Arcwind Point is an ancient Nordic tomb that looks more like a mountaintop temple than a dungeon – there’s no door to go through, just a vast, windswept complex of stairs, platforms and burial pits. It sits high up west of the Rift Imperial Camp, between Autumnwatch Tower and Froki’s Shack. It is also one of the toughest places in the game for its level, so pack potions.
What you’ll find
- Two groups of around five skeletons patrolling the grounds, with more rising whenever you fight draugr.
- An octagonal central platform with a sarcophagus holding a leveled Draugr Deathlord – or, depending on level, a Dragon Priest or Draugr Wight Lord.
- Three coffin spots with high-level draugr: a burial pit, the temple itself and the far side up the stairs. The last two are always above your level.
- One of the rare places to meet Draugr Deathlords early, plus Hulking Draugr and, at high levels, Draugr Death Overlords.
- A crumbling tower in the high northeast with a few leveled undead and a log-trap altar room on the way.
- Two quicksilver ore veins – one past the arch, one in the left corner of the cairn area beyond the temple.
- A dragon after Dragon Rising; at level 78 it is always a Legendary Dragon.
Notable items
- Withershins (Restoration) – on a pedestal atop the ruined tower, north of the sarcophagus dais.
- Word Wall for Drain Vitality (Dawnguard), west of the coffin on the platform.
Getting there
Two winding paths lead up. One branches off east of Autumnwatch Tower before you reach Froki’s Shack and is marked by old Nordic ruins. The other starts south of Haemar’s Shame, runs past the Alchemist’s Shack, and climbs west just after the Rift Imperial Camp, giving you a great view of the point on the way.
Tips
Dragons and draugr don’t get along here: when a dragon lands, the dead wake up and fight it, which is ironic given they’re supposed to be its worshippers. Let them soften each other up. If the draugr are too much, run up the stairs past the temple and hop onto the ledge to the right – far enough from the stairs they can’t reach you, but your arrows and spells can reach them. Watch for the clearly visible pressure plate before the altar room on the way to the book.
Good to know
If Arngeir sends you here for a Word of Power, learning the word may not tick off the objective; the Word Wall at Northwind Summit can complete it instead if you haven’t found it yet.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Alchemist’s Shack, Autumnwatch Tower, Rift Imperial Camp, Ruins of Bthalft, Honeystrand Cave.
Location data (hold, map position, editor ID) read from the Skyrim game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.