How to Find the Staff of Magnus in Skyrim

Last Updated: November 5, 2016

The Staff of Magnus is an in-game quest item in the gaming world of Skyrim. It is a prerequisite item you need to acquire before you can complete the quest with the same name—one of the main missions available in the Winterhold storyline. The Staff of Magnus is hidden inside an old ruin in Skyrim, and finding it is actually pretty simple.

Steps

1
Start the “Staff of Magnus” quest. After defending Winterhold in the “Containment” quest, you will need to talk to a female master wizard named Mirabelle Ervine inside the college. She will then tell you that you need to find the Staff of Magnus in order to stop Ancano from destroying the city.
- She will also tell you that the staff can be found in a ruined city called Labyrinthian somewhere in Skyrim.
2
Go to Labyrinthian. Head to the city of Morthal and take the road that lies south of it. Travel east on this road and keep on walking along this course until the path splits in two.
- Take the path on the right that leads to the south. Stick on this small road, and you’ll be able to come across the entrance to the Labyrinthian, an ancient city in ruins.
3
Kill the dragon priest. Enter Labyrinthian through the biggest door you’ll see among the ruins and make your way to its third level, called the Labyrinthian Tribune. Inside this chamber you’ll find a dragon priest called Morokei that’s wielding a weapon called the Staff of Magnus.
- Range weapons like bow and arrows, and magic spells are very effective against Morokei. Close combat attacks using swords or axes can damage the priest too but will not be as effective. Also, avoid the shock spells that he’ll cast at you as these will deal severe damage on you.
4
Retrieve the staff. Dragon priests will turn into ashes when killed. Once Morokei is defeated, approach and search Morokei’s ashes to retrieve the Staff of Magnus.
5
Return to Winterhold. After killing Morokei, take the hallway on the left side of the Labyrinthian Tribune and keep following it until you reach its end. There you’ll find a door that leads back to the outside world. Exit through this door and head back to Winterhold taking the northeastern road from where you are.
- You can then choose to go back to Winterhold and speak to Mirabelle to complete the quest, or go someplace else and just finish it later.