Never | The passageway that leads into the ruins is blocked by overgrown plants, but the small outside area can be explored. The exit door may be reachable using console commands (see below). |
| Darkfall Cave DG | The Reach | Touching the Sky DG | Cave | No | 10 Days | The cave is accessible, but access to all subsections is unavailable. |
| Dimhollow Crypt DG | The Pale | Awakening DG | Cave | Yes | Never | The first chamber is accessible, but the rest of the dungeon is blocked by rubble. |
| Dustman's Cairn | Whiterun Hold | Proving Honor | Nordic Tomb | Yes | Never | The dungeon can be accessed through the entry door, but only the small section that includes the exit pathway can be explored. |
| Fellglow Keep | Whiterun Hold | Hitting the Books | Fort Ruin | Yes | 10–30 Days | The dungeon is accessible, but access to the Ritual Chamber room is blocked by rubble. |
| Forebears' Holdout DG | Hjaalmarch | Prophet DG | Cave | No | Never | The entrance is blocked until the quest is started. |
| Forelhost | The Rift | Siege on the Dragon Cult | Nordic Tomb | Yes | 10–30 Days | The outer area is accessible, but the iron door will be locked until the quest is started. |
| Giant's Grove | The Rift | The Cursed Tribe | Grove | Yes | 10–30 Days | The section of Fallowstone Cave that leads to the Grove is blocked by rubble: this makes the cave "clearable" as the giants involved in the quest do not exist without being on the quest. |
| Gyldenhul Barrow DR | Solstheim | Deathbrand DR | Nordic Tomb | Yes | Never | The small foyer of this ruin is accessible, but the remainder of the area is locked off unless the quest has been started. |
| Highpoint Tower DR | Solstheim | Old Friends DR | Fort Ruin | Yes | Never | The exterior area is accessible, but the entrance door is blocked by ash and rubble. |
| Hillgrund's Tomb | Whiterun Hold | Ancestral Worship | Nordic Tomb | Yes | Never | The outer area is accessible, but the iron door will be locked until the quest is started. |
| Ilinalta's Deep | Falkreath Hold | The Black Star | Fort Ruin | Yes | 10–30 Days | The dungeon is accessible, but access to the Ilinalta's Deluge section is blocked by a fallen boulder. |
| Irkngthand | The Pale | Blindsighted | Dwemer Ruin | No | Never | The door is on a balcony that can be reached by falling down the mountain from the other side, but it is locked and requires an unobtainable key. Only the courtyard and outdoor sublocations are accessible. |
| Japhet's Folly | Winterhold | Rise in the East | Settlement | No | Never | The area is self-contained, and is only accessible when the East Empire Company sets sail and attacks the Blood Horkers stationed there. |
| Kagrumez DR | Solstheim | The Kagrumez Gauntlet DR | Dwemer Ruin | Yes | Never | The outside areas and the first chamber are accessible, but the Dragonborn will need to collect enough Kagrumez Resonance Gems to proceed through the dungeon. |
| Kilkreath Ruins | Haafingar | The Break of Dawn | Nordic Tomb | No | Never | The door is visibly blocked by rocks and rubble when passing by the ruins. It will remain that way until Meridia's Beacon is returned and Meridia is spoken to. |
| Knifepoint Mine | Falkreath Hold | Boethiah's Calling | Campsite | Yes | 10 Days | The section of the mine with the Champion of Boethiah is cut off by a cave-in: this makes the Knifepoint Ridge location "clearable" as the characters involved in the quest do not exist without being on the quest. |
| Kolbjorn Barrow DR | Solstheim | Unearthed DR | Nordic Tomb | Yes | Never | The whole dungeon is inaccessible from the start, but gradually expands during the course of the quest. |
| Korvanjund | The Pale | The Jagged Crown | Nordic Tomb | No | Never | The dungeon is accessible, but only the very small foyer area at the start can be seen. |
| Labyrinthian | Hjaalmarch | The Staff of Magnus | Nordic Tomb | Yes | Never | The item required to enter the ruin is obtained when the quest is started. Only the outer ruins and other sublocations are accessible. |
| Mzulft | Eastmarch | Revealing the Unseen | Dwemer Ruin | Yes | Never | This ruin is accessible, but only a very small foyer is visible, as the door into the main ruin is locked: the key for this door is found on a body which spawns when the quest is active (see below for workaround). |
| Nchardak DR | Solstheim | The Path of Knowledge DR | Dwemer Ruin | Yes | Never | The outside area is accessible, but the entrance mechanism cannot be used until Neloth gives the Dragonborn the Control Cube. |
| Nightcaller Temple | The Pale | Waking Nightmare | Fort Ruin | No | Never | The first chamber is accessible, but the rest of the dungeon is blocked by an unremovable concrete barrier. |
| Nightingale Hall | The Rift | Trinity Restored | Cave | No | Never | The outer area is accessible, but the entrance door is blocked by rubble. |
| Reachcliff Cave | The Reach | The Taste of Death | Cave | Yes | Never | The dungeon is accessible, but the concealed tunnel will be blocked. |
| Reachwater Rock | The Reach | Forbidden Legend | Cave | Yes | Never | The dungeon is accessible, but the keyholes cannot be activated until the Dragonborn acquires the required Dragon Claws. |
| Rebel's Cairn | The Reach | The Legend of Red Eagle | Cave | Yes | 10–30 Days | The dungeon is accessible, but the stone door cannot be opened until the Dragonborn acquires Red Eagle's Fury. |
| Ruunvald Excavation DG | The Rift | Bolstering the Ranks DG | Cave | No | Never | The exterior is accessible, but the entrance door will be locked and require an unobtainable key until the quest is started. In addition, its map marker will not appear until then. |
| Saarthal | Winterhold | Under Saarthal | Nordic Tomb | Yes | Never | The outer area is accessible, but the door will remain locked until the Dragonborn meets Tolfdir outside. |
| Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon | The Pale | Pieces of the Past | Daedric Shrine | No | 10 Days | The altar area is accessible, but the door will be locked and require a key that spawns on two Dremora when the quest is completed. |
| Skuldafn | Eastmarch | The World-Eater's Eyrie | Nordic Tomb | Yes | N/A | This dungeon is only accessible after Odahviing is summoned during The Fallen, and cannot be visited any other time. |
| Snow Veil Sanctum | Winterhold | Speaking With Silence | Nordic Tomb | No | Never | If the exit at the dungeon catacombs end is found in the wilderness, it leads to a small foyer with an unopenable gate. |
| Temple of Miraak DR | Solstheim | The Temple of Miraak DR | Temple | Yes | Never | The exterior areas are accessible, but an unopenable gate will block entry to the dungeon until the Dragonborn speaks to Frea. |
| The Katariah | Haafingar | Hail Sithis! | Ship | Yes | Never | The ship does not appear until the quest is started. |
| Twilight Sepulcher | Falkreath Hold | Darkness Returns | Nordic Tomb | No | 10 Days | The outer area is accessible, but the dungeon cannot be entered until the quest is started. |
| Ustengrav | Hjaalmarch | The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller | Nordic Tomb | No | Never | The first main chamber is accessible, but the rest of the dungeon is blocked. |
| Vahlok's Tomb DR | Solstheim | Lost Legacy DR | Nordic Tomb | Yes | Never | The Dragonborn must complete a pre-requisite quest (A New Source of Stalhrim) and then speak to Tharstan in Skaal Village. |
| Wolfskull Cave | Haafingar | The Man Who Cried Wolf | Cave | No | 10–30 Days | The dungeon is accessible, but the ritual chamber section is sealed off with ice. |
| Wreck of The Icerunner | Haafingar | Lights Out! | Shipwreck | No | Never | The shipwreck does not appear until the fire at Solitude Lighthouse is extinguished. |
| Ysgramor's Tomb | Winterhold | Glory of the Dead | Nordic Tomb | Yes | Never | The tomb is accessible, but only the small area containing the statue of Ysgramor can be explored. |
Trivia[]
- On PC, it is possible to hit the tilde (~) key and type "tcl" to toggle noclip and move through these barriers or, in the case of doors that must be unlocked by quest characters with keys, click on the door and type "unlock" to unlock the door. From here you can explore the dungeon as normal.
- This defeats the purpose of the wall and will break the quests that pertains to it.
- Several of the locations can be entered from the hidden "exit." Using a collision glitch on consoles will open most areas.
- Some player-made modifications (such as Live Another Life) can spawn the Dragonborn in places that are blocked off (such as Blackreach), nullifying the purpose of the lock outs.
- The Skeleton Key cannot be used to enter the lock outs, as it still counts as a lockpick.
- The interiors of a large majority of these dungeons will never respawn, meaning that the Dragonborn can safely store things inside containers, and they will still be there if the Dragonborn returns. This is not necessarily the case with the exteriors, which tend to respawn within 10-30 in-game days, meaning that containers outside may respawn as well.