Why do you have to retrieve Auriel's Bow? : V

» Thu Jun 04, 2015 12:28 am

Why do you have to retrieve Auriel's Bow in the Dawnguard DLC?

Quote from the Elder Scrolls Wikia: "The Bow was the key to the success of the Volkihar Clan's plan to fulfill the Tyranny of the Sun prophecy, although the Bow was used to kill the Clan's leader Lord Harkon before it could be fulfilled by the Volkihar Clan."

Isn't it quite risky to retrieve the bow and try to kill Harkon with it? If he actually got the bow and sacrificed Serana, the prophecy would've been fulfilled. So why help him by bringing him Auriel's Bow?

Or is the weapon actually required to kill Harkon?

I don't think so, because

- normal weapons deal damage to him

- when he activates his ward, surely he'll run out of magicka sooner or later.

So, is retrieving the bow just a waste of time?

» Thu Jun 04, 2015 2:48 am

Shouldn't this be in the spoilers section?

Anyway, here is what I think:

Spoiler

I think the idea is to retrieve it before Harkon can get his hands on it and use it to do cataclysmic things. The developers also likely thought it would be some kind of super-weapon against vampires, especially with the sun-arrows and all. I personally prefer to use my own weaponry in the fight, so the bow itself is not needed for me in the way the developers seem to have thought.

But really, it would be smarter to retrieve it, then hide it somewhere else with no one but yourself (and especially not Serana) having any idea where it is, and then go attack Harkon, so if you failed and died he would never be able to find it. I don't think it is a waste of time to retrieve it -- but it is stupid to bring the thing to Harkon's lair.

» Thu Jun 04, 2015 2:28 pm

My take on it was that the Dawnguard decided that they should get it to keep it out of the Harkon's hands. Kind of like, "If we have it, he can't." kind of thing

» Thu Jun 04, 2015 11:02 am

I agree that the idea is to keep it out of Harkon's hands. As far as bringing it and Serana to him for the final fight I'm sure there's some video game logic that doesn't work in the real world that explains why that is a good idea. Either that, or the Dragonborn is an egotist that thinks if he can't win then the world might as well go to heck. :tongue:

» Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:36 am

Maybe even destroy it instead of hiding it? That would be a more interesting branch to the quest line, if you ask me.

Like you said, FlojoRojo, I prefer to use my own weapons in the final fight against Harkon.

Interestingly, I've read posts in which players have tried the final fight with Harkon both by keeping the bow and by giving it to him. If your PC is strong enough, it doesn't make a difference either way.

» Thu Jun 04, 2015 4:53 am

Thats kinda how i picture the genericborn, they guy has the soul of a dragon, it probably never occurred to him that he would lose.

» Thu Jun 04, 2015 7:35 am

It does seem odd to bring those two ingredients together (a daughter of Coldharbor and Auriel's bow). Prudence would dictate destroying one or the other before going near Harken. Since Serana is not the only daughter of Coldharbor, it seems to make more sense to destroy Auriel's bow. When I have an artifact that absolutely positively has to be destroyed, I take it to Whiterun and drop it in the Sky Forge (stick it in a nearby respawning barrel). :icecream:

» Thu Jun 04, 2015 1:21 pm

Because Bethesda was being kind of lazy and wrote both sides of the quest to mirror each other. Makes no sense for the Dawngard to go after the bow, unless they wanted to destroy it, but even then it is risky. The bow has been lost for ages and finding it just increases the risk that Harkon will get his hands on it. Better just to kill Harkon and be done with it and leave the bow lost to antiquity.