Elder Scrolls
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Elder Scrolls

Valtheim Towers are located east of Whiterun. The location consists of two towers connected by a bridge at the top of the first tower, which leads across the river to the base of the second tower. Seven bandits and a bandit chief can be encountered here.

Interactions[]

First visit[]

When passing on the road for the first time, a leveled bandit, such as a Bandit Marauder or a Bandit Highwayman, will demand a toll of 200 Gold. If the Dragonborn passes a Speech check, the amount can be brought down to 50 Gold. Interestingly, passing through on a horse allows one to avoid paying the toll altogether, since dialogue cannot be initiated while riding a mount. Paying the toll or using Persuasion to pass the toll renders all of the bandits non-hostile, allowing safe exploration of the towers without conflict, and a chance to stealth kill the bandit chief without alerting the rest. It will also mark the location as being cleared. After passing the toll, the Dragonborn may freely take any items within the towers.

Treasure hunting[]

The treasure chest from Treasure Map II is found near here. Before one can get the treasure, one must have the map. To find the chest, go to the towers and head east by the side of the river. Upon nearing the waterfall, there will be a small cut into the path with the chest inside it.

Tips and notes[]

A chest is rigged to drop a spiked ball in the first tower. Open it, then jump to the left to avoid being hit, or unlock the trigger mechanism next to the chest to stop the mace from falling.

One must practice caution when on a horse; if the bandits become hostile, there is a high possibility that horse will attempt to climb the towers in order to fight the bandits. This may lead to the horse accidentally falling off and dying.

There are two corundum ore veins along the left of the path outside the second tower, one iron ore vein located just outside the second tower, and, with Hearthfire installed, two clay deposits: one under the bridge on the opposite side of the river, and the second a little upstream on the same side. There is a random leveled bow in the lookout's post of the northern tower.

There is a lower grass section beside Guldun Rock that the Dragonborn can use to take out the lookout on the lower tower without danger of detection. The bandit can be killed stealthily by sneaking in the rocky edges on the left side of the lower grass section, while using a bow or crossbow, if Dawnguard is installed.

Notable items[]

Trivia[]

  • If the Dragonborn goes to this location after recently paying the toll, the bandits will not be hostile, with the exception of one inside the north tower. Approaching him within a certain proximity will cause him to draw his weapon and give a warning to "back off." If the Dragonborn does not heed this warning and maintains position, the bandit will attack, along with any surrounding bandits that become aware of the skirmish.
    • This is a great way to complete an objective for killing the Bandit Chief here without committing an assault/murder.
  • When shown as a quest target in the journal, it will be labeled as "Valtheim Keep," implying that the location was once a fort.
  • In one of the towers there is a small sectioned off area with a stool, a bucket, and a healing potion. This is likely a restroom for the bandits and Bethesda humorously included the potion for bandits who hurt themselves while using the toilet.

Bugs[]

This section contains bugs related to Valtheim Towers. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:

  1. Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening.
  2. If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template  360  /  XB1  ,  PS3  /  PS4  ,  PC  /  MAC  ,  NX  /  PS5  ,  XS  , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on.
  3. Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.
  • If one chooses to intimidate the bandit that approaches for the toll, the game will remove 200Gold from one's inventory (as if one had chosen to pay the toll), despite the dialogue showing that the intimidation attempt was successful. The gold is not added to the Bandit's inventory, so it cannot be retrieved by killing them.
  • If the Dragonborn has completed the quest for Amren's Sword at the towers before receiving The Companions quest "Trouble in Skyrim," returning prior to the bandits respawning will glitch the game and the player will be unable to complete the questline for the Companions.
  • If a bounty letter for this location has not been acquired from Proventus Avenicci, the Steward of Whiterun, before retrieving Amren's Sword from the Towers, the Bounty quest becomes impossible to complete.

Appearances[]

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