Is there a land connection to Haafingar? (Western Skyrim)

ArchMikem

We're able to use a gate from Reaper's March to enter Anequina, it'd be nice if I could use the same kind of path to get to Haafingar. Y'know, for immersion's sake. I'm already doubting it though and I'll have to resort to the Boat method. I refuse to just wayshrine to a new place.

ArchMikem

Anyone?

BlueRaven

I am not at my computer so I can’t show you the world (Tamriel) map, but Western Skyrim does not appear to “touch” any current questing areas.

So right now, I believe, there is no RP-ish way to enter Western Skyrim other then by wayshrine or Navigator.

BlueRaven

Follow up;

I noticed that there is a connection to Western Skyrim (via boat) from Eldenroot, Mournhold, and Wayrest.

I hope this helps!

opaj

Hopefully the Reach will connect Western Skyrim to one of the zones in the northwest.

Taleof2Cities

BlueRaven wrote: »

Follow up;

I noticed that there is a connection to Western Skyrim (via boat) from Eldenroot, Mournhold, and Wayrest.

I hope this helps!

^This.^

Head to the Solitude docks from any alliance capital.

ArchMikem

BlueRaven wrote: »

Follow up;

I noticed that there is a connection to Western Skyrim (via boat) from Eldenroot, Mournhold, and Wayrest.

I hope this helps!

As I suspected only "regular" way to access the region is by Navigator/Boat. Oh well, still works better than wayshrining. Thank you for checking.

Salix_alba

Winterhold and Whiterun and falkreath would need to be made first (falkreath is a dungeon rn) I would much rather have the zone tbh

SeaGtGruff

You can walk into Western Skyrim via Blackreach.

Enter Blackreach: Mzark Cavern from Eastmarch, via the secret passage in the basement of the Grinning Horker tavern.

Then, at the far left of the Blackreach: Mzark Cavern map, go up the steps which are near the place where you can access the lift that takes you to the overlook above Giant's Run Dolmen.

At the top of those steps is a door that goes to Blackreach: Greymoor Caverns.

From there you can go up to Western Skyrim.

So, yes, Western Skyrim can be reached without using a wayshrine or a boat-- although boat is certainly an acceptable method of getting from one zone to another when there's no connecting land route.

ArchMikem

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

You can walk into Western Skyrim via Blackreach.

Enter Blackreach: Mzark Cavern from Eastmarch, via the secret passage in the basement of the Grinning Horker tavern.

Then, at the far left of the Blackreach: Mzark Cavern map, go up the steps which are near the place where you can access the lift that takes you to the overlook above Giant's Run Dolmen.

At the top of those steps is a door that goes to Blackreach: Greymoor Caverns.

From there you can go up to Western Skyrim.

So, yes, Western Skyrim can be reached without using a wayshrine or a boat-- although boat is certainly an acceptable method of getting from one zone to another when there's no connecting land route.

The prologue area is still accessible in the chapter?

SeaGtGruff

Yes, I just completed the Prologue quest, then I went back up to the Grinning Horker to see whether (1) I could still go inside, (2) I could still go into the basement, and (3) I could still go through the secret passage into Blackreach. And since that door in the dwarven ruins goes to the new Greymoor section of Blackreach, it actually provides a nice "RPG immersion friendly" way of reaching Haafingar, since it's reasonable to think that your character-- having discovered that door which leads into a much larger area of Blackreach-- would be interested in exploring the territory on the other side.

Supreme_Atromancer

It makes you wonder which border you've just crossed during the intro cut scene, right?

There was a road in TESV that lead westwards out of Solitude. It seemed to follow the road to Jehanna that you can see on the Arena map. However, in that game, it terminated at a rock wall.

ESO has this road, but any possibility of leading into High Rock was preempted by placing an ancient nordic ruin at the end of that road.

If Q4 does feature The Reach, however, we're likely to have at least one overland route connecting Western Skyrim to the rest of Tamriel - from the Gate at Jackdaw Cove in NE Bangkorai, through The Reach, to Karthold.

A road to Dragonstar would also make sense, but I'm far less confident about that one.

HoyaCarnosa

I noticed a (for me) new symbol on the map of eastmarch, upper right big circle, maybe that has something to do with it? hmmm...i dont know...but yes i was wondering the same, but i did not investigate that.

CMDR_Un1k0rn

ArchMikem wrote: »

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SeaGtGruff wrote: »

You can walk into Western Skyrim via Blackreach.

Enter Blackreach: Mzark Cavern from Eastmarch, via the secret passage in the basement of the Grinning Horker tavern.

Then, at the far left of the Blackreach: Mzark Cavern map, go up the steps which are near the place where you can access the lift that takes you to the overlook above Giant's Run Dolmen.

At the top of those steps is a door that goes to Blackreach: Greymoor Caverns.

From there you can go up to Western Skyrim.

So, yes, Western Skyrim can be reached without using a wayshrine or a boat-- although boat is certainly an acceptable method of getting from one zone to another when there's no connecting land route.

The prologue area is still accessible in the chapter?

Yes. All three are. It's really quite cool.

SeaGtGruff

Yes, that circle on the Eastmarch map can be clicked on to show you the part of Blackreach that's in the Greymoor Prologue, although it has no wayshrines you can travel to, so that might be why people thought the Prologue area is inaccessible after completing the Prologue. But it's still accessible via the Grinning Horker.

And even though there's no icon on either Blackreach map to show where they connect, I was exploring every nook and cranny while playing through the Prologue this morning and found the door that connects them.

When I went back to explore after posting about it in this thread, I noticed at least two other players accessing the Greymoor area of Blackreach via that door, so maybe it was one of those "best kept secrets" that people are always telling their close friends about?

ArchMikem

I feel much better now, that's a really cool way to access a new land by foot.

ProfessorKittyhawk

There is a wagon outside Mournhold that will take you to Western Skyrim. Wish there was a quest giver there to start the quest and, y'know, show you the cinematic where the witches attack and let you play through the tutorial/story beginning to get into the zone proper.

TheShadowScout

Yeah, as has been said, for now we have going there by boat (the most lore-friendly way) and through blackreach, tho that one is better left for later, since discovering the western blackreach caverns is a thing for the story as it unfolds...

As for an overland route... well, as mentioned, right now western skyrim does not touch and other region... but! There are several "locked door" places on the edge of the map, so... it seems likely that eventually, there will be conenctions to other places, and with them, refitted overland access.

ProfessorKittyhawk wrote: »

There is a wagon outside Mournhold that will take you to Western Skyrim. Wish there was a quest giver there to start the quest and, y'know, show you the cinematic where the witches attack and let you play through the tutorial/story beginning to get into the zone proper.

Hey, I have been wishing for that for EVERY expansion for a while now... that they would not let people just wayshrine there, but make an "travel" quest that leads exactly to the tutorial, just not as tutoriel but as chapter intro... sail for vvardenfell, get shipwrecked at firemopth isle, enter a mage portal to summerset, end up in a sload mind trap, take the cart to riverhold, get caught in a dragon attack, traven to western skyrim, get beset by witches and their allies... alas, paths not taken.

SeaGtGruff

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Yeah, as has been said, for now we have going there by boat (the most lore-friendly way) and through blackreach, tho that one is better left for later, since discovering the western blackreach caverns is a thing for the story as it unfolds...

Actually, there's a lift fairly close to the spot where you cross from Eastmarch Blackreach into Greymoor Blackreach, so if you enter Greymoor Blackreach from Eastmarch and take that lift up to the surface instead of continuing to explore Blackreach, you can head west to Solitude to start the zone questline. Then, later on when you get to the point where discovering the Blackreach caverns is supposed to be an important plot point (which I haven't gotten to yet), you can act all surprised-- even though you already know about Blackreach from the Prologue quest, so I assume that any surprise or sense of important discovery must relate to what or who is in Blackreach, rather than the existence of Blackreach.

ProfessorKittyhawk

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Yeah, as has been said, for now we have going there by boat (the most lore-friendly way) and through blackreach, tho that one is better left for later, since discovering the western blackreach caverns is a thing for the story as it unfolds...

As for an overland route... well, as mentioned, right now western skyrim does not touch and other region... but! There are several "locked door" places on the edge of the map, so... it seems likely that eventually, there will be conenctions to other places, and with them, refitted overland access.

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ProfessorKittyhawk wrote: »

There is a wagon outside Mournhold that will take you to Western Skyrim. Wish there was a quest giver there to start the quest and, y'know, show you the cinematic where the witches attack and let you play through the tutorial/story beginning to get into the zone proper.

Hey, I have been wishing for that for EVERY expansion for a while now... that they would not let people just wayshrine there, but make an "travel" quest that leads exactly to the tutorial, just not as tutoriel but as chapter intro... sail for vvardenfell, get shipwrecked at firemopth isle, enter a mage portal to summerset, end up in a sload mind trap, take the cart to riverhold, get caught in a dragon attack, traven to western skyrim, get beset by witches and their allies... alas, paths not taken.

But it would be hilarious that every time a new chapter comes out some new catastrophe happens to our characters. Taken prisoner by the worm culy and killed to wake up in Coldharbour. Taking a nice cruise to Vvardenfell only to get attacked by slavers. Taking a nice ride to Summerset only to get caught in a mind trap by the Sload. Having a nice ride to Elsweyr only to get attacked by a dragon. And then heading to Skyrim only to get waylaid by witches and spookems. We have the worst luck.

DreamsUnderStars

No, there's just an abyss surrounding West Skyrim. You have to travel through Oblivion to get there.

TheShadowScout

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

...even though you already know about Blackreach from the Prologue quest, so I assume that any surprise or sense of important discovery must relate to what or who is in Blackreach, rather than the existence of Blackreach.

More like in a sense of "What, Blackreach extends -THIS FAR- to the west???" - at least, that is what I recall Lyris saying at the time...

ProfessorKittyhawk wrote: »

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TheShadowScout wrote: »

Yeah, as has been said, for now we have going there by boat (the most lore-friendly way) and through blackreach, tho that one is better left for later, since discovering the western blackreach caverns is a thing for the story as it unfolds...

As for an overland route... well, as mentioned, right now western skyrim does not touch and other region... but! There are several "locked door" places on the edge of the map, so... it seems likely that eventually, there will be conenctions to other places, and with them, refitted overland access.

ProfessorKittyhawk wrote: »

There is a wagon outside Mournhold that will take you to Western Skyrim. Wish there was a quest giver there to start the quest and, y'know, show you the cinematic where the witches attack and let you play through the tutorial/story beginning to get into the zone proper.

Hey, I have been wishing for that for EVERY expansion for a while now... that they would not let people just wayshrine there, but make an "travel" quest that leads exactly to the tutorial, just not as tutoriel but as chapter intro... sail for vvardenfell, get shipwrecked at firemopth isle, enter a mage portal to summerset, end up in a sload mind trap, take the cart to riverhold, get caught in a dragon attack, traven to western skyrim, get beset by witches and their allies... alas, paths not taken.

But it would be hilarious that every time a new chapter comes out some new catastrophe happens to our characters. Taken prisoner by the worm culy and killed to wake up in Coldharbour. Taking a nice cruise to Vvardenfell only to get attacked by slavers. Taking a nice ride to Summerset only to get caught in a mind trap by the Sload. Having a nice ride to Elsweyr only to get attacked by a dragon. And then heading to Skyrim only to get waylaid by witches and spookems. We have the worst luck.

YES!
EXACTLY THAT!
After all, its a classic... every main TES game, you start either shipwrecked at some shore, released fron captivity, sprung from some prison cell or interrupted on the way to your execution...

Also, if they made all the new tutorials into a "Chapter Intro", there would not be any more whining of "Aww, why do those people get an extra skill point by playing -two- tutorials!" from those who made their characters before expansions were a thing and only had the coldharbour tutorial to go with... which frankly should be where -everybody- starts to explain the ole respawn (it makes sense for a "vestige from coldharbour", not so much for a shipwreck survivor or mind trap escapee, dragon raid rescuee or witch bait...)

Ah, well. Alas.

SeaGtGruff

TheShadowScout wrote: »

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SeaGtGruff wrote: »

...even though you already know about Blackreach from the Prologue quest, so I assume that any surprise or sense of important discovery must relate to what or who is in Blackreach, rather than the existence of Blackreach.

More like in a sense of "What, Blackreach extends -THIS FAR- to the west???" - at least, that is what I recall Lyris saying at the time...

Yeah, I thought about editing my response to add "or the extent of Blackreach," but decided that if you exit back to the surface at the earliest possible opportunity-- which is close to the Lightless Hollow-- then that possibility is also covered, since that lift brings you up near the easternmost edge of Greymoor's overland map, a pretty good distance from Solitude.

Then you can hurry west to Solitude, skirting any quest givers you might see along the way so you don't accidentally mess up the order of the zone questline. And although I did do the quest for the Lightless Hollow before finding the lift and taking it up to the surface, it didn't look like an important part of the zone questline-- at least, not as far as its quest marker indicated.

That should still work out well when Lyris makes her amazed comment, although in the Greymoor Prologue quest she did say that Blackreach was said to extend beneath all of Skyrim, so she shouldn't be too amazed about the length of its reach.

In any case, traveling by boat or cart is definitely a well-established, lore-friendly way to reach a distant location. It's just nice to know that you can go from Eastmarch to Haafingar on foot if you choose to do so.