Skyrim Restoring Order: Complete Walkthrough & Rewards Guide (2026)

The Anniversary Edition of Skyrim brought a wave of fresh content to Tamriel, and tucked within the Saints & Seducers Creation Club addition is Restoring Order, one of the most rewarding side quests in the game. This multi-stage questline takes players from Solitude’s bustling streets into dark ritual sites crawling with Daedric enemies, culminating in a boss fight that tests even veteran Dragonborns. The payoff? Unique spell tomes, powerful conjuration magic, and gear that can reshape your build for late-game content.

Whether you’re running a pure mage, a stealth archer with backup summons, or a sword-and-board tank who dabbles in magic, Restoring Order delivers solid loot and a surprisingly deep narrative about Sheogorath’s former champions. This walkthrough covers every step, from triggering the quest to clearing the Root Tunnel puzzle, defeating Thoron, and claiming your rewards. Let’s get into it.

What Is the Restoring Order Quest?

Restoring Order is a Saints & Seducers questline introduced in Skyrim Anniversary Edition (November 2021) and available as a standalone Creation Club mod for Special Edition. It’s the main storyline of the Saints & Seducers content, separate from the shorter bandit camp quests that kick off the DLC.

The quest revolves around investigating strange occurrences tied to Sheogorath’s realm, the Shivering Isles. You’ll track down ritual sites, battle Golden Saints and Dark Seducers (yes, the same Daedra from Oblivion’s Shivering Isles expansion), and eventually confront Thoron, a former champion gone rogue. The narrative threads back to Sheogorath lore in a way that feels like a love letter to longtime Elder Scrolls fans.

How to Start Restoring Order

You’ll automatically receive the quest after completing Balance of Power, the introductory Saints & Seducers quest. Balance of Power starts when you encounter Risaad, a Khajiit merchant, at any major city gate or through a courier who delivers a note about rare bandit camps.

Once you’ve cleared both the Saints and Seducers bandit camps (found via journal notes at each camp), you’ll loot the Sheogorath-Shaped Amber and Sword of Jyggalag schematics, which trigger the next phase. Return to Ri’saad’s caravan or check your journal, Restoring Order will now be active.

If you’ve already completed Balance of Power but Restoring Order hasn’t triggered, check Solitude’s Bits and Pieces shop. Speak to Elgrims Elixirs or check your quest log: sometimes the trigger requires a cell reset (leave Solitude, wait 24 hours, and return).

Quest Requirements and Prerequisites

• DLC Required: Saints & Seducers (Anniversary Edition or Creation Club purchase for Special Edition)
• Level Recommendation: 15+ minimum. Enemies scale, but ritual sites spawn leveled Daedric foes that hit hard even at mid-levels.
• Prerequisite Quest: Balance of Power (clear Saints and Seducers bandit camps)
• No Skill Locks: Unlike some Daedric quests, there’s no skill or faction requirement. Any build can complete Restoring Order, though magic resistance and crowd control help immensely.

One heads-up: if you’re playing on PC with mods, some load order conflicts (especially those affecting Solitude’s sewers or Saints & Seducers assets) can break quest progression. Keep a clean save before starting.

Complete Walkthrough: Finding the Ritual Sites

After starting Restoring Order, your journal directs you to find three ritual sites scattered across Skyrim. Each site is a small, instanced dungeon filled with Daedric enemies and loot. The quest markers are clear, but the sites themselves are in remote locations, bring potions and prepare for back-to-back fights.

Locating the First Ritual Site

The first site is northwest of Morthal, near the swamps. Fast travel to Morthal, then head northwest toward the mountains. You’re looking for a glowing purple rift in the ground, hard to miss once you’re within 100 meters.

Inside, you’ll face Golden Saints (ranged magic users) and Dark Seducers (melee bruisers). Both hit harder than standard bandits. Saints spam lightning and frost bolts: Seducers close distance fast and stagger you with power attacks. Prioritize Saints first if you’re ranged, or use terrain to kite Seducers if you’re melee.

Loot the Ritual Site Key from the pedestal at the back. You’ll also find minor loot (Daedric arrows, soul gems, enchanted gear). Clear the site, and your journal updates with the second location.

Navigating the Second Ritual Site

Ritual Site #2 sits east of Riften, near the base of the Throat of the World’s southern slopes. Fast travel to Riften’s stables, then head east/northeast along the mountain path. The entrance is another purple rift, this time tucked behind some rocks.

This site ramps up difficulty slightly, expect more enemies (4-6 instead of 3-4) and tighter corridors that make AoE spells deadly (both for you and against you). If you’re running a follower, they can bodyblock Seducers while you burn down Saints. If solo, use Paralyze, Ice Storm, or stealth archery to thin the pack before they swarm.

Grab the second ritual key and any loot. The game tracks your progress in the journal.

Conquering the Third Ritual Site

The final ritual site is south of Falkreath, near the border with Cyrodiil. Fast travel to Falkreath, then head south/southwest into the pine forests. Look for the rift marker on your compass, it’s slightly off the main road, behind a tree cluster.

This site has the toughest pre-boss encounter: a mini-boss Golden Saint with boosted health and a frost AOE attack. She’s flanked by two Seducers. Focus fire on the Saint, burn her down with weapon enchantments, power attacks, or Destruction magic. Seducers are easier to kite afterward.

Loot the third ritual key. With all three keys in hand, your journal updates: return to Solitude to access the Root Tunnel beneath the city. This is where collectible hunters should prepare for unique spell tomes.

Defeating the Daedric Enemies

Golden Saints and Dark Seducers are Oblivion-era Daedra making their Skyrim debut. They’re not pushovers, both types have high resistances, decent health pools, and punishing attacks. Understanding their mechanics is key to surviving ritual sites without burning through your entire potion stash.

Enemy Types and Combat Strategies

Golden Saints are caster-types with 50% magic resistance and high Magicka pools. They spam Thunderbolt, Ice Spike, and occasionally Chain Lightning at higher levels. They prefer range and will backpedal if you close distance. Their armor is light, so physical damage shreds them, but you have to get close.

Dark Seducers are melee powerhouses with heavy armor (Daedric-tier defense) and two-handed weapons. They charge aggressively, use power attacks that stagger, and have moderate health regen. Magic works better here than on Saints, especially fire or shock DoT effects.

Both enemy types are immune to Illusion magic (Calm, Fury, etc.) and highly resistant to poison. They can be paralyzed, but resistance checks are tough. Your best crowd control: Unrelenting Force shout, Ice Form, or follower tanking.

Recommended Builds and Gear

For mage builds, prioritize fire or shock Destruction spells. Saints resist frost heavily, so skip Blizzard or Ice Storm. Use Wall of Flames or Chain Lightning to control choke points. Conjuration mages can summon Dremora Lords or Atronachs to split aggro, this trivializes most encounters.

For stealth archers, sneak attacks work on the first enemy, but Saints detect you fast. Bring Paralyze arrows or the Bound Bow for silent kills. Switch to melee or summons once detected: drawn-out bow fights favor the Saints’ ranged DPS.

Melee builds should stack magic resistance (Agent of Mara, Lord Stone, resist enchantments) to survive Saint barrages. Use shield bash to interrupt their casts, then unload power attacks. Against Seducers, dodge their power attacks (timed blocks grant free counterattacks) and abuse reach weapons like greatswords or battleaxes.

Gear checklist:

• Magic Resistance: 50%+ (Lord Stone + enchanted gear)
• Health pool: 300+ at level 20: 400+ at level 30
• Potions: Magicka/Stamina regen, healing, resist magic
• Enchantments: Shock/Fire damage on weapons: resist magic on armor

Followers like Serana, Teldryn Sero, or Frea excel here due to their mixed combat styles and decent AI. Many Xbox players find follower builds more forgiving than pure solo runs.

How to Unlock the Root Tunnel

Once you’ve cleared all three ritual sites, the quest directs you to Solitude’s sewers. The entrance is easy to miss: head to the Bits and Pieces general goods store in Solitude’s market district. There’s a door behind the store (near the city wall) that leads down into the sewers. You’ll need the three ritual keys to proceed.

Solving the Root Tunnel Puzzle

The sewers are a linear dungeon, no branching paths, just a few locked doors. Use the three ritual keys on the ornate door at the far end. The door opens into the Root Tunnel, a pocket dimension that looks like a twisted mashup of Blackreach and the Shivering Isles.

The “puzzle” isn’t complex: follow the glowing roots along the tunnel walls. They lead you through three chambers, each with minor enemies (2-3 Saints or Seducers per room). Clear each room, loot the urns and chests (Daedric weapons and soul gems are common drops), and continue forward.

One chamber has a pressure plate trap that spawns additional enemies, watch your footing. If you’re over-encumbered, drop excess loot: the boss fight ahead doesn’t allow fast travel out.

Navigating to the Solitude Sewers

If you’re having trouble finding the sewer entrance, here’s the exact route:

1. Fast travel to Solitude’s main gate.
2. Enter the city, head straight to the market square (where Bits and Pieces is located).
3. Go behind Bits and Pieces toward the city wall.
4. Look for a wooden door labeled Solitude Sewers, it’s on the eastern side of the market district, near Proudspire Manor.

The sewers themselves are short, 5 minutes of walking, one locked door (use the ritual keys), then you’re in the Root Tunnel. Save before entering the final chamber. According to Game Rant’s coverage of Anniversary Edition content, this is where most players hit bugs if their load order conflicts with sewer edits.

Final Boss Fight: Defeating Thoron

At the end of the Root Tunnel, you’ll find Thoron, a former Golden Saint commander who’s been corrupted. He’s the final boss of Restoring Order, and the fight is a noticeable step up from the ritual site skirmishes.

Thoron’s Attack Patterns and Weaknesses

Thoron is a hybrid boss, he uses both melee and magic. His moveset includes:

• Thunderbolt Barrage: Rapid-fire lightning bolts (30-50 damage per hit). He casts this at range or when you back off.
• Sword Rush: Charges with a Daedric greatsword, dealing 60-80 damage on hit plus stagger.
• Summon Adds: At 75%, 50%, and 25% health, he summons 2 Golden Saints. They despawn when he hits the next phase.
• Frost Nova: AoE explosion (40 damage + slow debuff) if you’re within melee range too long.

Weaknesses:

• Low fire resistance (take 25% extra fire damage)
• Susceptible to Marked for Death shout (stacks armor debuff)
• Can be staggered by heavy shield bashes or two-handed power attacks

He has roughly 1,500-2,000 health depending on your level (scales up to level 50). The fight takes 2-5 minutes if you’re geared and prepared, longer if you’re undergeared or learning his patterns.

Best Tactics for Solo and Follower Builds

Solo Strategy:

1. Open with Marked for Death (all three words if you have them). This debuffs his armor and makes every hit count.
2. Use the arena’s pillars to break line-of-sight when he casts Thunderbolt. Peek out, attack, retreat.
3. When he summons Saints, ignore them if you have high DPS, burn Thoron down before they swarm you. If you’re slower, use AoE (Fire Storm, Chain Lightning) to clear adds.
4. Save a healing potion and stamina/magicka potion for the final 25% phase, he gets more aggressive.

Follower Strategy:

Bring a tanky follower (Serana, Lydia with heavy armor, or a Dremora Lord summon). Let them absorb Thoron’s melee attacks while you DPS from range. Followers will also body-block Saints during summon phases.

If you’re melee, coordinate with your follower: when Thoron targets them, unload power attacks. When he switches to you, block and let your follower chip him down.

Mage Builds: Spam Fireball or Incinerate. Thoron’s fire weakness is huge, two Fireballs (dual-cast with Impact perk) can stun-lock him for 3-4 seconds. Conjurers should summon two Dremora Lords and let them tank while you cast from safety.

Stealth Builds: Sneak attacks work for the opener, but Thoron detects you after the first hit. Switch to melee or use Invisibility potions to reset sneak multipliers between phases.

Once Thoron drops, loot his corpse for the Sword of Jyggalag (unique leveled greatsword) and a full set of Amber Armor. The quest completes, and your rewards unlock.

Restoring Order Rewards and Loot

Restoring Order is one of the most rewarding Creation Club quests in terms of unique loot. You’ll walk away with exclusive spell tomes, crafting materials, and gear that’s competitive even in late-game builds.

Spell Tomes and Unique Magic

After defeating Thoron, loot the Ritual Pedestal in the boss chamber. You’ll receive:

• Conjure Golden Saint (Master-level Conjuration): Summons a Golden Saint ally for 60 seconds. The summon uses shock and frost magic, tanks decently, and counts as a Daedra summon for perk bonuses. Stronger than Dremora Lords in raw DPS, but squishier.
• Conjure Dark Seducer (Master-level Conjuration): Summons a Dark Seducer for 60 seconds. The summon uses a two-handed weapon and has high armor. Better for melee support than ranged.
• Conjure Staada (Quest Reward Spell): A unique summon spell granted after returning to Solitude and completing the final dialogue with the questgiver. Staada is Thoron’s replacement, she’s a permanent follower option or a summon, depending on your choice.

These spells are exclusive to Saints & Seducers, you can’t learn them anywhere else. For Conjuration builds, they’re top-tier. Golden Saints outpace Dremora Lords in most scenarios due to ranged DPS and crowd control.

Summoning and Conjuration Rewards

Beyond spell tomes, you’ll loot:

• Sword of Jyggalag (Leveled): A unique Daedric greatsword with Stamina damage on hit. At level 30+, it’s one of the highest base-damage two-handers in the game (25-30 damage before smithing).
• Amber Smithing Materials: Used to craft Amber Armor and Amber Weapons at a forge. Amber gear has slightly lower defense than Daedric but weighs less, ideal for Stamina-heavy builds.
• Madness Ore: Used to craft Madness Armor and Madness Weapons. Madness gear has the highest base defense in the game (tied with Daedric) and unique visual effects.

You’ll also unlock access to the Solitude Sewers Smithing Station, a hidden forge where you can craft Amber and Madness gear without needing the Atronach Forge or Daedric Smithing perk.

For completionists, this questline adds 3 unique spells, 2 unique crafting material types, and 1 unique weapon to your collection. IGN’s Saints & Seducers guide lists Restoring Order as one of the best Creation Club questlines for build diversity.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting Tips

Restoring Order is generally stable, but Saints & Seducers, being a Creation Club add-on, has known bugs, especially on modded setups or older save files. Here’s how to fix the most common issues.

Quest Not Starting or Triggering

Issue: You’ve completed Balance of Power (cleared both bandit camps), but Restoring Order won’t start.

Fix:

• Check your journal. Sometimes the quest triggers but doesn’t send a notification. Open your quest log and look under “Miscellaneous.”
• Speak to Ri’saad or any Khajiit caravan merchant. Dialogue with them can force the quest to update.
• If that fails, travel to Solitude, enter and exit the city (full load screen), wait 24 in-game hours, and re-enter. This resets the trigger cell.

PC Players: Open console, type setstage ccBGSSSE025_Quest 10, and hit enter. This force-starts Restoring Order. WARNING: This can break progression if you haven’t actually completed Balance of Power. Only use as a last resort.

Bugs and Glitches to Avoid

Ritual Site Enemies Not Spawning: Rare bug where a ritual site loads empty. Exit the site, fast travel across the map (e.g., Riften to Markarth), wait 72 hours, then return. Enemies should respawn.

Root Tunnel Door Won’t Open: You need all three ritual keys. If you’re stuck, check your inventory, keys are under “Keys” tab, not “Miscellaneous.” If you’re missing a key, revisit the ritual sites. Sometimes loot doesn’t auto-pickup.

Thoron Won’t Spawn: Load a save from before entering the Root Tunnel. This is usually caused by script conflicts with other mods (especially those editing Solitude or summon scripts). Disable mods temporarily, re-enter, and see if Thoron appears.

Summon Spells Not Added to Inventory: After looting the pedestal, check your spell list under Conjuration. If the spells aren’t there, reload a save from before looting. If the bug persists, you may have a mod conflict with Saints & Seducers assets, check your load order or mod compatibility patches.

Save Corruption (Rare): On Xbox or PlayStation, some players report save corruption after completing Restoring Order if they have 100+ active mods. Always keep a backup save from before starting the quest. For mod-heavy setups, disable script-heavy mods temporarily during the questline.

Conclusion

Restoring Order sits comfortably among Skyrim’s best side quests, blending lore callbacks, satisfying combat encounters, and rewards that actually matter. The Golden Saint and Dark Seducer summons give Conjuration builds a late-game power spike, while Amber and Madness crafting materials open up new gear options for min-maxers. Thoron’s boss fight isn’t the hardest in the game, but it’s well-tuned, challenging enough to require preparation, forgiving enough that most builds can clear it without cheese tactics.

If you’re diving into Anniversary Edition content or picking up Saints & Seducers from the Creation Club, Restoring Order should be near the top of your quest log. Just bring resist magic potions, save before boss fights, and keep a backup save if you’re running a modded setup. The loot and spells make it worth the effort, even if you’re not a Conjuration main.