In The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, players take on the role of the Dragonborn, who is equipped with incredibly powerful Dragon Shout abilities. As players explore Skyrim's open world, they will discover new Dragon Shouts that they can activate using Dragon Souls. Dragon Souls, as one might imagine, are earned by killing dragons, but there is one that players can get without having to fight a dragon.
In the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller quest in Skyrim, players visit the Ustengrav tomb in search of the titular Horn. Upon making their way through Ustengrav, Skyrim players will reach an altar where the Horn is supposed to be, but instead they find a note explaining that that the Horn is no longer located in Ustengrav. The next step in the quest has players leaving Ustengrav, but after completing the quest, they can return to Ustengrav.
Once Skyrim players return to Ustengrav, they can head back to the altar and interact with it again to get a free Dragon Soul. This trick isn't a new discovery, but it's gotten renewed attention thanks to a Reddit post by user Migsestrella. And while this isn't an entirely brand new trick, it seems there are many Skyrim fans who were unaware that this was possible.
With 2021 marking 10 years of Skyrim, it seems there are many fans who are returning to the game after a long absence and many more who are just now discovering it for the first time. This has led to all kinds of old tricks and Easter eggs in the game getting renewed attention, like this free Dragon Soul trick and the invisible chest in Dawnstar that nets Skyrim players a ton of free loot for very little effort.
Skyrim's persistent popularity is a testament to the game's quality, but its staying power likely also has a lot to do with the lack of a new main series Elder Scrolls game this past decade. Bethesda has spent the last 10 years making Fallout games mostly, with sci-fi RPG Starfield set to be the studio's next big release when it launches on November 11, 2022. The Elder Scrolls 6 has already been announced, but it will likely be years before fans actually get to play it.
While Elder Scrolls enthusiasts wait for more news on The Elder Scrolls 6, they can return to the classics like Skyrim and Oblivion to help pass the time. And considering the sheer size of the game worlds, they could very well stumble upon something that they never knew was in the game before.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is out now for PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.