While we impatiently wait for The Elder Scrolls VI to come out, it's always nice to revisit Skyrim. Even years after there are still quests and locations that you may have not ever discovered, and sometimes it's just nice to take a different approach to the quests you've already done a million times before.
If you're planning on starting a new adventure, there are a few things that are more fun to do than others, and quests that you should definitely prioritize. From faction quests to the main storyline itself, we've compiled a list of 10 of the best main quests in Skyrim, ranked from good to best.
10 Battle For Windhelm Or Solitude
In general, the quests available for the Imperial Legion or the Stormcloaks aren't that special. You'll usually be attacking a stronghold of the enemy or either defending or attacking a stronghold or city.
There isn't much variety to them, which makes them pretty boring in general. However, by the time you've successfully helped your allies to gain a position of power, you'll be faced with the final battle, either in Windhelm or Solitude. This battle does feel significant, with everything burning around you and total chaos surrounding you and your fellow warriors.
9 The Silver Hand
When it comes to important moments that define you as the Dragonborn, The Silver Hand quest is definitely one of them.
After joining the Companions and doing a few quests for them, you'll be offered the chance to become a werewolf. You need to do this in order to carry on the questline for the faction, but don't worry, you can get rid of it once you reach the end. Still, the ceremony itself is pretty cool and it's a nice plot twist to discover that your warrior friends are actually a band of werewolves in human disguises.
8 Innocence Lost
In Windhelm, you'll have the chance to meet Aventus Aretino performing the Black Sacrament. The boy will mistake you for a Dark Brotherhood assassin and ask you to go and kill Grelod The Kind, the ruthless matriarch of an orphanage in Riften.
This is the first time we get a taste of cold-blooded murder and have to really think about how to kill her without raising alarm in the city. Moreover, what we don't expect next time we go to bed is to wake up in a shack in the middle of nowhere, presented with an offer that's awfully hard to refuse.
7 Dampened Spirits
There's nothing like a good quest centering around trickery, and Dampened Spirits is a great example of it. Maven Black-Briar is unhappy with having a decent competitor to her family's brewery, and sends you on a mission to poison the brewing vats in Honningbrew Meadery with rat poison. When the Commander finally comes in taste the brew, you're in for quite an amusing scene.
Who doesn't like a good secret sabotage story? And let's not forget about the secrets that lie underneath the meadery itself, making for quite a nice surprise.
6 Diplomatic Immunity
Still in the same vein of trickery, one of the quests of the main storyline involves a daring mission that sends you deep into Thalmor territory.
As you infiltrate the enemy's backline and orchestrate a diversion of sorts by either creating some drama or giving a drunk man some more alcohol, you're allowed to sneak further into the embassy and get what you came for. Just as you believe you've made your perfect escape from the embassy, however, things begin to turn a little sour.
5 The Fallen
Another significant moment from the main storyline is undoubtedly the task of capturing a dragon. Given that at this point we've fought a handful, this is a really unexpected turn of events and is a rather well-made sequence.
In The Fallen, you need to trap one of Alduin's servants, Odahviing, in Whiterun and interrogate it to discover where Alduin has fled exactly. The best part about this quest is obviously the fact that we get to ride a dragon for the very first time, a sight that not even Jarl Balgruuf thought he'd ever see in his lifetime.
4 The Staff Of Magnus
Once you've become a member of the College of Winterhold, you'll be sent on a wild hunt for the Staff of Magnus. Some of the best and most challenging dungeons will need to be beaten to get to the staff.
One of them is the Labyrinthian, which, as the name implies, is a massive maze-like dungeon. Inside, two very special enemies will be waiting for you: the Dragon Priest Morokei and the Skeletal Dragon.
Depending on how you play the game, Morokei is likely to be your first Dragon Priest as well, making this a very special quest.
3 The Cure For Madness
Some quests are not necessary flashy, but represent important moments that will come to affect your game later on. One such decision is whether or not you should kill Cicero.
The crazed and utterly devoted member of the Dark Brotherhood betrayed Astrid, and we're sent off to deal with him. When we finally reach Cicero in an old Brotherhood Sanctuary, we're given the option to spare him. If we do, he'll be available as a companion later on, but will go into hiding until the Dark Brotherhood quests have been finished.
2 Elder Knowledge
A great quest tends to take us to exotic locations, to discover truly magnificent things. Therefore, it seems obvious to put Elder Knowledge on this list as high up as this.
The hunt for the Elder Scroll sends you deep into Dwemer ruins and into the depths of Blackreach, one of the best-designed locations in all of Skyrim. You'll fight powerful enemies in this harsh environment, and deal with one of the longest dungeons in the game. However, ultimately it will all be worth it, once you reach the Oculary and claim the Elder Scroll to yourself.
1 To Kill An Empire
The most insane thing you can do in Skyrim is simply to assassinate the Emperor, and while this quest might feel a bit underwhelming due to how it doesn't fully affect the politics and order around Skyrim, it's still one of the biggest moments in your adventures.
Once we make our way past the Emperor's security, we'll be stunned to find that Titus Mede II has been expecting us and that he's fully accepted his fate by now. As a good assassin of the Brotherhood, we'll need to finish the deed, and it won't be without consequences.