Kagrenzel is a Dwemer Ruin located southeast of Mzulft and north of Riften. To reach Kagrenzel, go east up the steep path and follow a long series of stairs just east of Ansilvund. Kagrenzel is near the far east edge of the map, roughly parallel with Stony Creek Cave.

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Layout Edit

Past the entrance is a large dark room dominated by a mysterious glowing orb on a podium. The orb will periodically glow even brighter, lighting up the chamber. Two dead bandits and several urns lie near it.

Activating the orb triggers a circular gate surrounding the area where the dead bandits are. The orb starts revolving around the gate. After a time, the floor under the gate shifts and opens, dropping anything on it down a long shaft, which ends in an underground lake surrounded by several waterfalls. It is important for the Dragonborn to be near the exact center of the circular pedestal where the orb sits; if not, they may get killed on the way down. There is an Expert-locked Dwarven chest at the bottom of the lake, and an invisibility potion nearby. The only way out is through an upward sloping passageway. There is a falmer chest to the right of the entrance to this cave. The passageway leads to a bridge spanning the lake and another cave. In the corner of the bridge, between the rocks on the left there is a chest with an adept lock. There is another falmer chest to the right of the Dwarven gateway leading to Stony Creek Cave.

Quests Edit

This is one of the possible locations Sorine Jurard sends the Dragonborn to recover Dwemer Schematics to improve crossbows.

A noble family in Eastmarch had a valuable stolen. They believe the culprits took it to Kagrenzel, and the Dragonborn is asked by Vilkas to retrieve it.

This is one of the possible locations Urag gro-Shub may send the Dragonborn to recover Shalidor's work.

Enemies Edit

The exterior is usually guarded by frost trolls, regardless of level when visited.

Leveled falmer inhabit the cave at the bottom of the shaft.

Gallery Edit

Trivia Edit

If the orb is activated by the Dragonborn and they are able to avoid the trap and remain in the dark corners of the room, it will reset after two or three minutes. confirmation needed

Inside the cave there are massive skeletal structures bigger even to that of mammoths or dragons. The bone structures even appear in the cave map.

It is possible to enter Kagrenzel via Stony Creek Cave by rock-climbing/jumping along the left side of the intended exit path. However, entering through Stony Creek Cave is not advised, as the Dragonborn will not be granted access to Kagrenzel's main hall.

It is possible to swim through a hole in the rocks at the bottom of the southeast side of the lake. If the Dragonborn swims deep enough, straight down, they will reach an invisible floor and be teleported back up to Kagrenzel's main hall. They will then be able to activate the orb, and fall, or exit, through Kagrenzel's main entrance.

Upon exiting Kagrenzel via the Stony Creek Cave, little blue particles may adhere to the Dragonborn and never vanish. This can be avoided by using the tcl command and hitting the exit from the side.

command and hitting the exit from the side. The fall from Kagrenzel into the lake is the longest non-lethal fall in the game, surpassing even Bard's Leap Summit.

Kagrenzel is high up in the Velothi Mountains, which form the eastern border of Skyrim.

The fall can be lethal if the Dragonborn is not standing where the orb was when the floor opens up, or if they do not redirect themselves during the fall to avoid the edges.

Using Become Ethereal just as the floor opens usually ensures a safe landing.

Using Unrelenting Force to clear the urns and dead bandits from the area before activating the orb may also help assure not landing on anything that will cause injury.

There is an unmarked camp with two hunters on the slopes near Kagrenzel. The Archery skill book Father of the Niben is near one of their tents.

is near one of their tents. If the Dragonborn returns to Kagrenzel immediately after exiting Stony Creek cave, the cage will be retracted, the floor closed, and the orb on the podium.

It is possible to activate the orb and jump out of the circle in time before the cage closes. By doing so, the Dragonborn can watch as the orb spins around the cage, goes inside the center of the floor, and when the floor opens, that it just circles back and resets on its own.

There is a moonstone ore vein on the right just after the rock fall in the tunnel.

After crossing over the stone bridges, in the room with the second Falmer chest, the Dragonborn can climb the rocks by one of the waterfalls. There is a centurion dynamo core fairly hidden in the white water.

One can find a flawless diamond perched up above the second-to-last arch leading towards Stony Creek Cave. It is recommended to use Telekinesis or Unrelenting Force to reach it.

Bugs Edit

This section contains bugs related to Kagrenzel. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following: Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening. If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template 360 / XB1 , PS3 / PS4 , PC / MAC , NX , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on. 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.

PC 360 PS3 There is a rock floating in mid-air, which might kill the Dragonborn while falling. This causes a seemingly confusing death, as the rock is hard to see when falling.

There is a rock floating in mid-air, which might kill the Dragonborn while falling. This causes a seemingly confusing death, as the rock is hard to see when falling. When in the lake, diving to the absolute bottom, the Dragonborn may "surface" at the exit from Kagrenzel.

360 After falling, if the Dragonborn's companions are not with them, they will come running down the passageway a while later even if they were trapped in the caged area with the Dragonborn when the trap is activated.

After falling, if the Dragonborn's companions are not with them, they will come running down the passageway a while later even if they were trapped in the caged area with the Dragonborn when the trap is activated. PS3 If the frost trolls are shouted down the hill with Unrelenting Force outside of Kagrenzel, a message will appear saying "was equipped" and a dead ice wraith will appear under the Dragonborn's feet. To deactivate, wait until the trolls respawn and shout them down again, unequipping the ice wraith. A message will say "was unequipped," but the smoke will remain.

If the frost trolls are shouted down the hill with Unrelenting Force outside of Kagrenzel, a message will appear saying "was equipped" and a dead ice wraith will appear under the Dragonborn's feet. To deactivate, wait until the trolls respawn and shout them down again, unequipping the ice wraith. A message will say "was unequipped," but the smoke will remain. 360 If the Dragonborn used Whirlwind Sprint to get into Kagrenzel, and fell into the water, they might glitch under the map and drop into a random place in Skyrim.

If the Dragonborn used Whirlwind Sprint to get into Kagrenzel, and fell into the water, they might glitch under the map and drop into a random place in Skyrim. PC 360 While exploring the bottom of Kagrenzel's underground lake, there are several corners where one may easily glitch through the rocks and fall outside the playable map. If the Dragonborn drops into the water in the large room and goes near the pillar closest to Stony Creek Cave, they can follow a path underwater and will glitch under the map, dropping into the entrance of Kagrenzel on the inside.

While exploring the bottom of Kagrenzel's underground lake, there are several corners where one may easily glitch through the rocks and fall outside the playable map. PC When using Slow Time during the time the Strange Orb is about to flip the floor, it may lead to events going out of order (such as the gates lower while the floor is flipping when the gates are supposed to rise afterwards).

When using Slow Time during the time the Strange Orb is about to flip the floor, it may lead to events going out of order (such as the gates lower while the floor is flipping when the gates are supposed to rise afterwards). 360 If the Dragonborn entered through Stony Creek's exit into Kagrenzel (above the waterfall at the end of Stony Creek Cave), then went back through where they came. The next quest marker that should lead to Kagrenzel, will instead point to Stony Creek Cave, even though it is not supposed to be the entrance, but rather the exit to Kagrenzel.

If the Dragonborn entered through Stony Creek's exit into Kagrenzel (above the waterfall at the end of Stony Creek Cave), then went back through where they came. The next quest marker that should lead to Kagrenzel, will instead point to Stony Creek Cave, even though it is not supposed to be the entrance, but rather the exit to Kagrenzel. 360 If the Dragonborn finds a way to avoid falling into the lake, the trap will reset. However, the Strange Orb will not re-spawn at the podium, making the trap unusable. To fix this, the Dragonborn must exit and then re-enter Kagrenzel, resetting the trap in the process.