I finished the Forbidden Legend quest this weekend, but I have to say I was pretty annoyed at the lack of direction in game on how to gain entrance to Saarthal. I did not come across the quest by way of the college, but rather by finding the book Lost Legends.
I completed the first 2 phases in Folgunthur and Geirmund's Hall and proceeded to Saarthal, only to find a locked door requiring a key. I spent at least 15 minutes searching every barrel and looking for perhaps an additional campsite somewhere with a journal like the first two phases had contained. I read all the journals and writs of sealing previously acquired in the quest to see if I was missing a clue somewhere. There was nothing. I finally had to search online to find that the only way to gain entrance to Saarthal was to enroll in the mages college, which I had no plans to do.
I use online resources to figure out some of the mechanics of the game. I like to make informed decisions on perks and know exactly HOW that +25% is actually going to be calculated or how the displayed damage on a certain weapon actually translates once swing speed is factored in so that I am using the best DPS weapon available to me. But when it comes to completing quests or defeating a difficult foe, I don't like to use walk throughs or guides as I prefer to figure that stuff out for myself. Unfortunately in this case, I was left no choice. There was nothing in game to point me in the direction of the college. If the mages go there frequently as seems to be the indication from the class "field trip", then some sort of a journal or note that you could discover outside Saarthal that would at least be a hint that you should head to the college to gain entrance would seem to make sense.
As I said at the beginning, I completed the quest and all is well. I have absolutely no issue with having to go to the mages college and complete that entrance quest to get into Saarthal. I just found the "dead end" that required outside knowledge to complete the quest simply because it was started from a different source, a bit annoying.
I completed the first 2 phases in Folgunthur and Geirmund's Hall and proceeded to Saarthal, only to find a locked door requiring a key. I spent at least 15 minutes searching every barrel and looking for perhaps an additional campsite somewhere with a journal like the first two phases had contained. I read all the journals and writs of sealing previously acquired in the quest to see if I was missing a clue somewhere. There was nothing. I finally had to search online to find that the only way to gain entrance to Saarthal was to enroll in the mages college, which I had no plans to do.
I use online resources to figure out some of the mechanics of the game. I like to make informed decisions on perks and know exactly HOW that +25% is actually going to be calculated or how the displayed damage on a certain weapon actually translates once swing speed is factored in so that I am using the best DPS weapon available to me. But when it comes to completing quests or defeating a difficult foe, I don't like to use walk throughs or guides as I prefer to figure that stuff out for myself. Unfortunately in this case, I was left no choice. There was nothing in game to point me in the direction of the college. If the mages go there frequently as seems to be the indication from the class "field trip", then some sort of a journal or note that you could discover outside Saarthal that would at least be a hint that you should head to the college to gain entrance would seem to make sense.
As I said at the beginning, I completed the quest and all is well. I have absolutely no issue with having to go to the mages college and complete that entrance quest to get into Saarthal. I just found the "dead end" that required outside knowledge to complete the quest simply because it was started from a different source, a bit annoying.
