How to Defeat Ancano In Skyrim? Complete Boss Guide

When playing Skyrim, you will encounter tons of NPCs, enemies, bosses, and other interesting characters. Plus, you can go down any path you choose to fulfill your RPG needs as well. If you decide to use a mage and go to the College of Winterhold, you’ll have to encounter Ancano – a powerful mage that you must defeat in the Winterhold questline. That is why this guide will show you how to defeat Ancano in Skyrim.

To defeat Ancano in Skyrim, you need to use the Staff of Magnus to close the Eye of Magnus. Once it is closed, Ancano becomes vulnerable and will take damage from your attacks. Use this to your advantage to defeat him once and for all.

While that explains how you can defeat Ancano, you might be confused about where you can get the Staff of Magnus and how to close the Eye of Magnus while fighting him. Worry not because we will show you how to get the required items and more in the next section below. Without further ado, let’s get started and find out how to defeat Ancano in Skyrim.

Finding the Staff of Magnus

Before you decide to battle Ancano and defeat him, you will need to have the Staff of Magnus with you. Other than that, no item will be able to close the Eye, and Ancano will continue to be invulnerable. To find the staff, you need to head over to the Labyrinthian near the city of Morthal. Once you reach the location, you will see that it is an abandoned area filled with enemies.

Clear all the enemies in your path and continue heading inside all the way up to its third level. Once there, you will encounter a mini-boss called Morokei. He is a dragon priest – and a strong one at that. So, be careful during the fight. He will be wielding the staff that you need to kill him and loot his corpse to get the item. If you use ranged weapons such as arrows or magic, they will deal additional damage to him as compared to swords or other melee attacks.

One thing to keep in mind is to be extremely careful of his shock spells since they can stagger you, leaving you vulnerable. I suggest that you use magic or arrows to deal a lot of damage to him.

Time to Fight Ancano

Now that you have retrieved the Staff of Magnus, it is time to defeat the evil Ancano. Before you do that, though, you will notice that Winterhold is consumed by a strong gust of wind. This will make it difficult for you to move and get to where you need to be. To stop this, equip the staff and use its attack out in the open. If done correctly, the wind will stop, and you will be free to move as you wish.

After doing that, find the largest tower which is called Hall of Elements, and interact with Ancano. You will find him casting spells and making the Eye of Magnus even stronger. After a brief cutscene, you will be able to fight him, so be prepared.

To close the Eye of Magnus, equip your staff and point it at the eye. Then, use your attacks on it to decrease its power. You will notice that the eye is becoming smaller and losing its power. Ancano will also hint at this through his dialogs. To avoid taking any unnecessary damage, do not attack Ancano before closing the eye since he will not take any damage.

Once you have successfully closed the Eye of Magnus, you are free to attack Ancano however you want. He will start taking damage from your attacks now. Keep in mind that Ancano might try to open the eye again. If that happens, simply close it again by following the previous step, and you’ll be good to go. As a side note, using any fire spells will deal extra damage.

When you have defeated Ancano, talk to the NPC in the room to continue the quest. If you are having a difficult time sustaining your HP, you can use the Vampiric Drain spell to harm him and heal yourself simultaneously if your character is a vampire.

Looking for more Skyrim content? Check out these guides:

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is available to play on Steam.

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